List of foreign ships wrecked or lost in the Spanish Civil War
Appearance
The following is a list of foreign ships wrecked or lost during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Only one of these vessels lost belonged to a foreign navy – Chasseur 91, a French antisubmarine patrol boat – the remainder being civilian ships from different countries, most of them merchantmen involved in maritime trade with the Spanish Republic.
List of ships
Foreign ships sunk, wrecked or lost while involved in shipping along Spain from July 1936 to April 1939.[1]
British flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
African Mariner, 6,581 ton 22 January 1939 |
African & Continental, London | Air attack at Barcelona | Raised by Nationalist ships on 18 April 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Montjuich |
Alcira, 1,387 ton 4 February 1938 |
J. Bruce & Co., Glasgow | Air attack off Barcelona | Sunk in deep waters |
Arlon, 4,903 ton 27 June 1938 |
Arlon S.S. Co. | Air attack at Valencia | Set ablaze - Towed outside the port and sunk |
Blue Shadow, 34 ton 9 August 1936 |
Eloise Drake | Surface action - Shelled by the Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera at Gijon |
Yacht wrecked, skipper killed. American owner Eloise Drake and two members of the crew wounded, rescued by destroyer HMS Comet.[2][3][nb 1] |
Dellwyn, 1,451 ton 27 July 1938 |
Dillwyn S. S. Co., Swansea | Air attack at Gandia | Raised by Nationalist ships on 10 May 1939, confiscated and renamed Castilla Montesa |
Eleni, 1,138 ton 30 November 1938 |
Inter Levant Co. Ltd. | Air attack at Águilas | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1940, confiscated and renamed Castillo Vera |
Endymion, 887 ton 21 January 1938 |
Verano S.S. Co., Gibraltar | Torpedoed and sunk by the Nationalist submarine General Sanjurjo off Cape Tiñoso |
Sunk in deep waters. Submarine's commander dismissed after British protest |
English Tanker, 5,387 ton 6 June 1938 |
Spanish Republic Campsa-Gentibus, Madrid |
Air attack at Alicante | Raised by Nationalist ships on 26 April 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Almenara |
Farnham, 4,793 ton 27 June 1938 |
Alpha S.S. Co., London | Air attack at Alicante | Raised by Nationalist ships on 27 June 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Montiel |
Foynes, 822 ton 27 June 1937 |
Limerick S.S. Co., Limerick | Air attack at Valencia | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1940, confiscated and renamed Castillo Riaza |
Greatend, 1,495 ton 28 May 1938 |
NewbiginS.S. Co., Newcastle | Air attack at Valencia | Raised by Nationalist ships on 24 November 1938, confiscated and renamed Castillo Noreña |
Isadora, 1,324 9 June 1938 |
Stone & Rolfe, Belfast | Air attack at Castellon | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Frías |
Jean Weems, 2,349 tons 30 October 1937 |
Thameside Ship Co., London | Air attack off Santander | Sunk in deep waters |
Lake Lugano, 2,120 ton 28 January 1939 |
Strubin & Co., London | Sunk in shallow waters | |
Lucky, 1,235 ton 10 February 1938 |
Toussi Ship Co., Gibraltar | Air attack at Valencia | Raised by Nationalist ships on 24 May 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Benisano |
Miocene, 2,153 ton 24 January 1939 |
Spanish Republic Campsa-Gentibus, Madrid |
Air attack at Barcelona | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1940 and confiscated, but eventually scrapped in 1944 |
Penthames, 3,995 ton 31 May 1938 |
D. P. Barnett, London | Air attack off Valencia | Sunk in deep waters |
St. Winifred, 5,683 ton 6 June 1938 |
Barry Shipping Co. Ltd. | Air attack at Alicante | Heavily damaged. Hull sold to an Italian company which rebuilt her as Capo Vita.[7] |
Stanburgh, 1,095 ton 4 November 1938 |
Billmeir, London | Internal explosion off Sète, France, while on passage to Barcelona | Beached and later scrapped |
