The ships were ordered in 1926 and were based on the British County-class cruisers. The designer was Sir Phillip Watts. These ships had anti-torpedo bulges and a slightly narrower beam as well as more powerful machinery. The boiler rooms were re-arranged compared to the British design and trunked into a single massive funnel rather than three funnels used on the British cruisers. The Spanish ships had a stronger secondary armament and although the original design included a catapult for a seaplane this was never installed.
Both ships were making their final sea trials when seized by the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War. Both of them were fitting out and completed with makeshift fire control and secondary armament.
Canarias was the flagship of the Nationalist Navy and sank 34 ships including the Republican destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz and the Soviet merchant Komsomol. She also damaged the destroyer José Luis Díez, forcing her to seek refuge at Gibraltar. During World War II she took part in the search of survivors from the German battleship Bismarck.
Baleares was completed without 'Y' turret, which was retrofitted in 1937. In September 1937 she engaged two Republican light cruisers in the Battle of Cape Cherchell. During a raid on Palma de Majorca in March 1938 she was intercepted by Republican destroyers and torpedoed by the destroyer Lepanto. The torpedoes blew up the forward magazines, disintegrating the fore part of the ship. The stern half remained afloat and 372 of her crew of 1221 were saved by British destroyers Boreas and Kempenfelt. 786 men died during the action.
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN0-8317-0303-2.
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Canarias specs at Bismarck site 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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October 21, 2023
canarias, class, cruiser, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january, 2013, lea. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Canarias class was a class of heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy Two ships of the class were completed in the 1930s They were built in Spain by the Vickers Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Espanola de Construccion Naval upon a British design and were a modified version of the Royal Navy s County class The two ships completed Canarias and Baleares both saw service during the Spanish Civil War the latter being sunk Canarias during the Spanish Civil WarClass overviewNameCanarias classBuildersSociedad Espanola de Construccion Naval in FerrolOperators Spanish NavyPreceded byAlmirante Cervera classSucceeded byNoneBuilt1928 1935In commission1935 1975Planned3Completed2Cancelled1Lost1Retired1General characteristicsTypeHeavy cruiserDisplacement10 670 long tons 10 840 t standard 13 500 long tons 13 700 t full loadLength636 ft 194 m Beam64 ft 20 m Draught21 ft 5 in 6 53 m Installed powerYarrow type boilers 90 000 hp 67 000 kW Propulsion4 shafts Parsons type geared turbinesSpeed33 knots 61 km h Range8 000 nmi 15 000 km at 15 kn 28 km h Complement679Armament8 8 inch 203 mm guns in four twin turrets 8 4 7 inch 119 mm guns 12 40 mm AA guns 3 20 mm AA guns 12 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes in triple mounts above waterArmourBelt 2 in 51 mm Deck 1 5 1 in 38 25 mm Magazine 4 in 102 mm box around Turret 1 in 25 mm Conning tower 1 in 25 mm Contents 1 Design 2 Ships 3 Service history 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksDesign EditThe ships were ordered in 1926 and were based on the British County class cruisers The designer was Sir Phillip Watts These ships had anti torpedo bulges and a slightly narrower beam as well as more powerful machinery The boiler rooms were re arranged compared to the British design and trunked into a single massive funnel rather than three funnels used on the British cruisers The Spanish ships had a stronger secondary armament and although the original design included a catapult for a seaplane this was never installed Ships EditBoth ships were built by SECN in Ferrol Ship Launched Completed FateCanarias 28 May 1931 1936 Decommissioned 1975Baleares 20 April 1932 1937 Sunk 6 March 1938 by Republican destroyers in the Battle of Cape PalosA third ship was projected but not ordered Service history EditBoth ships were making their final sea trials when seized by the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War Both of them were fitting out and completed with makeshift fire control and secondary armament Canarias was the flagship of the Nationalist Navy and sank 34 ships including the Republican destroyer Almirante Ferrandiz and the Soviet merchant Komsomol She also damaged the destroyer Jose Luis Diez forcing her to seek refuge at Gibraltar During World War II she took part in the search of survivors from the German battleship Bismarck Baleares was completed without Y turret which was retrofitted in 1937 In September 1937 she engaged two Republican light cruisers in the Battle of Cape Cherchell During a raid on Palma de Majorca in March 1938 she was intercepted by Republican destroyers and torpedoed by the destroyer Lepanto The torpedoes blew up the forward magazines disintegrating the fore part of the ship The stern half remained afloat and 372 of her crew of 1221 were saved by British destroyers Boreas and Kempenfelt 786 men died during the action References EditBibliography EditChesneau Roger ed 1980 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 New York Mayflower Books ISBN 0 8317 0303 2 Whitley M J 1995 Cruisers of World War Two An International Encyclopedia London Cassell ISBN 1 86019 874 0 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canarias class cruiser Canarias specs at Bismarck site Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine BUQUESDEGUERRA TK a Spanish website about warships Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canarias class cruiser amp oldid 1064412458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
