Spanish cruiser Isabel II
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| Career | .svg/48px-Flag_of_Spain_(1785-1873_and_1875-1931).svg.png){kind=small} |
|---|---|
| Name: | Isabel II |
| Namesake: | Queen Isabella II of Spain. |
| Builder: | Ferrol |
| Laid down: | 1883 |
| Launched: | 19 February 1886 |
| Completed: | 1888 or 1889 |
| Fate: | Stricken 1907 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Velasco-class |
| Type: | unprotected cruiser |
| Displacement: | 1,152 tons |
| Length: | 210 ft 0 in (64.0 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 0 in (9.8 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft 8 in (4.2 m) maximum |
| Installed power: | 1,500 ihp |
| Propulsion: | 1-shaft, horizontal compound, 4-cylinder boilers |
| Sail plan: | barque-rigged |
| Speed: | 13 knots |
| Complement: | 173 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 4 x 4.7 inch (120-mm) guns 4 × 6 pdr guns 1 x machine gun 2 × 14 inch (356-mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | none |
| Notes: | 200 to 220 tons of coal (normal) |
Isabel II was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the Spanish-American War.
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[edit] Technical Characteristics
Isabel II was built at the naval shipyard at Ferrol. Her keel was laid in 1883, she was launched on 19 February 1886, and she was completed in 1888 or 1889. She had one rather tall funnel. She had an iron hull and was rigged as a barque. [1]
[edit] Operational History
When the Spanish-American War began in April 1898, Isabel II was at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. Navy established a permanent blockade of San Juan on 18 June 1898. [2]
On 22 June 1898, Isabel II, gunboat General Concha, and destroyer Terror came out of port to test the blockade. Auxiliary cruisers USS St. Paul and USS Yosemite moved in, resulting in a short, running gun battle, from which the Spanish quickly broke away. Isabel II and General Concha could go no faster than 10 knots; Terror made a torpedo run on St. Paul to cover their retreat, and was badly damaged by gunfire from St. Paul, but all three Spanish ships made it back into port at San Juan. Two men had been killed aboard Terror, the only casualties either side suffered during the battle. [3]
On 24 June 1898, Isabel II, General Concha, and gunboat Ponce de Leon sortied to assist a Spanish blockade runner, the merchant steamer Antonio Lopez, make it into San Juan's harbor. The three Spanish warships exchanged long-range gunfire with St. Paul, Yosemite, and cruiser USS New Orleans, with neither side scoring any hits. When it became clear that Antonio Lopez would not be able to get past the Americans, the Spanish warships returned to port, where they spent the rest of the war. [4]
Isabel II was stricken in 1907. [5]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. New York, New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. ISBN 0831703024.
- Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870219073.
- Nofi, Albert A. The Spanish-American War, 1898. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania:Combined Books, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0938289578.
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