Nationalist Battleship Espana

The Dreadnoughts of the Espa�a class were the smallest in the world due to budgetary restrictions. Though their armament was competent enough, these ships lacked the necessary protection and speed. However, they were authentic battleships and not merely coastal ships. The construction of more powerful battleships (343 mm guns) was abandoned when World War I broke out. Originally there were three ships in this class: Espa�a, Alfonso XIII and Jaime I. The construction of the latter lasted considerably more after the war had started.

The Espa�a was lost in August 1923, while operating off the coast of Morocco, when she ran aground in thick fog. The guns and other fittings of the ship were salvaged, but recovering the hull proved impossible and it was later smashed by a storm. The three ships played an important role in the war for the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco.After the proclamation of the Republic, the battleship Alfonso XIII was renamed Espa�a. Between 1931 and 1936 several modernization projects were on the drawing board but none was ever carried out.

In July 1936 the Espa�a, by then a decrepit ship, was in reserve at El Ferrol with a reduced complement. The battleship was seized by the nationalists after a Republican attempt to defend her. She was quickly refitted (12 August), and , together with destroyer Velasco, was used to blockade the Republican northern coast and to support landings. On August 31, she was hit by a torpedo from the Republican submarine C-4 that turned out to be a dud.

With the Almirante Cervera and destroyer Velasco, she took part in the seize of San Sebastian. When finally the Republicans deployed their fleet to the North, the Nationalists reduced their naval activity to avoid a confrontation with a numerically superior enemy fleet. When the Republican ships left the North, the Espa�a returned to her blockade and bombardment duties.

On 30 April 1937 somewhere off Santander, destroyer Velasco spotted a freighter trying to force the blockade and radioed Espa�a to come and help with her big guns. While approaching the coast, the old battleship struck a mine and sank rapidly. The Velasco abandoned the chase and was able to rescue all of Espa�a's crew but five.