Isla de Luzon class cruisers (1886)

Armada (1887-1900): Isla de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, Marqués de la Ensenada

In 1885 the Armada (Spanish Navy) naval staff wanted to better protect its overseas territories and ordered a new design that would be a cheap colonial protected cruiser for station duties. The result were the three Isla de Luzon class ordered in Britain for the first two at Armstrong, Elswick in 1886, completed the new year in 1887. Rights were purchased for a third cruiser to be built in Spain, Marqués de la Ensenada, ordered to Arsenal de la Carraca on 24 July 1887. She was only completed on Feb. 1894 and was not deployed overseas. As the result she was the only one that survived the 1898 Hispano-American war (discarded 1900). The two others were scuttled the same day after the Battle of Manila on the 1st May 1898. They were refloated and refitted for US service, still active in WWI as gunboats (the only status they could pretend to).

Design of the class

When ordered in Britain, these two cruisers were really on the smallest possible rating possible for “protected cruisers”. At 1030 tonnes normal displacement, they were gunboats size. Prior to these, only unprotected early 1880s cruisers had similar sizes, but generally even them were larger. Their strength remains in a lot of medium, fast guns on a small hull and they had a rigging for longer range operations. Speed was not the main concern, as they were intended to be able to reach 15 knots only. They were tropicalized station cruisers, intended to quell local rebellions and keep foreign navies at bay to some extent. The armamnt was rounded by Hotchkiss QF guns and torpedo tubes still and they could carry a small company of marines for a landing party.

Hull and general design

The Isla de Luzón class cruisers were displacing 1,030 tons (fully loaded, they would have been around 1250-80 tonnes) with a steel hull. They measured 184 ft 10 in (56.34 m) overall, for a generous beam of 29 ft 11 in (9.12 m) and a ratio of 1/5 as well as a limited draft of 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) maximum for the shallow waters they were about the bes stationed in. The design was classic for a cruiser, with a forecastle and poop deck on which were installed two main gun (shielded) on each two sides, sponsoned, and the remainder two on the lower main battery deck, also sponsoned, alongside some of the 6-pdr Hotchkiss. They had a small conning tower and bridge above close to the end of the long forecastle and behind the foremast which carried a fighting/spotting top. Then a single, tall funnel sat amidship, then the mainmast aft, followed by the poop deck on which were placed two more p6-dr guns. The hull was relatively tall and ended with a ram bow. The crew comprised 167 officers and ratings, the ships having four boats under davits, cutters and pinnaces.

Powerplant

The Isla de Luzon class were powered by two, 2-shaft horizontal triple-expansion engines (HTE) fed by the stam coming from two cylindrical boilers rated for 1,897 ihp (1,415 kW) in natural draft and 2,627 ihp (1,959 kW) in forced draft. This ensured a normal speed of 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) in normal draft, 15.9 knots reached on trials with forced draft (29.4 km/h; 18.3 mph).
They carried 160 tonnes of coal, but their endurance is not known. Their schooner rig was still capable of bringing them where they were needed whatever the wind direction.

Protection

As protected cruisers they had the bare minimum, with a deck which slopes were 2.5 inches thick (64 mm) and down to 1 inch (25 mm) on the flat section. There was also a conning tower at the end of the forecastle with the bridge on top which was protected by 2 inches walls (51 mm). The lower battery deck bulwarks offered some protection from small arms fire and shrapnel and the upper guns were shielded. Being tropicalized, the interiors were somewhat insulated from the heat by wooden sheating and ventilation was improved.

Armament

As described above, they counted six main guns, eight light QF guns and three torpedo tubes as well as four machine guns, carriage-mounted to be used in landing parties.

Gonzalez Hontoria 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns

Four were located on the forecastle and poop deck, in two pairs sponsoned, and shielded. They constituted an important top weight but had a far better arc of fire compared to the two remaining guns sponsoned amidship on the lower battery deck. Their arc of fire was limited to 180°. These were Gonzalez Hontoria de 12 cm mod 1883.
In short: 2.6 t (2.9 short tons), 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) long (barrel 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) 35 caliber, Height 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) with Interrupted screw breech.
They fired a Separate loading 13 kg (29 lb) smokeless powder bagged charge and projectile (full round 24 kg or 53 lb) at 612 m/s (2,010 ft/s), range 10 km (6.2 mi) at +25°.

Hotchkiss QF 6-pdr

Typical Hotchkiss revolver guns of the time, placed on two positions fore and aft of the battery deck, upper decks, and one in the fighting top.
Mass 821–849 lb (372–385 kg) barrel & breech for 8.1 ft (2.5 m) long, barrel 7.4 ft (2.3 m) 40 caliber alone with Vertical sliding-block.
They fired a 57x307R shell at 25 rds/minute and 1,818 feet per second (554 m/s) up to 4,000 yards (3,700 m).

Torpedo Tubes

Whitehead types, 356 mm or 15 inches, one at the bow, above water, and two in the beam.

*Others sources 8.

