Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa

"Infanta Maria Teresa" 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

"Infanta Maria Teresa" was built at Bilbao, Spain. She was laid down in 1889, launched on 30 August 1890, and completed in 1893. [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/teresa.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Infanta Maria Teresa"] ] 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. 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. [ "Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 382 ]

Operational History

, experiencing machinery problems and burning excessive amounts of coal during the voyage. [ Nofi, p. 58, p. 78 ] As more ships arrived over the next few days, it was noted that the 5.5-inch guns aboard "Infanta Maria Theresa" had defective breach mechanisms and had been supplied with defective ammunition, and that the fleet had a shortage of stokers. [ Nofi, p. 78 ]

The Spanish-American War began while "Infanta Maria Teresa" 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, "Infanta Maria Teresa" 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 "Infanta Maria Teresa" 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 "Infanta Maria Teresa" and her sister ship "Vizcaya" 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. [ Nofi recounts Cervera's voyage p. 80 and p. 83-86 ]

The blockade wore on, with "Infanta Maria Teresa" and the others enduring occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor. [ Nofi, p. 163, claims that "Infanta Maria Teresa" suffered 35 hits and the death of her executive officer during a American bomdardment on 6 June 1898, but Cervera's papers, p. 101, and [http://www.spanamwar.com/reinam.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Reina Mercedes"] both ascribe this damage and the death to cruiser "Reina Mercedes" ] "Infanta Maria Teresa" still faced a serious problem with her 5.5-inch-gun ammunition, 80 percent of which defective. [ Nofi, p. 169 ] . 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. [ Nofi mentions the Naval Brigade on p. 146 and p. 172 ]

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 "Infanta Maria Teresa" spent 2 July 1898 returning from Naval Brigade service and preparing for action. With Vice Admiral Cervera aboard, "Infanta Maria Teresa" was to lead the escape, sacrificing herself by attacking the fastest American ship, armored cruiser USS "Brooklyn", allowing the rest of the squadron to avoid action and run westward for the open sea. [ Nofi discusses Cevera's plan on p. 172-173 ]

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. [ Nofi, p. 175 ]

As lead ship in the Spanish line, "Infanta Maria Teresa" was the first ship to receive concentrated fire from the blockading U.S. Navy squadron. With "Vizcaya" close behind her and the other Spanish ships turning hard to starboard to flee to the west, "Infanta Maria Teresa" charged "Brooklyn" as if to ram, closing the range to 600 yards (550 meters) by 1005 hours, forcing "Brooklyn" to turn away to the east. "Infanta Maria Teresa" turned west, brushing past the last obstacle in her path, the armed yacht USS "Vixen", as battleship USS "Iowa" came up at a range of 2,600 yards (2,377 m) to port, with battleships USS "Oregon" and USS "Indiana" close behind "Iowa". A general engagement ensued, with the U.S. ships to starboard of "Infanta Maria Theresa" and both sides firing everything they could. [ Nofi p. 176-177 ]

One of the first shells "Iowa" fired hit the after main-battery turret of "Infanta Maria Teresa", killing or wounding its crew and knocking out its gun. "Infanta Maria Teresa" had aleady taken many hits, and now "Brooklyn" and battleship USS "Texas" began to hit her repeatedly. Fires broke out, threatening to detonate her ammunition magazines. Seeing no hope for the ship and wishing to save as many of her crew as possible, Cervera at 1020 hours ordered her to beach herself. She turned to starboard, grounded at 1025 hours a few miles west of Santiago de Cuba and just west of Punta Cabrera, struck her colors, and flooded her magazines to prevent a catastrophic explosion. [ Nofi, p. 177-178 ]

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. [ Nofi, p. 183 ]

After the war, the U.S. Navy refloated "Infanta Maria Teresa" in the hope of putting her into service. She was towed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for preliminary repairs, then taken under tow by repair ship USS "Vulcan" en route Norfolk, Virginia, where her repairs could be completed. Caught in a storm during the voyage, she began to founder. Repair ship "Merritt" took off her crew, and "Infanta Maria Teresa" sank between two reefs off Cat Island in the Bahamas with a broken back, a total loss. [ [http://www.spanamwar.com/teresa.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Infanta Maria Teresa"] ]

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/teresa.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Infanta Maria Teresa"]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/spain/spsh-hl/m-teresa.htm Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected
]