Spanish cruiser Almirante Oquendo
Encyclopedia
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
.
, Spain. She was laid down in January 1889, launched in 1891, and completed in 1893. 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 280 mm guns had only lightly armored hoods, her 140 mm 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.
, Cuba
, in the spring of 1898 as tensions rose between the United States
and Spain
. After the battleship USS Maine
exploded and sank at Havana on 15 February 1898, Almirante Oquendo rendezvoused there with her sister ship, armored cruiser Vizcaya. Ordered back across the Atlantic as war approached, both ships were assigned to the Spanish Navy
's 1st Squadron, which was concentrating at São Vicente
in Portugal
's Cape Verde Islands under Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete
. They arrived at São Vicente on 19 April 1898. 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 140 mm 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 São Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave São 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 Curaçao
, 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 140 mm gun out of commission, 80 percent of the 140 mm 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 hundred yards (meters) 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.
, Washington, D.C.
.
Infanta Maria Teresa class armored cruiser
The Infanta Maria Teresa class of three armored cruisers were built for the Spanish Navy between 1889 and 1893. All three were sunk in action against the United States Navy during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.-Description:...
armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
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...
that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Technical characteristics
Almirante Oquendo was built at BilbaoBilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain. She was laid down in January 1889, launched in 1891, and completed in 1893. 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 280 mm guns had only lightly armored hoods, her 140 mm 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
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
. 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
Almirante Oquendo was in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, in the spring of 1898 as tensions rose between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. After the battleship USS Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
exploded and sank at Havana on 15 February 1898, Almirante Oquendo rendezvoused there with her sister ship, armored cruiser Vizcaya. Ordered back across the Atlantic as war approached, both ships were assigned to 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...
's 1st Squadron, which was concentrating at São Vicente
São Vicente, Cape Verde
São Vicente , also Son Visent or Son Sent in Cape Verdean Creole, is one of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, with the Canal de São Vicente separating it from Santo Antão.- Geography :The island is roughly rectangular in shape...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's Cape Verde Islands under Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....
. They arrived at São Vicente on 19 April 1898. 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 140 mm guns had defective breach mechanisms and had been supplied with defective ammunition, and the fleet had a shortage of stokers.
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
began while Almirante Oquendo was at São Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave São 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
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Cervera's ships reached French-owned Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
on 10 May 1898. While Almirante Oquendo and the other large ships loitered in international waters, two Spanish destroyers went into Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
to ask for coal. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was neutral and would not supply coal, so the Spanish squadron departed on 12 May 1898 for Dutch-owned Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, where Cervera expected to meet a collier. Cervera arrived at Willemstad
Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles
Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of...
on 14 May, but the Netherlands also was neutral, and strictly enforced its neutrality by allowing only Vizcaya and armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
Infanta Maria Teresa
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:...
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
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
on the southeastern coast of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, 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 140 mm gun out of commission, 80 percent of the 140 mm 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
Spanish cruiser Cristobal Colon
Cristóbal Colón was a Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.-Technical Characteristics:...
, with destroyers Furor
Spanish destroyer Furor
Furor was a Furor-class destroyer of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.-Technical characteristics:...
and Pluton
Spanish destroyer Pluton
Plutón, was an Audaz-class destroyer of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.-Technical characteristics:...
bringing up the rear. While Infanta Maria Teresa sacrificed herself by attacking the fastest American ship, armored cruiser USS Brooklyn
USS Brooklyn (CA-3)
The second USS Brooklyn was a United States Navy armored cruiser.She was launched on 2 October 1895 by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Miss Ida May Schieren; and commissioned on 1 December 1896, Captain Francis Augustus Cook in...
, 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
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
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
USS Vixen (PY-4)
USS Vixen was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy for operations in the Spanish-American War, where she served with distinction during the Battle of Santiago. She was commissioned again for duty during World War I when she was assigned to patrol the U.S...
.
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
USS Iowa (BB-4)
| The second half of the 19th century saw radical changes in shipbuilding design. Wood-built sailing ships with cannons were replaced by steam-powered warships armored with steel...
was only 1,600 yards (1,463 m) off her port quarter, while battleships USS Oregon
USS Oregon (BB-3)
USS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
and USS Indiana
USS Indiana (BB-1)
USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship also pioneered the use of an...
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 hundred yards (meters) 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 Support Facility AnacostiaNaval Support Facility Anacostia
Naval Support Facility Anacostia is a United States Naval Base in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. and is conjoined with Bolling Air Force Base. NSF Anacostia falls under the command of Naval Support Activity Washington.-History:...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.