Spanish schooner Virgen de Covadonga

Covadonga at berth in Valparaiso, Chile
History
Spain
Name	Virgen de Covadonga
Ordered	June 10, 1857
Builder	Arsenal de la Carrara shipyard (Cádiz, Spain)
Cost	5,000,000 Reales de Vellón
Laid down	13 February 1858
Launched	28 November 1859
Commissioned	8 October 1859
Captured	Battle of Papudo, 26 November 1865
Fate	Captured by Chilean Navy during the Chincha Islands War
Chile
Name	Covadonga
Acquired	26 November 1865
Commissioned	4 December 1865
Fate	Sunk by a mine in Chancay, Peru during the War of the Pacific, 13 September 1880
General characteristics
Type	Screw-propelled schooner
Tons burthen	630 tons
Length	107 ft (33 m)
Propulsion	160 CV (120 kW) steam engine made in the Factory Nº 4, Ferrol 1-shaft
Sail plan	Brigantine sail rigging
Speed	7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) on steam
Complement	110 crewman
Armament	2 70-pounder (200 mm) revolving guns 2 9-pounder guns (*) 3 40-pounder guns (*)
Notes	(*) Installed after 21 May 1879

The schooner Virgen de Covadonga, was a schooner built in Spain and launched in 1859. During the Spanish-South American War (1863-1866), it was captured by Chilean forces at the end of the Papudo naval action and incorporated into the Chilean Navy. After being assigned to exploration missions, she was later assigned to the Chilean squadron that participated in the Pacific War (1879-1883). In the Battle of Punta Gruesa she defeated the Ironclad Independencia.

Construction

A Royal Order of 10 June 1857, led to Covadonga's keel being laid at the Arsenal de la Carraca in Cádiz, Spain, on 13 February 1858. She was a wooden schooner that was also fitted with steam propulsion. She was launched on 28 November 1859, and her construction cost a total of 5 million Reales de Vellón. She was named for the Battle of Covadonga - a highly symbolic event in Spanish history, being considered the beginning of the Reconquista.

She was commissioned by Royal Command on 8 October 1858. Her first commander was Lieutenant Evaristo Casariego y García. She was originally intended as a mail boat between Manila and Hong Kong, with her berth at the Naval Base of Manila, in the Philippine Islands.

Chincha Islands War service

During the Chincha Islands War, Covadonga served as an auxiliary ship to the Spanish fleet. The Chilean corvette Esmeralda, under the command of captain Juan Williams Rebolledo, captured Covadonga during the Naval Battle of Papudo, on 26 November 1865. Her capture led to Spanish Admiral Juan Manuel Pareja committing suicide.

Covadonga was commissioned into the Chilean Navy on 4 December 1865, under her original name. During this war, she also participated at the Naval Battle of Abtao.

War of the Pacific service

Main article: Battle of Punta Gruesa

During the War of the Pacific, Covadonga and Esmeralda, as the oldest and slowest ships of the Chilean navy, were left behind to blockade the port of Iquique. There they participated in one of the most important naval battles of the war.

Esmeralda faced the ironclad Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique, and Covadonga managed to escape from the attacks of the Peruvian ironclad Independencia when the latter collided with a submerged rock, the Covadonga turned around and came up aft of Independencia's stern and raked her, forcing her surrender.

Fate

On 13 September 1880, while enforcing a blockade in the port of Chancay, Peru, the sailors of Covadonga saw an unmanned boat loaded with fresh fruit and produce being carried by the currents. When they tried to lift the boat it exploded as the Peruvians had rigged it as a floating mine. Covadonga sank in less than 10 minutes.

In the disaster, out of the 109 men of the crew, the commander, Captain Pablo Ferrari, and 32 sailors died, 29 were rescued by the gun-boat Pilcomayo, and 48 were captured by the Peruvians. Also among the dead was petty officer Constantino Micalvi, a survivor of the Naval Battle of Iquique.

Bibliography

• Adamson, Robert E. & de St. Hubert, Christian (1991). "Question 12/89". Warship International. XXVIII (2): 199–205. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Warship International Staff (1975). "Question 84/73: Navies of Chile, Peru and Ecuador during the Spanish Intervention of 1866". Warship International. XII (4): 350–351. ISSN 0043-0374.
• de St. Hubert, Christian (1984). "Early Spanish Steam Warships, Part II". Warship International. XXI (1). Toledo, OH: International Naval Records Organization: 21–45. ISSN 0043-0374.

External links

• Official description from the Chilean Navy (in Spanish)
• Historical Text Archive, Chile: A Brief Naval History