page_title: Huáscar (ironclad)
section_title: Peruvian Civil War
hierarchical_section_title: Huáscar (ironclad) / Career in Peruvian Navy / Peruvian Civil War
caption_attribution_description: English: The Naval Combat in the Pacific between HMS SHAH and HMS AMETHYST and the Peruvian Rebel Ironclad Turret Ram HUASCAR on May 29th 1877. Español: Cuadro del Combate Naval de Pacocha entre el HMS Shah y el HMS Amethyst contra el BAP Huáscar. Deutsch: Englischer Zeitungsbilderbogen zum Seegefecht von Pacocha vom 29. Mai 1877 zwischen dem peruanischen Meuterschiff "Huáscar" und dem Flaggschiff der britischen Pazifikflotte "HMS Amethyst" (im Vordergrund) sowie der Fregatte "HMS Shah". Es handelt sich um das erste und einzige kriegerische Zusammentreffen zwischen hölzernen britischen Kriegsschiffen traditioneller Bauart und einem volleisernen (ebenfalls in England gebauten) Panzerschiff.
context_page_description: Huáscar is an ironclad turret ship built in Britain for Peru in the 1860s. Her price was a bit more than £81,000. She was the flagship of the Peruvian Navy and participated in the Battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific of 1879–1883 before being captured and commissioned into the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of the few surviving ships of her type. The ship has been restored and is currently commissioned as a memorial ship. She is named after the 16th-century Inca emperor, Huáscar.
context_section_description: Huáscar participated in Nicolás de Piérola's 1877 attempt to overthrow the Peruvian government. On the 6 May, two of de Piérola's supporters, Colonel Lorranaga and Major Echenique, boarded the Huáscar at the port of Callao while the captain and executive officer where ashore. Some of the ship's officers on board were part of the plot and persuaded the crew to join their cause. Now in rebel hands, the Huáscar put to sea with Luis Germán Astete in command. Other Peruvian naval ships present in the port, such as the Atahualpa were in a state of disrepair and unable to pursue. The ship was used to harass, sabotage and disrupt government forces and shipping lanes. During these actions foreign shipping was also affected, leading to British intervention.
  On 29 May 1877, she fought the inconclusive Battle of Pacocha against two British vessels, the frigate HMS Shah and the corvette HMS Amethyst, commanded by Admiral de Horsey. This battle saw the first use in combat of the newly invented self-propelled torpedo which, at the time, had just entered limited service with the Royal Navy.
  Huáscar surrendered to the government after almost one month in rebel hands. Although controlled by rebels at the time, popular and press pressure on the Peruvian government resulted in a formal diplomatic protest to the British government for its attack on the Huáscar; the British Parliament, on the other hand, came close to censuring Admiral de Horsey for his failure to capture her.
caption: The Battle of Pacocha
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