Battle of Caldera Bay

A sketch of the battle by an English naval officer.

Date	23 April 1891
Location	Caldera Bay, Chile 27°04′00″S 70°50′00″W / 27.066667°S 70.833333°W / -27.066667; -70.833333Coordinates: 27°04′00″S 70°50′00″W / 27.066667°S 70.833333°W / -27.066667; -70.833333
Result	Balmacedist victory

Belligerents

Republic of Chile

Congressionist Junta

Commanders and leaders

Carlos E. Moraga

Juan Fuentes

Don Luis Goñi

Strength

2 torpedo boats

1 frigate
2 transports

Casualties and losses

1 torpedo boat damaged

1 frigate sunk
1 transport damaged
182 killed

The Battle of Caldera Bay, or the Sinking of the Blanco Encalada, was an engagement fought in the port of Caldera Bay during the 1891 Chilean Civil War between Balmacedist and Congressional naval forces on 23 April 1891. It involved two Balmacedist torpedo boats, Almirante Lynch and Almirante Condell, and the Congressional armored frigate Blanco Encalada.

After both torpedoes from Almirante Condell had missed, Blanco Encalada was hit by a torpedo from Almirante Lynch and sank in minutes, with the loss of 182 men. The loss of Blanco Encalada hindered the Congressional forces, but they ultimately defeated the Balmacedist forces that August. Blanco Encalada was the first ironclad warship lost to a self-propelled torpedo. The engagement prompted countries to rapidly grow both their torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyer forces (the latter commonly referred to as destroyers).

In 1891, after a series of struggles about multinational nitrate interests, Chilean President José Manuel Balmaceda refused to sign the national budget passed by the Chilean National Congress. Balmaceda then dissolved Congress. The dissolution split both the Chilean Army and Navy, with some forces remaining loyal to Congress and others to the President. An armed conflict ensued after a mutiny by the navy, which at that time was docked at Valparaíso.

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