South American Battleships 1908-59: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile's great dreadnought race

In 1908 the most incredible naval arms race in history began. Flush with cash from rubber and coffee, Brazil decided to order three of the latest, greatest category of warship available--the dreadnought battleship. One Brazilian dreadnought by itself could defeat the combined gunnery of every other warship of all the other South American nations. Brazil's decision triggered its neighbor Argentina to order its own brace of dreadnoughts, which in turn forced Chile (which had fought boundary d...