Shipwreckology

CC Image Courtesy of NASA’s Marshall Space Center on Flickr

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 found many of the troops loyal to the Nationalists not in Spain proper, but across the Strait of Gibraltar in Spanish held Morocco. Hoping to bottle up these forces and pave the way for an easy Republican victory, Republican naval forces established a blockade off the Moroccan coast. Realizing the importance of breaking this blockade, the Nationalists dispatched two cruisers, the Almirante Cervera and Canarias to sink or drive off the Republican forces.

On September 29, 1936, the Nationalist cruisers encountered two Republican destroyers, Almirante Ferrandiz and Gravina in the western end of the Strait. Over the course of a running gun battle, the Canarias sank the Almirante Ferrandiz and the Gravina was forced to retreat after being damaged. The quick and sharp action opened the straits for Nationalist forces to make their way across the Strait and reinforce the ailing Nationalist forces.

Both the Canarias and the Almirante Cervera would go on to fight for the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War including the Battle of Cape Palos. The Almirante Cervera would eventually be scrapped in 1966 while the Canarias followed her to the breakers in 1977.

Majorca
CC Image Courtesy of D J Petty on Flickr

The largest island in Spain’s Mediterranean Balearic island chain, modern day Majorca is a popular tourist destination; however, for several weeks in 1936 the island was the site of fierce fighting between Nationalist and Republican forces. On August 16th, 1936, a Republican naval squadron landed a force of 8,000 accompanied by heavy artillery at Punta Amer and Porto Cristo on the island. Over a period of 10 days, the Republicans forced their way 12km inland and vastly outnumbered the small ~2,000 man Nationalist garrison. Italian reinforcements arrived to bolster the faltering Nationalist forces and soon the Republican forces were in full retreat. By September 12th, the last Republican troops had abandoned the island and no further attempts would be made to retake the island. Majorca would remain firmly in Nationalist hands until the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Coast off Cartagena, Spain
CC Image Courtesy of Begona Martinez on Flickr

Civil wars are always tragic affairs with brother turned against brother and a country ripped asunder over conflicting social, economic or political visions. The Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939 was especially tragic, though, as the country became a proxy battlefield for the two nastiest political philosophies of the 20th century – communism and national socialism. Units from the Soviet Union supported the Republicans while forces from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy operated in support of the Nationalists under Francisco Franco. All three outside actors used the conflict as an opportunity to hone the tactics they would employ in World War II, among them terrorizing civilian populations with airstrikes such as that of Guernica.

The largest naval battle of the war occurred on March 6, 1938 and flowed directly from international involvement in the conflict. Nationalist naval forces including heavy cruisers Baleares and Canarias were escorting a convoy of war material from Italy when they happened upon a Republican force of two light cruisers and five destroyers off the coast of Cartagena, Spain. At first it seemed as if a pitched battle would be avoided as the squadrons passed one another and made no serious effort to engage the other. The Republicans, though, later decided to pursue the Nationalist forces and around 2:15am the exchange of naval gunfire began.

Nationalist Heavy Cruiser Baleares
Photo: Wrecksite

Unbeknownst to the Nationalist force, the Republican squadron had detached its destroyer escort which launched a torpedo attack on the Nationalists’ heavy cruisers. Two or three torpedoes struck home on the Baleares and caused a catastrophic explosion in her forward magazine. The bow of the ship quickly sank, taking with her 765 crew and officers, while the stern remained afloat and sheltered her 441 remaining crewmen from death. The rest of the Nationalist force withdrew and two Royal Navy destroyers intervened to rescue the survivors.

Although not strategically significant, the battle, which came to be known as the Battle of Cape Palos, did serve as a propaganda victory for the waning Republican cause. During the 1970s, a second Baleares, a guided missile frigate,  joined the Spanish Navy and was recently retired.