Pelayo (1887)

Type

Battleship

Period

19th Century

Nation

Spain

Overview: Pelayo was the first modern battleship of the Spanish Navy, an ironclad barbette ship built in France and completed in 1888. For many years she was Spain's only battleship and the most powerful unit in the fleet, earning her the nickname "Solitario" (the Lonely One) since budget constraints meant she never received a sister ship. Specifications: The ship displaced 9,745 long tons standard (up to 10,810 tons full load), was 393 ft 8 in (119.99 m) long with a 66 ft 3 in (20.19 m) beam. As built her main armament comprised two 32 cm and two 28 cm guns mounted in open barbettes rather than enclosed turrets, backed by a secondary battery of 12 cm guns, quick-firing Hotchkiss guns, machine guns, and torpedo tubes; she could make about 16.7 knots on forced draft. Her design was adapted from the French battleship Marceau, modified with a shallower draft so she could transit the Suez Canal fully loaded, and she is noted for her distinctive clipper bow set above a curved ram bow. Service History: Ordered in 1884 and launched on 5 February 1887, Pelayo entered Spanish Navy service in 1888 and spent her early career representing Spain at international naval events. She supported Spanish operations during the First Melillan campaign of 1893–94, took part in Admiral Cámara's abortive relief expedition toward the Philippines during the 1898 Spanish-American War without seeing combat, and later saw actual combat firing her guns during the Second Melillan campaign (1909) and subsequent Kert campaign and Spanish Morocco coastal bombardments (1911–1913). She served as a training ship in the early 1920s before being decommissioned in 1924. Notable Facts: Originally planned as the lead ship of a new battleship class, those follow-on ships were cancelled after an 1885 crisis with Germany over the Caroline Islands diverted funding to the Infanta Maria Teresa-class armored cruisers instead, leaving Pelayo the sole ship of her class. She was disarmed in 1923 and ultimately scrapped in 1926, after roughly 36 years in commission.