Spanish sloop Jorge Juan

Jorge Juan was a Jorge Juan-class sloop of the Spanish Navy which was sunk off Cuba during the Spanish–American War.

Jorge Juan
History
Spain
Name: Jorge Juan
Namesake: Jorge Juan y Santacilia
Builder: Naval shipyard at La Seyne, France
Launched: 1876
Fate: Sunk 21 July 1898
General characteristics
Class and type: Jorge Juan-class sloop
Displacement: 920 tons
Length: 209 ft 10 in (63.96 m) overall
Beam: 29 ft 7 in (9.02 m)
Draft: 15 ft 5 in (4.70 m) maximum
Installed power: 1,100 ihp (820 kW)
Propulsion: 1-shaft
Sail plan: barque-rigged
Speed: 13 knots
Complement: 146 officers and enlisted
Armament:
  • 2 × 6.2 in (157 mm) guns
  • 2 × 75 mm guns
  • 2 × machine guns
Notes: 128 tons of coal
Jorge Juan sinking on 21 July 1898, photographed from USS Leyden.

Technical characteristics

Jorge Juan was built at La Seyne in France. She was launched in 1876. She had a composite hull, one funnel, one screw, and a barque rig. She was the lead ship of a class of two sloops.[1]

Operational history

During the Spanish–American War in 1898, Jorge Juan was in Cuba. She was anchored in Nipe Bay when, late on the morning of 21 July 1898, the United States Navy armed yacht USS Wasp and armed tug USS Leyden moved in toward Port Nipe in order to reconnoitre the bay. Wasp immediately sighted Jorge Juan at anchor some four miles up the bay. Wasp fired several shots at the signal station located at the bay's entrance, then sped forward to engage Jorge Juan. At 1244, Jorge Juan opened fire at extreme range, and Wasp returned fire immediately. Leyden, followed by the gunboats USS Annapolis and USS Topeka, quickly joined in. As the range decreased, American gunfire became more accurate, and all four ships began scoring telling hits on Jorge Juan. Finally, at 1312, Jorge Juan stuck her colors. The four American warships ceased fire and watched Jorge Juan sink at 1342.[2]

Notes
  1. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905, p. 386
  2. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Wasp VII.

References
  • Naval History And Heritage Command. "Wasp VII". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command.
  • Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York, New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
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