Santa Ana (1784)

Type

Ship of the Line

Period

18th Century

Nation

Spain

Overview: Santa Ana was a 112-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Spanish Navy, the prototype and lead ship of her class (the "Santa Ana" class, also nicknamed "los Meregildos"). She is best remembered as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Ignacio María de Álava at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, making her one of the most significant Spanish warships of the age of sail for modelers to represent. Specifications: Built to plans by José Romero y Fernández de Landa (drawn up by Miguel de la Puente) and constructed at the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro, Ferrol, by Honorato Bouyón, she measured roughly 59.5 m (195 ft) long with a 16.2 m (53 ft) beam and displaced about 2,112 tonnes. At Trafalgar she carried a mixed armament of 36-, 24-, 12-, and 8-pounder cannon supplemented by numerous howitzers and swivel guns, with a wartime complement of 1,102 men. Service History: Launched on 28 September 1784 and commissioned in early 1785, she spent much of her career alternating between active service and long periods disarmed for repair, grounding once at Rota in 1799 before being refloated. At Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 she was engaged and battered by HMS Royal Sovereign, suffering heavy casualties and eventual capture, but was recaptured two days later by a Spanish/French squadron and towed back to Cádiz. She was later moved to Havana in 1810 for safekeeping during the Peninsular War and ultimately sank at the Havana Arsenal in 1816. Notable Facts: As prototype for a class of eight very large ships (equivalent to Royal Navy first-rates), her successful 1785 sea trials led to a royal order that subsequent Spanish three-deckers be built to the same plans. A contemporary model of the ship, built at the Arsenal de Cartagena and later arboladed in 1930, is preserved in the Museo Naval de Madrid, offering a valuable reference for scale modelers.