Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon

"Cristóbal Colón" was a "Guiseppe Garibaldi"-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

"See "Cristóbal Colón" for an earlier Spanish unprotected cruiser of the same name that served in the Caribbean and sank off Cuba in 1895."

Technical Characteristics

"Cristóbal Colón" was built in Italy under the name "Giuseppe Garibaldi". She was laid down in 1895, launched in September 1896, sold to Spain, and delivered to the Spanish Navy at Genoa on 16 May 1897. [ > [http://www.spanamwar.com/colon.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Cristobal Colon"] ] She had two funnels and was fast, well armed, and well protected, especially for her displacement. She was designed to be an intermediate type of ship between extant battleships and cruisers, powerful enough to function as a part of a battle fleet and yet fast enough to outrun more powerful ships, and in this sense was the Spanish Navy's first true armored cruiser. However, the Spanish Ministry of Marine rejected her convert|10|in|adj=on gun, and she was delivered without it, detracting considerably from her designed firepower; she was lost before the gun could be installed. [ > [http://www.spanamwar.com/colon.htm The Spanish-American War Centennial Website: "Cristobal Colon"] , and "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", p. 382 ]

Operational History

"Cristóbal Colón" was part of the Spanish Navy's 1st Squadron when tensions with the United States were rising after the explosion and sinking of the battleship USS "Maine" in the harbor at Havana, Cuba on 15 February 1898. The squadron concentrated at São Vicente in Portugal's Cape Verde Islands; departing Cadiz on 8 April 1898 "Cristóbal Colón", armored cruiser "Infanta Maria Teresa" (flagship of squadron commander Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete), and three destroyers arrived at Sao Vicente on 14 April 1898, experiencing machinery problems and burning excessive amounts of coal during the voyage. "Cristóbal Colón" had left Spain before her 10-inch (254-mm) gun could be installed, and she mounted a dummy wooden gun in its place.

and began a blockade which would drag on for 37 days.

"Cristóbal Colón" was anchored in the entrance channel to the harbor in a position where she could support the harbor's shore batteries, and on 28 May 1898 was the first unit of Cervera's squadron the American blockaders indentified as being at Santiago de Cuba. The first American offensive action of the blockade was to attack her. At 1400 hours on 31 May 1898, the battleships USS "Iowa" and USS "Massachusetts" and cruiser USS "New Orleans" opened fire on "Cristóbal Colón" and the shore fortifications at the then-great range of 7,000 yards (6,400 m), and "Cristóbal Colón" and the coastal artillery returned fire. The Americans ceased fire at 1410, and the Spanish at 1500. Neither side suffered any casualties.

The blockade wore on, with "Cristóbal Colón" and the others enduring occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor. 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 "Cristóbal Colón" 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.

At about 0845 hours on 3 July 1898, the Spanish ships got underway and moved out in line-ahead formation, with "Cristóbal Colón" third in line, following "Infanta Maria Teresa" and armored cruiser "Vizcaya"; armored cruiser "Almirante Oquendo" and destroyers "Furor" and "Pluton" came along behind "Cristóbal Colón". 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 "Vizcaya" charged "Brooklyn", "Cristóbal Colón", "Almirante Oquendo", and the two destroyers turned west and worked up steam to make a run for the open sea. When "Brooklyn" turned eastward and away from "Infanta Maria Teresa", all four Spanish armored cruisers wound up in the same line-ahead formation they had formed when leaving the harbor, brushing past the last obstacle in their path, the armed yacht USS "Vixen".

The action now developed into a hot stern chase, with the U.S. squadron about a mile to port of the Spanish ships and slightly behind them, every ship on both sides firing with every gun she could bring to bear. "Cristóbal Colón" hit "Iowa" twice, wrecking her dispensary with the first hit and holing her below the waterline with the second, slowing "Iowa" but not forcing her to cease fire.

The outgunned Spanish squadron began to take losses, its ships catching fire and grounding themselves before their magazines could explode. "Infanta Maria Teresa" was first, sheering out of line and beaching herself at about 1025 a few miles west of Santiago de Cuba; "Almirante Oquendo" ran up on the beach a few hundred yards farther west five minutes later. At 1106, "Vizcaya" turned hard to starboard and ran herself ashore.

With the two Spanish destroyers by now also sunk, "Cristóbal Colón" steamed on alone, the last survivor of Cervera's squadron. For a time, it seemed that she might get away. Although her machinery was not able to get her up to her top speed after months of hard steaming, she was rated as the fastest ship of either side in the battle, was better armored and armed than her erstwhile squadron mates, and thus far had taken only two 5-inch (127 mm) or 6-inch (152 mm) hits. She was making 15 knots, and the fastest and closest U.S. ship, "Brooklyn", was now six miles behind her. "Vixen" was close behind "Brooklyn". Armored cruiser USS "New York", making convert|20|kn|km/h, was closing, and, farther behind, battleships "Texas" and "Oregon" also were making their best speed in pursuit.

After another hour, "Cristóbal Colón" had run through all of her best coal, switched to an inferior grade, and began to lose speed. At 1220, "Oregon" fired a 13-inch (330-mm) round which landed just astern of "Cristóbal Colón", and soon more 13-inch rounds, as well as 8-inch (203-mm) shells from "Brooklyn" and "New York", were landing around the Spanish ship. In contrast, she had only one 6-inch (152-mm) gun that would bear on her pursuers. When the range dropped to 2,000 yards (1,830 m), the commanding officer of "Cristóbal Colón", Captain Jose de Paredes, decided that the chase was over; in order to save the lives of her crew, he ran her up on the beach at the mouth of the Tarquino River, convert|75|mi|nmi km west of Santiago de Cuba, at 1315 hours. It was the end of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

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 came alongside the wreck in small boats to take off survivors.

That night, a U.S. Navy salvage team from repair ship USS "Vulcan" decided that "Cristóbal Colón" was worth salvaging and towed her off the rocks. But she lacked watertight integrity and quickly capsized and sank, a total loss.

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