Destructor (English: Destroyer) was a Spanish Navy warship in commission from 1887 to 1908. She was a fast, ocean-going torpedo gunboat and was one of the most important precursors of the destroyer type of naval vessels. Destructor was the first warship formally classified as a "destroyer" at the time of her commissioning."El Destructor (...) was referred to as a destroyer in print at the time." Banbury, Philip (1971). Shipbuilders of the Thames and Medway. David and Charles, p. 300. Smith, Charles Edgar: A short history of naval and marine engineering. Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263 She took part in Spanish operations during the First Melillan Campaign in North Africa in 1893. She also served during the Spanish-American War in 1898 but did not see combat during that conflict.
Genesis From the invention of the Whitehead torpedo — the first self-propelled torpedo — in 1866 through the 1870s and 1880s, the rapidly improving, cheap, and fast torpedo boat presented a rising threat to major warships. Coastal escort vessels of increasing size and capability were already in use to protect battleships — which at the time sank fairly easily if struck by underwater weapons such as torpedoes — from these short-range torpedo boats. Following his study of the situation, Spanish Navy Teniente de navío de 1ª clase (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant First Class) Fernando Villaamil advised the Spanish Minister of the Navy, Vicealmirante (Vice Admiral) Manuel Pezuela, that what was needed was a new type of enlarged torpedo gunboat, fast and powerful enough to intercept and destroy torpedo boats, with the range and seaworthiness to escort capital ships on long voyages, and capable of attacking enemy battleships with torpedoes as part of a fleet action. Villaamil drew up the specifications for such a ship, and these specifications became the basis of the "torpedo boat destroyer" type — which became known as the destroyer type in the early 20th century — a concept quickly adopted by other navies. The aim of the new destroyer design in the navies of the world was not only to neutralize the torpedo boat as an effective weapon, but also to replace it as a faster and more reliable torpedo-carrying warship.Dolby, James: The Steel Navy: A History in Silhouette, 1860–1963. Macdonald, 1965, page 71. OCLC 2336286
In terms of gunnery, speed and dimensions, Destructor is widely considered the first torpedo-boat destroyer ever built,From an article about the American Greyhounds"Under the influence of Fernando Villamil (1845–1898), Spain in 1886 produced the first torpedo boat destroyer." Kern, Robert & Dodge, Meredith: Historical dictionary of modern Spain, 1700–1988. Greenwood Press, 1990, page 361. and was described as such by British naval engineer Sir William Henry White.Carr Laughton, Leonard George; Anderson, Roger Charles and Perrin, William Gordon (1985). Mariner's mirror: wherein may be discovered his art, craft & mystery after the manner of their use in all ages and among all nations. Volume 71. Society for Nautical Research., p. 86 Destructor is thought to have influenced the design and concept of later destroyers developed by the British Royal Navy, in which further developments followed the pattern of the , built in 1893.Lyon, page 18: "J&G Thomson's 1892 design for a TBD is, not unsurprisingly, somewhat reminiscent of their "Destructor" built for the Spanish Navy."Lyon, page 66: "It was already (J&G Thomson Clydebank shipyard), when asked to tender for TBDs for the Royal Navy, building transatlantic liners and cruisers to the navy, and had built an interesting torpedo vessel under the prophetic name of "Destructor" ("Destroyer") for Spain. Its first design (for the British navy in 1892) was clearly a successor of the "Destructor"."
Construction and commissioning After Pezuela approved Villaamil's specifications for the new warship, he ordered Villaamil to travel to London in 1885 to develop his project further and commission its construction in the United Kingdom. The Spanish Navy asked several British shipyards to submit proposals capable of fulfilling Villaamil's specifications. It chose the design submitted by the shipyard of James and George Thomson of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship was laid down on 1885 and received the name Destructor — Spanish for "destroyer," because of her intended role as a destroyer of torpedo boats — by a royal decree of 1885. Launched on 1886, she reached during sea trials. She was commissioned on 1887 with Villaamil in command.
Characteristics
Destructor displaced or at standard displacement and at full load, according to different sources. She was long and had a beam of , a depth of hull of , and a draft of .
Destructor was one of the first ships with triple-expansion engines. She had two of the engines — fed by four locomotive boilers — which generated either or , according to different sources, giving her a maximum speed of Contratorpedero Destructor at standard displacement and at full load, which made her one of the faster ships in the world in 1888.Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine: A monthly journal devoted to all subjects connected with Her Majesty's land and sea forces, 1888, v 9, page 280. In service, she generally achieved around . At standard displacement she carried 37 tons of coal, while at full load she could carry 93 tons; sources give two different ranges for her — at economical cruising speed and at — without specifying the coal tonnage associated with the shorter range but identifying the longer range as with her maximum coal capacity.