Stancroft, 1,407 ton 27 December 1938 |
Billmeir, London | Air attack at Barcelona | Raised by Nationalist ships on 24 April 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Almansa |
Standale, 2,456 ton 12 May 1937 |
Billmeir, London | Foundered off Berlengas islands while bound to Cartagena | Sank in deep waters |
Stangrove, 516 ton 23 February 1939 |
Billmeir, London | Surface action - Shelled and seized by the Nationalist gunboat Dato off Cap de Creus[8] | Ran aground in a gale while in custody at Palma de Mallorca. Skipper killed in the wreckage.[9] Raised by Nationalist ships in 1941, confiscated and renamed Castilla del Oro (Condestable in 1944)[10] |
Sunion, 3,054 ton 22 June 1938 |
African & Continental S.S. Co., London | Air attack off Valencia | Sunk in deep waters |
Thorpehall, 1,251 ton 25 May 1938 |
Westcliff S.S., London | Air attack off Valencia | Sunk in deep waters |
Thorpeheaven, 3,683 ton 10 June 1938 |
Westcliff S.S. Co., London | Air attack at Alicante | Raised by Nationalist ships on 18 May 1938, confiscated and renamed Castillo Guadalest |
Thorpeness, 4,798 ton 21 June 1938 |
Westcliff S.S. Co., London | Air attack off Valencia | Sunk in deep waters |
Ulmus, 2,733 ton 18 January 1939 |
Reardon Smith, Cardiff | Accidental fire at the Strait of Gibraltar[11] | Abandoned. Salvaged and towed to Gibraltar.[nb 3] |
Woodford, 6,987 ton 1 September 1937 |
Spanish Republic Cº Primera de Navegación, Ltd. |
Torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Diaspro off Columbretes islands | Sunk in deep waters |
Yorkbrook, 1,370 ton 13 October 1938 |
Angel Sons & Co., Cardiff | Air attack at Barcelona | Raised by Nationalist ships on 16 January 1940, confiscated and renamed Castillo Monteagudo.[nb 4] |
French flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Artois, 439 ton 14 August 1938 |
Marseille Maritime, Marseilles | Hit a mine while en route from Marseilles to Oran | Sank in depth waters |
Aunis, 439 ton 15 January 1939 |
Marseille Maritime, Marseilles | Surface action - Seized by the Nationalist gunboat Dato | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Valldemosa |
Azelma, 177 ton 25 January 1939 |
unknown | Air attack at Sant Feliu de Guíxols | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1940, confiscated and renamed Castillo Javier |
Belle Hirondelle 2 May 1937 |
unknown | Internal explosion off Palma de Mallorca | Sank in deep waters |
Brisbane, 4,004 ton 8 June 1938 |
André Puech, Paris | Air attack off Denia | Beached, total loss |
Cap Bear, 212 ton 15 June 1938 |
G. Ciamoni, Marseilles | Air attack at Valencia | Total loss |
Chausser 91 20 October 1938 |
Marine Nationale | Air attack at Fornells | Total loss |
El Djem, 2,575 ton 30 May 1938 |
Soc. Maritime Nationale, Paris | Air attack off El Grau, Valencia | Total loss |
Francois, 3,457 ton 21 December 1937 |
Soc. Commerciale d'afrettements et Commissiones, Paris | Surface action - Seized by the Nationalist auxiliary cruiser Mallorca at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Andrade |
Gaulois, 500 tons 15 June 1938 |
Enterprise Cotière des Transports Maritimes, Marseille | Air attack at Valencia | Raised by Nationalist ships on 28 September 1939, confiscated and renamed Castillo Turégano |
Guaruja, 4,282 ton 2 January 1938 |
Transports Maritimes, Paris | Grounded at Punta Polacra | Total loss |
La Corse, 643 ton 4 November 1938 |
S.A.R. Louis Carlini, Marseilles | Air attack off Cape Matara | Raised by Nationalist ships, confiscated and renamed Castillo Jarandilla |
Liberte 6 July 1937 |
La Peche Française, Fecamp | Surface action - Seized by the Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera | Confiscated and renamed Castillo Almodóvar |
Oued Mellah, 2,414 ton 24 October 1937 |
