Spanish battleship España (1912)

"España" was a Spanish dreadnought-type battleship, lead ship of the "España"-class. They were the first, and last, dreadnoughts built in Spain. ["Alcoirazado España", Galego Wikipedia.]

Her sister ship, "Alfonso XIII", was renamed "España" in 1931.

Technical Characteristics

The construction of "España" was authorized by the Navy Law of 7 January 1908. The British company Armstrong Whitworth was contracted for the design and John Brown & Company for the construction of the shipyard and ships themselves.Fitzsimons, p.856.]

"España" was laid down at Ferrol on 5 December 1909 (the yard being built similtaneously), launched on 5 February 1912, and completed 23 October 1913. In order to avoid rebuilding existing docks, "España" was constructed with a shorter hull than a purely rational design required, and she and her sisters were the smallest dreadnought-type battleships ever built. Her amidships freeboard was only 15 feet (4.6 meters), and her main battery guns 24 feet 6 inches (7.5 meters) above the waterline.

With a single stack amidships, two tripod masts, and small superstructure, "España" 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 2,950 fps (902 m/s) with a maximum range of 23,500 yards (21,500 meters, 11.6 miles), at a rate of fire of one round per minute."Acorazado España", Spanish Wikipedia.] The guns could be loaded at any elevation or bearing. The four twin turrets were arranged with "A" and "Y" on the centerline, where they had a 270-degree arc of fire; the others were on the wings, similar to "Dreadnought" ("B" to starboard, "Q" to port), with 180 degree arcs of fire on the broadside and 80 degrees athwartships. This mounting scheme was chosen in preference to turrets, as was done in the "South Carolina"s, to save weight and cost.

The main armament itself was fired by a Vickers-pattern director, fitted in the foretop, with calculations made by a Barr and Stroud "Rate of Change of Range and Deflection" (ROCORD) mechanical computer in the main top. [Fernández et al., p. 93.] The absence of a central fire control station would have proved a liability in action at sea, whereas the arrangement proved adequate for coast-bombardment work. The secondary battery was poorly laid out in casemates along the hull too close to the waterline, which proved wet and unworkable in rough seas.

On 30 June 1914 "España" underwent her official armament acceptance trials off El Ferrol. In the presence of Spanish naval and military dignitaries and the British engineers who had assisted in her construction, she fired two rounds from each of her 47mm and 4-inch (102-mm) guns, and then a round from each of the 305mm (12-inch) guns. After this she fired a full broadside; despite the "en echelon" arrangement of her main armament no damage was caused to the hull or superstructure at all. [Fernández et al., p. 91.]

The main armor belt was 6 feet 7 inches (2 meters) deep, with 2 feet (0.6 meter) above the waterline. It extended from the forward to the after barbette.

Built for coast defense and national pride more than combat, "España" provided a formidable ship at reasonable cost, except for the fact, due to rapid technological change at the time, she was obsolescent before completion.Fitzsimons, p.857.]

Operational History

"España's" first deployment was for coast defense during World War I, without incident. In 1920 she carried the Spanish representative to the quatercentenary of the discovery of the Straits of Magellan in Chile, in the process becoming the Spanish Navy's first ship to transit the Panama Canal. On 29 January 1921 she grounded in Chilean waters off Puerto Montt on her return to Spain, being refloated with some difficulty. [Fernández et al., p. 105.]

. Two salvage companies were invited to refloat the ship but both declined after initial surveys. A commission was formed by the Spanish Navy in December 1923 and after exhaustive inspection of the hull by divers it was decided to partially scrap "España" in order to salvage her. To that end her 12-inch (305-mm) guns were removed and dropped into the sea, to be later recovered by the salvage vessel "Kanguro" (originally intended to recover lost submarines). After much removal of armour, machinery and ammunition the hull was sealed and partially drained. While waiting for salvage equipment from Italy, the stricken ship was hit by a number of violent storms, which worsened the damage to the hull and ended any hope of her refloating. In November 1924 the ship broke in two and she was abandoned.Fernández et al., p. 106.]

After the overthrow of King Alfonso XIII, her name was passed on to her sister, "Alfonso XIII" in April 1931. Her recovered guns, both 305mm and 101.6mm, were installed in coastal batteries, some of which remained in service until 1999 before being retired from service.

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