Career of the Isla de Luzon class cruisers

Isla de Luzón was built by Elswick, laid down on 25 February 1886, launched on 13 November 1886 and completed on 22 September 1887. In 1986, she rescued the Martyr Saint Valentín de Berriotxoa under captain Eulogio Onzain Ageo. She served in the Metropolitan Fleet in Spain at first, and was sent to participated to the Rif War of 1893–1894, shelling positions between Melilla and Chafarinas. With the Philippine Revolution of 1896–1898 she was sent there to join Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo de Pasaron’s squadron.
As the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898 she was anchored in Cañacao Bay under the lee of the Cavite Peninsula (east of Sangley Point in Luzon). Thus was eight miles southwest of Manila. One the morning of 1 May 1898, the US Asiatic Squadron under Commodore Dewey attacked Montojo’s squadron, utterly deveasting it. This was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War and after a gew firing passes, no remaining Spanish ship was able to put any fight. Reina Cristina was the first targeted, then Castilla, but Isla de Luzón was left largely inhamed, suffering little damage. Isla de Luzón and Isla de Cuba came alongside the flagship to assist her under gunfire.
Isla de Luzón was later scuttled in shallow water to avoid capture after taking three hits, one disabled a gun, six crew wounded. Her upper works remained above water. Thus later, a team from USS Petrel went aboard to set her on fire, expecting not to be retaken later.

However soon the the US occupied the Philippines, and seized, then salvage her and her sister. She was repaired, recommissioned her as the gunboat USS Isla de Luzon, in 1900. For her US career, she dealt with local rebellions notably at Zamboanga, Samar, Lubkan, and 15 August 1902 she departed Cavite for the United States via the red sea and Mediterranean. She was attached to the Pensacola Navy Yard, then Louisiana Naval Militia, then Missouri Naval Militia, and Illinois Naval Militia, Great Lakes. By April 1917, she was stationed at Chicago as TS until 30 September 1918, sent to Narragansett Bay, Naval Torpedo Station until 13 December 1918, decommissioned 15 February 1919, sent to Rhode Island until stricken 23 July 1919, sold 10 March 1920 to a trading company.

Isla de Cuba was laid down on 25 February 1886 at Sir W.G. Armstrong Mitchell & Co. Newcastle upon Tyne, launched on 11 December 1886, completed on 22 September 1887. She stayed in Spain but participated in the Rif War in 1893–1894, shelling Riffan position like her sister. She was sent next to the Philippines in 1897 to join Montojo’s squadron.
On April 1898 the war broke out and the day the attack came, she was anchored in Cañacao Bay like her sister. Dueing the two firing passes, Isla de Cuba suffered little damage. She later assisted the disabled Reina Cristina with her sister ship, coming alongside as she sank, still under heavy gunfire. Admiral Montojo made Isla de Cuba his flagship then sent a party for parly after his fleet had been battered into submission. He ordered Isla de Cuba to scuttled in shallow water, upper works remaining above water and later put to the torch by a team from USS Petrel like her sister.
Under the occupation she was seized, examined and refloated, repaired. As USS Isla de Cuba she started a new career, but was rearmed: Her Spanish 4.7 in (120 mm) guns were replaced with 4 in (100 mm) guns and so was her sister.

Recommissioned on 11 April 1900 at Hong Kong for the Asiatic station she remained there as gunboat, supply ship, patrol boat, sent back to the Philippines during the Revolution. In March–April 1900 the ship she served woth the Southern Squadron, blockading Samar, disrupting supplies to the insurgents and capturing Vicente Lukbán, their leader, in Samar. On 17 November 1900 she landed a battalion at Ormoc (Leyte) to retake the garrison and remained until 8 December. In 1901, she becale a survey ship between Ormoc anchorage and Parasan Harbor.
On 4 March 1904, she left Cebu, for home, decommissioned on 9 June at Portsmouth for overhaul, reactivated on 21 March 1907, loaned to the Maryland Naval Militia and resold to the Republic of Venezuela on 2 April 1912 as Mariscal Sucre, active until stricke, BU in 1940.

She was named to honour the memory of Zenón de Somodevilla y Bengoechea, a Spanish sailor, politician and military man and built at the Arsenal de la Carraca between 1887 and 1890 from British plans from Great Britain. Her armour varied in thickness. After being completed, she joined the Armada in local waters, and participated in the Riffan War of 1893-1894, making sorties of coastal bombardments between Melilla and Chafarinas. In 1894 she sailed to Spanish Guinea and in June 1895 took part in the inauguration of the Kiel Canal, being the first Spanish ship to cross it. In 1897, she was assigned to the Havana Naval Station, reinforcing surveillance of the Cuban coasts, but the was surprised her in refit and in drydock. She was badly in need of repairs, and did not take part in operations, her artillery removed and transferred to the coastal defences.
After the war, the Treaty of Paris was signed, and in Article V stated that she remained property of Spain. After completion of her refit and return of her artillery she sailed for Spain in the spring of 1899. By decree of May, 18n 1900, she was considered as obsolete, to be decommissioned for being ineffective.
She was in the same packet as Alfonso XII, Temerario, Vicente Yáñez Pinzón and Martin Alonso Pinzón, dubbed “without military value of any kind, lacking all protection…” and “…they consume without any benefit, a large part of the Navy budget (…) only serve to cover up the list of an absolutely fictitious squadron with names that have no reality.
She was disarmed in La Carraca and for several years used by the Torpedo Brigade in Cadiz as pontoon, until was sold for scrap in 1913.

Read More/Src

Books

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

Links

on en.wikipedia.org/ Isla_de_Luzon
commons.wikimedia.org Isla_de_Luzon
on navypedia.org/
spanamwar.com/islaluzon.htm
en.wikipedia.org/ USS_Isla_de_Cuba#Spanish_Navy
on navsource.org/
es.wikipedia.org/ Marques de la Ensenada 1894
etc.usf.edu/ isla_de_luzon