Cia. de Navigation Paquet, Marseilles | Air attack off Balearic Islands | Sunk in deep waters |
Saint Prosper, 4,330 ton 8 March 1939 |
Soc. Navale de L'Ouest | Hit a mine while bound for Algiers | Sank with all hands |
Sydney, 4,937 ton 17 December 1937 |
Soc. Commerciale d'afrettements et Commissiones, Paris | Surface action - Seized by the Nationalist auxiliary cruiser Lázaro at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Simancas |
Tregastel, 1,046 ton 28 September 1938 |
France Navegation, Paris | Grounded at Cadaqués | Total loss |
Yolande, 1,733 ton 26 January 1939 |
R. Gardellá, Paris | Air attack at Barcelona | Total loss |
Soviet flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Blagoev, 3,100 ton 3 September 1937 |
Sovietflot | Torpedoed and sunk off Skyros by the Italian submarine Settembrini | Sunk in deep waters |
Katayama, 3,209 ton 17 October 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist minelayer Vulcano | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Ampudia |
Komsomol, 5,109 ton 14 December 1936 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Shelled and sunk by the Nationalist cruiser Canarias | Sunk in deep waters[nb 5] |
Lensovet, 4,718 ton 19 March 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by Nationalist patrol boats at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Bellver |
Max Hoels, 3,472 ton 2 November 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist minelayer Vulcano | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Montealegre |
Potishev, 3,545 ton 31 May 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist auxiliary cruiser Vicente Puchol | Confiscated, renamed Castillo de Olite[nb 6] |
Skvortzov Stepanov, 2,152 ton 26 May 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist cruiser Canarias | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Maqueda |
Smidovich, 2,485 ton 10 January 1937 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist destroyer Velasco off Bilbao | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Peñafiel |
Timiryazev, 2,151 ton 31 August 1937 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Torpedoed and sunk by the Italian destroyer Turbine off Tigzirt | Sunk in deep waters |
Tsyurupa, 2,081 23 October 1938 |
Sovietflot | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Villafranca |
Greek flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Ellinico Vuono, 3,667 ton 19 May 1938 |
T. Papadimitrou, Pireus | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist cruiser Canarias near Cape Passero | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Mombeltrán |
Gardelaki, 2,282 ton 28 March 1937 |
E. Theophilatos, Ithaca | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist patrol boat Uad Kert on the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Tarifa |
Lena, 1,735 ton 30 March 1938 |
Jean Milonas, Paris | Torpedoed by a submarine - apparently the Nationalist General Mola[14] | Towed to Barcelona, and sank there in shallow waters. Raised by Nationalist ships, confiscated, and renamed Castillo Moncada |
Loukia, 2,143 ton 4 March 1937 |
Mavris & Diacon Zadeh, Istanbul | Hit a mine off Cape San Sebastian | Sank in deep waters |
Loulis, 330 ton 25 February 1939 |
unknown | Hit a mine off Cap de Creus | Sank in deep waters |
Nagos, 1,926 ton 5 April 1937 |
J.G. Livanos, Chios | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist patrol boat Maria Teresa at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated and renamed Castillo Monforte |
Nicolau Eleni, 4,528 ton 9 November 1938 |
Georgios Nicolau, Pireus | Surface action - Captured by a Nationalist patrol boat at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated and renamed Castillo Madrigal |
Poli, 2,861 ton 2 April 1937 |
