At the back of my mind is the observation that HMS Canada fought as part of a battleline and never as an individual unit as we are suggesting with the Beagle Channel scenario.
David,
It's because she actually fought in a battleline as part of a great naval power that I'm interested. She was operated as part of the Grand Fleet, upgrades were surely made to her over the course of the war.
So, what changes made to her design during the war? Did include fire control? Shell handling? Any other things? If so, how did those changes improve her nature over her original design? Did Chile keep those changes? Would those changes help her crew's chances in a battle in the Beagle Channel?
In the hands of a Chilean crew, and after decades of Chilean maintenance, I'm certainly not suggesting she's in the same fighting form that she exhibited at Scapa Flow. However, I am suggesting that she was materially better when sold to Chile than her Argentine opponent was when she was sold to Argentina because of those wartime upgrades.
Compare her career to that of the Argentine battleship.
Rivadavia was built for export, so presumable without the latest and greatest technology US yards saved for USN warships and US were somewhat behind the curve compared to others. She's never served in war, never been part of a fleet learning lessons during a war, and never received upgrades as a result of those lessons. Her only major refit swapped out coal-fired boilers for oil-fired ones. What's does she look like when compared to her original design? She certainly can't have been modified as much as her potential opponent.
So which battleship started from a better position? I'd say
Latorre. And which battleship will be in a better material condition at the time of the clash? Again, I'd say
Latorre. Even if maintenance abilities of the two nations are they same, and I think Chile's will be better, and even if the crews of each nation are the same, and I think Chile's will be better again,
Latorre would be the better ship because of her time serving with the Grand Fleet.
That's what I'm trying, and failing, to point out.
Bill