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Description

The armored frigate Independencia was, together with the monitor Huáscar, one of the first armored ships of the Peruvian Navy. Although its construction was ordered within the framework of the war against Spain (1865-1866), it did not arrive in Peru until the end of the conflict.

It was an armored ship with a central battery, based on the HMS Achilles, the construction being supervised by Aurelio García y García, who later became the commander of the armored vehicle. Its hull was made of iron an inch thick, with a double bottom and divided into 3 longitudinal sections; Armored with 4.5-inch-thick iron plates in its center section and along the entire water line on a 10-inch teak wood liner. It had a prow in the shape of a ram equipped for spurring.

When it arrived in Callao, many Peruvian and military historians of the time affirmed that this ship was the best of the Peruvian squadron, however Miguel Grau considered it an obsolete battleship and inferior in war capacity to the Huáscar armored tower steam. In any case, both outnumbered all the ships in the South American navies in war power.

Armament in 1879:
In the central battery:

1. 12 x Armstrong 70 lb guns
On deck:

1. 1 x Vavasseur 250 lb cannon
2. 1 x Parrott 150 lb cannon
3. 2 x Armstrong 150 lb
4. 2 x 9 lb Armstrong
5. 2 x machine guns

Description

The armored frigate Independencia was, together with the monitor Huáscar, one of the first armored ships of the Peruvian Navy. Although its construction was ordered within the framework of the war against Spain (1865-1866), it did not arrive in Peru until the end of the conflict.

It was an armored ship with a central battery, based on the HMS Achilles, the construction being supervised by Aurelio García y García, who later became the commander of the armored vehicle. Its hull was made of iron an inch thick, with a double bottom and divided into 3 longitudinal sections; Armored with 4.5-inch-thick iron plates in its center section and along the entire water line on a 10-inch teak wood liner. It had a prow in the shape of a ram equipped for spurring.

When it arrived in Callao, many Peruvian and military historians of the time affirmed that this ship was the best of the Peruvian squadron, however Miguel Grau considered it an obsolete battleship and inferior in war capacity to the Huáscar armored tower steam. In any case, both outnumbered all the ships in the South American navies in war power.

Armament in 1879:
In the central battery:

1. 12 x Armstrong 70 lb guns
On deck:

1. 1 x Vavasseur 250 lb cannon
2. 1 x Parrott 150 lb cannon
3. 2 x Armstrong 150 lb
4. 2 x 9 lb Armstrong
5. 2 x machine guns