E. Vintiades, Genoa | Surface action - Shelled and sunk by the Nationalist cruiser Baleares | Sunk in deep waters |
Victoria, 6,600 ton 11 November 1938 |
Georgios Nicolau, London | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist auxiliary cruiser Mar Cantábrico | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Oropesa |
Panamanian flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Andra, 1,384 ton 6 April 1937 |
Socdeco, Antwerp | Surface action - Shelled and sunk by the Nationalist armed trawler Galerna off Santoña | Sunk in deep waters |
Authorpe, 274 ton 6 January 1939 |
Marseille Maritime, Marseilles | Air attack at Alicante | Raised by Nationalist ships in 1939, confiscated and renamed Alhucemas |
Geo McKnight, 12,442 ton 15 August 1937 |
Waried Tankschiff (Esso affiliated) |
Surface action - Shelled and torpedoed by the Italian destroyer Freccia off Tunis | Ran aground after being abandoned[nb 7] |
Hordena, 2,667 ton 16 April 1937 |
Scotia Corp., Paris | Surface action - Captured by Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera | Confiscated and renamed Castillo la Mota |
Janu, 1,347 ton 14 March 1937 |
Socdeco, Antwerp | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist patrol boat Huelva | Confiscated and renamed Castillo Arévalo y Tarifa |
Nausicaa, 5,005 ton 27 May 1938 |
Veniselos, Pireus | Air attack south of Menorca | Sunk in deep waters |
Reina, 1,436 ton 19 October 1937 |
Scotia Corp., Paris | Air attack at Gijon | Raised by Nationalist ships on 30 June 1938, confiscated and renamed Castillo Olmedo |
Wintonia, 168 ton 30 May 1938 |
C. Calunietti, Ciudad de Panama | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist cruiser squadron | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Rio Seco y Finisterre |
Danish flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Bodil, 844 ton 29 July 1938 |
J. Lauritzen A/S, Copenhagen | Air attack at Palamos | Sunk in deep waters |
Edith, 1,566 ton 13 August 1938 |
J. Lauritzen, Copenhaguen | Air attack off Balearic Islands | Sunk in deep waters |
Jan, 1,739 ton 26 May 1938 |
Holm & Wonsild, Copenhaguen | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist patrol boat Iñasi | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Coca |
Norwegian flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Alix, 1,115 ton 30 March 1938 |
A.S. Salvesen, Oslo | Surface action - Captured by the Nationalist patrol boat Huelva off Gibraltar | Grounded and lost off Santoña |
Gulnes, 1,195 ton 7 December 1936 |
H. Storaas, Bergen | Bombed by Republican aircraft at Seville[17] | Broken up in Vado Ligure, Italy, in May 1937 |
Skottland, 736 ton 1 January 1938 |
A.S. Skottland, Norddbo | Struck a reef off Santander | Total loss |
Skulda, 1,105 ton 21 July 1938 |
W. Hanseu, Bergen | Surface action - Captured by Nationalist patrol boats at the Strait of Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Daroca |
Dutch flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Hanna, 3,730 ton 11 November 1938 |
F.W. Vittenbogaart, Rotterdam | Torpedoed and sunk by the Nationalist submarine General Mola off Cape San Antonio | Sunk in deep waters |
Jonge Jacobus, 1,757 ton 27 January 1937 |
Midelansch Zeevart, Rotterdam | Foundered off Berlengas Islands | Sank in deep waters |
Estonian flag
German flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Luise Leonhardt, 4,475 ton 3 January 1938 |
Leonhardt & Blumberg, Hamburg | Foundered at Melilla | Total loss |
Süd IV, 248 ton 12 April 1938 |
Walfang-Kontor, Hamburg | Stranded at Cape Gando | Total loss |
Belgian flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Arctic, 147 ton 30 January 1938 |
Brunet & Co., Ostend | Grounded near Corunna | Total loss |
Italian flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Iolanda, 1,243 ton 1 March 1937 |
unknown | Foundered off Cadiz | Sank in deep waters |
