The Rivadavia class were two battleships designed by the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the Argentine Navy. They were Argentina’s entry in the South American dreadnought race and a counter to Brazil’s two Minas Geraes-class battleships. The ships served principally as training ships and diplomatic envoys and were inactive for much of the Second World War due to Argentina’s neutrality.
About Rivadavia-class battleship in brief
The Rivadavia class consisted of two battleships designed by the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the Argentine Navy. They were Argentina’s entry in the South American dreadnought race and a counter to Brazil’s two Minas Geraes-class battleships. In 1904, Brazil scrapped a previous naval building program in favor of an order that included three warships of the new \”dreadnought\” type. Argentina began seeking bids for at least two dreadnoughts in 1908 and the contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder, Fore River, in early 1910. The raison d’être can be traced back to Argentine–Chilean territorial disputes over the boundary of Patagonia and control of the Beagle Channel going back to the 1840s. The ships served principally as training ships and diplomatic envoys and were inactive for much of the Second World War due to Argentina’s neutrality. Struck from the navy lists on 1 February 1957, Rivadavia was scrapped in Italy beginning in 1959. Moreno was struck on 1 October 1956 and was towed to Japan in 1957 for scrapping. The Brazilian navy fell into obsolescence after an 1889 revolution, which deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II, and a 1893 civil war. By the turn of the 20th century it was lagging behind the Chilean and Argentine navies in quality and total tonnage. Despite American entreaties to preclude the naval arms race, Brazil continued development on the ships. This combined with renewed border disputes, particularly in the River Plate area, spurred Argentina to move forward with plans for their own battleship program.
Inflamed by opinion by newspaper editors, Argentina had an early plan for an early 35million plan for a naval program for battleships and destroyers. It was not possible to lay down the battleships until 1906, the same year the trend-setting HMS Dreadnower was constructed. This ship prompted the Brazilians to cancel their battleship plans in favour of two MinAs Gerae-class dreadnougts. The ordering of these powerful ships—designed to carry the heaviest armament in the world at the time—shocked Argentina and Chile. By 1904, however, Brazil began to seriously consider upgrading its navy to compete with Argentina and Chilean navies. The Nationalist Party cabinet was in favor, despite a probable cost of nearly USD 10million for a specific battleship plan for two 14,000-ton battleship and ten destroyers was not popular with the public. The British Royal Navy bought two Swiftsure-class pre-dreadNought battleships that were being built for Chile, and Argentina sold its two RivadAvia-class armored cruisers under construction in Italy to Japan. As part of the three pacts which ended the dispute, restrictions were placed on the navies of both countries. The Britishroyal Navy bought the Swiftsures in 1924 and 1925 and they were later modernized in the United States.
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