The ''corbeta'' (

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

) ARA ''Uruguay'', built in England, is the largest ship afloat of its age in the ''Armada de la República Argentina'' (

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with th ...

), with more than 140 years passed since its commissioning 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'' has served as a

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 Pre-ste ...

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe 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 class ...

, expedition support ship,

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

ship,

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

base supply ship, and

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

vessel, and is now a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. This ship may be the oldest in South America having been built in 1874 at Laird Bros. (now

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

) shipyard of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

, England, at a cost of £32,000. This ship is rigged to a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

sailplan (three masts, two of which have cross spars). The ship's steel hull is sheathed in teak. The ship's namesake is an earlier Argentine Navy schooner, a seven-gun combatant in the

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. It spanned two d ...

, 1827.

History

Gunboat and training ship (1874–1887)

Originally built as a

, the ship was soon to be used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe 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 class ...

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.Early school headquarters history
(in Spanish)

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 gunboat ''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 Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a tr ...

(the passage of the disk of Venus across the Sun).

Configured for expedition support (1887-1903)

Corbeta Uruguay en la dársena norte - 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 a 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 The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nordensk ...

led by Otto Nordenskiöld, their ship, the ''

'', 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 Aires, 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 Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste Charcot (15 July 1867 – 16 September 1936), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a French scientist, medical doctor and polar scientist. His father was the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893). Life Jean-Bap ...

, was supported by the ''Uruguay''.

Base support and hydrography (1904–1922)

The ship operated through the

Drake Passage The Drake Passage (referred to as Mar de Hoces Hoces Sea"in Spanish-speaking countries) is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atla ...

, around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

, and resupplied a base in the

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 South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

(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 Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

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

Río Santiago Shipyard The Rio Santiago Shipyard is a shipyard located in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province at the shores of the Santiago River. Currently owned by the Government of Buenos Aires Province, it has been one of the major active and important ship ...

. It was 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 Sarmiento ARA ''Presidente Sarmiento'' is a museum ship in Argentina, originally built as a training ship for the Argentine Navy and named after Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, the seventh President of Argentina. She is considered to be the last intact cru ...

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''.Google map centered on ''ARA Uruguay''.
(Scroll south to see the ''ARA Presidente Sarmiento'').

Gallery

Corbeta Uruguay Cubierta mirando a popa.jpg, Weather deck, aft Corbeta Uruguay Brújula.jpg,

Binnacle A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional ...

Corbeta Uruguay museo naval.jpg, Naval museum exhibits

Notes

References

National Commission for Museums and Monuments and Sites (1998). ''Monuments of Argentina''. Secretariat of Culture of the Nation. . Almanac 1958 Daily Nation, with reminders of historical dates in Argentina. *
Google translation of above
* *SUGARA is Sindico Unico de Guardavidas y Afines de la Rep. Argentina (Trustee Union of Lifeguard and Related of Argentina)

*

(Note that this article has an extensive reference list of resources in Spanish) *

External links

Ship Museum and Corvette Uruguay ARA
- official museum site

(in Spanish, text only)

ATNA - Friends of Argentina Nautical Traditions
(in Spanish), images of ARA ''Uruguay'' being moved

(in English)

- General history of the ship, with some events not described in other sites (in Spanish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uruguay Ships built on the River Mersey 1874 ships Training ships of the Argentine Navy Tall ships of Argentina Museum ships in Argentina Maritime history of Argentina Exploration of Antarctica Museums in Buenos Aires Non-combat military operations involving Argentina Gunboats of Argentina