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Tuesday 28 September 2010

Warships of the Spanish Civil War

During my chat with David Crook (AKA Orgefencer) whilst I was visiting 'Skirmish' last Sunday, one of the topics we discussed was the warships used by both sides during the Spanish Civil War.

It is interesting to note that almost all the warships in service with or being built for the Spanish Navy in 1936 were designed in Britain.
  • The two extant battleships – ESPAÑA (ex-ALFONSO XIII) and JAMIE I – were designed in the UK and their main armament and much of their armour was supplied by Vickers.
  • The two heavy cruisers – CANARIAS and BALEARES – were designed by Watts, and were based upon the Royal Navy's COUNTY-class cruisers.
  • The three light cruisers of the CERVERA-class – LIBERTAD (ex-PRÍNCIPE ALFONSO), MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, and ALMIRANTE CERVERA – were based on the British E-class light cruisers.
  • The light cruiser MÉNDEZ NÚÑEZ (her sister ship – BLAS DE LEZO – sank in 1932) was a better-armed version of the British C-class light cruisers
  • The light cruiser NAVARRA (ex-REPUBLICA, ex-REINA VICTORIA EUGENIA) was based on the Royal Navy's World War I BIRMINGHAM-class of light cruisers
  • The destroyers of the CHURRUCA-class (SÁNCHEZ BARCAIZTEGUI, JOSÉ LUIS DÍEZ, ALMIRANTE FERRÁNDIZ, LEPANTO, CHURRUCA, ALCALÁ GALIANO, ALMIRANTE VALDÉS, ALMIRANTE ANTEQUERA, ALMIRANTE MIRANDA, GRAVINA, ESCAÑO, ULLOA, JORGE JUAN, and CÍSCAR) were virtually copies of the SCOTT-class Royal Navy destroyers
  • The design of the ALSEDO-class destroyers (ALSEDO, LAZAGA, and VELASCO) was based on the NIMROD-class destroyers that served in the Royal Navy during World War I
With the exception of the battleships, almost all of these warships can be converted quite easily from models of their Royal Navy 'sisters' ... and I got the distinct impression that this is something that Ogrefencer might be considering as a future project.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,

    All of the models are available in 1/3000th from Navwar and armed with my trusty and much thumbed copy of Ultima Cruzada I should be able to cobble together both fleets easily enough. It would also give me a chance to tackle a small naval project a la Balkan Wars. I have already organised the flags for the bases and will also draft the ship name labels - all I need then are the ships!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  2. David Crook,

    I had a feeling that I was listening to a project in the early planning stages!

    Good luck with it; I shall follow developments with interest.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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