The action of 22 August 1866 occurred during the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War ( es, Guerra hispano-sudamericana), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The ...

near Funchal, on the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, and was the final action of the war battle between Spanish and Chilean forces. The Chilean steamer was captured by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

frigate ''Gerona'', on 22 August 1866 off the island of

. ''Tornado'' had arrived in Madeira under the command of Juan MacPherson, an English commander in service of the Chilean Navy. The Chilean ship had sailed to Madeira on 21 August to make provisions of charcoal and

food supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

s and to recruit sailors for its crew. Although the intent was to remain until 23 August, at 14:00 hours on 22 August the watch aboard ship alerted the captain to the presence of an armed vessel, the Spanish frigate ''Gerona''. Captain McPherson decided to leave all his supplies on the dock and got the ship underway 90 minutes after the first sighting of ''Gerona''. In its haste, ''Tornado'' had not been inspected by or granted permission to leave port from the Portuguese authorities in Madeira. Two blank charges were fired to signal that ''Tornado'' should stop, but ''Tornado'' continued out of port. ''Gerona'' had been sent from

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

under the command of captain Benito Ruiz de la Escalera specifically to capture ''Tornado'' and its

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, ''Cyclone''. The firing of the charges alerted ''Gerona'' of the presence of ''Tornado'' and ''Gerona'' gave chase. At 22:30 ''Gerona'' fired a blank shot. ''Tornado'' continued to ignore the intent. ''Gerona'' followed up with three live shots; ''Tornado'' stopped its engines and struck its colors. The crew of ''Tornado'' was transferred to ''Gerona''. ''Tornado'' was manned by a

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had sufficie ...

commanded by naval lieutenant Manuel de Bustillo y Pery. ''Tornado'' sailed for Cádiz, where it arrived on 26 August, while ''Gerona'' returned to Madeira in a fruitless search for ''Tornado''s sister ship ''Cyclone''.

Aftermath

The captured ''Tornado'' was subsequently taken into the Spanish service under the same name.Lawrence Sondhaus. Naval warfare, 1815–1914. Routledge press (2001) , p.98

Notes

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Conflicts in 1866 1866 in Chile Naval battles involving Spain Naval battles involving Chile Battles of the Chincha Islands War August 1866 events