Biggest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War
The
Battle of Cape Palos
, also known as the
Second Battle of Cape Palos
, was the biggest
naval battle
of the
Spanish Civil War
, fought on the night of March 5?6, 1938, east of
Cape Palos
near
Cartagena, Spain
.
Leadup to the battle
[
edit
]
On March 5, 1938 the two Nationalist
heavy cruisers
,
Canarias
and
Baleares
, led by Vice Admiral
Manuel Vierna Belando
sortied from the naval base at
Palma de Mallorca
, in company with the
light cruiser
Almirante Cervera
, and three
destroyers
. The
squadron
acted as a distant escort of a
convoy
bearing war equipment from Italy as well as troops from the
Army of Africa
being ferried across the
Strait of Gibraltar
.
[2]
On the same day, forces of the
Spanish Republican Navy
, led by Admiral
Luis Gonzalez de Ubieta
and consisting of two light cruisers (the new
Libertad
and the older
Mendez Nunez
) and five destroyers, sailed from
Cartagena
. At night, the Nationalist destroyers returned to base, while the cruisers remained on course.
The battle
[
edit
]
The squadrons, going in opposite directions, met by chance in the dead of night of 5?6 March 1938. A Republican destroyer fired
torpedoes
but missed, and both fleets passed each other by. Nationalist
Rear Admiral
de Vierna preferred to wait until dawn, which would enable him to use his ships' superior artillery, but Republican Vice Admiral de Ubieta decided to turn and pursue the enemy.
The forces met again unexpectedly at about 02:15. the Nationalist cruisers opened fire on
Libertad
from a range of about 5,000 m (5,500 yd) and the Republican cruisers returned fire. However, one of the Nationalist ships made the mistake of firing a star shell illuminating their position to the enemy Republican ships.
[2]
As the cruisers duelled, three Republican destroyers, probably unseen by the Nationalists, detached from escorting
Libertad
. At about 3,000 m (3,300 yd),
Sanchez Barcaiztegui
,
Lepanto
, and
Almirante Antequera
each fired four
torpedoes
. Two or three torpedoes hit
Baleares
between 'A' and 'B' turrets and detonated her forward
magazine
. The sinking is generally credited to
Lepanto
,
[3]
but also to the destroyer
Almirante Antequera
by some authors.
[4]
Prioritizing the protection of the troops of the
North African Army
crossing the
Gibraltar Strait
over his own safety, Admiral de Vierna ordered his own ship, the
Baleares
to engage the Republican fleet while he ordered the rest of the ships away.
[2]
The two surviving Nationalist cruisers quickly cleared the area, leaving
Baleares
to her fate. The stern remained afloat and it was from this part of the ship that survivors were rescued, thanks to the efforts of the
British Royal Navy
destroyers
Kempenfelt
and
Boreas
, under Captain McGrigor, who made towards the scene of the action from 40
nautical miles
(74 km; 46 mi) away. Only 441 out of her crew of 1,206 were saved
[1]
with Admiral Vierna among those who went down with the ship.
The Nationalist cruisers returned at dawn and survivors rescued by
Boreas
were transferred to them by boats. An air attack by Republican bombers interrupted the proceedings and caused one British fatality.
[5]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The sinking of the rebel heavy cruiser
Baleares
was hailed as a great victory by the Republican government and Luis Gonzalez de Ubieta, the commander of the Republican fleet, was awarded the
Laureate Plate of Madrid
(Placa Laureada de Madrid)
, the highest military award for gallantry of the Second Spanish Republic.
[6]
The
Distintivo de Madrid
, which had been established by the Spanish Republic to reward courage,
[7]
was given to cruisers
Libertad
and
Mendez Nunez
, and destroyers
Lepanto
,
Almirante Antequera
and
Sanchez Barcaiztegui
, as well as to their crew members. These ships would thenceforward fly a special
pennant
and the men would wear a special badge on their uniforms with the old
Coat of arms of Madrid
.
[8]
The Battle of Cape Palos was one of the last Republican victories of the war. Although the action was the largest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War and an important Republican victory, it had little noticeable long-term effect on the war. The Republican Navy failed to press their advantage, and the loss of
Baleares
was partially offset when the modernised
cruiser
Navarra
joined the Nationalist fleet some months later.
[2]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Fullana, Jeroni F.; Eduardo Conolloy; Daniel Cota (2000).
El Crucero "Baleares"
(in Spanish).
ISBN
84-95360-02-0
. Archived from
the original
on 2 September 2011
. Retrieved
21 August
2009
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Wilson, Graham (1 March 2004).
"The Spanish Civil War at sea. - Free Online Library"
.
Military Historical Society of Australia
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-12-12
. Retrieved
7 October
2021
.
- ^
Naval Institute proceedings: Volume 66 of Proceedings,
United States Naval Institute
, 1940, p. 820
- ^
Salas Larrazabal, Ramon
, Salas Larrazabal, Jesus:
Historia general de la Guerra de Espana
. Rialp, 1986, p. 315.
ISBN
84-321-2340-4
(in Spanish)
- ^
Naval-History.net
- ^
Manuel Rubio Cabeza,
Diccionario de la Guerra Civil Espanola 1
, Pag. 95. Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, 1987.
- ^
Second Spanish Republic 23 January 1938 Decree
- ^
Enrique Garcia Domingo,
Recompensas republicanas por el hundimiento del Baleares,
Revista de Historia Naval 1997, Ano XV no. 59, pg. 70
Archived
December 15, 2013, at the
Wayback Machine
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
37°52′18″N
0°52′00″E
/
37.87167°N 0.86667°E
/
37.87167; 0.86667