Emperador Carlos V
Encyclopedia
Emperador Carlos V was an armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
of the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
which served in the Spanish fleet from 1898 to 1933.
Technical characteristics
Emperador Carlos V was built at the naval shipyard at CadizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the largest ship built in Spanish yards in this era. She was laid down in 1892, launched on 13 March 1895, and completed on 2 June 1898. She was the only member of her class. Her boilers and machinery were of Spanish construction, her armor German, her stern and stern post British, and her gun turrets, which were installed at Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1897, were French. She had three funnels and was weakly armored, relying mostly on her armored deck for protection. Her 11-inch (280-mm) main guns were mounted fore and aft in center-line hooded barbettes. One of her strengths was considered to be her great steaming range.
Operational history
Emperador Carlos V was brand new and not yet operational when the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
broke out in April 1898, but she was rushed into service and assigned to the 2nd Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Manuel de Camara
Manuel de Camara
Manuel de la Cámara y Libermoore was a rear admiral of the Spanish Navy during the Spanish-American War.Immediately after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898, the Spanish Navy ordered major units of its fleet to concentrate at Cadiz to form the 2nd Squadron, under the command of...
. This squadron was ordered to steam to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and defeat the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron, which had controlled Philippine waters since defeating the Spanish squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron in the Battle of Manila Bay.
Camara's squadron—consisting of Emperador Carlos V, battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Pelayo
Spanish battleship Pelayo
Pelayo was a battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1888 to 1925. For many years, she was the most powerful unit of the Spanish Navy.-Technical Characteristics:...
, auxiliary cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s Patriota and Rapido, destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s Audaz, Osado, and Prosepina, and transports Buenos Aires and Panay -- sortied from Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
on 16 June 1898, passing Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 17 June 1898. It arrived at Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, on 26 June 1898, and requested permission to transship coal, which the Egyptian government finally denied on 30 June 1898 out of concern for Egyptian neutrality. By the time Camara's squadron arrived at Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
on 5 July 1898, the squadron of Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....
had been annihilated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
, freeing up the U.S. Navy's heavy forces from the blockade of Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
. Fearful of the security of the Spanish coast, the Spanish Ministry of Marine recalled Camara's squadron on 7 July 1898, and Emperador Carlos V returned to Spain, where Camara's 2nd Squadron was dissolved on 25 July 1898. Emperador Carlos V spent the last month of the war in Spanish waters, and thus missed combat.
After the war, Emperador Carlos V conducted cruises to show the flag, attending naval reviews in foreign countries, most notably including the coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
in 1902. She was decommissioned in 1922, stricken in 1932, and scrapped in 1933.