España (former Alfonso XIII) and Jaime I |
|
| Career (Spain) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Jaime I |
| Namesake: | James I of Aragon |
| Builder: | SECN, Naval Dockyard, El Ferrol, Spain |
| Laid down: | 5 February 1912 |
| Launched: | 21 September 1914 |
| Completed: | 20 December 1921 |
| Fate: | Wrecked by accidental explosion 17 June 1937; refloated, but discarded 3 July 1939 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | España-class |
| Type: | dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: | 15,452 tons (normal); 15,700 tons (maximum) |
| Length: | 435 ft (133 m) (waterline) 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m) (overall) |
| Beam: | 78 ft 9 in (24.00 m) |
| Draft: | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) maximum |
| Installed power: | 15,500 shp |
| Propulsion: | 4-shaft Parsons turbines, 12 Yarrow boilers |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h) |
| Range: | 5000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) 3,100 nautixcal miles (5,740 km) at 16.75 knots (31.02 km/h) |
| Complement: | 854 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 8 x 12-inch (305 mm) 50-caliber guns 20 x 4-inch (102-mm) 50-caliber guns 4 x 3-pounder guns 2 x machine guns 2 x landing guns |
| Armor: | Belt 8-4 inches (203-102 mm) Upper belt 6 inches (152 mm) Barbettes 10 inches (254 mm) Gunhouses 8 inches (203 mm) Deck 1.5 inches (38 mm) Conning tower 10 inches (254 mm) Anti-torpedo bulkheads 1.5 inches (38 mm) |
| Notes: | Coal 900 tons (normal); 1,900 tons (maximum) Oil 20 tons |
Jaime I was an España-class dreadnought battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1921 to 1937.
Construction of Jaime I was authorized by the Navy Law of 7 January 1908. She was laid down on 5 February 1912, launched on 21 September 1914. Her completion was greatly delayed by a shortage of materials from the United Kingdom during World War I, and she not completed until 20 December 1921, almost 10 years after she was laid down and almost 14 years after her construction was authorized.
In order to avoid rebuilding existing docks, she was constructed with a shorter hull than a purely rational design required, and her class were the smallest dreadnought-type battleships ever built.[1] Amidships freeboard was only 15 feet (4.6 m), and the main battery guns were 24 feet 6 inches (7.5 m) above the waterline.[1]
With a single stack amidships, two tripod masts, and small superstructure, the Jaime I had a broadside of eight 12-inch (305-mm) guns, each weighing 67.1 tons, firing an 850-pound (385-kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2950fps (902m/s) with a maximum range of 23,500 yards (21,500 meters, or 11.6 nautical miles), at a rate of fire of one round per minute. The four twin turrets were arranged with "A" and "Y" on the centerline, and the other two turrets in the wings ("B" to starboard, "Q" to port). This was done in preference to superimposed turrets, as was done in the South Carolinas, to save weight and cost.[2] Jaime I was able to fire a full broadside, and employ six guns in pursuit or retirement. The secondary battery was poorly laid out[2] in casemates along the hull too close to the waterline.[1]
Built for coast defense and national pride, more than combat, the Jaime I and her sisters provided Spain with formidable ships at reasonable cost. Unfortunately, due to rapid technological change at the time and her very lengthy construction time, Jaime I was obsolescent before completion.[3]
Jaime I saw action against insurgents in Morocco in the Rif War during the early 1920s, and was damaged by a coastal battery in May 1924. She fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. On the first months of the war, Jaime I shelled a number of rebel strongholds, among them Ceuta, Melilla and Algeciras. In Algeciras she hit with her secondary armament the Nationalist gunboat Dato, which was burned down to the waterline,[4] although she was later recovered and upgraded by the rebels. During that conflict, Jaime I was damaged by a Nationalist air attack at Malaga on 13 August 1936.
On 17 June 1937, while at Cartagena, she was wrecked by an accidental internal explosion and fire, although sabotage is suspected. She was refloated, but determined to be beyond repair. She was officially discarded on 3 July 1939[5] and broken up in 1941.[6]
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