page_title: Battle of Cape Palos (1938)
section_title: The battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Cape Palos (1938) / The battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Destroyer Lepanto (L) or (LT), Churruca I class (1924) Español: El destructor Lepanto (L) o (LT) en 1951 con el numeral 32, fue botado en Cartagena en 1924 y asignado en 1930 como destructor de la Armada Española perteneciente a la I Clase Churruca, participó en la guerra civil en el bando republicano. Pasaría a situación de reserva y posteriormente desguazado el 24 de marzo de 1957.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: 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. As the cruisers duelled, three Republican destroyers, probably unseen by the Nationalists, detached from escorting Libertad. At about 3,000 m (3,300 yd), Sanchéz Barcáiztegui, 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, but also to the destroyer Almirante Antequera by some authors. 
  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. 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 74 km (40 nm) away. Only 441 out of her crew of 1,206 were saved 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.
caption: Destroyer Lepanto
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