Almirante Cervera-class cruiser
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2013) |
 Almirante Cervera in 1927
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Almirante Cervera class |
| Builders | Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval, Ferrol |
| Operators |  Spanish Navy |
| Preceded by | Template:Sclass- |
| Succeeded by | Template:Sclass- |
| Built | 1923–1929 |
| In commission | 1925–1970 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light Cruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 579 ft (176 m) |
| Beam | 54 ft (16 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 shafts, Parsons-type geared turbines, 8 Yarrow-type boilers, 80,000 hp (60,000 kW) |
| Speed | 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 564 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
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The Almirante Cervera class (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 Template:Sclass-, but had all boilers grouped together reducing the number of funnels to two. The main armament comprised Vickers pattern 6-inch guns with single mountings in "A" and "Y" positions and twin turrets in "B", "Q" and "X" positions. The programme was initially authorised in 1915 but was delayed by World War I with construction of the first ship starting in 1917.
Galicia and Miguel de Cervantes had substantial refits in the 1940s. The 6-inch turret in "Q" position was replaced by a catapult for a seaplane and the single 6-inch mountings were replaced by twins to retain an 8 gun broadside. Extra AA guns were fitted in all three ships.
Ships
| Ship | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principe Alfonso / Libertad / Galicia | 27 July 1922 | 30 August 1925 | Stricken Feb 1970 |
| Almirante Cervera | 16 October 1925 | May 1927 | Stricken 1966 |
| Miguel de Cervantes | 17 May 1929 | 10 Feb 1930 | Stricken 1964 |
Service history
Principe Alfonso conveyed King Alfonso XIII on several foreign tours in the late 1920s and in 1931 took him to exile in Italy. During the Spanish Civil War, renamed Libertad, she served in the Spanish Republican Navy and was interned in Bizerte, French Tunisia, at the end of the conflict. She returned to Spain in 1939 and was renamed Galicia. Miguel de Cervantes (named after Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) was also part the Republican fleet during the civil war and was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Evangelista Torricelli in 1936. The ship was interned in Bizerte and returned to Spain. She was badly damaged by fire in 1943 and repaired. She represented Spain in the Coronation Fleet Review in 1953. Almirante Cervera (named after Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete) served on the Nationalist side in the civil war and was present in most of the major battles.
References
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
External links
- Buques De Guerra, a Spanish website about warships (in Spanish)