VIZCAYA (Spain)

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

VIZCAYA (Spain)

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:51 pm

Built by Sociedad Astilleros del Nervión of Sestao, supported by Brown of Sheffield (UK).
Cruiser (Intermediate type between armored and protected,
secondary guns and other vital parts had no armor.)
Laid down:1889, Launched:1891, Completed:1893.
Rig:Two military masts
Armament:2- 28 cm. Hontoria guns (11”), 10- 14 cm. Hontoria QF guns (5.5”),
8-57 mm. Hotchkiss QF guns (2.3”), 8-37 mm. revolving Hotchkiss guns (1.65”), 2-22 mm. Nordenfelt machine guns, 2-2.75” bronze guns (for landing parties?) 8- torpedo tubes.
Length:111.80m. (366’ 8”), Beam:19.81m. (65’), Mean draft:6.55m. (21 ‘ 6”)
Displacement: 6890 tons
Complement:497 Officers and Men, under the command of Captain Don Antonio Eulate.
Engine type:13,700 hp. twin screws.
Speed: 20.25 kn. Coal bunker capacity:1,050 tons, Coal endurance @ 10 knots:9,700 miles
Armor: 305 mm. (10 -12”) steel compound side belt, 250 mm. (9.8”) barbettes, 50 mm. (2”) deck.

The Cruiser VIZCAYA was one of the prides of the Spanish Fleet. Part of Admiral Cervera's Squadron, she was trapped at Santiago de Cuba by the blockading US Fleet of Sampson and Schley and destroyed when the Spanish ships sortied on July 3, 1898.
BACKGROUND:
VIZCAYA was sent to New York early in 1898 to reciprocate the "friendly" visit of USS MAINE to Havana. After the destruction of the MAINE, she returned to Spain and was attached to Admiral Cervera's fleet. Very soon VIZCAYA was again crossing the Atlantic for what would prove to be the last time. Blockaded at Santiago de Cuba with the rest of Cervera's force, VIZCAYA was the second ship to sortie from the harbor on July 3, 1898. Suffering from heavy American fire during the Battle of Santiago, Captain Don Antonio Eulate ran VIZCAYA on the rocks about 18 miles from the harbor entrance and surrendered, in order to save the lives of his crew. When the wounded Eulate was brought aboard the USS IOWA, he glanced over at his blazing command, raised his hand in salute and said "Adios, Vizcaya". As if on cue, the cruiser's forward magazine exploded as the words left his lips. When the US Navy surveyed the wrecks of the Spanish fleet after the war, VIZCAYA was declared a total loss.

The VIZCAYA was a modern and speedy first class Cruiser. However, the level of training and maintenance in the Spanish fleet was not what it should have been, and the VIZCAYA, like all of Cervera's ships, went to war at less than full efficiency. She was in severe need of drydocking, her foul bottom greatly reducing her speed and increasing her coal usage. She was short of ammunition and some of her guns were not operatable. Also, like all warships of the era, she was heavily decorated and furnished with wood. The US Navy stripped this flammable material off its vessels at the beginning of the conflict, but the Spanish failed to do so, making the VIZCAYA and her fleet-mates seriously susceptible to fire.
(Palau 1988, 25 c. StG.MS236)
Internet.
Attachments
vizcaya z.jpg
vizcaya f.jpg

Post Reply