''Destructor'' was a 19th-century Spanish warship. She was a fast ocean-going torpedo gunboat and the main precursor of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

type of vessel. ''Destructor'' was the first warship classified as a "destroyer" at the time of her commissioning.Smith, Charles Edgar: ''A short history of naval and marine engineering.'' Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263 Her designer was a Spanish Navy officer,

Fernando Villaamil Fernando Villaamil Fernández-Cueto (November 23, 1845 – July 3, 1898) was a Spanish people, Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the inventor of the destroyer warship and for his death ...

, commissioned by the Minister of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Manuel Pezuela.

Genesis

During the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s the rapidly improving, fast and cheap torpedo boats were presenting an escalating threat to major warships. Escort vessels were already in use to provide protection for

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s but it was decided that what was needed was a new type of enlarged and fast torpedo boat, capable of escorting larger ships on long voyages and also able to attack enemy battleships with torpedoes as part of a fleet action. The Spanish Navy asked several British shipyards to submit proposals capable of fulfilling these specifications. In 1885 it chose the design submitted by the shipyard of James and George Thomson of

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

, near the Yarrow shipyards. The vessel was laid down at the end of the year, launched in 1886, and commissioned in 1887.

Characteristics

''Destructor'' displaced , and was equipped with triple-expansion engines generating , for a maximum speed of ,''Contratorpedero Destructor''
which made her one of the faster ships in the world by 1888. She was armed with one 90mm (3.5 in) Spanish-designed Hontoria

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

gun,Fitzsimmons, Bernard: ''The Illustrated encyclopedia of 20th century weapons and warfare.'' Columbia House, 1978, v. 8, page 835 four (6 pdr) Nordenfeldt guns, two

Hotchkiss revolving cannon The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s and two torpedo tubes . The ship carried three

Schwartzkopff torpedo The Schwartzkopff torpedo was a torpedo manufactured in the late 19th century by the German firm ''Eisengießerei und Maschinen-Fabrik von L. Schwartzkopff'', later known as Berliner Maschinenbau, based on the Whitehead design. Unlike the Whit ...

es per tube. She was manned by a crew of 60. On her maiden voyage, ''Destructor'' established a record after steaming from Falmouth to

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 ...

in 24 hours. In terms of gunnery, speed and dimensions, the specialised design to chase torpedo boats and her high seas capabilities, ''Destructor'' is widely considered the first torpedo-boat destroyer ever built, and was described as such by British naval engineer Sir William Henry White. ''Destructor'' is thought to have influenced the design and concept of later destroyers developed by the British Royal Navy. Further developments followed the pattern of the , built in 1893. The aim of the new destroyer design was not only to neutralize the torpedo boat as an effective weapon, but also to replace it as a faster and more reliable torpedo-carrying warship.Dolby, James: ''The Steel Navy: A History in Silhouette, 1860–1963.'' Macdonald, 1965, page 71. OCLC 2336286

Notes

References

* Cheseneau, R & Kolesnik, E (Eds). ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', Conway Maritime Press, 1979. * Lyon, David. ''The First Destroyers'', Chatham Shipshape Series, London, 1997.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Destructor (1886) Destroyers of the Spanish Navy Ships built on the River Clyde Science and technology in Spain 1886 ships