Spanish cruiser Reina Regente (1887)

Reina Regente was a Reina Regente-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy. Entering service in 1888, she was lost in 1895 during a storm in the Gulf of Cádiz while she was travelling from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain.

For the cruiser of the same name launched in 1906, see Spanish cruiser Reina Regente (1906).

Spanish protected cruiser Reina Regente around 1890.
History
Spain
Name: Reina Regente
Namesake: Maria Christina of Austria, Govan
Builder: J&G Thomson,
Yard number: 236
Laid down: 20 June 1886
Launched: 24 February 1887
Completed: 1 January 1888
Maiden voyage: 1888
Fate: Sank during a storm 10 March 1895
General characteristics
Class and type: Reina Regente-class protected cruiser
Displacement: 4,725 tons
Length: 97.3 m (319 ft 3 in)
Beam: 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in)
Draught: 8.92 m (29 ft 3 in)
Installed power: 2 triple expansion engines
Propulsion: Screw propeller
Speed: 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
Complement: 420
Armament:
  • 4 x 1 - 200/35 Hontoria M1883
  • 6 x 1 - 4.7-inch (119 mm)/35 Hontoria M1883
  • 6 x 1 - 57/42 Nordenfelt
  • 2 machine guns (Main deck 120-80 mm and 25 mm fore and aft.
  • 5 torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 beam, 1 aft)

Construction

Reina Regente was the first cruiser built of her class. She was laid down on 20 June 1886 and launched on 24 February 1887 at the J&G Thomson shipyard in Govan, United Kingdom. She was completed on 1 January 1888 and named Reina Regente after Maria Christina, queen of Spain, and queen regent during the minority of her son, Alfonso XIII. The cruiser was part of the Spanish Navy from 1888 until her loss in 1895. Her sister ships were with sister ships Alfonso XIII and Lepanto. The ship was 97.3 metres (319 ft 3 in) long, with a beam of 15.4 metres (50 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.92 metres (29 ft 3 in). The ship was assessed at 4,725 tons. She had 2 triple expansion engines driving a single screw propeller and 4 cylindrical boilers. The engine was rated at 11.500 nhp.[1]

Reina Regente in 1889

Fate

On 10 March 1895, Reina Regente sailed from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain with 420 crew on board under the command of Captain Francisco Sanz de Andino. She was never seen again. A severe storm struck the Gulf of Cádiz during the time she was passing through it. In the following days a search was undertaken in the hope of finding the ship somewhere sheltered in an African port. However, wreckage from the cruiser started to wash up on the beaches of Tarifa and Algeciras. The cruiser had disappeared and had probably sunk somewhere in the Gulf of Cádiz with the loss of her entire crew. The current location of the ship is still unknown. This incident remains one of the deadliest shipwrecks of the Spanish Navy.[2]

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References
  1. "REINA REGENTE protected cruisers (1888-1899)". navypedia.org. 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  2. "Reina Regente (+1895)". Wrecksite.eu. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2016.

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