Brazilian monitor Piauí
The Brazilian monitor Piauí was the fourth ship of the river monitors built for the Brazilian Navy during the Paraguayan War in the late 1860s. Piauí passed the fortifications at Humaitá in July 1868 and provided fire support for the army for the rest of the war. The ship was assigned to the Mato Grosso Flotilla after the war. Piauí was scrapped in 1893.
Design and description
The Pará-class monitors were designed to meet the need of the Brazilian Navy for small, shallow-draft armored ships capable of withstanding heavy fire. The monitor configuration was chosen since a turreted design did not have the same problems engaging enemy ships and fortifications as did the central battery ironclads already in Brazilian service. The oblong gun turret sat on a circular platform that had a central pivot. It was rotated by four men via a system of gears; 2.25 minutes were required for a full 360° rotation. A bronze ram was fitted to these ships as well. The hull was sheathed with Muntz metal to reduce biofouling.The ships measured long overall, with a beam of. They had a draft of and displaced. With only of freeboard they had to be towed between Rio de Janeiro and their areas of operations. Their crew numbered 43 officers and men.
Propulsion
The Pará-class ships had two direct-acting steam engines, each driving a single propeller. Their engines were powered by two tubular boilers at a working pressure of. The engines produced a total of which gave the monitors a maximum speed of in calm waters. The ships carried enough coal for one day's steaming.Armament
Piauí had a single 120-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle loader in her gun turret. The gun had a maximum range of about. Its shells weighed and the gun itself weighed. Most unusually the gun's Brazilian-designed iron carriage was designed to pivot vertically at the muzzle; this was done to minimize the size of the gunport through which splinters and shells could enter.Armor
The hull of the Pará-class ships was made from three layers of wood, with the grain of each layer at right angles to the next layer. It was thick and was capped with a layer of peroba hardwood. The ships had a complete wrought iron waterline belt, high. It had a maximum thickness of 102 millimeters amidships, decreasing to and at the ship's ends. The curved deck was armored with of wrought iron.The rectangular gun turret had rounded corners. It was built much like the hull, but the front of the turret was protected by of armor, the sides by 102 millimeters and the rear by 76 millimeters. Its roof and the exposed portions of the platform it rested upon were protected by 12.7 millimeters of armor. The armored pilothouse was positioned ahead of the turret.