Spanish cruiser Almirante Cervera
Encyclopedia
Almirante Cervera was a light cruiser of the Cervera class
Almirante Cervera class cruiser
The Cervera or Alfonso class were three light cruisers built for the Spanish Navy in the 1920s. The ships were built by Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval in Ferrol which had strong British links and were designed by Sir Philip Watts. The design was based on the British Emerald class cruiser,...
of the Spanish Navy. She was named after the Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....
, commander of the Spanish naval forces in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
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...
. She was a key player of the Nationalist Fleet in 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...
.
Features
Her construction was authorized by the so-called Miranda law of 17 February 1915. The cruiser was launched in Ferrol in 1925 and scrapped in 1965. The ship was 172.62 meters in length, 16.61 m in beam, and a draft of 5.03 m. Equipped with a main armament of 6 guns of 152 mm (6 in) mounted in twin turrets and manned by a crew of 566 seamen, Almirante Cervera belonged to the same classAlmirante Cervera class cruiser
The Cervera or Alfonso class were three light cruisers built for the Spanish Navy in the 1920s. The ships were built by Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval in Ferrol which had strong British links and were designed by Sir Philip Watts. The design was based on the British Emerald class cruiser,...
of two other cruisers of the Spanish Navy of her time, the Galicia (Libertad from 1931 to 1939) and Miguel de Cervantes.
Blockade of Northern Spain
Starting in October 1934, Almirante Cervera participated in the bombardment of coastal targets during the insurrection in AsturiasAsturian miners' strike of 1934
The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action which took place in Asturias in northern Spain soon developing into armed insurrection against the Spanish government.-Background:...
, but it was at the time of the 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...
where she took a leading role in naval operations. In the first months 1936 she took part of a gunnery exercise with live ammunition along with the battleship Jaime I and her sister cruisers Libertad and Miguel de Cervantes in which they sank the target ship, the old unarmored cruiser Conde del Venadito
Spanish cruiser Conde del Venadito
Conde de Venadito was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy.-Technical characteristics:Conde de Venadito was built at the naval shipyard at Cartagena, Spain. Her keel was laid in 1883, she was launched on 15 August 1888, and she was completed in 1888 or 1889. She had one rather...
. In July 1936 Almirante Cervera was docked at Ferrol, which prevented her from taking part in the first operations of the war. She fell into the hands of Franco's
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...
side when his troops seized the port. She was under the command of Captain Juan Sanchez-Sandalio Ferragut, who was captured by the rebels and executed by a firing squad. Once in service, she formed a task force with the battleship España
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...
and the World War I-era destroyer Velasco to blockade the ports of northern Spain. She was nicknamed El Chulo del Cantábrico, ("The Dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
"), because her almost unopposed activity both supporting Franco's army offensives in the north as well as intercepting Republican and international shipping. She was sent to Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
with orders of helping the rebel troops who were under siege there, inside the garrison of Simancas. The barracks were eventually stormed by government forces on 16 August. British historian Hugh Thomas claims that when the Republican troops broke into the compound, the defenders asked the Cervera to fire right on them. On August 9, while firing on government positions, she hit by mistake the British yacht Blue Shadow, whose master, a former RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
officer, was killed. According to Nationalist sources, the yacht was struck by the cruiser with the third broadside of her secondary 4-inch guns. The Cervera apparently took the sailing vessel for a Government watercraft. The ship was abandoned by her crew, which was rescued by the British destroyer . In September the cruiser sailed for the Mediterranean to support the blockade of the Straits of Gibraltar, where she participated in the Battle of Cape Espartel
Battle of Cape Espartel
The Battle of Cape Espartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the naval supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war...
. While the cruiser Canarias
Spanish cruiser Canarias
The Canarias was a heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in the United Kingdom and was a modified version of the Royal Navy's County class cruiser. She was built in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval...
sank the Republican destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz
Spanish destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz
Almirante Ferrándiz was a Churruca-class destroyer in the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side.She was named in honor of José Ferrándiz y Niño, a Spanish Admiral and former Navy Minister.-History:...
in the Alboran Sea
Alboran Sea
|300px|thumb|]]The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south...
after a few salvoes, the Cervera engaged the destroyer Gravina along the northwestern coast of Morocco
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...
. The Cervera fired her main artillery up to 300 times, but managed to hit the Gravina only twice. The poor marksmanship of the cruiser enabled the Gravina to break action and fleeing for safety to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. However, this action was decisive, as it opened the Straits to the insurgent's traffic.
