''Lepanto'' was a 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 ...

. She took part in 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 ...

on the side of the government 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. ...

. She was named after the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

Civil War

''Lepanto'' saw a lot of action during the Spanish Civil War. At the start of the hostilities she was involved in the blockade of the

Gibraltar Strait The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. F ...

to prevent the

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

transport of troops from

Spanish Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

to southern Spain. In the course of these operations she was damaged by rebel aircraft on 5 August 1936, a couple of hours before the convoy known as '' Convoy de la victoria'' successfully broke the Republican blockade. In September she joined the squadron which sailed to the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

in support of Republican forces isolated on the northern front. For most of 1937 the destroyer was on

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

duty. While involved in one of these missions, ''Lepanto'' took part of the

Battle of Cape Cherchell The Battle of Cape Cherchell was a naval battle between the Nationalist heavy cruiser and the Spanish Republican Navy light cruisers and during the Spanish Civil War on 7 September 1937. The battle occurred in the Mediterranean Sea nor ...

. At the Battle of Cape Palos, ''Lepanto'' together with and , broke away from escorting the

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 ...

and fired three

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es at the Nationalist

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

. Since ''Lepanto'' was likely responsible for the fatal hit in the forward

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

that sank the enemy cruiser, she was awarded the '' Distintivo de Madrid'' along with other loyalist vessels. On 5 March 1939, their crews hoping to avoid execution, ''Lepanto'' fled Cartagena with the Republican squadron bound for

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, arriving on 11 March. The next day, Commander of the Fleet Miguel Buiza asked for political asylum and the ships were requisitioned by the French authorities and left in the custody by a few crewmen, the rest being held in a prison camp at Meheri Zabbens. Later the rebel transports ''Mallorca'' and ''Marqués de Comillas'' arrived 31 March 1939 with new crews to take over the ships.

Post war

On 2 April 1939, just 24 hours after official end of the Civil War, ''Lepanto'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s which had fought for the Republic sailed back to Spain with new Nationalist crews. They arrived in Cadiz on 5 April. Participating in an

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

exercise on 27 July 1940, ''Lepanto'' operated in company with destroyers and against

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 , , and . off Morro de la Vaca, ''Lepanto'' was running at when ''C4'' broached a few metres off her bow. Unable to change course in time, she ran down the submarine, hitting her broadside between her

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

and deck gun, cutting ''C4'' in two. ''C4'', commanded at the time by Capitan de Corbeta ( Lieutenant Commander) Francisco Reina Carvajal, went down in of water. All 44 of her crew were lost with her. ''Lepanto'' was decommissioned 24 May 1957 and scrapped in 1958.

Notes

References

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External links

Destroyers in Spanish civil war

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepanto Churruca-class destroyers Ships built in Cartagena, Spain 1929 ships Spanish Republican Navy Maritime incidents in July 1940 Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish Civil War ships