Spanish cruiser Navarra

Navarra was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy in the late 19th century.

For the Nationalist ship of the Spanish Civil War, see Spanish cruiser Navarra (1923).
Castilla class cruiser
An Aragon-class (here called Castilla-class) cruiser in the 1880s or 1890s, showing the appearance of Navarra
History
Armada Española EnsignSpain
NameNavarra
NamesakeThe Kingdom of Navarre
OrderedJanuary 1869
BuilderNaval shipyard at Ferrol, Spain
Laid downMay 1869
LaunchedAugust 1881
Completed1882
Commissioned1882
FateEither was hulked in 1896 and sold for scrap in 1899[1] or became a cadet training ship in 1900[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeAragon-class unprotected cruiser
Displacement3,289 tons
Length236 ft 0 in (71.93 m)
Beam44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
Draft23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) maximum
Installed power1,400 ihp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion1-shaft, 3-cylinder, horizontal compound
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range2,180 nmi (4,040 km; 2,510 mi)
Complement392 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • As completed, included 8 × 8 in (203 mm) 180-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns
  • In 1885:
  • 4 × 5.9 in (150 mm) guns
  • 2 × 4.7 in (119 mm) breech-loading guns
  • 2 × 87 mm guns
  • 4 × 75 mm guns
  • 10 × machine guns
  • 2 × 14 in (356 mm) torpedo tubes
Notes460 tons of coal (normal)

Technical characteristics

Navarra was built at Ferrol, Spain. Her construction as an armored corvette with a central battery ironclad design began in 1869, with plans to give her 890 tons of armor and 500 millimetres (19.7 in) of armor at the waterline. In 1870, her design was changed to that of an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette, and, after political events delayed her construction, she finally was launched in this form in 1881 and completed in 1882.[1] Her original conception as an armored ship and the change to an unarmored one during construction left her with an overly heavy wooden hull that was obsolescent by the time of her launch.[2]

Designed for colonial service,[3] she had two funnels and was rigged as a barque.[2] Her machinery was manufactured at the naval shipyard at Ferrol.[3] The original main battery of Armstrong-built 8-inch (203 mm) guns was obsolescent when she was completed, and were quickly replaced with more modern Krupp-built guns, with the 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns mounted in sponsons.[2]

Operational history

Navarra was commissioned in 1882. By the 1890s, she was assigned to the Cadiz Naval Group.[3] Sources differ on her career after that; she either was hulked in 1896 and sold for scrap in 1899[1] or survived the 1890s to become a cadet training ship in 1900.[2]

Notes
  1. The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: Spanish Wooden Cruisers
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905, p. 383
  3. The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: Castilla explains the design of this class ship of ship being for colonial service.

References
  • Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • Nofi, Albert A. The Spanish–American War, 1898. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Books, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-938289-57-8.
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