''Baleares'' was a

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

of the

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whose control was taken by the

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side during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The two ships of the class were built upon a British design and were a modified version of the

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′s . ''Baleares'' was constructed in Spain by the

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subsidiary

Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval From 1909 until the Spanish Civil War, naval construction in Spain was monopolized by the Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval – (SECN) also Spanish Society for Naval Construction (SECN). During this time the majority of its shares were owne ...

, and saw service during the

, when she was torpedoed and sunk by destroyers of the

Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the other two branches of the Spanish Republi ...

during the Battle of Cape Palos.

History

In December 1936, ''Baleares'' was commissioned in an incomplete state, not mounting the fourth turret. The turret was installed by June 1937.Chesneau, p. 401

Spanish Civil War

On February 1937, takes part together with '' Canarias'' and '' Almirante Cervera'' in the battle of Málaga. It fired bombs against those escaping through the only exit of the city —the road from Málaga to Almería— in the sad episode that will be known as "La Desbandá" or Málaga–Almería road massacre. Despite all efforts made by

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

to hide what happened, the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune managed to take photographs and wrote about this experience in ''

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'': ''“We counted at least 5000 kids under 10 years, thousands of them barefoot… We decided to go back and start transporting them to set them safe.”''. It is calculated that, with the rest of the units, it caused more than 12800 civil victims. On 12 July 1937, ''Baleares'' encountered six Republican destroyers escorting two merchant vessels near

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. After a brief exchange of fire, the Republican ships escaped. In the afternoon of 7 September 1937, ''Baleares'' encountered four Republican merchant ships escorted by the cruisers and and six destroyers off

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in what became known as the Battle of Cape Cherchell. While the destroyers and merchants broke off the engagement, ''Libertad'' and ''Méndez Núñez'' engaged ''Baleares''. The cruiser was damaged by several hits from ''Libertad'' in critical areas and a fire in the ammunition storeroom, but she limped away successfully. Two Republican freighters changed course to the south during the engagement and ran aground near Cape Cherchell. One of them was lost while the other was salvaged and interned by French authorities. In March 1938, ''Baleares''—along with fellow Nationalist cruisers and —engaged the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

cruisers ''Libertad'' and ''Méndez Núñez'', accompanied by five destroyers, off Cartagena, in the Battle of Cape Palos. At around 02:15 am on 6 March, the Nationalist and Republican cruisers engaged in an ineffective gunnery duel. During this gunnery duel, the Republican destroyers , , and all fired their torpedoes. Two or three torpedoes from ''Lepanto'' hit ''Baleares'' between "A" and "B" turrets, detonating her forward magazine and sinking her. Out of her crew of 1,206, she had 765 seamen killed or missing, among them Vice-Admiral Manuel Vierna Belando, commander of the cruiser division. The British destroyers and rescued part of the survivors, although a Republican air attack interrupted the rescue and caused one British fatality. Denkmalbaleares

A monument to the crew killed in the sinking of ''Baleares'' has been erected in Palma de Mallorca. In the Basque town of Ondárroa, from which many of the crew members came, there are two monuments honoring ''Baleares'', in the port and the cemetery.

References

Bibliography

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External links

BUQUESDEGUERRA.COM
a Spanish website about warships (Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baleares Canarias-class cruisers Ships built in Spain 1936 ships Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War Maritime incidents in 1938 Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks of the Spanish Civil War Mediterranean naval operations of the Spanish Civil War Naval magazine explosions