ARA Formosa (CL-1914)
Ex-Regensburg class cruisers purchased from the Allied War Reparations Commission. The Argentinians had been offered the later Elbing class ships instead but these two ships had been altered during the war to carry mines and this was an advantage the Argentinians could not ignore.
The original layout had broadside 4.1" guns. The twelve guns only gave a broadside of 6x4.1" When the ship was refitted during WW1 and the armament upgraded from 12x4.1" to 7x5.9". This raised the broadside to 5x5.9" and allowed mines to be fitted from the aft broadside 5.9" to the stern. One of the first refits (and a major one) was to increase the mine carrying capacity by removing the broadside 5.9" and mounting the armament as four centreline 5.9" with a full mine complement.
In the coming conflict the two ships had two duties. 1. to mine the approaches
to the Rio de Plata to keep enemy shipping away. and 2. mine the approaches to
the landing places available to the British in any attempt to retake the
Islands. To do this job a merchant ship full of mines would have to be based in
Port Stanley to reload the minelayers working around the Las Malvinas.
Two photos of the ships as rearmed with 5.9" replacing the 4.1". Note the
superfiring aft guns. The nomenclature went Regensburg, 1914-1919, Strasbourg
1919-1923, Formosa, 1924-1940.
| Displacement | 5,400 tons std, 7,100 tons full load |
| Length | 468 ft |
| Breadth | 45 ft |
| Draught | 19 ft |
| Machinery | 2 shaft Steam Turbines 32,000shp |
| Speed | 28 knots |
| Range | 5500 miles at 12 knots |
| Armour | 2.6" side, 1.5" deck, 1" turrets |
| Armament | 4 x 5.9" (4x1) 4 x 3.4" (4x1) 4 x 20mm (4x1) |
| Mines | 140 |
| Torpedoes | nil |
| Complement | 400 |
| Notes | ARA Formosa (ex Regensburg) ARA Resistencia (ex Graudenz) |
As built with single 4.1". Below - my attempt at an AA cruiser / minelayer.
