''Santísima Trinidad'' (officially named ''Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad'' by royal order on 12 March 1768, nicknamed ''La Real'', sometimes confused with the galleon ''Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin'') was a Spanish first-rate

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 ...

with 112 guns. This was increased in 1795–96 to 130 guns by closing in the

spar deck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. V ...

between the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

and

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " ...

, and to 136 guns around 1802 (plus 4 small guns on the poop), thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any

outfitted in the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of nava ...

Design and construction

She was built at

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.

, Cuba, to a design by Irish

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations ...

Matthew Mullan (domiciled in Spain under the name Mateo Mullán), originally intended as a ship of 112 guns. He died on 25 November 1767, and the construction of the ship was continued by his son, Ignacio Mullán. and the ship was launched in March 1769 and completed in August 1769 as a 116-gun

three-decker A three-decker was a sailing warship which carried her principal carriage-mounted guns on three fully armed decks. Usually additional (smaller) guns were carried on the upper works (forecastle and quarterdeck), but this was not a continuous b ...

. She was considerably larger than her British contemporary ''Victory'' and somewhat bigger than the French ''Bretagne''. There is no complete plan of the ship in existence, but there are of the 112-gun ship from 1765, from which the original dimensions of the ship may be found. Here, the units of length are the Spanish Burgos foot (27.86 cm) and the SI metre (100 cm), respectively: length = 213 (59.53); keel = 182 (50.82); beam = 57 (16.09); draught = 28 (8.06).For exact figures, and those in the General characteristics frame, see: José Cayuela Fernandez, ''Trafalgar, hombres y naves entre dos épocas'': Ariel (2004) She was reputed to be the largest warship in the world, for which she was nicknamed ''

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

de los mares'' by the Spanish, until surpassed in sheer size by the new type French 120-gun ships such as ''Océan'' (1790) and ''Orient'' (1791). In 1795, her

was joined to her

to create a fourth deck containing a battery of eight pounder guns, giving her a total of 130 guns. Her armament seems to have been quickly reduced to 130 from 136 guns, but she still carried more guns than any other ship of her time. The weight of the additional guns, so high above her waterline, made her poor sailing qualities even worse, leading to her

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

, ''El Ponderoso''. It was even suggested by some naval officers that she should be restricted to defending the

Bay of Cádiz The Bay of Cádiz is a body of water in the province of Cádiz, Spain, adjacent to the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The Bay of Cádiz adjoins the Gulf of Cádiz, a larger body of water which is in the same area but further offsho ...

. ''Santísima Trinidad'' remains notable as one of the few four-decker

ships 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 ...

ever built. The U.S. Navy constructed the four-deck, 136-gun and the French, the 120-gun ''Valmy'', (both with similar flush deck arrangement). The Royal Navy planned — but did not build — the 170-gun four-decker ''Duke of Kent''.

Service

In July 1779,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

declared war on Great Britain, joining

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in support of the American colonists in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. ''Santísima Trinidad'' became the flagship of the Spanish fleet, taking part in the Franco-Spanish operations in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

in the late summer of that year. On 12 August 1780 she took part in the capture of 55 merchant ships from a convoy of 63, escorted by the

HMS ''Ramillies'' and three frigates. In 1782 she was incorporated into the Mediterranean Squadron, participating in the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had e ...

and she fought in the brief and indecisive

Battle of Cape Spartel The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully resupp ...

. In 1795, she was modified by the addition of extra 8-pounder guns on a new deck between her

and

. In 1797, she was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

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José de Córdoba y Ramos José de Córdoba y Ramos, ( Utrera, September 26, 1732 – Cádiz, April 3, 1815), was a Spanish explorer and naval officer who sailed around the world and fought in several battles while in the service of the Spanish Navy. Biography Born int ...

, 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, Can ...

commander, at Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, where she was badly damaged and nearly captured by the British fleet. She was first in action with the British ship ''Captain'' (74), commanded by Commodore

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and ''Culloden'' (74). She was then attacked by the ''Blenheim'' (90), ''Orion'' (74), ''Irresistible'' (74) and ''Excellent'' (74). By now she was severely damaged, having lost all her masts and with half of her crew killed or wounded. She struck her colours, but the British failed to take possession and she was saved by the ''Infante don Pelayo'' (74) and ''Príncipe de Asturias'' (112). Several days later, ''Santísima Trinidad'' was spotted, still damaged, making her way back to Spain, and engaged by the 32-gun frigate under Captain Richard Bowen, but she escaped. She eventually returned to Cadiz for repairs. Eight years later, commanded by Francisco Javier Uriarte and the flagship of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napole ...

, she took part in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

on October 21, 1805, as part of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet. Due to her great bulk, her helm was unresponsive in the light winds on the day, contributing to her ineffective service in the combined fleet's cause. Her great size and position immediately ahead of the fleet flagship ''Bucentaure'' made her a target for the British fleet, and she came under concentrated attack by several ships. She lost her mast and eventually surrendered to the ''Neptune'', a 98-gun second rate commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Thomas Fremantle. She was taken in tow by the 98-gun second rate ''Prince'', but was eventually scuttled by her British captors northwest of Cádiz. It is possible that her wreck was found by coincidence during testing of a new sidescan sonar of the Spanish Navy, in 2009. An earlier attempt to find her wreck was inconclusive as lack of visual evidence could not confirm the identity of the ships found.

Replicas

230px, Model of the Santísima Trinidad at the

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

A full-size representation of the ''Santísima Trinidad'' can be seen and visited in the harbour of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...

, in Spain. A non-profit non-governmental Canadian association, the Friends of ''Santísima Trinidad'', assisted the Office of the Historian of the City of

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.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

with the construction of a new 1:25 four-metre-long scale model of ''La Santísima Trinidad''. Interior construction details are exposed on one side of the vessel, and visitors are able to use a computer interface and touch screen to take a virtual tour of the ship in Spanish, English, and French. The model is displayed in the Naval Museum of La Habana, opened in June 2008 at

Castillo de la Real Fuerza The Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Castle of the Royal Force) is a bastion fort on the western side of the harbour in Havana, Cuba, set back from the entrance, and bordering the Plaza de Armas. Originally built to defend against attack by pirat ...

, the oldest building in Cuba and the oldest stone fortress in the New World.

Notes

Sources and references

External links