List of Spanish battleships
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Spanish battleships and monitors, covering the period from 1874 and the construction of the first modern vessels of these types during the Third Carlist War
, through the 1940s when proposals were made for the construction of fast battleship
s and for the purchase of gun turrets from Germany for use in "large cruisers" - battlecruiser
s -, although only two monitor type vessels and four battleship
s were ever actually constructed for the Spanish Navy
, while a pair of old armoured frigates were reconstructed into coast defense battleships.
Although a number of ironclads and armoured frigates had served in the Armada since the 1860s, Spain was a latecomer to the construction of modern battleship
s, with the first and only "pre-Dreadnought
" type ship to be operated by the Spanish Navy, Pelayo, being constructed in France in the late 1880s. Plans for additional ships of the type were made, but technical difficulties with the ship, along with a series of military and financial crisises, resulted in Pelayo remaining the only ship of her class.
Despite the decline of Spain as a naval power by the start of the dreadnought
era, three ships of the dreadnought type - in fact, the smallest dreadnoughts to be built, essentially being oversized and overgunned coast defense ships - were ordered by the Spanish Navy in 1908. However, construction delays caused by the First World War disrupting delivery of guns from England
resulted in the completion of the class being delayed to the point where they were thoroughly obsolete by the time of the final ship being commissioned. A follow-up, more modern class of battleships was cancelled outright as a result of the conflict and the resulting inability to receive British assistance in construction.
Following the end of the First World War, occasional plans for the construction of new battleships were proposed, including a type deriving from England's powerful s. However, nothing had come of these efforts by the time of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
. Following the victory of Francisco Franco
's Nationalists in that conflict, in which both of the surviving Spanish battleships - one serving on the side of the Nationalists, the other on that of the Republicans - had been destroyed, proposals for the construction of four fast battleships to an Italian design, as well as the construction of "large cruisers" - the only battlecruiser
designs proposed for or by Spain - were made. However, the outbreak of the Second World War resulted in these plans being disrupted.
By the end of the Second World War, the aircraft carrier
had rendered the battleship obsolete, and no further battleship or large cruiser types were proposed for the Spanish Navy.
, while Puigcerdá was the only true monitor ever to be operated by the Spanish Navy. Although neither ship proved to be very successful, both provided valuable service, and both, despite having been previously retired, were recommissioned and employed in the defense of Spain's coast during the Spanish-American War
. After the war, both vessels being thoroughly obsolete, they were decommissioned quickly, Duque de Tetuán being scrapped, and Puigcerdá being sold off to become a commercial vessel, being renamed Anita and serving as a cargo ship on the Niger River
.
the world - and Vitoria, both constructed in the 1860s, were taken in hand at Toulon
for reconstruction into Acorazado guardacostas - coast defense battleships. Their sailing mast
s were removed and new boilers were installed, and the ships were comprehensively rearmed. Unable to be recommissioned in time for service in the Spanish-American War
, the two ships served as training vessels after their conversion, and both ships had been removed from the navy list and sold for scrap by 1912, with Numancia surviving to around 1920 before finally being broken up.
" battleship of the Spanish Navy, Pelayo was a barbette ship, and was originally intended to be the first of a class of new battleships. Due to the Caroline Islands crisis and the design's lack of speed and endurance, however, it was decided to construct armoured cruisers of the instead.
Based on the design of the French s, although the design was modified to reduce the ship's draft to allow for passage through the Suez Canal, she was originally completed with sails, although they were quickly removed. Reconstructed in 1897, she was rushed back into service for the Spanish-American War
with the refit incomplete, and spent most of the conflict guarding the Spanish coast, apart from an abortive attempt to reinforce the Philippines as part of Admiral de Camara's
squadron. Finally seeing combat in the shore bombardment
role in the Second Rif War
, Pelayo was refit again in 1910, but grounded badly in 1912, and after repairs spend the remainder of her service life as a gunnery training ship, until finally being stricken from the navy list in 1922 and scrapped in 1925.
s, and also the smallest of that type of ship ever to be built. Considered by some to be more "Dreadnought-type coast-defense ships" than pure battleships, the three ships of the class were built in Ferrol by SECN, the lead ship being completed in under four years, but the onset of World War I
resulted in delays to the remaining two ships, and especially the third, as equipment and armament deliveries from England were disrupted due to the war.
Obsolete before completion due to the rapid progress of naval technology, the Españas saw combat service in the Rif War
s and the Spanish Civil War, España being wrecked on the Moroccan
coast in 1923, Alfonso XIII being renamed España following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic
in 1931. In the mid 1930s, it was proposed that the two surviving ships of the class be rebuilt as "pocket battleships", including a lengthening of the hull and rearranging of the turrets to a centreline alignment. By 1936, a more modest rebuild was proposed, including conversion to oil firing, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War put this plan to rest.
The remaining two ships of the class, one operating on each side, were both lost in the Spanish Civil War. España (ex-Alfonso XIII), serving the Nationalist side, struck a mine in April 1937 and sunk, while Jaime I, also known as Jaime Primero, fighting as part of the Republican navy, suffered an internal explosion at Cartagena
in June 1937, being scuttled as a precautionary measure afterwards. The wreck was raised the following year before being scrapped in 1939.
Following the end of the First World War, Spain did not participate in the Washington Naval Conference
which limited naval, and especially battleship, construction among its signatories. Despite this, battleships of the 35000 long tons (35,561.8 t) displacement class were considered by the Royal Spanish Navy in the early 1920s, while in the early 1930s proposals for a "reduced Nelson
type" ship were proposed, however nothing came of either project.
After his victory in the Spanish Civil War, Generalissmo Franco
's plans for the Spanish Navy included the acquisition of four modern battleships, and a variation on the Italian s - also known as the Littorio class - was considered the favored candidate. In late 1939, a Spanish mission to Italy received assurances of technical support for the construction of ships of the class in Spanish yards, and a slipway of sufficient size to construct two ships at a time was built at Ferrol. However, Italy's entry into the Second World War, combined with the limited resources of Spain, led to the cancellation of the project.
A "super-Washington
" cruiser type was also projected as part of Franco's naval expansion plans, with some designs proposed for the type calling for an armament of six 12 inches (304.8 mm) guns; alternatively, some have speculated that the Spanish desired to purchase the two triple 283 millimetres (11.1 in) turrets that were available following the decision by the German Kriegsmarine
to rebuild the damaged battleship Gneisenau
with twin 381 millimetres (15 in) weapons. However, the war situation meant that nothing was to come of this project either.
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is very often referred to as the Second Carlist War, as the 'second' had been small in scale and almost trivial in political consequence....
, through the 1940s when proposals were made for the construction of fast battleship
Fast battleship
Historically, a fast battleship was a battleship which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class, but faster than subsequent classes...
s and for the purchase of gun turrets from Germany for use in "large cruisers" - battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s -, although only two monitor type vessels and four battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s were ever actually constructed for the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
, while a pair of old armoured frigates were reconstructed into coast defense battleships.
Although a number of ironclads and armoured frigates had served in the Armada since the 1860s, Spain was a latecomer to the construction of modern battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, with the first and only "pre-Dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
" type ship to be operated by the Spanish Navy, Pelayo, being constructed in France in the late 1880s. Plans for additional ships of the type were made, but technical difficulties with the ship, along with a series of military and financial crisises, resulted in Pelayo remaining the only ship of her class.
Despite the decline of Spain as a naval power by the start of the dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
era, three ships of the dreadnought type - in fact, the smallest dreadnoughts to be built, essentially being oversized and overgunned coast defense ships - were ordered by the Spanish Navy in 1908. However, construction delays caused by the First World War disrupting delivery of guns from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
resulted in the completion of the class being delayed to the point where they were thoroughly obsolete by the time of the final ship being commissioned. A follow-up, more modern class of battleships was cancelled outright as a result of the conflict and the resulting inability to receive British assistance in construction.
Following the end of the First World War, occasional plans for the construction of new battleships were proposed, including a type deriving from England's powerful s. However, nothing had come of these efforts by the time of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Following the victory of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's Nationalists in that conflict, in which both of the surviving Spanish battleships - one serving on the side of the Nationalists, the other on that of the Republicans - had been destroyed, proposals for the construction of four fast battleships to an Italian design, as well as the construction of "large cruisers" - the only battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
designs proposed for or by Spain - were made. However, the outbreak of the Second World War resulted in these plans being disrupted.
By the end of the Second World War, the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
had rendered the battleship obsolete, and no further battleship or large cruiser types were proposed for the Spanish Navy.
Monitors and floating batteries
Following the outbreak of the Third Carlist War, two vessels, Puigcerdá and Duque de Tetuán, were ordered in 1874 by the Spanish Navy for service in the coastal defense role, and to provide fire support for troops ashore. Duque de Tetuán was officially designated as a floating batteryFloating battery
A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries a heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship.An early appearance was during the Great Siege of Gibraltar....
