''Castillo de Olite'' was a

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

steamship that was launched in 1920 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as ''Zaandijk''. She passed through a series of Dutch and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

owners, and at different times was renamed ''Zwartewater'', ''Postyshev'' and ''Akademik Pavlov''. In 1938 the Spanish Nationalist Navy captured her and renamed her ''Castillo de Olite''. In the last days of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

she was sunk with great loss of life while serving as a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

Building

De Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij NV built the ship in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, launching her on 20 November 1920 and completing her in 19 February 1921. Her registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically r ...

s were and . She had a single

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...

, driven by a three-cylinder

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up ...

that was rated at 342

NHP Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

Career

''Zaandijk''s first owner was NV Solleveld, Van der Meer & TH van Hattum's Stoomvaart Maatschappij, who registered her in

. Her code letters were QCVR. She traded to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and Sumatra. In 1930 NV Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Nederlandsche Lloyd" acquired ''Zaandijk'' and renamed her ''Zwartewater''. She remained registered in Rotterdam, but her code letters were changed to QTDL. In 1935 the USSR bought her, renamed her ''Postishev'' after the Ukrainian Communist

Pavel Postyshev Pavel Petrovich Postyshev (russian: Па́вел Петро́вич По́стышев; – 26 February 1939) was a Soviet politician, state and Communist Party official and party publicist. He was a member of Joseph Stalin's inner circle, befor ...

, and registered her in

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

. In 1938 she was renamed ''Akedemik Pavlov''. On 31 May 1938 the Nationalist

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

''Vicente Puchol'' captured ''Akademik Pavlov'' in the Strait of Gibraltar, when the latter was carrying a cargo of coal. She was incorporated in the Nationalist Spanish Navy as the ''Castillo de Olite'', and armed with a 120 mm

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

gun and a 57 mm Nordenfeldt gun. Instituto Cartagenero de Investigaciones Históricas, pp. 6-8

Sinking

In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, Cartagena was one of the last

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

strongholds, and harboured most of the remaining Republican Navy. When the anti-communist

Cartagena Uprising The Cartagena uprising took place 4–7 March 1939 during the Spanish Civil War. The troop transport was sunk during the revolt. Background After the fall of Catalonia in February 1939, the military situation of the Republic was hopeless. Th ...

broke out, the Nationalists sent reinforcementsto try to capture Cartagena and the Republican fleet. With less than 48 hours preparation, the Nationalists sent from Castellón and Málaga a convoy of 16 ships, carrying more than 20,000 troops. The convoy comprised the s ''Júpiter'', ''Marte '' and ''Vulcano'', the auxiliary cruisers ''Lázaro'', ''Jaime I'', ''Domine'' and ''J.J. Sister'' and the transports ''Castillo de Olite'', ''San Sebastián'', ''Castillo Peñafiel'', ''Gibraltar'', ''Monforte'', ''Mombeltrán'', ''Huertas'', ''Montealegre'' and ''Simancas''.Fernández, 1999, p. 21 The Republican fleet had left Cartagena for Oran, in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, but the Republican Brigade 206 had retaken the port and its coastal defense batteries, thus preventing the Nationalist landing. The Nationalist ships retreated, except for ''Castillo de Olite'', which had not received the order to withdraw, because her radio was out of order. While approaching the docks, one 152mm shell from a coastal battery hit her. She sank shortly afterwards, broken in two.Fernández, 1999, pp. 22–23 Of the 2,112 men aboard, 1,476 were killed, 342 were wounded and 294 were captured, after being rescued by local fishermen and the lighthouse keeper, Santiago Saavedra, and his wife, Carmen Hevia.
This is the one of the greatest loss of life from the sinking of a single ship in Spanish maritime history.Férnandez, 1999, p. 20

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo De Olite, SS 1920 ships Captured ships Cargo ships of the Netherlands Maritime incidents in 1939 Mediterranean naval operations of the Spanish Civil War Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Ships built in Rotterdam Ships sunk by coastal artillery Shipwrecks of the Spanish Civil War Soviet Union–Spain relations Steamships of the Netherlands Steamships of Spain Steamships of the Soviet Union Troop ships