HMS Eagle was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile during the South American dreadnought race as the Almirante Latorre-class battleship Almirante Cochrane, she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924. Her completion was delayed by labour troubles and the possibility that she might be repurchased by Chile for reconversion into a battleship, as well as the need for comparative trials to determine the optimum layout for aircraft carriers. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and then later to the China Station, spending very little time in home waters other than for periodic refits.
Aerial view of Eagle in the 1930s
Line drawing of Almirante Latorre, illustrating what Eagle would have looked like if she had been finished in her original configuration. Shaded areas show the extent of her armour.
Eagle during trials
Aerial view of Eagle in 1931, prior to her refit
South American dreadnought race
A naval arms race among Argentina, Brazil and Chile—the wealthiest and most powerful countries in South America—began in the early twentieth century when the Brazilian government ordered three dreadnoughts, formidable battleships whose capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world's navies.
The gun trials of the Brazilian dreadnought Minas Geraes, the ship that began the dreadnought race. Here, all guns capable of training to the port side were fired, forming what was at that time the heaviest broadside ever fired off a warship.
Moreno being painted in dry dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, October 1914
Plans of the Minas Geraes class, showing the armor values (fig. 1) and the theoretically possible radii of the main and secondary batteries (fig. 2 and 3)
Agincourt depicted prior to its British modifications, which included removing the flying bridge seen here