Latvian flag
Name and date of loss | Ship's owner | Type of Incident | Aftermath |
---|---|---|---|
Everards, 3,075 ton 19 November 1938 |
F. Grauds, Riga | Surface action - Captured by Nationalist patrol boats off Gibraltar | Confiscated, renamed Castillo Fuensaldaña |
Footnotes
- ^ The owner later salvaged the hull, which remained docked at England in 1939, after Ms. Drake purchased another yacht in 1938.[4]
- ^ Republican sources claim that Lake Lugano was shelled by the heavy cruiser Canarias, but the only naval bombardment on a British freighter at Palamós recorded by Nationalist reports on this date was actually carried out by Mar Negro.[6]
- ^ Seized by Italian authorities while being rebuilt at Savona in a shipyard on 10 June 1940, when Italy entered World War II[12]
- ^ Captured by the Nationalist cruiser Canarias off Bilbao, rescued and forcibly taken to Bermeo by the Basque naval trawler Bizcaia on 4 March 1937. Captured again by Nationalist armed trawlers and minelayer Júpiter on 5 October 1938. Released 20 November
- ^ Scuttled per Soviet sources[13]
- ^ Sunk in March 1939 by Republican coastal batteries at Cartagena during a landing attempt
- ^ While some authors[1][15] assess Geo McKnight as a total loss, she was actually rescued while adrift off Bizerte by tugs of the Italian company Tripcovich, repaired and upgraded at Trieste and sold to a British company under the name Esso Edinburgh. The tanker served under British flag during World War II[16]
References
- ^ a b González Etchegaray, Rafael (1977). La Marina Mercante y el tráfico marítimo en la Guerra Civil. Ed. San Martín, Appendix two. ISBN 84-7140-150-9 (in Spanish)
- ^ Gretton, Peter (1984). El Factor Olvidado: La Marina Británica y la Guerra Civil Española. Editorial San Martín, p. 98. ISBN 84-7140-224-6. (in Spanish)
- ^ Evening Post, 11 August 1936
- ^ The Palm Beach Post, 9 Aug 1939, pp. 1-2
- ^ de Trijueque, Pere (17 September 2006). "Un pobre vaixell anomenat "Lake Lugano"" (PDF) (in Catalan). Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ Moreno de Alborán y de Reyna, Salvador (1998). La guerra silenciosa y silenciada: historia de la campaña naval durante la guerra de 1936-39, Volume 4, Part 2, p. 2725. Ed. Alborán. ISBN 84-923691-0-8 (in Spanish)
- ^ Heaton, Paul (1985).Welsh Blockade Runners in the Spanish Civil War. Starling press, Appendix 2. ISBN 0-9507714-5-7
- ^ Moreno de Alborán y de Reyna, Salvador (1998). La guerra silenciosa y silenciada: historia de la campaña naval durante la guerra de 1936-39, Volume 4, Part 2. Ed. Alborán, p. 3064. ISBN 84-923691-0-8 (in Spanish)
- ^ House of Commons, Parliamentary debate of 20 March 1939
- ^ Rodríguez Aguilar, Manuel (July 2013). "El vapor británico "Stangrove" en la Guerra Civil española y un poco de su historia". www.grijalvo.com (in Spanish). Revista General de Marina. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- ^ Besly, Edward (2004). For those in peril: civil decorations and lifesaving awards at the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. National Museum Wales, p. 74. ISBN 0-7200-0546-9
- ^ Screw steamer Ulmus built by Dunlop, Bremner & Co. Ltd. in 1926 from Scottish Built Ships website
- ^ Alpert, Michael (2008). La guerra civil española en el mar. Editorial Critica, p. 210,. ISBN 84-8432-975-5 (in Spanish)
- ^ General Mola by Daniel Prieto (in Spanish)
- ^ Gretton, Peter (1984). El Factor Olvidado: La Marina Británica y la Guerra Civil Española. Editorial San Martín, p. 308. ISBN 84-7140-224-6. (in Spanish)
- ^ Matessini, Francesco (2000) La Guerra Civile Spagnola e la Regia Marina Italiana. (in Italian). Soldiershop Publishing, pp. 163-70.ISBN 8893276143
- ^ "Gulnes (1091361)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
Categories:
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