South American Battleships 1908-59: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile's great dreadnought race

Brazil's decision to order three dreadnought battleships in 1908 triggered a naval arms race in South America, leading to bankruptcy, shipyard closures, and the declaration of war by Turkey on Great Britain. It also produced groundbreaking dreadnought designs and one of the world's first aircraft carriers.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 27 December 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The most incredible naval arms race in history began in 1908 when Brazil, flush with cash from rubber and coffee, decided to order three of the latest and greatest category of warship available – the dreadnought battleship. One Brazilian dreadnought by itself could defeat the combined gunnery of every other warship of all the other South American nations. Brazil's decision triggered its neighbor Argentina to order its own brace of dreadnoughts, which in turn forced Chile (which had fought boundary disputes with Argentina) to order some. In the process, the South American dreadnought mania drove the three participants nearly into insolvency, led to the bankruptcy of a major shipyard, and triggered a chain of events which led Turkey to declare war on Great Britain. It also produced several groundbreaking dreadnought designs and one of the world's first aircraft carriers.

Weight: 166g
Dimension: 184 x 247 x 4 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472825100