Spanish cruiser Castilla

History
Spain
NameCastilla
NamesakeCastile, an historical region of Spain
Ordered1869
BuilderArsenal de La Carraca, San Fernando, Spain
Laid downMay 1869
LaunchedAugust 1881 or 9 September 1881 (see text)
Completed1881 or 1886 {see text)
Commissioned1882 or 1886 {see text)
FateSunk 1 May 1898
General characteristics
Class & typeAragon-class unprotected cruiser
Displacement3,289 tons
Length236 ft 0 in (71.93 m)
Beam44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
Draft23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) maximum
Installed power1,400 ihp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion1-shaft, 3-cylinder, horizontal compound
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement392 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • As completed, included 8 x 8 in (203 mm) 180-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns
  • By 1885:
  • 4 × 5.9 in (150 mm) guns
  • 2 × 4.7 in (119 mm) breech-loading guns
  • 2 × 87 mm guns
  • 4 × 75 mm guns
  • 10 × machine guns
  • 2 × 14 in (356 mm) torpedo tubes
Notes460 tons of coal (normal)

Castilla was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War. Originally designed as an armored corvette with a central battery ironclad design, she instead was completed as an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette. After early service in the Mediterranean Sea, she spent the rest of her career in the Philippine Islands. She took part in combat operations during the first two years of the Philippine Revolution in 1896–1897. When the Spanish–American War broke out 1898, she was part of the squadron of Contralmirante (Counter Admiral) Patricio Montojo y Pasarón in Manila Bay and was sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay.