Spanish Torpedo Boat Destroyers FUROR, PLUTON
and TERROR
Torpedo Boat Destroyer FUROR
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to see an image of the TERROR undergoing repairs after the action with
the ST PAUL.
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an account of the FUROR in the Naval Battle of Santiago
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for information on Tenient de Navio, Francisco Arderius Rodriguez
Click
here to read about Francisco Arderius Rodriguez' account of an
incident during his return to Spain
GENERAL:
The invention of the Whitehead torpedo and the
building of Torpedo Boats was a major development in Naval warfare during
the closing decades of the 19th Century. The new and untried nature of
this weapon led to much effort being put into tactics and equipment to
counter the underwater threat. Capitán de Navio
Fernando Villaamil of the Spanish Navy was the inventor of the
DESTRUCTOR, the world's first Torpedo Boat Destroyer. These were larger,
more powerful versions of Torpedo Boats, designed to, as the name
suggests, destroy the smaller craft. After the turn of the century, they
became known simply as Destroyers. The United States Navy did not yet have
any Torpedo Boat Destroyers in commission in 1898, but those of the
Spanish Navy were among the most feared vessels in that fleet.
BACKGROUND:
TERROR's keel was laid on February 9, 1896, originally for the British
Royal Navy, at the yard of James & George Thomson Ltd., Scotland. She
was launched on August 28, and then completed on November 20. TERROR was
followed by FUROR, whose keel was laid on February 21 of the same year by
the same firm, and completed on November 21, a day after TERROR. Thomson
laid the keel for PLUTON on February 12, 1897. In April the company
changed its name to Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding
Co. and it was under this company name that the PLUTON was completed on
November 4, 1897.
The Torpedo Boat Destroyers FUROR, PLUTON and TERROR were attached to
Admiral Cervera's Cape Verde Squadron when it
sailed from Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish American War.
Mechanical problems forced the Admiral to leave TERROR behind at
Martinique when the rest of the fleet left for Cuba.
The TERROR later sailed on her own to San Juan, Puerto Rico. At 1:30
pm, June 22, 1898, she
sortied from San Juan and attacked the blockading Auxiliary
Cruiser USS ST. PAUL. The Spanish vessel was
severely damaged by the ST. PAUL's fire and had to be beached. She was
repaired in San Juan and left for Spain on September 14, 1898, after the
end of hostilities.
FUROR and PLUTON, under the personal command of Capitán de Navio
Villaamil, were the last two vessels out of Santiago Harbor on July 3,
1898. The Torpedo Boat Destroyers soon came under heavy attack by the
Armed Yacht USS GLOUCESTER, under the former
First Officer of USS MAINE, Lt. Commander
Richard Wainwright, the Battleships INDIANA
and IOWA and, a little later, the Armored
Cruiser NEW YORK. Both Spanish vessels were
soon riddled, the FUROR plunging to the bottom and the PLUTON being run
up on some rocks and later exploding. The heroism of the Spanish
sailors, and of those on the unarmored and lightly armed GLOUCESTER,
provoked much comment from US Naval personal and correspondents. Capitán
de
Navio Fernando Villaamil went down with the FUROR.
Officers of the PLUTON and FUROR. On the left is Pedro
Vázquez, teniente de navío, of the PLUTON. On the right is Fernando
Villaamil, capitán de navío, of the FUROR (killed in action at the
Battle of Santiago)
TECHNOTES:
| Classification: |
|
Torpedo Boat Destroyers |
| Completed: |
|
1896-97 |
| Armament: |
|
Six Rapid-fire guns |
|
|
Two torpedo lauchers |
| Length: |
|
220 feet |
| Displacement: |
|
Furor and Terror, 370 tons, |
|
|
Pluton, 400 tons. |
| Speed: |
|
26 knots |
A profile of the FUROR
Azy, A.C.M., "Signal 250! The Sea Fight Off Santiago", New York: David
McKay Company, 1964.
Brown, Charles H., "The Correspondent's War", New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1967.
Freidel, Frank, "The Splendid Little War", Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1958.
González López, Manuel P., Personal Internet Contact.
Iborra, Federico, (image of Vazquez).
Jane, Fred D., "Janes All the World's Fighting Ships, 1898", New York:
Arco Publishing Co., Inc, 1969.
Rivero, Captain Angel, "Crónica de la Guerra Hispanoamericana en
Puerto Rico", Editorial Edil, Inc., Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, 1972
(reprint, first published 1921). Thanks to Ramiro Cruz.
Skelton, Peter (info. from the records of James & George Thomson
Ltd., and Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.
company archives).
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