USS Isla de Cuba

Isla de Cuba soon after completion, probably in a British port
History
Spain
Name	Isla de Cuba
Namesake	The island of Cuba in the Caribbean
Builder	Elswick, Tyne and Wear , England
Cost	2,400,000 pesetas
Laid down	25 February 1886
Launched	11 December 1886
Completed	22 September 1887
Fate	Scuttled 1 May 1898; captured and salvaged by the United States Navy
United States
Name	USS Isla de Cuba
Namesake	The island of Cuba (Spanish Navy name retained)
Acquired	by capture, 1 May 1898
Commissioned	11 April 1900
Decommissioned	9 June 1904
In service	as school ship, March 1907
Fate	Sold to Venezuela, 2 April 1912
Venezuela
Name	Mariscal Sucre
Namesake	Antonio José de Sucre
Acquired	2 April 1912
Fate	Scrapped, 1940
General characteristics
Class and type	Isla de Luzón-class protected cruiser
Displacement	1,038 t (1,022 long tons)
Length	195 ft (59 m)
Beam	30 ft (9.1 m)
Draft	11 ft 4.75 in (3.4735 m) (mean)
Installed power	535 ihp (399 kW)
Propulsion	2 × horizontal triple expansion engines 2 cylindrical boilers 2 × screws
Speed	11.2 kn (12.9 mph; 20.7 km/h)
Capacity	160 short tons (150 t) of coal
Complement	164
Armament	4 × 4 in (100 mm) /40 cal guns 4 × 6-pounder 57 mm (2.24 in) quick-firing guns 3 × 14 in (360 mm) torpedo tubes (above water)
Armor	Deck: 1–2.5 in (2.5–6.4 cm)

USS Isla de Cuba was a

The American squadron made a series of firing passes, wreaking great havoc on the Spanish ships.^[5] At first, Dewey's ships concentrated their fire on Montojo's flagship, unprotected cruiser Reina Cristina, and on unprotected cruiser Castilla, and Isla de Cuba suffered little damage. When Reina Cristina was disabled, Isla de Cuba and her sister ship, Isla de Luzón, came alongside the sinking Reina Cristina to assist her under heavy American gunfire. Admiral Montojo shifted his flag to Isla de Cuba. When Montojo's squadron had been battered into submission, Isla de Cuba was scuttled in shallow water to avoid capture. Her upper works remained above the water, and a team from gunboat USS Petrel went aboard and set Isla de Cuba on fire.^[3]

After the United States occupied the Philippines, the United States Navy seized, salvaged, and repaired Isla de Cuba.^[3] The U.S. Navy took possession of her, refloated her, and repaired her damage. The Spanish 4.7 in (120 mm) guns were removed and replaced with 4 in (100 mm) guns.^[6]

United States Navy

Isla de Cuba was commissioned into the United States Navy on 11 April 1900 at

• USS Isla de Luzon (1886)

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927. Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society.
  ISBN 0-905617-89-4
  .
• Campbell, N J M (1979). "United States". In Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books.
  ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
  .
• Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985.
  ISBN 0-87021-907-3
  .
• "Isla de Cuba". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
• Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Spain". In Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books.
  ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
  .
• ISBN 0-938289-57-8
  .

• Alden, John D. The American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet, 1907–1909. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1972.
  ISBN 0-87021-248-6
  .

• Media related to Isla de Cuba (ship, 1887) at Wikimedia Commons
• Navsource.org: USS Isla de Cuba
• Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: Spanish Navy Ships: Isla de Cuba (Cruiser, 1886–1898)