The ''Almirante Cervera'' class (or ''Alfonso'' class) were three

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s built for the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigat ...

in the 1920s. The ships were built by

Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval From 1909 until the Spanish Civil War, naval construction in Spain was monopolized by the Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval – (SECN) also Spanish Society for Naval Construction (SECN). During this time the majority of its shares were owne ...

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

which had strong British links and were designed by Sir Philip Watts. The design was based on the British , but had all boilers grouped together reducing the number of funnels to two. The main armament comprised Vickers pattern 6-inch guns with single mountings in "A" and "Y" positions and twin turrets in "B", "Q" and "X" positions. The programme was initially authorised in 1915 but was delayed by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

with construction of the first ship starting in 1917. ''Galicia'' and ''Miguel de Cervantes'' had substantial refits in the 1940s. The 6-inch turret in "Q" position was replaced by a catapult for a seaplane and the single 6-inch mountings were replaced by twins to retain an 8 gun broadside. Extra AA guns were fitted in all three ships.

Ships

Service history

''Principe Alfonso'' conveyed King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, A ...

on several foreign tours in the late 1920s and in 1931 took him to exile in Italy. During 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, renamed ''Libertad'', she served in the

Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the other two branches of the Spanish Republic ...

and was interned in

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the ca ...

French Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (french: Protectorat français de Tunisie; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في تونس '), commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial Empire era, ...

, at the end of the conflict. She returned to Spain in 1939 and was renamed ''Galicia''. ''Miguel de Cervantes'' (named after

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

) was also part the Republican fleet during the civil war and was torpedoed by the in 1936. The ship was interned in Bizerte and returned to Spain. She was badly damaged by fire in 1943 and repaired. She represented Spain in the

Coronation Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

in 1953. ''Almirante Cervera'' (named after Admiral

Pascual Cervera y Topete Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (18 February 1839, Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz, Spain – 3 April 1909, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain) was a prominent Spanish naval officer with the rank of '' Almirante'' (admiral) who served in a number of high pos ...

) served on the Nationalist side in the civil war and was present in most of the major battles.

References

Bibliography

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External links

''Buques De Guerra''
a Spanish website about warships {{DEFAULTSORT:Almirante Cervera class cruiser Cruiser classes