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. On April 4, 1937 she joined the armed trawler Galerna in the pursuit and subsequent sinking of the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian-flagged merchant ship Andra. The British-chartered freighter was eventually captured and later sunk by the Galerna. She then tried to stop the British merchant Thorpehall which, supported by three British destroyers, managed to slip away and get to Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
. On 21 April, Almirante Cervera, along with the Galerna, was involved in a three-hour long confrontation with the battlecruiser HMS Hood
HMS Hood (51)
HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
and the destroyer HMS Firedrake
HMS Firedrake (H79)
HMS Firedrake was an F-class destroyer of the Royal Navy built in 1934. She took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and was torpedoed in 1942.-Construction:...
, when the insurgent warships fired upon three British merchantmen in a fruitless attempt to stop them. After blunt exchanges between the Hood and the Cervera, the freighters slipped into Bilbao supported by the fire of a coastal battery and the Basque
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
armed trawler Biskaya. On 4 July, in contrast, the Cervera seized the French steamer Trégastel and drove off the British Latymer off Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, when both ships attempted to enter Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
under the protection of the battleship HMS Resolution. The British merchant Gordonia was also intercepted and arrested on 9 July, but she was eventually released and escorted to open seas by British naval units. On 14 July Almirante Cervera, assisted again by the Galerna, seized the British cargo Molton off Santander, inside Spanish waters, despite the presence of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak.
Mediterranean operations
During the remainder of 1937, she sank two Republican coast guard units along with a merchant ship. She also shot down a bomber aircraft that had tried to dive-bomb her three times. The cruiser played a central role in the capture of the 9,900 tn government transport Marqués de Comillas.
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
along with the heavy cruisers Canarias and Baleares and took part in the shelling of Valencia. On 22 February she was attacked again by Republican aircraft: a first wave of biplanes Polikarpov R-Z
Polikarpov R-Z
|-See also:-External links:* * *...
Natacha of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Group 30 and then a second wave of Tupolev SB Katiuska
Tupolev SB
The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB , and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934....
. A 50 kg bomb ripped through the stern funnel and though the fuse failed to explode, 25 men where wounded and the machine room damaged. According to other reports, in addition to the 50 kg bomb, the Cervera was hit by another bomb that killed 12 of her crew. The battered cruiser was bound for Palma again.
On 6 March she was escorting a convoy and participated in the Battle of Cape Palos
Battle of Cape Palos
The Battle of Cape Palos, also known as the Second Battle of Cape Palos, was the biggest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War, fought on the night of March 5–6, 1938, east of Cape Palos near Cartagena, Spain.-Leadup to the battle:...
, where the heavy cruiser Baleares
Spanish cruiser Baleares
Baleares was a Canarias-class heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in Great Britain and was a modified version of the Royal Navy′s County-class cruiser...
was torpedoed and sunk by Republican destroyers
Churruca class destroyer
Churruca was a Spanish destroyer class built for the Spanish Navy based on a British design. Eighteen ships were built, two sold to Argentina.The ships were authorized on 17 February 1915 by Navy Minister Augusto Miranda y Godoy...
. She worked in the rescue of survivors from this warship. This loss was somewhat counterbalanced by the commissioning of the refitted cruiser Navarra
Spanish cruiser Navarra (1923)
Navarra was a cruiser serving the Spanish Navy from 1923 to 1956. Construction on Reina Victoria Eugenia—the ship's original name—began in 1915 by Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval in Ferrol. The design showed considerable British design influence resembling contemporary British Town class...
.
On 23 October 1938 she seized the Soviet steamer Tsyurupa, which was confiscated by the Nationalists and renamed Castillo Villafranca. The Cervera continued her operations along the shrinking Republican coastline until the end of the war, but her role throughout the conflict was largely overshadowed by the heavier cruiser Canarias.
Proposed modernization and last years
Shortly after the war, the Spanish minister of the Navy decided the modernization of the three cruisers belonging to the class, through the "project nº 133". The lack of materials and financial support owing to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
eventually spared the Cervera from the proposed changes, which were to include the introduction of a Heinkel He 114
Heinkel He 114
-See also:-Bibliography:* Donald, David, ed. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace, 1994. ISBN 1-874023-56-5.* Smith J. R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2....
seaplane, the redistribution of the guns in four twin-turrets and the mounting of a Decca Radar
Decca Radar
The Decca Company, a British gramophone manufacturer that, as Decca Records, released records under the Decca label, contributed to the British war effort during the Second World War...
. Some of these upgrades were actually made on Almirante Cervera sisters Galicia and Miguel de Cervantes. Reduced to a part-time training ship, the cruiser was written off the navy on 31 August 1965.
External links
- Buques De Guerra, a Spanish website about warships