"Prince of Asturias" - Spanish battleship (1794)

[Anatol]

The Prince of Asturias was a ship of the line with three decks and 112 guns built at the Royal Shipyard of Havana in 1794, according to a project by Romero Landa and launched on January 28, 1794. It was named in honor of the first-born son of Charles IV. Her advocacy name was Los Santos Reyes.
It was built following the Santa Ana project, with the following eight ships belonging to that series: Santa Ana, the first and the one that gives its name to the series, Mejicano, Conde de Regla, Salvador del Mundo, Real Carlos, San Hermenegildo, Queen María Luisa and Prince of Asturias. Upon delivery it had 30 36-pounder guns in the first battery, in the second battery 32 24-pounder guns, in the third battery 32 12-pounder guns, on the quarterdeck 12 8-pounder guns and finally in the forecastle. 6 8-pounder cannons. Her dimensions were 210 feet in length, a beam of 58 feet and a depth of 27 feet and 6 inches. Its weight was 2453 tons.
Record On May 17, 1795 she arrived in Cádiz together with the San Pedro Apóstol after escorting a rich convoy.
In 1797, the ship was commanded by Brigadier Antonio de Escaño, and forming a squadron under the command of Lieutenant General José de Córdova y Ramos, it left with the mission of protecting a convoy. After having accomplished their objective, shortly before their arrival in Cádiz they were surprised by a strong storm and headed towards San Vicente. There they encountered the disorderly squadron on February 14 and engaged in combat with Jervis' squadron in what is known as the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. The confrontation ended in a Spanish defeat and the Prince of Asturias had 10 men killed and 19 wounded.
Order of battle at the Battle of Trafalgar In Trafalgar she wore the insignia of Lieutenant General Federico Gravina, assisted by the second commander of the Spanish squadron and magnificent sailor Antonio de Escaño and by the commander Ángel Rafael de Hore. Gravina's division was the most punished by the enemy. The Prince of Asturias, with skillful maneuvers and accurate shots, forced the British ships to move away quickly to avoid being dismasted. Captain Edward Codrington of the Orion himself acknowledged in writing that the Prince of Asturias fired so many cannon shots and so well directed at the masts that it was impossible to approach less than 600 meters without being dismasted. During the combat, 50 crew members died and 110 were wounded. Gravina himself was wounded in combat and died a year later as a result of these injuries. The ship being towed, she was able to return to Cádiz thanks to the support of other ships such as the San Justo. During the War of Independence she participated in the capture of the French ships: Héros, Neptune, Pluton, Argonaute and the frigate Cornelie. In September 1810 she moved to Havana along with the Santa Ana to be safer during the war against the French. In 1814 she foundered and in 1817 she was ordered to be sold for scrapping.
Beliz 2019; 4$.
Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%ADn ... ias_(1794)#.