Spanish warship Destructor facts for kids
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|} Destructor was a special Spanish warship from the 1800s. It was a very fast ship that could travel across oceans. It was also a "torpedo gunboat," which means it carried torpedoes and guns. Destructor was important because it was the first warship ever officially called a "destroyer" when it was put into service. A Spanish Navy officer named Fernando Villaamil designed it.
Why the Destructor Was Built
In the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s, small, fast, and cheap torpedo boats became a big threat to large warships. These torpedo boats could sneak up and fire torpedoes, causing a lot of damage. To protect their big battleships, navies needed a new kind of ship.
They wanted a ship that was:
- Bigger and faster than regular torpedo boats.
- Able to travel long distances with larger ships.
- Strong enough to attack enemy battleships with its own torpedoes.
The Spanish Navy asked several shipyards in Britain to create designs for this new type of ship. In 1885, they chose the design from James and George Thomson, a shipyard in Clydebank, United Kingdom. The ship was started in late 1885, launched in 1886, and ready for service in 1887.
What Made Destructor Special
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A side view of Destructorin 1890.
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A side view of Destructorin 1900.
Destructor weighed about 348 tons. It had powerful engines that made 3,784 horsepower. This allowed it to reach a top speed of 22.6 knots, which was incredibly fast for a ship in 1888! This speed made it one of the fastest ships in the world at that time.
The ship was armed with several different guns and torpedoes:
- One 90mm (3.5 inch) gun designed in Spain.
- Four 57mm (2.2 inch) guns.
- Two 37mm (1.5 inch) guns.
- Two 360mm (14 inch) torpedo tubes. Each tube could carry three torpedoes.
Destructor needed a crew of 60 sailors to operate it. On its very first trip, it set a record by sailing from Falmouth to Ferrol in just 24 hours.
Because of its powerful guns, high speed, and ability to operate in the open ocean, Destructor is often seen as the very first "torpedo-boat destroyer." It was designed specifically to chase down and destroy those dangerous torpedo boats. Many experts, like British naval engineer Sir William Henry White, described it this way. Destructor is believed to have influenced how later destroyers were designed, especially those built for the British Royal Navy.
See also
In Spanish: Destructor (1887) para niños
| History | |
|---|---|
 Spain |
|
| Name | Destructor |
| Ordered | 1885 |
| Builder | James and George Thomson of Clydebank, United Kingdom |
| Laid down | 14 November 1885 |
| Launched | 29 July 1886 |
| Commissioned | 19 January 1887 |
| Decommissioned | 1 January 1908 |
| Fate | Offered for sale, December 1911 and scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement | 348 long tons (354 t) |
| Length | 58.74 m (192 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 7.63 m (25 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 triple-expansion engines 3,784 hp (2,822 kW) |
| Speed | 22.6 knots (26.0 mph; 41.9 km/h) |
| Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) |
| Complement | 60 |
| Armament |
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