USKAR Monitor: The legendary battleship-raider. Goncharov V.L.

History knows not many ships that were able to seriously affect the evolution of world military shipbuilding. One of them was the monitor (low -sided battleship) “UASCAR” (Huascar), built in 1866 in England for Peru and later captured by Chileans in an unequal battle. This small ship, named after the Emperor of the Incas, who fought against the conquistadors, completely not intended for cruising operations, became one of the most successful raiders in the history of the steam fleet, significantly influencing the evolution of the entire class of cruisers. In addition, UASKAR is the first ship against which torpedo weapons were used. This happened during the battle in Pacocha Bay on May 29, 1877, when the British Frigate “Shah” and the Amethyst corvette were opponents of the Peruvian flagship. The monitor was able to safely evade the torpedo of Whitehead, and shortly before this fight, Taran was sunk by the corvette of the Navy Chile. Under the flag of the former enemy, Ukar successfully participated in the Second Pacific War (1879–1883), the actions of the Chilean even had a serious impact on the political situation in several countries of Latin America. Now UASKAR is one of the two ships of the mid-19th century that have survived to the present day.

This book for the first time in all details restores the history of the creation, design, service and rich combat use of the legendary armored person-raider. The publication is illustrated by many exclusive drawings and photographs.