Battle of Cape Espartel

Battle of Cape Espartel
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Republican destroyer Almirante Ferrandiz, sunk during the battle
Date September 29, 1936 Location Strait of Gibraltar, near Tangier, present-day Morocco Result Decisive Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spanish Republic	Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
	Francisco Moreno
Strength
2 destroyers	1 heavy cruiser 1 light cruiser
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk 1 destroyer damaged	None

The Battle of Cape Espartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the naval supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war. The action occurred on September 29, 1936 between two Nationalist cruisers and a squadron of Republican destroyers.

Background

The Nationalist conspirators at Ferrol had been able to seize the city's naval base in July, but at a large cost to the Spanish Navy: over 30 officers had been shot by hundreds of mutinous sailors, loyal to the Revolution.

Their prize included the old battleship España (formerly the Alfonso XIII), the cruisers Almirante Cervera and the unfinished Canarias, two light cruisers, one destroyer, and a number of torpedo boats and sloops. In September, a small squadron, including the Almirante Cervera and Canarias, steamed from Ferrol to engage the Republican navy.

At the start of the war, the Republican navy had the battleship Jaime I, three light cruisers, 14 destroyers, plus five submarines. In addition to the España, the two cruisers and one destroyer taken by the Nationalists, by the following year they had completed the Almirante Cervera and Canarias, plus they had purchased four destroyers and two submarines from Fascist Italy. The Nationalists established a blockade of the Republican-held coastline for the entire duration of the war, but their paucity of ships limited the blockade's effectiveness.

The battle

The Nationalists engaged a squadron of Republican destroyers stationed on the western end of the Straits. The destroyer Gravina was deployed near Cape Espartel, while her sister ship Almirante Ferrándiz was patrolling off Ceuta.^[1] A fierce exchange of fire followed, during which the destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz was chased and sunk by the Canarias in the Alboran Sea, while the Gravina was pursued and hit by the Cervera along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The main guns of the Canarias found their mark at a range of 11 miles with their second salvo, while those of Cervera performed poorly. The surviving Republican destroyer retreated toward Casablanca. This action was decisive to open the Straits to the insurgents' shipping.^[2][3]

Notes

References

• Thomas, Hugh (1979). La guerra civil española. Volume 6. Ediciones Urbión, p. 184. ISBN 84-85266-54-4. (Spanish)

• Cortada, James: Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Greenwood Press, 1982. ISBN 0-313-22054-9

External links

• Summary of Major Campaigns and Offensives

Coordinates: 36°14′47″N 4°38′30″W / 36.24639°N 4.64167°W / 36.24639; -4.64167

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