Warships in the War of the Pacific 1879-83: South America’s Ironclad Naval Campaign

Superbly illustrated with original artwork throughout, this book explores the ironclad warships that fought the little-known battles of South America’s War of the Pacific.

In the late 19th century, a war erupted between Chile and Peru, the catalyst for which was control of guano-rich Chincha islands. Given the geography of the two countries, with a narrow, arid land border and long exposed coastlines, it was inevitable that the War of the Pacific would predominantly be a naval war.

It was a unique episode of military history, fought by two newly emergent South American states, using the latest technology - ironclad, steam-powered warships - and involving more naval battles than in the American Civil War, including a blockade, the capture of key warships, and bombardments of ports. Chile’s navy was larger and more modern, while Peru’s trump card was the small but powerful ironclad Huáscar.

In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers readers an essential guide to this little-known naval war, illustrated with detailed profiles of the key ironclads, spectacular original artwork of the battles and a cutaway of Huáscar. He briefly covers the strategies of the warring powers as well as exploring all the key points of the naval campaign and the details of the warships involved, as a handful of ironclads fought for naval supremacy in South America.

Angus Konstam hails from Orkney, off the north of Scotland. He has written widely on naval history, most recently Hunt the Bismarck and The Convoy, both published by Osprey. A former naval officer, he has worked as a museum curator in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a former Chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland. Now a full-time historian, he has returned to live in Orkney.