''Navarra'' was a

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 ...

serving 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 ...

from 1923 to 1956. Construction of ''Reina Victoria Eugenia''—the ship's original name—began in 1915 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 ...

in Ferrol. The design showed considerable British design influence resembling contemporary British Town-class cruisers. The boilers were re-arranged into three rooms to give three funnels. The ship was renamed ''República'' in 1931 and assumed the name ''Navarra'' in 1936.

Service

The ship was ordered as the ''Reina Victoria Eugenia'' (named after Queen consort

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 ...

), laid down on 31 March 1915, launched 21 April 1920 and completed on 15 January 1923.Whitley 1995, p. 214 She was flagship of the Spanish squadron during the

Rif war The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

. After the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

in 1931 she became part of 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 Republi ...

and was renamed ''República''. At the start of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

in 1936, she was being refitted in Cadiz and was seized by the Nationalist side. The refit included replacing the old coal-fired boilers with oil-fired units. A new superstructure was added, one funnel was removed, and six 6-inch guns were moved to the centre line (three guns were removed). Four German 88 mm AA guns were also fitted, and the torpedo tubes removed. The ship had limited war service and later was used as a training ship until her retirement in 1956. When in service during the last months of the Spanish Civil War, ''Navarra'' was nicknamed ''Sigamos a la flota'' ("

Follow the fleet ''Follow the Fleet'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, wi ...

"), after the

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

film, because it was much slower than the two other surviving Nationalist cruisers ( ''Canarias'' and ''Almirante Cervera'').

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarra (1923) Cruisers of the Spanish Navy Ships built in Ferrol, Spain 1920 ships Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish Civil War ships