''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 colum ...

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, 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 Eluveitie ...

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 she was the flagship of Teniente-General Ignacio Maria de Álava y Sáenz de Navarrete 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 and Cosmao-Kerjulien 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