Reina Victoria Eugenia-class battleship
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Reina Victoria Eugenia |
Preceded by | España class |
Succeeded by | None |
Planned | 3 |
Cancelled | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 21,000 long tons (21,337 t) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
Armament |
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The Reina Victoria Eugenia class was a class of three
Background
Following disastrous losses in the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain lacked the money to rebuild its navy, though the naval command made repeated requests for funding to begin reconstruction. The first two attempts, the Fleet Plan of 1903 and the Fleet Plan of 1905, both failed to secure parliamentary funding.[1] Shortly thereafter, developments abroad spurred support to begin rebuilding the fleet. German expansionism had prompted Britain and France to come to the Entente Cordiale, putting aside their traditional rivalry to oppose Germany. The agreement directly affected Spain, since it settled matters of control over Morocco and placed Tangier under joint British–French–Spanish control. The agreement had the effect of bringing Spain closer with Britain and France, leading to an exchange of notes between the three governments in May 1907 that underlined an informal mutual defense agreement. The notes created the framework to contain the German-led Central Powers, whereby Britain would concentrate the bulk of its Royal Navy in the North Sea while Spain would contribute its fleet to support the French Navy against the combined fleets of Italy and Austria-Hungary.[2]
By that time, a new government led by Antonio Maura was in power, prompting the Navy to try again with the Fleet Plan of 1907; this was passed by the legislature early the following year as the Navy Law of 7 January 1908. It authorized three new battleships, which became the España class, consisting of the ships España, Alfonso XIII, and Jaime I, along with supporting destroyers and torpedo boats. The battleships were constrained by the size of existing Spanish harbor facilities to around 15,000 long tons (15,241 t), since the government lacked the funding to dredge harbors and enlarge dry docks to accept larger vessels.[3][4]
The delay enabled Spain to take advantage of experience gained by Britain with the world's first commissioned
The repeated delays in the Spanish naval reconstruction program proved to be a detriment as well, since the Españas were rapidly surpassed by foreign vessels, most notably the so-called "
Design history
The class consisted of three ships, Reina Victoria Eugenia, the lead ship, and two others referred to only by the temporary names B and C. The lead ship was named after King Alfonso's British wife.
The design staff preferred 15-inch (381 mm) guns, and by 1914, Eduardo Dato had become prime minister. He and his naval minister, Admiral Augusto Miranda, authorized a revision of the design upward to accept the larger guns, which necessitated an increase to at least 25,000 long tons (25,000 t). As with the España-class battleships, the guns, armor plate, and fire-control systems for which were manufactured in Britain, significant technical assistance from the British would have been required. The start of World War I in July 1914 threw the Spanish plans into disarray; after Italy declared neutrality, Spain followed suit, since her fleet was unnecessary for France to contain the Austro-Hungarians by itself. With the strategic need for the new battleships removed, Miranda immediately decided to reduce the construction program to focus on cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, since they were cheaper alternatives to a large fleet of battleships. Miranda's revised program was passed by the legislature as the Navy Law of 30 July 1914. After the war, the navy considered another major construction program centered on four battlecruisers that would have displaced around 30,000 long tons (30,481 t), but it was deemed to have been too ambitious and the plan was not formally proposed to parliament.[9][12][13]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Fernandez, Mitiukov, & Crawford, pp. 63, 65.
- ^ Rodríguez González, pp. 268–270.
- ^ Fernandez, Mitiukov, & Crawford, p. 65.
- ^ Rodríguez González, pp. 270–271.
- ^ a b Fitzsimons, p. 856.
- ^ Fernandez, Mitiukov, & Crawford, pp. 66–72.
- ^ a b c Sturton, p. 144.
- ^ Gardiner & Gray, p. 376.
- ^ a b Rodríguez González, p. 274.
- ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 438.
- ^ Gardiner & Gray, p. 378.
- ^ Gardiner & Gray, pp. 376, 379.
- ^ Fernandez, Mitiukov, & Crawford, p. 73.
References
- Fernandez, Rafael; Mitiukov, Nicholas & Crawford, Kent (March 2007). "The Spanish Dreadnoughts of the España class". Warship International. 44 (1). Toledo: International Naval Research Organization: 63–117. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Fitzsimons, Bernard (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 8. Milwaukee: Columbia House. ISBN 978-0-8393-6175-6.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Garzke, William; Dulin, Robert (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0.
- Rodríguez González, Agustín Ramón (2018). "The Battleship Alfonso XIII (1913)". In Taylor, Bruce (ed.). The World of the Battleship: The Lives and Careers of Twenty-One Capital Ships of the World's Navies, 1880–1990. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. pp. 268–289. ISBN 978-0-87021-906-1.
- Sturton, Ian, ed. (1987). Conway's All The World's Battleships: 1906 to the Present. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-448-0.