List of ships of the Peruvian Navy comprising almost every Peruvian warship commissioned after 1840.
Vessels acquired in the 1840s and 1850s
President Castilla sought to expand and well-equip the Peruvian Navy. His naval policy was to if Chile constructed one ship, he should construct two, and he went on to turn the Peruvian Navy into the most powerful of South America. He acquired the frigates "Mercedes", "Guisse", "Gamarra", "Amazonas", and "Apurimac" as well as the Schooners "Tumbes" and "Loa". He also built the naval ports of Paita and Bellavista. Castilla also acquired the first steam-powered warship of any South American country and named it the "Rimac". To better educate the officers of these new ships, he sent them to study with the various navies of European nations. For the defense of the Amazonia, Castilla began to develop an Amazonian fleet with the purchase of the ships, "Morona", "Pastaza", "Napo", and "Putumayo",
Major warships
Rimac (1847/8), paddlewheel steamer brigantine, 683 tons. Sunk 1855, after a collision in Punta San Juan, Ica. Mercedes (1840s/50s) sailing frigate, shipwrecked in Casma in 1854 Amazonas (1851) screw-frigate, 1743 tons BOM, 33 guns, 9.43 kts. Beached and lost in Abtao, 15 January 1866.
Ucayali (1842) paddlewheel steamer brigantine, ex HMS Cherokee, 860 tons. Purchased in 1853. , (1855) 44 gun screw frigate, 1,666 tons – took part on the rebel side in the Peruvian civil war of 1856–58; she was renamed BAP Callao on 22 April 1858, and took part in the blockade of the Ecuadorian port of Guayaquil; in December she was in a floating dock that capsized and sank, killing 100 people and wounding 88; she was raised at the second attempt in 1863, and then rebuilt and reverted to her original name; she took part in the civil war of 1865, and the naval battle of Abtao against the Spanish frigates Blanca and Villa de Madrid. From 1873 she served as a school ship, and in the Pacific War served as a gunned pontoon at Callao until scuttled to prevent capture in 1881.
Minor warshipsAlmirante Guise (1845) 415 ton sailing brigantine.Gamarra (1845) 415 ton sailing brigantine.Loa (1854) 648 ton BOM screw-schooner: 10 kts, armament 4 x 32 pdr. Took part on the rebel side in 1856–58 Peruvian civil war. From April to November 1864, Loa was converted into an ironclad 'floating battery' similar to the CSS Richmond. – see under ironcladsTumbes (1854) 250 ton BOM screw-schooner: 7 knots armament 2 x 68 pdr. Took part in 1856–58 Peruvian civil war and the 1865 revolt. Stricken 1866 and used as a pontoon at Callao. Sunk by the Chilean navy 29 May 1880.
Transport vessels
General Lerzundi (1853) screw-veesel ex Peytona,480 tons. Purchased in 1857, named as Lambayaque and renamed as General Lerzundi. Sold to the Chilean Navy 1865 renmed as Lautaro.
GunboatsMorona (1862) 500 ton steam river-gunboat – part of the Amazonian fleet that arrived to Iquitos in 1864Pastaza (1862) 500 ton steam river-gunboat – part of the Amazonian fleet that arrived to Iquitos in 1864Napo (1862) steam river-gunboat – part of the Amazonian fleet that arrived to Iquitos in 1864Putumayo (1862) steam river-gunboat – part of the Amazonian fleet that arrived to Iquitos in 1864
Vessels acquired from 1860 to 1884
Ironclads
Huáscar (1865) turret ship, 2030 tons, captured by Chile at the Battle of Angamos 1879.Chesneau, Roger and Kolesnik, Eugene (Ed.) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press, 1979. Independencia (1865), broadside ironclad 3,500 tons, shipwrecked in Punta Gruesa sunk aftermath the Battle of Iquique 1879.
Coast defence ironcladsLoa (1854) 648 ton BOM steam schooner that took part on the rebel side in 1856–58 Peruvian civil war. From April to November 1864, Loa was converted into an ironclad similar to the CSS Richmond. The conversion was by George S. Backus, and cost 364,823 soles de plata, equivalent to £70,000 Sterling. In 1877 the armour was removed and the Loa became a training ship. She was scuttled at Callao in January 1881 to prevent capture.Victoria (1866) a locally-built small monitor armed with a single 68 pdr Vavasseur smoothbore gun.
ex-US Canonicus-class monitors 2,100 tons. Atahualpa (1864). ex-USS Catawba; Atahualpa and Manco Cápac were purchased by Peru in 1868 for $400,000 US, and left New Orleans in January 1869, arriving in Peru in June 1870. Atahualpa was scuttled at Callao to avoid capture 1881. Manco Cápac (1864) ex-USS Oneota purchased by Peru in 1868, and arriving with Atahualpa in June 1870, scuttled at Arica to avoid capture 1880. Wreck was located in 2007, 2.5 miles off shore at depth of 100 feet.