ARA El Plata was the first of two s built in Britain in the 1870s for the Argentine Navy.
El Plata was 186feet long overall, with a beam of 44feet and a draft of 9.5-. She displaced 1535LT1677LT, and her crew numbered 120 officers and enlisted men.[1]
The ship had two compound steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, rated at a total power of 750ihp. This gave her a maximum speed of 9kn9.5kn. El Plata carried 120LT of coal which gave her a range of approximately 1400nmi.[1]
ARA El Plata was ordered by President Sarmiento in 1872, along with her sister ship Los Andes.[2] She was intended to serve as a river monitor, due to concerns regarding the use of low-freeboard turret ships at sea following the HMS Captain disaster. Despite the Argentine Navy's concerns, she spent much of her service life on seagoing expeditions, and she also served as a guard ship for the mouths of major rivers.