argentinenavy

Built for the Argentine navy. Named for Bernardino Rivadavia the first (and later, exiled) president of Argentina. Built in the USA, at the Fore River Shipbuilding Yards at Quincy, Massachusetts. Launched August 26, 1911. For awhile the Rivadavia was the largest battleship in the world: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D04E5DE163CE633A... Commissioned by the Argentine Navy in 1914, it lasted 42 years. Sold for scrap in 1956: www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/argentina/pages/r...

I don't think the ship is under construction in this photo. It is completely outfitted with guns, lattice mast, lifeboats, etc. all of which would normally have been added after the launching of the hull, i.e. with the ship afloat. The ship appears to be in a drydock (Brooklyn Navy Yard?) for repairs or modifications. The riveted stern plates show signs of repeated impact and/or corrosion.

@technogeo -- your deductions appear to be sound, and they square better with the position of the undated photo being here in Bain's 1913 photostream, not in the 1911 group.

Thanks to both of you for your great research. I'd like the discussion to continue, but wanted to point out another image of the ship in our collection. It's a panoramic photo taken in 1914. The title is: La tripulacion del Aroragado [sic] "Rivadavia" a' su llegada al arsenal de Charlestown, Mass., U.S.A., 24ch Agosto de 1914. The warehouse buildings on the left of the panorama look the same as those in this Bain photo.

Exelente foto del Rivadavia. En la foto aparentemente se le esta realizando mantenimiento, porque creo que en essa epoca Argentina no contaba con los diques secos (Dry Docks) para estos buques. Hector, Buenos Aires

The light cruiser USS Phoenix (CL-46). Surviving unharmed after the Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the ship would serve and fight throughout the Second World War. She would be sold to Argentina in 1951. As the Argentine Navy's ARA General Belgrano (C-4), she would be torpedoed and sunk by Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS Conqueror in May 1982 during the Falkland Islands War. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_General_Belgrano_(C-4)

Argentine battleship, built in Quincy, Massachusetts, launched in 1911. Shown here in two Bain/LOC photos, moored at Quincy for additional touches, on Dec. 2, 1912: Two Bain/LOC photos show the Rividavia being refurbished in dry dock at Charlestown, Mass., in 1913: