Spanish cruiser Almirante Oquendo

"Almirante Oquendo", was an "Infanta Maria Teresa"-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

Technical Characteristics

"Almirante Oquendo" was built at Bilbao, Spain. She was laid down in January 1889, launched in 1891, [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/oquendo.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Almirante Oquendo"] lists the launch date as 10 April 1891; "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 382, lists it as 4 October 1891. The difference apparently arises from transposition of the numerals for the date and month, and it is not clear which is correct. ] and completed in 1893. [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/oquendo.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Almirante Oquendo"] ] She had two funnels and was fast and well armed. Her main armament was mounted on the center line in single barbettes fore and aft. Her armor was poor: her 11-inch guns had only lightly armored hoods, her 5.5-inch guns were mounted in the open on the upper deck, her armor belt was thin and protected only two-thirds of her length, and she had a high, unprotected freeboard that took much damage during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. [ "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 382 ] Like other nineteenth-century warships, she was heavily furnished and decorated with wood, which the Spanish failed to remove prior to combat and which would feed fires during the battle.

Operational History

. It was noted that "Almirante Oquendo" needed drydocking because of a badly fouled bottom which slowed her to a maximum speed of 12 to 14 knots, her 5.5-inch guns had defective breach mechanisms and had been supplied with defective ammunition, and the fleet had a shortage of stokers.

The Spanish-American War began while "Almirante Oquendo" was at Sao Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave Sao Vicente within 24 hours of the declaration of war, "Almirante Oquendo" and the rest of Cervera's squadron departed on 29 April 1898, bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cervera's ships reached French-owned Martinique in the Lesser Antilles on 10 May 1898. While "Almirante Oquendo" and the other large ships loitered in international waters, two Spanish destroyers went into Fort-de-France to ask for coal. France was neutral and would not supply coal, so the Spanish squadron departed on 12 May 1898 for Dutch-owned Curacao, where Cervera expected to meet a collier. Cervera arrived at Willemstad on 14 May, but the Netherlands also was neutral, and strictly enforced its neutrality by allowing only "Vizcaya" and armored cruiser "Infanta Maria Teresa" to enter port and permitting them to load only 600 tons of coal. On 15 May, Cervera's ships departed, no longer bound for San Juan, which by now was under a U.S. Navy blockade, but for as-yet unblockaded Santiago de Cuba on the southeastern coast of Cuba, arriving there on 19 May 1898. Cervera hoped to refit his ships there before he could be trapped. His squadron was still in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba when an American squadron arrived on 27 May 1898 and began a blockade which would drag on for 37 days.

"Almirante Oquendo" and the other ships endured occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor. "Almirante Oquendo" still had one 5.5-inch gun out of commission, 80 percent of the 5.5-inch ammunition was defective, and nothing could be done under the circumstances about her fouled bottom. Some of her men joined others from the fleet in a Naval Brigade to fight against a U.S. Army overland drive toward Santiago de Cuba.

By the beginning of July 1898, that drive threatened to capture Santiago de Cuba, and Cervera decided that his squadron's only hope was to try to escape into the open sea by running the blockade. The decision was made on 1 July 1898, with the break-out set for 3 July 1898. The crew of "Almirante Oquendo" spent 2 July 1898 returning from Naval Brigade service and preparing for action. "Almirante Oquendo" was to be the fourth ship in line during the escape, following Cervera's flagship "Infanta Maria Teresa", "Vizcaya", and armored cruiser "Cristobal Colon", with destroyers "Furor" and "Pluton" bringing up the rear. While "Infanta Maria Teresa" sacrificed herself by attacking the fastest American ship, armored cruiser USS "Brooklyn", "Almirante Oquendo" and the others were to put on all the speed they could and run westward for the open sea.

At about 0845 hours on 3 July 1898, the Spanish ships got underway. The U.S. squadron sighted the Spanish ships in the channel at about 0935, and the Battle of Santiago de Cuba began.

While "Infanta Maria Teresa" and "Vizacaya" charged "Brooklyn" and the two destroyers turned westward farther inshore, "Almirante Oquendo" followed "Cristobal Colon" in a dash to the west. When "Brooklyn" turned away to the east, "Vizcaya" and "Infanta Maria Teresa" also turned west, brushing past the last obstacle in the path of the four Spanish armored cruisers, the armed yacht USS "Vixen".

"Almirante Oquendo" now found herself back in the line-ahead formation the squadron had formed when it left its anchorage, in fourth place behind the other three armored cruisers, although now without the following destroyers, which were being chased farther inshore. The U.S. squadron gave chase as the Spanish ships made an all-out break for the west, with the American ships about a mile to port of and slightly astern of the Spanish ships. At 1035, the sinking "Infanta Maria Teresa" was driven ashore with heavy damage and fires.

As last ship in the Spanish line during a stern chase, "Almirante Oquendo" naturally drew more than her share of attention from her pursuers. Battleship USS "Iowa" was only 1,600 yards (1,463 m) off her port quarter, while battleships USS "Oregon" and USS "Indiana" also were closing from that direction, and "Brooklyn" was on her port bow. Concentrated fire from the three battleships punished "Almirante Oquendo". "Iowa" scored 43 six-pounder hits which killed or wounded most of the sailors on the Spanish cruiser's upper decks, where her 5.5-inch guns were mounted without protection, and one of her own 5.5-inch shells exploded prematurely in the gun's breach, killing the gun's crew. "Almirante Oquendo" drew admiration from her opponents by lashing back with a high volume of shell- and machine-gun fire. But she took three 8-inch (203-mm), one 6-inch (152-mm), one 5-inch (127-mm), and nine 4-inch (102-mm) hits, and soon a fire started in her after torpedo room that could not be brought under control and threatened to spark an ammunition explosion that would have wrecked the ship. Her mortally wounded captain ordered her to be scuttled, and she turned out of the line and ran for shore, beaching about 700 meters (765 yards) offshore, a few hundreds to the west of "Infanta Maria Teresa" and about 6.8 nautical miles (12.6 km) west of Santiago de Cuba, at around 1030 hours.

Some of her sailors made it ashore, although they had to beware of Cuban insurgents, who began to shoot the survivors of the wrecked Spanish ships. Others were rescued by American sailors who brought small boats alongside the wrecks to take off survivors. "Almirante Oquendo" lost 80 dead in the engagement.

Postwar, a U.S. Navy survey team evaluating Spanish wrecks for their potential for being raised and put in American service concluded that "Almirante Oquendo" was beyond salvage.

Memorialization

One of the guns from "Almirante Oquendo" is on display outside the U.S. Navy Personnel Support Detachment office at Naval Station Anacostia, Washington, D.C.. A plaque bears this

"THE GUN"

"This Hontoria 140mm (5.5 inch) naval gun was taken from the Spanish cruiser" ALMIRANTE OQUENDO "following her capture at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July 1898 during the Spanish American War. "ALMIRANTE OQUENDO", of the "INFANTA MARIA TERESA" class, was one of the six Spanish ships which sortied from the Cuban port in order to avoid capture in the harbor. None escaped the blockading U.S. Naval Squadron. The hole in the gun's shield was inflicted by one of approximately 50 rounds which hit "ALMIRANTE OQUENDO.

"The gun was restored by sailors of Processing Division and General Detail, Naval District Washington, during 1982 and 1983."

The referenced "hole" is in the left-hand side of the gun shield and is rectangular, about 8 inches (203 mm) long and 6 inches (152 mm) wide. After penetrating the gun shield, the shell that made the hole appears to have struck the elevation wheel, tearing off about half of it. It was probably made by a shell from a small-caliber quick-firing gun, perhaps a 6-inch (152-mm) gun of the battleship USS "Indiana" (BB-1).

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/oquendo.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Almirante Oquendo"]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/spain/spsh-ag/oquendo.htm Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected
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