''Velasco'' 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, ...

which fought in the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

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 = (cloc ...

Technical characteristics

''Velasco'' was built by the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. at

Leamouth Leamouth is a locality in the Blackwall area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area takes its name from the former ''Leamouth Wharf'' and lies on the west side of the confluence of the Bow Creek stretch of the Lea, at its confluence ...

, London in the United Kingdom, as the

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 a new class of eight Spanish

s. 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 1881. 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 ...

. She and the second ship of the class, , also built in the United Kingdom, were differently armed from and slightly faster than the final six ships of the class, all of which were built in Spain.

Operational history

In 1891 the cruiser was sent on a patrol to Northern

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

and the surrounding islands to watch out for potentially suspicious activities of japanese merchant shipping. When the

began in April 1898, ''Velasco'' was anchored in

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

off the Cavite Peninsula as part of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron's Pacific Squadron. In the

, she was still anchored there when 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 ...

's Asiatic Squadron attacked Montojo's squadron on 1 May 1898. Her boilers were ashore being repaired. All her guns were apparently removed to the Caballo Island Battery. She did not participate in the battle although ended up sunk. View aboard Wreck of Velasco

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. . * Nofi, Albert A. ''The Spanish–American War, 1898''. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Books, Inc., 1996. . * Saniel, Josefa M. ''Japan and the Philippines, 1868-1898''. New York, New York: Russel & Russel, 1973.

External links

Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: Spanish Navy Ships: ''Velasco'' (Cruiser, 1881–1898)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco Velasco-class cruisers Ships built in Leamouth 1881 ships Spanish–American War cruisers of Spain Maritime incidents in 1898 Shipwrecks in the South China Sea Shipwrecks of the Spanish–American War Shipwrecks of the Philippines