The Battle of Chipana was a naval battle that was fought between the Chilean Navy and the Peruvian Navy on 12 April 1879, during the War of the Pacific. In the first naval engagement between both navies, the Peruvian corvette Union and gunboat Pilcomayo intercepted the Chilean corvette Magallanes on its way to Iquique. In the ensuing battle, the Pilcomayo dropped out of the battle after suffering boiler trouble, while the Union suffered engine problems and was forced to withdraw. While the Magallanes had escaped with only minor damage, it failed to complete its reconnaissance mission of finding if any guano ships were still trading off Bolivia. There were no injuries on either side.
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