Sources differ widely on Destructor′s torpedo armament. One claims that she had two torpedo tubes, both forward, with three Schwartzkopff torpedoes per tube, another that she had two tubes with three Schwartzkopff torpedoes per tube. Another source claims that she had three Schwatrzkopf — implying — torpedo tubes, two forward and one aft, and still another that she had five tubes, with two forward, one aft, and two on a trainable mount amidships. Destructor′s armament also included one Spanish-designed 90 mm (3.5 in) Hontoria breech-loading gun,Fitzsimmons, Bernard: The Illustrated encyclopedia of 20th century weapons and warfare. Columbia House, 1978, v. 8, page 835 four (6-pounder) Nordenfeldt guns, and two (3-pounder) Hotchkiss revolving cannons.
Destructor had three folding masts for staysails and two jibs. She had two raked funnels abreast of one another, a ram bow, and a transom stern. Eighteen millimeters (0.75 inch) of splinter plating protected her conning tower and machinery spaces. One source claims her crew consisted of 45 officers and enlisted men, while other sources state that she had a crew of 60.
Service history 1887–1893
Destructor began her delivery voyage from the United Kingdom to Spain at Falmouth, Cornwall, getting underway on 1887. Despite encountering high winds and rough seas, she averaged during the voyage. One source claims the voyage established a speed record of 24 hours from Falmouth to Ferrol, while another claims that she arrived in Spain at Vigo on .
After a brief call at Vigo, Destructor got back underway on 1887 bound for Cádiz, which she reached on 1887. On 1887 she departed Cádiz and headed for Cartagena, where she conducted slow-speed and gunnery trials. After completing them, she entered the shipyard at the Cartagena Naval Base to have her hull cleaned. On 1887, Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was in command of a British Royal Navy squadron that was visiting Cartagena, boarded Destructor, which at his request steamed at full speed and conducted a torpedo-firing exercise for him.
Destructor departed Cartagena on 1887 and made a port call at Cádiz, then got back underway on and proceeded to Ferrol, arriving there on . She made her first visit to Spain's northern coast in August 1887, cruising across the Cantabrian Sea to San Sebastián, where Queen Regent Maria Christina, Prime Minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, and Minister of the Navy Vicealmirante (Vice Admiral) Rafael Rodríguez de Arias Villavicencio embarked on Destructor on . With them aboard, she steamed to Cape Machichaco, escorted by the protected cruiser and the steamer . Queen Maria Christina disembarked at Santander. With the queen, prime minister, and minister of the navy observing from aboard the unprotected cruiser , Destructor conducted maneuvers off San Sebastián on , during which she fired salutes to the dignitaries, maneuvered at speed, and launched torpedoes at a target. Destructor then remained at San Sebastián until to serve as the royal yacht and conduct maneuvers with the torpedo boat . On , she departed Bilbao bound for San Sebastián in company with Ferrolano and the gunboat . On she departed San Sebastián and proceeded to Ferrol, which she reached on . She entered dry dock at the Ferrol Naval Base for rudder repairs.
With her repairs complete, Destructor left dry dock in March 1888. On , she put to sea from Ferrol in company with the torpedo boats Ariete, , , , and bound for Cartagena, where plans called for them to rendezvous with other torpedo boats and conduct exercises. During the voyage to Cartagena, the ships encountered a severe storm as they rounded Cape Finisterre. One of Habana′s boilers exploded, killing two stokers and two sailors. Powerless and adrift, Habana ran aground at Cape Toriñana. At risk of being wrecked herself, Destructor came to Habana′s assistance, refloated her, and towed her to Corcubión. Although authorities submitted a request to award the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand to Villaamil, Habana′s commanding officer Teniente de navío (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) Juan José Ozamiz y Ostolaza, a petty officer, and two sailors for their actions in saving Habana, no awards were made due to what authorities described as "paperwork" issues.
The ships reached Cartagena and began seven weeks of maneuvers with the torpedo boat division later in April 1888. In addition to Destructor and the torpedo boats that had arrived from Ferrol, the exercises included the unprotected cruisers Castilla and , the armored frigate , the screw frigate , and the torpedo boats , , , and .
Although the maneuvers continued until , Destructor left them in May to be showcased at the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition at Barcelona. She embarked Queen Maria Cristina at Valencia and arrived at Barcelona in time for the Exposition's opening day on 1888. During her stay at Barcelona, she served as the royal yacht, transporting the queen during her visits to each of the ships in the squadron visiting Barcelona for the exposition, and the queen observed a demonstration by the Torpedo Boat Division while aboard Destructor. Destructor departed Barcelona on under escort by the protected cruisers and and arrived at Valencia on .
Destructor arrived at Vigo on 1888 and later moved to Ferrol, where she remained until the summer of 1889. She proceeded to San Sebastián on 1889 for service as Queen Maria Cristina′s royal yacht. Several dignitaries visited Destructor at San Sebastián before she made a tour of the Basque coast of Spain from 1889. Vicealmirante (Vice admiral) Juan Bautista Antequera y Bobadilla, a former minister of the navy, embarked on Destructor at Deva, and the ship returned to San Sebastián at the end of September 1889. She later called at Bilbao before arriving at Ferrol on 1889. In November 1889, Villaamil relinquished command of her.