An unidentified Aragon-class (here called "Castilla-class") cruiser in the 1880s or 1890s | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Aragon |
Builders | Naval shipyards at Cadiz, Cartagena, and Ferrol, Spain |
Built | 1869–1882 |
In commission | 1880–1895? |
Planned | 3 |
Completed | 3 |
Lost | 1 |
Retired | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Unprotected cruiser |
Displacement | 3,289 tons |
Length | 236 ft (72 m) |
Beam | 44 ft (13 m) |
Draft | 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) maximum |
Propulsion | 1-shaft, 3-cylinder horizontal compound, 4,400 ihp (3,300 kW) |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
Complement | Castilla 392; others 389 |
Armament |
|
Notes | 460 tons of coal (normal) |
The Aragon class of unprotected cruisers was a series of three cruisers built between the late 1860s and early 1880s for service with the Spanish Navy. They were named for historic regions and kingdoms of Spain.
Construction of the Aragon-class cruisers as armored corvettes with a central battery ironclad design began in 1869, with plans to give them 890 tons of armor and 500 millimetres (19.7 in) of armor at the waterline. In 1870, their design was changed to that of an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette; political events delayed their construction, but they finally were launched in this form in the years between 1879 and 1881 and completed in 1880 and 1882. [1] Their original conception as armored ships and the change to an unarmored one during construction left them with an overly heavy wooden hull that was obsolescent by the time they were launched. [2]
The ships had two funnels and were rigged as barques. [2] The lead unit's machinery was manufactured by the John Penn Company in the United Kingdom, while her sisters' was manufactured at the naval shipyard at Ferrol following John Penn's pattern. [1] The original main battery of Armstrong-built 8-inch (203 mm) guns was obsolescent when the ships were completed, and were quickly replaced with more modern guns mounted in sponsons, with Aragon more heavily armed than her sisters. [2] Designed for colonial service, they were never intended to fight the kind of heavily armed, armored, steel-hulled warships Castilla would face in the Battle of Manila Bay. [3]
Much of the operational history of the Aragon-class cruisers is obscure. Castilla served in home waters and then in the Philippines, where she was sunk, but it is known only that the other two were in home waters in the 1890s. Sources differ on whether Aragon and Navarra were hulked and then scrapped in the 1890s or survived into the early 20th century in non-combat roles. [4]
Aragon, the lead unit, was under construction for eleven years before commissioning in 1880. [5] In home waters in the 1890s, she either was hulked in 1896 and sold for scrap in 1900 [5] or survived until stricken around 1905. [2]
Navarra was under construction for thirteen years before commissioning in 1882. [5] In home waters in the 1890s, she either was hulked in 1896 and sold for scrap in 1899 [5] or survived to become a cadet training ship in 1900. [2]
Castilla was under construction for thirteen years before commissioning in 1882. After early service in Spanish waters, she was sent to the Philippines, where she supported Spanish operations against Philippine insurgents in 1896–1897, the early part of the Philippine Revolution known to the colonial Spaniards as the "Tagalog Revolt." She was part of the squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron when the Spanish–American War began, and was sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. [6]
Reina Cristina was an Alfonso XII-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy built at the naval shipyard at Ferrol and launched 2 May 1887. Reina Cristina spent her early years in Spanish waters. In 1894 she was transferred to the Spanish Navy's Asiatic Squadron to deter any aggressive moves the German Empire might take against the Spanish-owned Caroline Islands in the Pacific. When Spain faced the "Tagalog Revolt" (1896–1897) – the Spanish name for the first two years of the Philippine Revolution – in the Philippine Islands, Reina Cristina was actively involved in the Spanish campaign to put down the revolt. In addition to patrolling Philippine waters to prevent the smuggling of contraband to the insurgents, she also supported Spanish Army actions against them at Cavite, Novaleta, and Binacayan, including the provision of naval gunfire support to Spanish troops ashore.
Alfonso XII, was an Alfonso XII-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy.
Reina Mercedes, was an Alfonso XII-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy.
Isla de Luzón was an Isla de Luzón-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy which fought in the Battle of Manila Bay.
Vizcaya was an Infanta Maria Teresa-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Almirante Oquendo, was an Infanta Maria Teresa-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Infanta María Teresa was the lead ship of her class of armoured cruiser constructed for the Spanish Navy. The ship fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Furor was a Furor-class destroyer of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War.
Terror was a Furor-class destroyer of the Spanish Navy that fought at San Juan, Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War. Constructed in the United Kingdom, the ship entered service in 1896 and was significantly damaged at the Second Battle of San Juan in 1898. In 1920, the destroyer was converted to a minelayer and discarded in 1924.
Gravina was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy.
Don Juan de Austria was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War.
Castilla was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War. She was built at Cadiz, Spain. Her construction as an armored corvette with a central battery ironclad design began in 1869. In 1870, her design was changed to that of an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette, and, after political events delayed her construction. During the first two years of the Philippine Revolution in 1896–1897, Castilla patrolled to intercept contraband destined for the Philippine insurgents and supported Spanish Army forces fighting ashore in Cavite Province on Luzon. When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, Castilla was part of the squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón in Manila Bay and was subsequently engaged and sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay.
Pelayo was a battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1888 to 1925. She was the first battleship and the most powerful unit of the Spanish Navy at the time. Despite its modern design for the time, Pelayo and the rest of the Spanish Asia-Pacific Rescue Squadron never engaged in combat during the Spanish–American War. Some historians have argued that had the battleship, along with the modern armored cruiser Carlos V, participated directly in the conflict the course of the war would have been altered dramatically and possibly lead to a Spanish victory, thus retaining Spain's status as a colonial power.
Emperador Carlos V was an armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1898 to 1933. The money intended to build torpedo boats was used to build a 9,000-ton cruiser, deriving this cruiser from the British Blake class. Said cruiser stood out for its great autonomy, while it suffered from having little armor, mounting only during its first days of life 4 pieces of García Lomas of 100 mm.
The Infanta Maria Teresa class of three armored cruisers were built for the Spanish Navy between 1889 and 1893. All three were sunk in action against the United States Navy during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.
The Alfonso XII class of unprotected cruisers was a series of three ships built during the 1880s for service with the Spanish Navy. They were named for a Spanish king and two Spanish queens.
Aragon was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy in the late 19th century.
Navarra was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy in the late 19th century.
Alfonso XIII was a Reina Regente-class first-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1896 until the early years of the 20th century.
An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship that was in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era. The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in the 1880s. A protected cruiser did not have side armor on its hull like a battleship or “armored cruiser” but had only a curved armored deck built inside the ship — like an internal turtle shell — which prevented enemy fire penetrating through the ship down into the most critical areas such as machinery, boilers, and ammunition storage. An unprotected cruiser lacked even this level of internal protection. The definitions had some gray areas, because individual ships could be built with a protective deck that did not cover more than a small area of the ship, or was so thin as to be of little value. The same was true of the side armor on some armored cruisers. An unprotected cruiser was generally cheaper and less effective than a protected cruiser, while a protected cruiser was generally cheaper and less effective than an armored cruiser, with some exceptions in each case.