, while Puigcerdá was the only true monitor ever to be operated by the Spanish Navy. Although neither ship proved to be very successful, both provided valuable service, and both, despite having been previously retired, were recommissioned and employed in the defense of Spain's coast during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. After the war, both vessels being thoroughly obsolete, they were decommissioned quickly, Duque de Tetuán being scrapped, and Puigcerdá being sold off to become a commercial vessel, being renamed Anita and serving as a cargo ship on the Niger River
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
.
| Ship | Main guns | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| Duque de Tetuán Spanish ship Duque de Tetuán (1874) The floating battery Duque de Tetuán was an ironclad warship, a low-freeboard vessel similar in design to a monitor, of the Spanish Navy, and was constructed during the Third Carlist War to provide coastal defense and fire support for troops ashore. Completed after the end of the conflict for which... |
1 × 16 cm (6.3 in) 4 x 12 cm (4.7 in) |
703 MT (691.9 LT) | 2 screws, vertical compound engines, 6 kn (3.3 m/s) | 1873 | 1874 | Stricken 1897; recommissioned 1898; scrapped 1900 |
| Puigcerdá Spanish monitor Puigcerdá The Puigcerdá was the only monitor ever commissioned in the history of the Spanish Armada, and was acquired to defend the estuary of Bilbao and the coast of Cantabria during the Third Carlist War, at a price of ₧840,000 pesetas.-Construction and Naming:... |
2 × 16 cm (6.3 in) 2 x 12 cm (4.7 in) |
553 MT (544.3 LT) | 2 screws, vertical compound engines, 8 kn (4.4 m/s) | September 1874 | 1875 | Decommissioned 1890; recommissioned 1898; sold off 1900. |
Coast defense battleships
In 1896, the old armoured frigates Numancia - the first ironclad warship to circumnavigateCircumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
the world - and Vitoria, both constructed in the 1860s, were taken in hand at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
for reconstruction into Acorazado guardacostas - coast defense battleships. Their sailing mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
s were removed and new boilers were installed, and the ships were comprehensively rearmed. Unable to be recommissioned in time for service in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the two ships served as training vessels after their conversion, and both ships had been removed from the navy list and sold for scrap by 1912, with Numancia surviving to around 1920 before finally being broken up.
| Ship | Main guns | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| Numancia Spanish ironclad Numancia The Spanish ironclad Numancia was an armored frigate bought from France during the 1860s. She was the first ironclad to circumnavigate the Earth. She saw service in the Chincha Islands War.-External links:*... |
4 × 16 cm (6.3 in) 6 x 14 cm (5.5 in) |
7500 MT (7,381.5 LT) | 1 screw, 13 kn (7.1 m/s) | September 1862 | December 1864 | Reconstructed 1897-98; sold for scrap 1912. |
| Vitoria Spanish ironclad Vitoria The Spanish ironclad Vitoria was an iron-hulled armored frigate bought from England during the 1860s.-External links:*... |
6 × 16 cm (6.3 in) 6 x 14 cm (5.5 in) |
7250 MT (7,135.5 LT) | 1 screw, Penn trunk engine, 11 kn (6 m/s) | 15 January 1863 | 15 November 1867 | Reconstructed 1897-98; sold for scrap 1911. |
Pelayo
The only true "pre-DreadnoughtPre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
" battleship of the Spanish Navy, Pelayo was a barbette ship, and was originally intended to be the first of a class of new battleships. Due to the Caroline Islands crisis and the design's lack of speed and endurance, however, it was decided to construct armoured cruisers of the instead.
Based on the design of the French s, although the design was modified to reduce the ship's draft to allow for passage through the Suez Canal, she was originally completed with sails, although they were quickly removed. Reconstructed in 1897, she was rushed back into service for the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
with the refit incomplete, and spent most of the conflict guarding the Spanish coast, apart from an abortive attempt to reinforce the Philippines as part of Admiral de Camara's
Manuel de Camara
Manuel de la Cámara y Libermoore was a rear admiral of the Spanish Navy during the Spanish-American War.Immediately after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898, the Spanish Navy ordered major units of its fleet to concentrate at Cadiz to form the 2nd Squadron, under the command of...
squadron. Finally seeing combat in the shore bombardment
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
role in the Second Rif War
Rif War (1909)
The Second Melillan campaign was a conflict in 1909 and 1910 in Morocco around Melilla. The fighting involved local Rifains and the Spanish Army.- Prelude :...
, Pelayo was refit again in 1910, but grounded badly in 1912, and after repairs spend the remainder of her service life as a gunnery training ship, until finally being stricken from the navy list in 1922 and scrapped in 1925.
| Ship | Main guns | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| Pelayo Spanish battleship Pelayo Pelayo was a battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1888 to 1925. For many years, she was the most powerful unit of the Spanish Navy.-Technical Characteristics:... |
2 × 32 cm (12.6 in) 2 x 28 cm (11 in) |
9745 MT (9,591.1 LT) | 2 screws, vertical compound engines, 16.7 kn (9.1 m/s) | April 1885 | Summer 1888 | Disarmed 1923; scrapped 1925 |
España class
Authorised under the Navy Law of 1908 and known as the Primera Escuadra, the España class were the first and only Spanish dreadnoughtDreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s, and also the smallest of that type of ship ever to be built. Considered by some to be more "Dreadnought-type coast-defense ships" than pure battleships, the three ships of the class were built in Ferrol by SECN, the lead ship being completed in under four years, but the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
resulted in delays to the remaining two ships, and especially the third, as equipment and armament deliveries from England were disrupted due to the war.
