''Santa Ana'' was a 112-gun three-decker

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, built to plans drawn by engineer Miguel de la Puente, following a specification issued by José Romero Fernández de Landa. Her actual constructor at Ferrol was Honorato Bouyón. She was the prototype and

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the ''Santa Ana'' class, also known as ''los Meregildos'', which were built during the following years at Ferrol and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and which formed the backbone of the Spanish Navy - the other ships were the '' Mejicano'', '' Conde de Regla'', '' Salvador del Mundo'', '' Real Carlos'', '' San Hermenegildo'', '' Reina María Luisa'' and '' Príncipe de Asturias''. Her dimensions were 213.4 Burgos feet (one foot = 0.2786m, so ~ 59m) long, 58 feet (~ 16m) in the beam and a total tonnage of 2,112 tonnes.

History

She was launched on 28 September 1784 at the

Reales Astilleros de Esteiro The Real Astillero de Esteiro (''in English: Esteiro Royal Dockyards'') was a royal shipyard in Ferrol in Spain. Orders for its construction were issued by Ferdinand VI of Spain on 9 April 1749, following the decision by the naval minister Zenón ...

, at Ferrol. She was tested at sea on 28 February 1785 under the captaincy of Félix de Tejada, who reported the test to his commanding officer that the ship "kept the battery in good use

ven Ven may refer to: Places * Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands * Ven (Sweden), an island * Ven, Tajikistan, a town * VEN or Venezuela Other uses * von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons'' * '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...

in a fresh wind and heavy seas". The success of the trials led to a royal order that subsequent three-deckers would be built to the same plans. Antoine Roux FREGATE LA THEMIS

From 1803 to 1804 she was captained by

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano Dionisio Alcalá Galiano (8 October 1760 – 21 October 1805) was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronomete ...

. At

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

she was the flagship of Teniente-General

Ignacio Maria de Álava y Sáenz de Navarrete Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...

and captained by José Ramón de Gardoqui - she suffered 97 killed and 141 wounded, with Alava himself seriously wounded, and was captured by the British. However, two days later, a squadron under the command of Commodores

Enrique Macdonell Enrique MacDonell, also spelled MacDonnell, was a Spanish admiral noted for his participation in several sea battles including the Battle of Trafalgar. He was born in Pontevedra, Spain, into a prominent Irish-Spanish family, though his naval rec ...

and

Cosmao-Kerjulien Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien (Châteaulin, Finistère, 27 November 1761 – Brest, 17 February 1825) was a French Navy officer, admiral, best remembered for his role in the Battle of Trafalgar. Career Early career Completing his stud ...

sallied from Cadiz and succeeded in recapturing her and getting her back to Cadiz. At the start of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

in 1808 she was undergoing repairs at the Arsenal and so could not participate in the capture of the French squadron under Admiral Rosily. She and her sistership ''Príncipe de Asturias'' moved to Havana in late 1810 to avoid capture by the French, and sank in its Arsenal in 1816. In 1834 she could still be seen next to the ''Príncipe de Asturias'' (which had also sunk) in the mud in front of the Arsenal.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Ana 1784 ships Ships built in Spain Ships of the line of the Spanish Navy Captured ships