rivadavia

Aha! See this page on Battleship Moreno. Clearly this is one of the Rivadavia class battleships, of which only two were built, the Moreno, or the Rivadavia, I presume. Quoting, briefly, from that site: Laid down on July 9, 1910, launched on June 28, 1911 and commissioned in December 1914, Moreno carried a main armament of twelve 12 inch main guns mounted two per turret. Two superfiring turrets were on the centerline both fore and aft and there was one wing turret per side that could fire both fore and aft and to both sides. An article in the New York Times about Moreno is here. Wikipedia article about Rivadavia class--uses this photo, so it appears this is no big news!

It appears that one was launched from Quincy, MA, per NYTimes: "QUINCY, Mass., Aug. 26. -- The biggest battleship in the world was launched at the Fore River Shipbuilding Yards here to-day. The vessel in question is the Rivadavia, and when she is finished about a year hence she will steam south to become the principal unit in the fighting fleet of the Argentine Republic. " (8/27/1911)

amazing! :) -- Seen on your photo stream. (?)

Above photo shows the Rivadavia moored at Quincy shipyard for some finishing touches, over a year after launch in August, 1911. The photo is dated Dec. 2, 1912. The ship was commissioned by the Argentine Navy in 1914, and sold for scrap in 1956: www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/argentina/pages/r... A 1911 Bain/LOC photo of the Rivadavia shows it at sea after launch, but before completion: Another photo of the Rivadavia moored at Quincy for finishing touches -- photo is dated Dec. 2, 1912: Two photos of the Rivadavia being refurbished in dry dock at Charlestown, Mass., in 1913:

The Rivadavia features here as well

Built for the Argentine navy. Named for the first president of Argentina. Built 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...

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

If that's the Williamsburg Bridge on the left (in the distant haze between the ship and the crane), this photo may have been taken at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

@technogeo, that would make sense, as Bain's photo above is from the 1913 Bain photostream, not 1911. 1911 Bain/LOC photo shows the Rivadavia after launch, but before completion: Two Bain/LOC photos of the Rivadavia getting a touchup at the shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, where it was built. Both photos dated Dec. 2, 1912:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Rivadavia

See comments on adjacent photo, and/or Wikipedia article on these ships.

thnax for the info! :) -- Seen on your photo stream. (?)

At the same time though, the lettering on the bow, admittedly very obscured doesn't look like the tops of the word "Moreno" to my admittedly bad eyes. Looks perhaps like a "YA" in the middle?

It clearly says Rivadavia. First president of Argentina, and future name of the battleship.

The Rivadavia features here as well