''Isabel II'' was a

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 ...

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, ...

, named after

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. The ship fought at

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Technical characteristics

''Isabel II'' was built at the naval shipyard at Ferrol. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid in 1883 and the ship was launched on 19 February 1886. ''Isabel II'' was completed in 1888 or 1889. She had one rather tall funnel. She had an iron hull and was rigged as a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

Operational history

When the

began in April 1898, ''Isabel II'' was at

. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

established a permanent blockade of San Juan on 18 June 1898.Nofi, p. 166 On 22 June 1898, ''Isabel II'',

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

, and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

came out of port to test the blockade, resulting in the Second Battle of San Juan. The

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

moved in, resulting in a short, running gun battle, from which the Spanish quickly broke away. ''Isabel II'' and ''General Concha'' could go no faster than ; ''Terror'' made a torpedo run on ''St. Paul'' to cover their retreat, and was badly damaged by gunfire from ''St. Paul'', but all three Spanish ships made it back into port at San Juan. Two men had been killed aboard ''Terror'', the only casualties either side suffered during the battle. On 28 June 1898, ''Isabel II'', ''General Concha'', and gunboat sortied to assist a Spanish blockade runner, the merchant steamer , make it into San Juan's harbor. The three Spanish warships exchanged long-range gunfire with ''St. Paul'', , and the cruiser , with neither side scoring any hits. When it became clear that ''Antonio Lopez'' would not be able to get past the Americans, the Spanish warships returned to port, where they spent the rest of the war. ''Antonio López'' ran aground, but most of her cargo was successfully unloaded by the Spanish. ''Isabel II'' returned to Spain after the end of the war. She was stricken in 1907.''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', p. 377

Notes

References

* 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. . * Gray, Randal, Ed. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. . * Nofi, Albert A. ''The Spanish–American War, 1898''. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania:Combined Books, Inc., 1996. .

External links

Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: Spanish Navy Ships: ''Isabel II'' (Cruiser, 1886–1902)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabel Ii Velasco-class cruisers Ships built in Ferrol, Spain 1886 ships Spanish–American War cruisers of Spain