ARA Uruguay
Encyclopedia
The corbeta (corvette
) ARA Uruguay, built in England, is the largest ship afloat of its age in the Armada de la República Argentina (Argentine Navy
), with more than 135 years passed since its official incorporation in September 1874. The last of the legendary squadron of President Sarmiento
, the Uruguay took part in revolutions, ransoms, expeditions, rescues, and was even floating headquarters of the Navy School. During its operational history 1874–1926 the Uruguay was a gunboat
, school ship
, expedition
support ship, Antarctic rescue
ship, fisheries
base supply ship, and hydrographic survey
vessel, and is now a museum ship
in Buenos Aires
.
This ship may be the oldest in South America having been built in 1874 at Laird Bros. (now Cammell Laird
) shipyard of Birkenhead, England, at a cost of 32,000 Pounds Sterling. This ship is rigged to a barque
sailplan (three masts, two of which have cross spars). The ship's steel hull is lined in teak.
The ship's namesake is an earlier Argentine Navy schooner, a seven-gun combatant in the Battle of Juncal
, 1827.
, the ship was soon to be used as a training ship.
(the passage of the disk of Venus across the Sun).
The ship's most notable action was carried out in 1901–1903 when the Uruguay supported and then later rescued the Swedish Antarctic Expedition
led by Otto Nordenskiöld
, their ship, the Antarctic
, having been destroyed by ice.
The rescue effort was led by Lieutenant Commander Julián Irízar
who returned from his London diplomatic post of Naval Attache.
A special crew of eight officers and nineteen men was selected based upon experience, courage, and ability to withstand the severe polar conditions. With all of the expedition members rescued successfully, the ship returned through a severe storm in a thoroughly battered condition, having been rolled up to 40 degrees and now partially dismasted. Arriving first at Puerto Santa Cruz, they telegraphed their success to headquarters. On December 2, 1903 they arrived at home port to a great rejoicing by the citizens of Buenos Aries, with all participants receiving a hero's welcome from one hundred thousand dockside greeters, to be followed by many days of receptions and parades.
, around Cape Horn
, and resupplied a base in the Orkneys
(called by the Argentines Órcadas) with trips to South Georgia
(called by the Argentines San Pedro Island) and supporting the Argentinean Fisheries Association (Sociedad Argentina de Pesca) whaling station with coal and food supplies. During this time ship was engaged in performing hydrographic
and geographic
surveys for the preparation of maritime navigation charts.
in the Museum of Sea and Navigation. It is moored at Puerto Madero
in the city of Buenos Aires, in the dock area No. 3, a short distance from the Sarmiento.
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
) ARA Uruguay, built in England, is the largest ship afloat of its age in the Armada de la República Argentina (Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
), with more than 135 years passed since its official incorporation in September 1874. The last of the legendary squadron of President Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...
, the Uruguay took part in revolutions, ransoms, expeditions, rescues, and was even floating headquarters of the Navy School. During its operational history 1874–1926 the Uruguay was a gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
, school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
, expedition
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
support ship, Antarctic rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
ship, fisheries
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
base supply ship, and hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
vessel, and is now a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
This ship may be the oldest in South America having been built in 1874 at Laird Bros. (now Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
) shipyard of Birkenhead, England, at a cost of 32,000 Pounds Sterling. This ship is rigged to a barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
sailplan (three masts, two of which have cross spars). The ship's steel hull is lined in teak.
The ship's namesake is an earlier Argentine Navy schooner, a seven-gun combatant in the Battle of Juncal
Battle of Juncal
The naval Battle of Juncal took place between a squadron of the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate under command of William Brown and a squadron belonging to the Brazilian Empire, commanded by Sena Pereira...
, 1827.
Gunship and training ship (1874–1887)
Originally built as a gunshipGunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...
, the ship was soon to be used as a training ship.
Naval training headquarters ship (1887)
After an episode known as the "Mutiny of the Overcoats" ("el Motín de los Gabanes" de Zárate) affected the continuity of studies in the emerging Naval Academy, the ship became a floating headquarters for naval training. In 1879, the gunboat, anchored in Buenos Aires, witnessed the graduation of the academy's first class of Naval Officers.Asserting Argentina's sovereignty claim to Patagonia (1878)
In 1878 it became part of the expedition of Commodore Louis Py to Patagonia, south of the Santa Cruz River, along with the monitor Los Andes and the bombardment ship Constitución, with the goal of asserting Argentina's sovereignty claim on that region, threatened by Chile.First scientific expedition (1884)
In 1884 it transported foreign scientific committees who came to observe a Transit of VenusTransit of Venus
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
(the passage of the disk of Venus across the Sun).
Configured for expedition support (1887-1903)
In 1887 the ship was removed from its training assignment and fitted for expedition support.Rebuilt for Antarctic rescue (1903)
In 1903 the ship was extensively refitted specifically as an steam rescue ship with auxiliary sail propulsion. The original horizontal reciprocating engine was replaced with a more compact yet more powerful engine and boilers salvaged from a wreck, allowing addition of more water storage, coal bunkering and fuel oil for heating. Additional bulkheads to create a total of eight compartments and hull reinforcement were added. The bilge keels were removed to facilitate damage-free passage through ice. Hard shell above deck storm and wave protection for crew was added fore and aft. Additional insulations of cork and sawdust were added.Rescue of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (October 1903)
The ship's most notable action was carried out in 1901–1903 when the Uruguay supported and then later rescued the Swedish Antarctic Expedition
Swedish Antarctic Expedition
The Swedish Antarctic Expedition was led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen.-Background:Otto Nordenskjöld, a Swedish geologist and geographer, organized and lead a scientific expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula...
led by Otto Nordenskiöld
Otto Nordenskiöld
Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer.-Biography:...
