Destroyer José Luis Diez |
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| Career (Spain) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | José Luis Díez |
| Namesake: | José Luis Díez y Pérez Muñoz |
| Builder: | SECN, Naval Dockyard, Cartagena, Spain |
| Completed: | 1929 |
| Commissioned: | 1929 |
| Decommissioned: | 1965 |
| Identification: | JD |
| Nickname: | Pepe el del puerto |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1965 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Churruca class destroyer |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,650 tons (normal); 2,067 tons (maximum) |
| Length: | 101.00 m |
| Beam: | 9.60 m |
| Height: | 6.02m |
| Draught: | 3.30 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 Parsons turbines. 4 Yarrow boilers 42.000 horsepower (31 MW) |
| Speed: | 36 knots (67 km/h) |
| Range: | 5000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) 3,100 nautical miles (4,500 nautical miles) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 160 |
| Armament: | 5x120 mm (4.7 in) L45 (5x1) 1x3-inch (76.2-mm) antiaircraft gun 4 machineguns 6x21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2x3) 2 depth charge racks |
José Luis Díez was a Churruca-class destroyer in the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side.
She was named after Teniente de Navío José Luis Díez y Pérez Muñoz.
The ship sailed into Biscay in 1936 and was anchored off Santurce for some time. She received the nickname Pepe el del puerto ("Joe of the harbor"), for her perceived inactivity.
On 20 April 1937, she was involved in a friendly fire incident when her anti-aircraft guns shot down Felipe del Río's Polikarpov I-15. The gunners mistook the aircraft for a German fighter.
On 31 May of the same year, the Police and the Marina de Guerra Auxiliar de Euzkadi took control of the José Luis Díez and the Císcar. At the request of the Republican government, the ships embarked more than 200 sailors of the auxiliary Navy from Euzkadi to replace their original crews, who had been deemed untrustworthy. The ships were eventually returned to their original crews.
On 10 June 1937, Císcar, under the command of Alférez de Navío Juan Antonio Castro and Jose Luis Díez commanded by teniente de navío Evaristo Lopez engaged the cruiser Cervera (capitán de navío Manuel Moreu). The result was inconclusive.
Jose Luis Díez and Ciscar left Bilbao on 15 June 1937, heading for France. They were loaded with refugees and several civilian and military personalities, shortly before the Nationalists entered Bilbao. Both ships went on to Santander, and after its fall, to Gijon. The Jose Luis Díez then took refuge in Falmouth, England where, among others, the commander, the engine room chief and the navigator deserted. Subsequently, the destroyer sailed to Le Havre, France.
She then used her strong resemblance to a British destroyer as part of a ruse in an attempt to break the blockade of the Gibraltar Strait and return to the Mediterranean Sea in June 1938. During the trip, she sank two Nationalist-flagged trawlers. The ship was painted with the pennant number of HMS Grenville and used the Royal Navy flag, but she was intercepted by the heavy cruiser Canarias and other ships. After two frustrated attempts, she was badly hit and forced into Gibraltar on 29 August 1938, where she underwent repairs while looking for an opportunity to try again.
On the night of 29/30 December, she left Gibraltar prepared for a new attempt, but was spotted by the gunboat Calvo Sotelo. A close-range battle ensued between the destroyer and several rebel ships, including the gunboat-minelayer Vulcano. She was beached at Catalan Bay in Gibraltar to avoid being sunk or captured. The crew were returned to the Republican side by the British.
In March 1939 the British government, delivered the ship to the Nationalists. She was taken back by the gunboat Calvo Sotelo.
José Luis Díez was decommissioned and scrapped in 1965.
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