''Real Carlos'' was a 112-gun three-decker

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

built at

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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 ...

in 1787 to plans by Romero Landa.. Aranda y Antón, Gaspar de (1992)
"Las maderas de América en la Arquitectura naval del siglo XVII", p. 17. ''Revista de Historia Naval'', Año X, 1992. Núm. 38. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval.
Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa (España). Retrieved 31 July 2023. One of the eight very large ships of the line of the '' Santa Ana'' class, also known as ''los Meregildos'', ''Real Carlos'' served in the Spanish Navy during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and was destroyed with heavy loss of life during the

Second Battle of Algeciras The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was fought on 12 July 1801 between a Royal Navy squadron and a larger Spanish and French squadron in the Gut of Gibraltar during the Algeciras campaign of th ...

Construction

The ''Santa Ana'' class was built for the Spanish fleet in the 1780s and 1790s as heavy ships of the line, the equivalent of

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 ...

first rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

ships. The other ships of the class were the ''Santa Ana'', ''Mexicano'', ''Salvador del Mundo'', ''Conde de Regla'', ''San Hermenegildo'', ''Reina María Luisa'' and '' Príncipe de Asturias''. Three of the class were captured or destroyed during the French Revolutionary Wars.

History

In 1793 the ''Real Carlos'' was under the command of Baltasar Sesma y Zaylorda as the flagship of Admiral Francisco de Borja. Borja led an expedition to

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, capturing the islands of San Pietro Island for Spain and

Sant'Antioco Sant'Antioco (; ) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the island's largest ...

for France. On 8 April 1799, ''Real Carlos'' was flagship of the Ferrol squadron under Francisco Melgarejo, alongside '' Argonauta'', '' Monarca'', '' San Agustín'', '' Castilla'' and three smaller ships. This squadron sailed in an effort to unite with the French Atlantic Fleet operating in the '' Croisière de Bruix'', but missed the rendezvous and spent much of the rest of the year at anchor in

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

, returning on 11 September. The following year ''Real Carlos'' participated in repelling the

Ferrol Expedition The Ferrol Expedition (also known as the Battle of Brión) was an unsuccessful British attempt to capture Ferrol, Spain on 25 and 26 August 1800. Ferrol was a major Spanish Navy base with a shipyard for List of ships built at El Ferrol shipyard ...

. By July 1801, ''Real Carlos'' was at

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. When a French squadron repelled a British force at the

First Battle of Algeciras The First Battle of Algeciras was fought on 6 July 1801 between a Royal Navy squadron and a smaller French Navy squadron lying at anchor in the Spanish port of Algeciras during the Algeciras campaign of the War of the Second Coalition. The B ...

on 6 July, ''Real Carlos'' joined the squadron sent to escort the French from

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

back to Cádiz. During the night of 12 July the combined force was returning through the

Straits of Gibraltar 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. Fe ...

when a British squadron attacked them at the

. During the confused night action which followed, HMS ''Superb'' cut through the rearguard and between ''Real Carlos'' and ''San Hermenegildo''. The Spanish ships opened fire, striking one another, as a fire spread across ''Real Carlos'''s decks. In the darkness the two huge Spanish ships collided, fire spreading out of control until both exploded in a fireball that could be seen from shore. More than 1,700 men were killed in the blast, one of the greatest losses of life at sea to that time. The heavy Spanish casualties incurred by the defeat contributed to a breakdown of the Franco-Spanish alliance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Carlos 1787 ships Ships built in Cuba Ships of the line of the Spanish Navy Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Naval magazine explosions Maritime incidents in 1801 Friendly fire incidents