Date visited 20 April 2025
The Monitor Huascar is a seagoing monitor built in Britain in 1865 with a Coles Turret. She served with distinction in both the Peruvian and Chilean Navies during the War of the Pacific (It was captured by the Chileans part-way through the war) and was preserved as a museum ship in the 1930s.She is currently located in Talcahuano Naval Base - about 430km south of Santiago. But domestic flights here are cheap as chips (literally - my taxi to the airport cost more than the flight), so I flew down to Conception for the day. The Naval Base is about 10km from Conception airport, and once you get away from the airport, there are lots of busses that will take you there (Google Maps says they go every "1 minute" - but that is an under-estimate - multiple routes converge along that highway, so that the buses are virtually bumper to bumper - it’s actually hard to cross the road without getting hit by one).
Although it is inside the base, they have fenced off an access path along the waterfront, so that you can access (once you have bought the ticket at the gate). On the other side of the fence there are a range of artifacts, including a triple 6-inch gun turret (from the Chilean cruiser O’Higgins (ex-USS Brooklyn)), an RN 4.5" twin turret (presumably from one of the Counties or Leanders Chile operated), plus quite a lot of older cannon, and a large anchor).Huascar is moored about 150m offshore. They built a jetty out about 50m of the way, and you must get onto a dumb lighter, and they have two sailors who pull the lighter to and from Huascar - hand-over-hand - using lines strung between Huascar and the Jetty. Huascar appears to still be in Commission - she is flying the Chilean flag, and the crew are all young Chilean sailors. Her condition is remarkable. She is obviously very well maintained, and the paintwork and woodwork is all in great condition. I've been to sea in warships in a considerably worse state that this! But they have preserved the dings she took during her various battles (mostly on the turret), and there are little plaques next to each one explaining what happened.As far as I could tell, all of the equipment, fittings and furniture seemed genuine (or at least so good that I couldn't tell the difference). There was full access to virtually the entire ship - the messdecks were converted into display galleries, while the Wardroom and Officers cabins were still fitted out as a Wardroom and Officers cabins. You couldn't get into the turret; however you could look in through access-ways on each side to see the mechanism. The display galleries were impressive, celebrating Huascar's service in both the Peruvian and Chilean navies (IMHO it is admirable of Chile to host a gallery celebrating Huascar's victory over the Chilean Esmeralda), along with a lot of drawings, documents, photographs, models etc. There wasn't a lot of interpretive signage, and what there was, was generally not bilingual - however the ship largely speaks for itself.Now I've been to a few warship museums by now, and I like all of them - but this one was special and is definitely in my top 5. Talcahuano is getting close to "the ends of the earth" - and that is coming from someone who grew up in NZ - so it isn't that easy to get to - however if you get the chance, it is genuinely worth the effort.'
Links and References:
Wood, G, 1986, The Iron Clad Turret Ship Huascar, Warship, 10 (37-38), pp2-11, 86-94.
George, A, 2015, Huascar: Ironclad Memorial for both the Chilean and Peruvian Navies, Warship World, 14 (3), pp25-26.