The Santa Ana was a 112-gun three-decker ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of 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...

, built to plans by Romero Landa. She was the prototype and lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of the Santa Ana class, also known as los Meregildos, which were built during the following years at Ferrol

Ferrol

Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America...

 and Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 and which formed the backbone of the Spanish Navy - the other ships were the Mejicano, Conde de Regla, Salvador del Mundo, Real Carlos, San Hermenegildo, Reina María Luisa and Príncipe de Asturias

Spanish ship Principe de Asturias

A number of ships of the Armade España have been named Principe de Astorias, including -...

. Her dimensions were 213,4 Burgos feet long, 58 feet in the beam and a total tonnage of 2,112 tonnes.

History

She was launched on 28 September 1784 at the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro. She was tested at sea on 28 February 1785 under the captaincy of Félix de Tejada, who reported the test to his commanding officer that the ship "kept the battery in good use [even] in a fresh wind and heavy seas". The success of the trials led to a royal order that subsequent three-deckers would be built to the same plans.

From 1803 to 1804 she was captained by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy, using new technology such as chronometers...

. At she was the flagship of Alava

Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete

Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete was a Spanish naval officer, present at the Battle of Trafalgar.-Naval career:Alava joined the Spanish navy in 1766. In his early years, he was involved in fighting the pirates of the North African coast...

 and captained by José de Gardoqui - she suffered 97 killed and 141 wounded, with Alava himself seriously wounded, and was captured by the British. However, two days later, a squadron under the command of Commodore Cosmao-Kerjulien

Julien Cosmao

Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien was a French Navy officer, admiral, and hero of the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...

 succeeded in recapturing her and getting her back to Cadiz.

At the start of the Peninsular War

Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

in 1808 she was undergoing repairs at the Arsenal and so could not participate in the capture of the French squadron under admiral Rosily. She and Príncipe de Asturias moved to Havana in 1810 to avoid capture by the French and sank in its Arsenal in 1816. In 1834 she could still be seen next to the Príncipe de Asturias (which had also sunk) in the mud in front of the Arsenal.