, their ship, the Antarctic
Antarctic (ship)
The Antarctic was a Swedish steamship built in Drammen, Norway in 1871. She was used on several research expeditions to the Arctic region and to Antarctica through 1898-1903. In 1895 the first confirmed landing on the mainland of Antarctica was made from this ship.-The ship:Antarctic was a barque...
, having been destroyed by ice.
The rescue effort was led by Lieutenant Commander Julián Irízar
Julián Irízar
Admiral Julián Irízar was an officer of the Argentine Navy. He became a key figure in the modernization of the navy's fleet, the commander of the First Division of the Navy and later Naval Center President, but his most memorable action was as commander of the corvette Uruguay in the 1903 rescue...
who returned from his London diplomatic post of Naval Attache.
A special crew of eight officers and nineteen men was selected based upon experience, courage, and ability to withstand the severe polar conditions. With all of the expedition members rescued successfully, the ship returned through a severe storm in a thoroughly battered condition, having been rolled up to 40 degrees and now partially dismasted. Arriving first at Puerto Santa Cruz, they telegraphed their success to headquarters. On December 2, 1903 they arrived at home port to a great rejoicing by the citizens of Buenos Aries, with all participants receiving a hero's welcome from one hundred thousand dockside greeters, to be followed by many days of receptions and parades.
Support of Charcot expedition (1904–1906)
The Third French Antarctic Expedition, led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot was supported by the Uruguay.Base support and hydrography (1904–1922)
The ship operated through the Drake PassageDrake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
, around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, and resupplied a base in the Orkneys
South Orkney Islands
The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. They have a total area of about ....
(called by the Argentines Órcadas) with trips to South Georgia
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands, known as the South Sandwich...
(called by the Argentines San Pedro Island) and supporting the Argentinean Fisheries Association (Sociedad Argentina de Pesca) whaling station with coal and food supplies. During this time ship was engaged in performing hydrographic
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
and geographic
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
surveys for the preparation of maritime navigation charts.
Out of service (1926)
She was dismissed from service in 1926 (with 52 years of naval service), to become a floating ammunition dump.Restoration for use as a naval museum ship (1954)
In 1954 the Uruguay was rebuilt in the Rio Santiago shipyards, and moored two years later at the pier of the Naval School, now officially designated as a museum ship.Public museum ship and historic monument (1967–present)
Removed from naval service in 1962, the Uruguay was in 1967 declared a National Historic Landmark. Currently integrated since 1967 as a museum ship with the frigate ARA Presidente SarmientoARA Presidente Sarmiento
ARA Presidente Sarmiento is a museum ship, originally built as a training ship for the Argentine Navy. She is considered to be the last intact cruising training ship from the 1890s....
in the Museum of Sea and Navigation. It is moored at Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos...
in the city of Buenos Aires, in the dock area No. 3, a short distance from the Sarmiento.
See also
- ARA Presidente SarmientoARA Presidente SarmientoARA Presidente Sarmiento is a museum ship, originally built as a training ship for the Argentine Navy. She is considered to be the last intact cruising training ship from the 1890s....
, a larger tall ship moored in adjacent basin number four. - Corbeta UruguayCorbeta UruguayCorbeta Uruguay was an Argentine military outpost established in November 1976 on the island of Thule, Southern Thule, in the South Sandwich Islands. The base was established by order of the then-military junta governing Argentina as a way to back up its territorial claims on British territory in...
, a military outpost established in the South Sandwich Islands 1976 to 1982, named for this ship - Swedish Antarctic ExpeditionSwedish Antarctic ExpeditionThe Swedish Antarctic Expedition was led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen.-Background:Otto Nordenskjöld, a Swedish geologist and geographer, organized and lead a scientific expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula...
, concerning the Antarctic rescue
External links
- http://www.liveargentina.com/Ingles/Argentina/BuenosAires/Museum/MuseumShipCorvetteARAUruguay.htm
- http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/CorbetaUruguayBase.htm (in Spanish)
- http://www.cibernautica.com.ar/corburuguay/index.htm (in Spanish)
- http://www.qsl.net/lu7eo/2009/Dia_de_la_Armada/Cta_Uruguay/Corbeta_Uruguay.htm Avellandea Radio Club (in Spanish), page has many detail images.
- http://www.atna.com.ar/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=29 ATNA - Friends of Argentina Nautical Traditions (in Spanish), images of ARA Uruguay being moved.
- http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/argentina/pages/uruguay_1874_page_1.htm Some antique images (In English)
- http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/CorbetaUruguayBase.htm Maritime History and Archeology - General history of the ship, with some events not described in other sites (in Spanish)
- http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfHistorica/Antartik/fotosUruguay1.htm Historic photos from above site
- http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfHistorica/Antartik/fotosUruguay2.htm Interior photos of the museum ship from the above site