Cabral-class ironclad

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.

A drawing of Cabral
Class overview
Name	Cabral
Builders	J. and G. Rennie, Millwall, London
Preceded by	Mariz e Barros class
Succeeded by	Sete de Setembro
Built	1864–1866
In service	1866–1885
Completed	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics
Class & type	Armored corvette
Displacement	1,033 long tons (1,050 t)
Length	160 ft (48.8 m)
Beam	35 ft 6 in (10.8 m)
Draft	11.75–12.1 ft (3.6–3.7 m)
Installed power	750 ihp (560 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 steam engines
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Armament	4 × 120-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading guns or 2 × 70-pounder Whitworth guns 2 × 68-pounder smoothbore guns
Armor	Belt: 3–4.5 in (76–114 mm)

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

See also

• List of ironclads