Jaime I was an España-class

España class battleship

The España class was a series of three dreadnought battleships. They were the first and last dreadnoughts built in Spain, the only dreadnoughts ever operated by the Spanish Navy, and the smallest dreadnoughts ever built.- Description :...

 dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

 battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 of the Spanish Navy

Spanish Navy

The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

 which served in the Spanish fleet from 1921 to 1937.

Technical Characteristics

Construction of Jaime I was authorized by the Navy Law of 7 January 1908. She was laid down on 5 February 1912, launched on 21 September 1914. Her completion was greatly delayed by a shortage of materials from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and she not completed until 20 December 1921, almost 10 years after she was laid down and almost 14 years after her construction was authorized.

In order to avoid rebuilding existing docks, she was constructed with a shorter hull than a purely rational design required, and her class were the smallest dreadnought-type battleships ever built. Amidships freeboard was only 15 feet (4.6 m), and the main battery guns were 24 feet 6 inches (7.5 m) above the waterline.

With a single stack

Stack

-Mathematics:* Stack , general category-theoretical concept to formalise "pull-back" operations in geometry and algebra* Algebraic stack, a generalisation of scheme and algebraic space in algebraic geometry; a specific type of the above-Computers:...

 amidships, two tripod mast

Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...

s, and small superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

, the Jaime I had a broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

 of eight 12-inch (305-mm) guns, each weighing 67.1 tons, firing an 850-pound (385-kg) shell at a muzzle velocity

Muzzle velocity

Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...

 of 2950fps (902m/s) with a maximum range of 23,500 yards (21,500 meters, or 11.6 nautical miles), at a rate of fire of one round per minute. The four twin turret

Turret

In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...

s were arranged with "A" and "Y" on the centerline, and the other two turrets in the wings ("B" to starboard, "Q" to port). This was done in preference to superimposed turrets, as was done in the South Carolinas, to save weight and cost. Jaime I was able to fire a full broadside, and employ six guns in pursuit or retirement.
The secondary battery was poorly laid out in casemates along the hull too close to the waterline.

Built for coast defense and national pride, more than combat, the Jaime I and her sisters provided Spain with formidable ships at reasonable cost. Unfortunately, due to rapid technological change at the time and her very lengthy construction time, Jaime I was obsolescent before completion.

Operational history

Jaime I saw action against insurgents in Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 in the Rif War

Rif War (1920)

The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...

 during the early 1920s, and was damaged by a coastal battery in May 1924. She fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. On the first months of the war, Jaime I shelled a number of rebel strongholds, among them Ceuta

Ceuta

Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...

, Melilla

Melilla

Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...

 and Algeciras

Algeciras

Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...

. In Algeciras she hit with her secondary armament the Nationalist gunboat Dato, which was burned down to the waterline, although she was later recovered and upgraded by the rebels. During that conflict, Jaime I was damaged by a Nationalist air attack at Malaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

 on 13 August 1936.

On 17 June 1937, while at Cartagena

Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...

, she was wrecked by an accidental internal explosion and fire, although sabotage is suspected. She was refloated, but determined to be beyond repair. She was officially discarded on 3 July 1939 and broken up in 1941.