Spanish destroyer Furor
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Furor'' was a 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, ...
that fought at the
Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred ...
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

''Furor'' was built in the United Kingdom by
Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...
, (which would rename itself Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. the following year). 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 on 21 February 1896, and she was completed on 21 November 1896. She had three funnels. In the parlance of the day, she was a "
torpedo boat 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 in 1 ...
", designed to protect larger ships against
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
attack, but also carrying torpedoes with which to attack larger ships herself.


Operational history

As tensions between Spain and the United States grew in early 1898, ''Furor'' was part 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, ...
's 1st Squadron, commanded by Vice Admiral
Pascual Cervera y Topete Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (18 February 1839, Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz, Spain – 3 April 1909, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain) was a prominent Spanish naval officer with the rank of '' Almirante'' ( admiral) who served in a number of high posit ...
. The squadron was ordered to concentrate at São Vicente in Portugal's
Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
. Accordingly, ''Furor'', in company with Cervera's
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 fi ...
, the
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
, armored cruiser , and destroyers and , departed Cadiz on 8 April 1898 and arrived at São Vicente on 14 April 1898. The ships had experienced mechanical problems and burned an excessive amount of coal during the voyage. Soon, the squadron was reinforced by two more armored cruisers, and . 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 ...
began while ''Furor'' was at São Vicente. Ordered by neutral Portugal in accordance with international law to leave São Vicente within 24 hours of the declaration of war, ''Furor'' and the rest of Cervera's squadron departed on 29 April 1898, bound for San Juan,
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 ...
. Because of continuing engine trouble and low coal supplies, ''Furor'' and her fellow destroyers were towed part of the way. Cervera's ships reached French-owned
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
in the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
on 10 May 1898. While the other ships loitered in international waters, ''Furor'' and ''Terror'' went into
Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...
to ask for coal. France was neutral and would not supply coal. Moreover, the American
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 lo ...
had just left port, and French officials announced that in accordance with international law and France's neutrality, the destroyers, as belligerents, could not leave port until 48 hours after ''Harvard'' had left, i.e., on 13 May 1898. ''Terror'' had become immobilized with engine problems, so the destroyer flotilla commander, Captain
Fernando Villaamil Fernando Villaamil Fernández-Cueto (November 23, 1845 – July 3, 1898) was a Spanish people, Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the inventor of the destroyer warship and for his death ...
, took ''Furor'' out in the harbor on 12 May 1898 under the ruse of testing ''her'' engines, then successfully made a dash out into international waters 24 hours early. Leaving ''Terror'' behind, ''Furor'' and the rest of Cervera's squadron set out on 12 May 1898 for Dutch-owned
Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
, where Cervera expected to meet a collier. Cervera arrived at
Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...
on 14 May, but the Netherlands also was neutral, and strictly enforced its neutrality by allowing only ''Vizcaya'' and ''Infanta Maria Teresa'' to enter port and permitting them to load only 600 tons of coal. On 15 May, Cervera's ships departed, no longer bound for San Juan, which by now was under a
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 ...
blockade, but for as-yet unblockaded
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
on the southeastern coast of
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 Caribbea ...
, arriving there on 19 May 1898. Cervera hoped to refit his ships there before he could be trapped. His squadron was still in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba when an American squadron arrived on 27 May 1898 and began a blockade which would drag on for 37 days. During the blockade, ''Furor'' and the others endured occasional American naval bombardments of the harbor; during one such bombardment on 6 June 1898, she took a shell hit in her bunkerage, but suffered no serious damage. Some of her men joined others from the fleet in a Naval Brigade to fight against a
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
overland drive toward Santiago de Cuba. By the beginning of July 1898, that drive threatened to capture Santiago de Cuba, and Cervera decided that his squadron's only hope was to try to escape into the open sea by running the blockade. The decision was made on 1 July 1898, with the break-out set for 3 July 1898. The crew of ''Furor'' spent 2 July 1898 returning from Naval Brigade service and preparing for action. ''Furor'' was to be the fifth ship in line during the escape, following the four armored cruisers and with ''Pluton'' behind her; while ''Infanta Maria Teresa'' sacrificed herself by attacking the fastest American ship, the armored cruiser , ''Furor'' and the others were to avoid action, put on all the speed they could, and run for the open sea. At about 0845 hours on 3 July 1898, the Spanish ships got underway. The U.S. squadron sighted the Spanish ships in the channel at about 0935, and the
Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred ...
began. While the four armored cruisers turned to starboard to run westward, ''Furor'' and ''Pluton'' turned inside them and made their run closer to the coast. The blockading American
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s and armored cruisers opened fire on the two destroyers as they emerged from the channel, hitting both destroyers several times, but then turned their attention to pursuing the Spanish cruisers. The two damaged destroyers put on speed, pursued only by the
armed yacht An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...
, a ship less well armed than the destroyers, but larger, faster, and undamaged. ''Gloucester'' hit both destroyers repeatedly. In short order, casualties aboard ''Furor'' began to climb, and her stern flooded and became submerged; all her boilers were destroyed and her engine damaged; fires broke out in several places, including a particularly bad one in the engine room, which lay over the shell room, causing a danger of explosion; a hole was punched in her side; and finally her steering failed. Too badly damaged to continue, ''Pluton'' ran herself aground at 1045 on the beach just west of Cabanas Bay. Now alone, ''Furor'' survived only five more minutes. Still firing her guns, but with half her crew killed or wounded and clearly doomed, ''Furor'' stuck her colors and began to lower her boats; several American projectiles struck Spanish sailors struggling in the water before the Americans realized she had surrendered. Two American boats came alongside and began to take off survivors, but quickly pushed away again fearing an imminent magazine explosion, which promptly occurred. ''Furor'' sank about a mile offshore in deep water at 1050. Captain Villaamil died aboard ''Furor'', as did over half of her crew. Those of her crew who got ashore had to beware of Cuban insurgents, who began shooting Spanish sailors they found along the shore. Other survivors were recovered by U.S. sailors in small boats.Nofi, p. 183


Notes


References

* Cervera, Pascual, Ed. ''Office of Naval Intelligence War Notes No. VII: Information From Abroad. The Spanish–American War: A Collection of Documents Relative to the Squadron Operations in the West Indies Arranged by Rear-Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete, Translated from the Spanish''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899. * 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. .


External links


The Spanish–American War Centennial Website: Torpedo-Boat Destroyers ''Furor'', ''Pluton'', and ''Terror''


{{DEFAULTSORT:Furor Furor-class destroyers Ships built on the River Clyde 1896 ships Spanish–American War destroyers of Spain Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Shipwrecks of the Spanish–American War