The Cabral-class ironclads were a pair of iron-hulled, armored corvettes originally ordered by Paraguay in 1864, but were sold to Brazil when Paraguay defaulted on the payments. Configured as central-battery ironclads, they served during the 1864–1870 Paraguayan War between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay against Paraguay.
Design and description
The ships were 160 feet (48.8 m) long, had a beam of 35 feet 6 inches (10.8 m) and drafts of 11.75–12.1 feet (3.6–3.7 m). They displaced 1,033 long tons (1,050 t). The Cabral class had a pair of steam engines, each driving one propeller. The engines produced a total of 750 indicated horsepower (560 kW) and gave the ships a maximum speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph). Their crew consisted of 125 officers and enlisted men.[1]
Cabral was armed with two 70-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading guns and two smoothbore 68-pounder guns, while Colombo had four 120-pounder Whitworth guns. The ships had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that ranged in thickness from 114 millimeters (4.5 in) amidships to 76 millimeters (3.0 in) at the ends of the ship.[1]
Ships
| Paraguayan name | Brazilian name | Namesake | Builder[1] | Laid down | Launched | Completed[1] | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabral | Pedro Álvares Cabral | J. and G. Rennie, Millwall, London | 1866 | Stricken, 1885 | |||
| Colombo | Christopher Columbus |