The torpedo gun vessel Almirante Simpson (length 240 feet, beam 27 feet 6 inches; depth 16 feet; displacement 858 tons (o.m.) fitted with two sets of Messrs. Laird's 5,000 indicated horsepower (total) high-speed triple-expansion marine engines, with steam supplied at 200 pounds per square inch by four Normand tubulous boilers, built by Messrs. Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, was launched in April 1896. The armament of the Almirante Simpson consisted of one bow and two broadside torpedo tubes, two 4.7 inch guns, four 3-pounder quick-firing guns, two machine guns, and mining plant.