Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-07-06
DESCRIPTION OF FLEET.

The destruction of Admiral Cervera S
fleet in Santiago harbor wipes out the
most effective fighting force Spain has.
i comprised the Vizcaya, Marie Theresa,
Almirante Qquendo and Christobal Co
lon, four Of the eight armored cruisers
on the Spanish naval list, and the only
ones except the Carlos v, so far as can
be ascertained, which were in condition
for service. They were when in condi-
ton fine and effective fighting force.
The Vizcaya, Oquendo and Marie Their
esa were almost exactly alike i'll buildd
and armOr. They possessed three prime
requisites for fighting from their home
base; SeawOrthiness, good roomy quarters
for crews and large coal supply. Each
one could carry 1900 tons of coal, which
gave them a radius of action of 10000
miles at a speed of ten knots an hour.
What made them more dangerous to an
enemy was the homOgeneousness of the
fleet, each vessel being credited with
speed of twenty knots an hour. How
tough a problem they were was shown
when the entire North Atlantic squadron
was searching for them and trying to
bring them to action Tor weeks. With
his superior speed Admiral CerYera was
able to lead the American vessels pretty
chase, only ending when he had run into
Santiago. where he vase effectually bot
tied up by Admiral Sampson.
OF the four vessels the Nlscaya, OQuen-
do and Marie Theresa were built at BIZ
boa, Spain, and launched in 1890 ana
1891. Their dimensions were: Length,
$40 feet; beam, 60 feet; draft, PIP feet,
with a displacement of 1000 tons, 1000
tons less than the cruiser New York. The
water line for about two-thirGs Of the
length of the vessel was protected by III
armor belt II inches in thickness of con-
pOslte armor. The gun turreJs had 1U@
j. les of armOr and at the ends of the
LL IS there was a transverse bulEhead to
4 I
considerably from the other three vessels
both III size and armor protection being
smaller and with lighter armOr. but for
all that she was the most powerful vessel
Of the four. She was built in PoHente,
Italy, and was sold to Spain. The Colon
carried belt line of inches Of Harvey
lied steel and an armor of inches which
reached to the upper deck giving protcc-
ton to the brOadside guns which the
other three cruisers lacked and also addi-
tional protection TO the ammunition
hoists.
The three other cruisers had no protec-
ton from the water line belt up. which
left their sides at the mercy of the rapid
fire guns of an enemy. even of the small
er caliber The Niscaya, Theresa and
Oquendo carried two 11-inch guns in tur
rets fore and aft and 4 brOadSide of ten
5-5-inch rapid fire guns in hroadside bat
terry. The Colon had two 10-inch guns in
turrets and ten 6-inch rapid-fire guns in
broadside battery. This gave her in
spite of the smaller size of the larger
guns. a heavier battery that with her
greater hardness made the Colon a for
midable craft which in the right hands
would have proven dangerous enemy.
By the wiping out of the feet Western
waters may be said to have no further
fear of trouble from the Spanish navy
for of the vessels left Admiral Camara
has the only effectiyeS still on the active
LIST in the hattIpShiO Pplayo and tho ar
mored cruiser Emperado Carlos Y. There
are still the Cardinal Cisneros, the Cata-
luna and Princess de Asturius. but none
of the three from all that can be learned
can be made ready in time to be OF serv-
ice in the present struggle unless it is pro-
tracted to unusual lengths. The admin
istraton can now go on with any plans
it may have had for the conquest of
Porto Rico without any fear of trouble
from the Spanish navy