Spanish cruiser Isla de Luzón on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Isla de Luzón'' was an protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy which fought in the Battle of Manila Bay.
/ref> She had a steel hull and one funnel.''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', p. 384 She had a large beam for her length, and tended to have poor seakeeping qualities, burying her bow into waves. Small for a protected cruiser, she was often called a gunboat by 1898.
Upon completion, ''Isla de Luzón'' joined the Metropolitan Fleet in Spain. She participated in the Rif War of 1893–1894, bombarding the reef between 
With Montojo's squadron battered into submission, ''Isla de Luzón'' was scuttled in shallow water to avoid capture. She had taken three hits, one of which had disabled one of her guns, and six of her crew had been wounded. After she sank, her upper works remained above water, and a team from gunboat went aboard and set her on fire.
After the United States occupied the Philippines, the United States Navy seized, salvaged, and repaired her and commissioned her as gunboat in 1900 for service in the United States.
The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: ''Isla de Luzon''
* ttp://www.navsource.org/archives/12/09925.htm Navsource.org: USS ''Isla de Luzon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Isla De Luzon Isla de Luzon-class cruisers Ships built on the River Tyne 1886 ships Spanish–American War cruisers of Spain Maritime incidents in 1898 Vessels captured by the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the Spanish–American War Shipwrecks in the South China Sea Shipwrecks of the Philippines Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth
Technical characteristics
''Isla de Luzón'' was built by Elswick in the United Kingdom. She was laid down on 25 February 1886, launched on 13 November 1886, and completed on 22 September 1887.The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: ''Isla de Luzon''/ref> She had a steel hull and one funnel.''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', p. 384 She had a large beam for her length, and tended to have poor seakeeping qualities, burying her bow into waves. Small for a protected cruiser, she was often called a gunboat by 1898.
Operational history
Upon completion, ''Isla de Luzón'' joined the Metropolitan Fleet in Spain. She participated in the Rif War of 1893–1894, bombarding the reef between Melilla
Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
and Chafarinas
The Chafarinas Islands ( es, Islas Chafarinas , ber, Igumamen Iceffaren, script=Latn or , ar, جزر الشفارين or ), also spelled Zafarin, Djaferin or Zafarani, are a group of three small Spanish islets located in the Alboran Sea off the ...
. When the Philippine Revolution of 1896–1898 broke out in the Philippines, ''Isla de Luzón'' was sent there to join the squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo de Pasaron.
''Isla de Luzón'' was still part of Montojo's squadron when the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898. She was anchored with the squadron in Cañacao Bay
Cañacao Bay is a small bay located within the larger Manila Bay in Luzon island in the Philippines.
It is located along the northeastern end of the Cavite Peninsula and Cavite City, in the Province of Cavite.''Webster's New Geographical Dictiona ...
under the lee of the Cavite Peninsula
The Cavite Peninsula is a peninsula extending northeast into Manila Bay from the coastal town of Noveleta in Cavite province in the Philippines. The northern tip of the peninsula is geographically the northernmost part of the Province of Cavite. ...
east of Sangley Point, Luzon, eight miles southwest of Manila, when, early on the morning of 1 May 1898, the United States Navy's Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey, found Montojo's anchorage and attacked. The resulting Battle of Manila Bay was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War.Nofi, p. 17–23
The American squadron made a series of firing passes, wreaking great havoc on the Spanish ships. At first, Dewey's ships concentrated their fire on Montojo's flagship, unprotected cruiser
An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in ...
, and on unprotected cruiser , and ''Isla de Luzón'' suffered little damage. When ''Reina Cristina'' became disabled, ''Isla de Luzón'' and her 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 ...
, , came alongside to assist her under heavy American gunfire.
With Montojo's squadron battered into submission, ''Isla de Luzón'' was scuttled in shallow water to avoid capture. She had taken three hits, one of which had disabled one of her guns, and six of her crew had been wounded. After she sank, her upper works remained above water, and a team from gunboat went aboard and set her on fire.
After the United States occupied the Philippines, the United States Navy seized, salvaged, and repaired her and commissioned her as gunboat in 1900 for service in the United States.
See also
*Notes
References
*Alden, John D. ''The American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet, 1907–1909.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1972. . *Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905.'' New York, New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. . * Nofi, Albert A. ''The Spanish–American War.'' Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Books Inc., 1996. .External links
The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: ''Isla de Luzon''
* ttp://www.navsource.org/archives/12/09925.htm Navsource.org: USS ''Isla de Luzon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Isla De Luzon Isla de Luzon-class cruisers Ships built on the River Tyne 1886 ships Spanish–American War cruisers of Spain Maritime incidents in 1898 Vessels captured by the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the Spanish–American War Shipwrecks in the South China Sea Shipwrecks of the Philippines Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth