Spanish ship San Justo (1779)

History
Spain
Name	San Justo
Builder	Cartagena, Spain
Launched	11 November 1779
Commissioned	16 November 1779
Out of service	1820
Fate	Taken to pieces at Cartagena, 1828
General characteristics (as built)
Type	74-gun ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,676 bm
Length	196 Burgos ft (54.61 m (179 ft 2 in)) (gun deck)
Beam	51 Burgos ft, 4 in (14.3 m (46 ft 11 in))
Depth of hold	25 Burgos ft (6.97 m (22 ft 10 in))
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	550 officers and men
Armament	70 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns (later 74): Lower gun deck: 28 × 24 pdrs Upper gun deck: 30 × 18 pdrs Quarterdeck: 8 × 8 pdrs Forecastle: 4 × 8 pdrs

San Justo was a 70-gun, third-rate San Joaquin-class ship of the line built for the Royal Spanish Navy (Armada Real) during the 1770s. Launched in 1779, four more guns were added later.

She fought at the Battle of Cape Spartel in 1782 and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In the latter battle, under the command of Capitán de Navío Miguel María Gastón de Iriarte, she was placed in the centre division, but managed to avoid being heavily engaged throughout the battle and had few casualties – none killed and just seven injured.

Description

The San Joaquin-class ships were designed as 70-gun third-rate ships of the line, but their armament was later augmented by four more guns. San Justo was 196 Burgos feet (54.61 m (179 ft 2 in)) long at the lower gun deck and 173 Burgos feet (48.2 m (158 ft 2 in)) at the keel. She had a beam of 51 Burgos feet, 4 inches (14.3 m (46 ft 11 in)) and a depth of hold of 25 Burgos feet (6.97 m (22 ft 10 in)). ^[1] The ship measured 1,676 tons burthen. ^[2] The ship had three masts and was ship-rigged. Her crew normally consisted of 472 officers and men. ^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the San Joaquin class initially consisted of twenty-eight 24-pounder guns on her lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounders on her upper deck, eight 8-pounders on her quarterdeck and four more 8-pounders on their forecastle. Four more 8-pounders were added on the quarterdeck at a later date. The ships also carried ten obuses in a variety of sizes: four 30-pounders, two 24-pounders and four 4-pounders that were not included in her gun rating. Exactly when they were added to the ships is unknown. ^[1]

References

1. Winfield, et al., p. 150
2. Goodwin, p. 233

Bibliography

• Adkin, Mark (2005). The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. Aurum. ISBN   1-84513-018-9.
• Adkins, Roy (2004). Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle. Little, Brown. ISBN   0-316-72511-0.
• Clayton, Tim & Craig, Phil (2004). Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   0-340-83026-3.
• Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2005). Trafalgar 1805: Nelson's Crowning Victory. Campaign. Vol. 157. Osprey Publishing. ISBN   1-84176-892-8.
• Goodwin, Peter (2005). The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets October 1805. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-59114-824-3.
• Winfield, Rif; Tredrea, John M; García-Torralba Pérez, Enrique & Blasco Felip, Manuel (2023). Spanish Warships in the Age of Sail 1700—1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5267-9078-1.