Name Almirante Lynch Laid down 1889 Displacement 713 t (702 long tons) Construction started 1889 Weight 713 tons | Namesake Patricio Lynch Commissioned 1890 Length 70 m (229 ft 8 in) p/p Launched 1890 Builder Cammell Laird | |
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The gun torpedo vessels Almirante Lynch and her sister ship Almirante Condell, were purchased in England and launched in 1890.
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Design
The vessels had a high forecastle and poop, and a ram on the bow. the hulls were steel. The principal armament was five Whitehead torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two in each broadside. They also had two fourteen-pounder guns in echelon on the forecastle and one on the poop, four 3-pounder guns, and two machine guns.
Service History
Almirante Lynch was part of the small force of ships at disposal of President José Manuel Balmaceda in the 1891 Chilean Civil War. During the war, on April 23, 1891, the Almirante Lynch and her sister ship Almirante Condell attacked and sank the rebel ironclad frigate Blanco Encalada. Early in April a portion of the revolutionary squadron, comprising the Blanco Encalada and other ships, was sent southward for reconnoitring purposes and put into the port of Caldera. During the night of April 23, and whilst the Blanco Encalada was lying quietly at anchor in Caldera Bay, the Almirante Lynch, belonging to the Balmaceda faction, steamed into the bay of Caldera and discharged a torpedo at the rebel ship. The Blanco Encalada sank in a few minutes and 300 of her crew perished. This coup severely weakened the Congressional squadron. This was the first successful torpedo attack on a warship.
After the arrival of the destroyer Almirante Lynch the torpedo gunboat was renamed Tomas.