Obsolete before completion due to the rapid progress of naval technology, the Españas saw combat service in the Rif War
Rif War
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...
s and the Spanish Civil War, España being wrecked on the Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
coast in 1923, Alfonso XIII being renamed España following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in 1931. In the mid 1930s, it was proposed that the two surviving ships of the class be rebuilt as "pocket battleships", including a lengthening of the hull and rearranging of the turrets to a centreline alignment. By 1936, a more modest rebuild was proposed, including conversion to oil firing, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War put this plan to rest.
The remaining two ships of the class, one operating on each side, were both lost in the Spanish Civil War. España (ex-Alfonso XIII), serving the Nationalist side, struck a mine in April 1937 and sunk, while Jaime I, also known as Jaime Primero, fighting as part of the Republican navy, suffered an internal explosion at Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
in June 1937, being scuttled as a precautionary measure afterwards. The wreck was raised the following year before being scrapped in 1939.
| Ship | Main guns | Displacement | Propulsion | Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
| España Spanish battleship España (1912) España was a Spanish dreadnought-type battleship, lead ship of the España-class, in service from 1913 until she was broken up after running aground in 1924... |
8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) | 15700 MT (15,452 LT) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 19 kn (10.3 m/s) | 5 December 1909 | 23 October 1913 | Ran aground off Cape Tres Forcas Cape Tres Forcas Cape Tres Forcas is the commonly used Anglicized name for a headland on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco and Spain.The Catalan name , the French Name , and the Arabic name all signify the same thing, the Cape of Three Forks.The cape is a large mountainous promontory of North Africa into the... 26 August 1923; broken up on site |
| Alfonso XIII Spanish battleship Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII was an España-class dreadnought battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1915 to 1937. She was renamed España in 1931 for her sister ship, an earlier battleship España that served in the Spanish fleet from 1913 to 1923.-Technical... |
8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) | 15700 MT (15,452 LT) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 19 kn (10.3 m/s) | 23 February 1910 | 16 August 1915 | Renamed España in 1931. Struck mine and sunk 30 April 1937 |
| Jaime I Spanish battleship Jaime I Jaime I was an España-class dreadnought battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1921 to 1937.-Technical Characteristics:... |
8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) | 15700 MT (15,452 LT) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 19 kn (10.3 m/s) | 5 February 1912 | 20 December 1921 | Sunk by internal explosion 17 June 1937; refloated; stricken 3 July 1939 |
Reina Victoria Eugenia class
Authorised as the Plan de la Segunda Escuadra under the Navy Law of 1913, the three ships of the Reina Victoria Eugenia-class, named for King Alfonso's queen consort and designated ships "A", "B" and "C" (only "A" having a formally proposed name), were designed by Vickers-Armstrongs and were planned to displace 21000 long tons (21,337.1 t) with a speed of 21 knots (11.4 m/s). Early plans for the type called for an armament of 15 inches (38.1 cm) guns, however financial difficulties resulted in the selection of an armament of eight 340 millimetres (13.4 in) weapons instead. As significant technical assistance from Britain would have been required for construction of the class, the outbreak of the First World War led to the cancellation of the project.Postwar projects
Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...
which limited naval, and especially battleship, construction among its signatories. Despite this, battleships of the 35000 long tons (35,561.8 t) displacement class were considered by the Royal Spanish Navy in the early 1920s, while in the early 1930s proposals for a "reduced Nelson
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
type" ship were proposed, however nothing came of either project.
After his victory in the Spanish Civil War, Generalissmo Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's plans for the Spanish Navy included the acquisition of four modern battleships, and a variation on the Italian s - also known as the Littorio class - was considered the favored candidate. In late 1939, a Spanish mission to Italy received assurances of technical support for the construction of ships of the class in Spanish yards, and a slipway of sufficient size to construct two ships at a time was built at Ferrol. However, Italy's entry into the Second World War, combined with the limited resources of Spain, led to the cancellation of the project.
A "super-Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
" cruiser type was also projected as part of Franco's naval expansion plans, with some designs proposed for the type calling for an armament of six 12 inches (304.8 mm) guns; alternatively, some have speculated that the Spanish desired to purchase the two triple 283 millimetres (11.1 in) turrets that were available following the decision by the German Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
to rebuild the damaged battleship Gneisenau
German battleship Gneisenau
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...
with twin 381 millimetres (15 in) weapons. However, the war situation meant that nothing was to come of this project either.