Ships and balloons

Steamer Tacuarí

The Paraguayan flagship.

Steamer Tacuarí
The paddle steamer Tacuarí. Reconstruction.
Origin
J. & A. Blyth shipyard, England; reached Asunción in 1855
Propulsion
Side paddle wheels, two engines
Displacement
About 430 to 490 t ‡
Armament
Six cannons ‡
Fate
Scuttled by her crew, 23 March 1868

She was the first modern warship of Paraguay and its flagship, very fast for her time. At Riachuelo, on 11 June 1865, she flew the flag of Captain Pedro Ignacio Meza and came out badly damaged. In 1868, harried by the ironclad Bahia in the Guaycurú creek, she was scuttled by her crew so that she would not fall into enemy hands.

‡ Disputed.Displacement and armament vary by source: from 430 to 620 t; two 32-pounders and four 24-pounders, or another combination at Riachuelo.

Sources: Última Hora, “A 157 años del hundimiento del Tacuarí”; Revista de Historia Naval (2023); George Thompson, The War in Paraguay.

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