Spanish cruiser Aragon

"Aragon" was an "Aragon"-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy in the late 19th century.

Technical Characteristics

"Aragon" was built at the naval shipyard at Cartagena, Spain. Her construction as an armored corvette with a central battery ironclad design began on 2 May 1869, with plans to give her 890 tons of armor and 500 mm (19.7 inches) of armor at the waterline. Political events delayed her construction. In 1870, her design was changed to that of an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette, [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/spanwoodenbcruisers.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers] and [http://www.spanamwar.com/castilla.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Castilla"] describe the lengthy design issues of the "Aragon" class.] and she finally was launched in this form on 31 July 1879 and completed in 1880. [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/spanwoodenbcruisers.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers] describes the lengthy design issues of the "Aragon" class.] Her original conception as an armored ship and the change to an unarmored one during construction left her with an overly heavy wooden hull that was obsolescent by the time of her launch. [ "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 383 ]

Designed for colonial service, [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/castilla.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Castilla"] explains that the class's design was for coloial service ] she had two funnels and was rigged as a barque. ["Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 383 ] Her machinery was maufactured by the John Penn Company of Greenwich, United Kingdom. [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/spanwoodenbcruisers.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers] ] The original main battery of Armstrong-built 8-inch (203-mm) guns was obsolescent when she was completed, and were quickly replaced with more modern Hontoria-built 6.4-inch (163-mm) guns (a heavier main battery than that carried by her two sisters "Castilla" and "Navarra"), at least four of which were mounted in sponsons. [ "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 383 ]

Operational History

In the 1890s, "Aragon" was assigned to the Cadiz Naval Group. She went out of service in the mid-1890s, became a floating hulk in 1896. Sources differ on her ultimate fate; either she was sold for scrap in 1900 [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/spanwoodenbcruisers.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers] ] or sticken ca. 1905 ["Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 383 ]

Notes

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.
*Nofi, Albert A. "The Spanish-American War, 1898". Conshohocken, Pennsylvania:Combined Books, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0938289578.

External links

* [http://www.spanamwar.com/spanwoodenbcruisers.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/spain/spsh-ag/aragon.htmg Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected
]