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

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

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