Battle of Angamos - The Struggle

The Struggle

Off Punta Angamos at 09:25 hrs the Huascar opened fire on the Cochrane. The latter did not return fire but continued to close. She reached her effective cannon range of 2,200 meters 15 minutes later. The Cochrane, Captain Latorre, began to shell the Peruvian ironclad. One of the Chilean shots pierced the Huascar's turret, wounding the twelve crew members manning the 300-pound cannons. Another shot perforated the armour just above the Huascar's waterline, cutting her left rudder chain and leaving her temporarily adrift. The Huascar now was listing hard to starboard and was hampered also by a deformation in the hull acquired when she rammed the Esmeralda during their engagement at Iquique five months earlier. Barely ten minutes later an emergency rudder had been set by the Huascar's crew.

At 10:00 hrs another shell from the Cochrane hit the Huascar, piercing the bridge cabin and killing Admiral Grau and his adjunct, Diego Ferre. Command then fell to Lt. Captain Elías Aguirre. The explosion also shattered the vessel's rudder wheel. Lt. Captain Gaona’s gunners caused heavy casualties among the Peruvian crew: the Chileans were using Palliser type armor-piercing rounds, which exploded right after penetrating the hull.

At 10:10, the Huascar flag was brought down from its hoist by the intense gunfire. Latorre ordered a halt to the fire, thinking that the ship was surrendered. However, the monitor kept his pace and within minutes an unidentified officer hoisted again, resuming the combat. Meanwhile, the Huascar crew had again repaired the rudder wheel.

At 10:22 hrs, with the Blanco Encalada and the Covadonga at close range, a shot from Blanca Encalada, Commodore Riveros, perforated the Huascar's artillery tower, killing almost all of the sailors within and damaging the rightmost cannon. Another shot, from the Cochrane, passed through the officers' quarters and wrecked the emergency rudder station, which had been disabled already twice before. The Huascar now could sail only in a wide semicircle to starboard. Once rudder control was regained, Captain Aguirre of the Huascar tried to ram the Cochrane. Latorre was also manoeuvring to ram the Huascar, but the Peruvian ironclad, whose steering was again enabled, suddenly veered to port and both ships passed by each other. Another shell pierced the Huascar's artillery tower 12 minutes later, killing all within, including Captain Aguirre. Command of the ship went to Lt. Pedro Garezon, who in conference with the remaining officers decided to scuttle the ship rather than allow it to be captured. At 10:54 hrs the order was given to evacuate the wounded from the engine room and open the main condensator to scuttle the ship and hence prevent its capture.

At 10:55 hrs Huascar flag was brought down for a second time. The Chilean warships, noticing that the Huascar was decreasing speed, mustered their boarding parties. At 11:08 hrs, 14 to 20 Chileans sailors boarded the Huascar, without encountering any resistance. They closed the main condensator water leaks (with 1.2 meters of water in the engine room) and extinguished several fires while the now captured Peruvian crew was being transported to the Chilean vessels as prisoners of war.