Reina Victoria Eugenia-class Battleship
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Reina Victoria Eugenia'' class was a class of three
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s of the
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, 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 navigation ...
authorized as the ''Plan de la Segunda Escuadra'' under the Navy Law of 1913. The class, as well as the lead ship, were named for
King Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...
's English
queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
,
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Re ...
. The other two ships were classified as "B" and "C". It was supposed to be designed by
Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
, and built by
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
. The ships were never built due to Britain's involvement in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, which halted all foreign projects being constructed in British yards.


Background

Following disastrous losses in the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
of 1898, Spain lacked the money to rebuild its navy, though the naval command made repeated requests for funding to begin reconstruction. The first two attempts, the Fleet Plan of 1903 and the Fleet Plan of 1905, both failed to secure parliamentary funding. Shortly thereafter, developments abroad spurred support to begin rebuilding the fleet. German expansionism had prompted Britain and France to come to the ''
Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the French Third Republic, French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Fr ...
'', putting aside their traditional rivalry to oppose Germany. The agreement directly affected Spain, since it settled matters of control over Morocco and placed
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
under joint British–French–Spanish control. The agreement had the effect of bringing Spain closer with Britain and France, leading to an exchange of notes between the three governments in May 1907 that underlined an informal mutual defense agreement. The notes created the framework to contain the German-led
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
, whereby Britain would concentrate the bulk of its
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
while Spain would contribute its fleet to support the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
against the combined fleets of Italy and
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. By that time, a new government led by
Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, on the island of Mallorca, he was the seventh child in a family of t ...
was in power, prompting the Navy to try again with the Fleet Plan of 1907; this was passed by the legislature early the following year as the Navy Law of 7 January 1908. It authorized three new battleships, which became the , consisting of the ships , , and , along with supporting
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s and
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s. The battleships were constrained by the size of existing Spanish harbor facilities to around , since the government lacked the funding to dredge harbors and enlarge
dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s to accept larger vessels. The delay enabled Spain to take advantage of experience gained by Britain with the world's first commissioned all-big-gun battleship, , along with those of other major naval powers that had already built their own "dreadnoughts". As the Navy had little experience designing
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic i ...
s, it issued a set of specifications for the battleships and requested proposals from foreign shipbuilders, securing tenders from British, French, Italian, and
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
shipyards. The Navy then took the best characteristics from each submission and made its own improvements before awarding the contract to ''
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 ...
'' (SECN), a
consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...
created by three of the British firms—
Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...
,
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 in 18 ...
, and
John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...
. In addition to the contracts for the ships themselves, SECN was also contracted to build the shipyard in
Ferrol, Spain Ferrol (, ) is a city in the province of A Coruña in Galicia, Spain, located in the Rías Altas, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern-day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city had a population of 64,785, making it the ...
that would in turn build the ships. The repeated delays in the Spanish naval reconstruction program proved to be a detriment as well, since the ''España''s were rapidly surpassed by foreign vessels, most notably the so-called "
super-dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
s". By 1912, the need for additional battleships had become apparent, and Prime Minister José Canalejas pushed for a new law authorizing another group of three ships. After Canelejas was assassinated later that year, his successor,
Álvaro de Figueroa Álvaro de Figueroa y Alonso-Martínez, 2nd Marquess of Villabrágima (24 December 1893 – 3 November 1959) was a Spanish polo player. He competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics and the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), o ...
and the naval minister,
Amalio Gimeno Amalio Gimeno y Cabañas, 1st Count of Gimeno (31 May 1852, in Cartagena, Spain – 13 September 1936, in Madrid) was a Spanish nobleman, physician, scientist and politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, polic ...
, secured passage of the ''Plan de la Segunda Escuadra'' (Second Squadron Plan). The plan projected a second squadron of three dreadnoughts to supplement the ''España'' class, along with a pair of
scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...
s, nine destroyers, and three
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s. These dreadnoughts were named the ''Reina Victoria Eugenia'' class. They were to be in laid down in 1914 and 1915 and completed around 1920.


Design history

The class consisted of three ships, ''Reina Victoria Eugenia'', the lead ship, and two others referred to only by the temporary names ''B'' and ''C''. The lead ship was named after King Alfonso's British wife. They were designed by SECN and were initially planned to displace with a speed of . Early plans for the type called for an armament of eight guns in four twin-
gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...
s; however, financial difficulties resulted in the selection of an armament of eight guns instead, which still would have had a longer range than most contemporary ships. The secondary armament would have been twenty guns. The propulsion system was to consist of four Parsons
steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
s, driving four
screw propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s; speed was to be around . Other specifications of the ships were either never decided upon or have not survived, although according to the naval historians Robert Gardiner and Randal Gray, it is probable that they would have had an arrangement similar to British battleships of the period, with two pairs of
superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval design technique in which two or more turrets are located one behind the other, with the rear turret located above ("super") the one in front so that it can fire over the first. This configuration meant that both ...
turrets, one forward and one aft, with two closely spaced
funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...
. The design staff preferred guns, and by 1914,
Eduardo Dato Eduardo Dato e Iradier (12 August 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Spanish political leader during the Spanish Restoration period. He served three times as Spanish prime minister: from 27 October 1913 to 9 December 1915, from 11 June 1917 to 3 No ...
had become prime minister. He and his naval minister,
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Augusto Miranda, authorized a revision of the design upward to accept the larger guns, which necessitated an increase to at least . As with the ''España''-class battleships, the guns, armor plate, and
fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...
s for which were manufactured in Britain, significant technical assistance from the British would have been required. The start of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in July 1914 threw the Spanish plans into disarray; after Italy declared neutrality, Spain followed suit, since her fleet was unnecessary for France to contain the Austro-Hungarians by itself. With the strategic need for the new battleships removed, Miranda immediately decided to reduce the construction program to focus on
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s, destroyers, and submarines, since they were cheaper alternatives to a large fleet of battleships. Miranda's revised program was passed by the legislature as the Navy Law of 30 July 1914. After the war, the navy considered another major construction program centered on four
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...
s that would have displaced around , but it was deemed to have been too ambitious and the plan was not formally proposed to parliament.


See also

* List of battleships of Spain


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * {{Good article Battleship classes Battleships of the Spanish Navy