Bases.
The 1900 naval act called for the Armada Espana to build up two major bases with one in the bay of Biscay, and the other in Barcelona. Each base was to host one of two new fleets of powerfull new warships and would include drydocks to repair the ships, ammunition plants and food storage areas to supply the ships. As well a naval training school was to be built, half the school would be devoted either to torpedo and gunnery training (Biscay base) or engineering and navigation (Barcelona). The other half of the school was to be used to train the crews for the navies new ships to bring them up to a common standard of skill and ability, as well as making them more usefull once aboard ship if they did not have to be trained on the job.
Aside from the two new major fleet bases Spain also built up two smaller ports in the canaries and Morocco to serve as coaling stations for the fleets longer ranged commerce raiding cruisers.
These ports would host only coal depots and ammunition stockpiles and were not intended as a place for a damaged ship to be rebuilt, but rather as a place were a ship low on fuel and ammunition after a successful cruise could reprovision and ready for another long voyage.
These bases would be used by the Imperial Russian navy during their war with Japan to refuel the ships of the second Pacific squadron on their way to death and glory in the Tsushima straight in 1905.
Ships.
The new bases, as flashy and shiny as they were would be useless without any ships to service. The government, had known this from the get go and planned a large, for Spain at least, fleet which would consist of the following new classes of ships, any survivors of the war with the US were considered obsolete and were not counted in the navies active roster (Many of the navies ships had been severely damaged in the civil war and were total losses, other ships like the Pelayo were far to obsolete to be placed in the battle line and were instead used as training ships) The following ships are the vessels ordered by the navy.
Battle ships.
Coastal monitors really the Defensor class ships were small 10,000 ton ships built by the German firm of Vulcan in Stettin and were low freeboard ships carrying four eleven inch guns, ten six inch guns, sixteen three inch guns and two 25mm machine guns and four 10mm guns. The two ships of the class were meant more as a deterrent force and were never intended as ocean going vessels. Rather they were a small coastal design well suited to sailing the calm waters of the Mediterranean. Defender and Protector were the names of the two ships of the class. Ordered in 1901 the ships were delivered in 1903 amidst much celebration.
Armored Cruisers.
While the ships of the Defensor class were coastal battleships and were designed to defend the nations coast against attack the two ships of the revolución class were rather different.
Built in the UK by the excellente Elswick yard these ships were the largest Armored Cruisers ever built. Coming in at one hundred and forty meters long and twenty seven meters long and displacing over twelve thousand tons they were larger in all respects than the Defensor.
The reason for the ships large proportions was that they were intended to be used as long range commerce raiders and as the main offensive arm of the navy. The ships carried four nine point two inch guns in a pair of twin turrets placed on the ships centerline. Sixteen six inch guns and twenty two three inch guns rounded out the ships capable armament. The ships engines drove the ships to a respectable twenty two knots and the ship had a range of over twelve thousand miles at fifteen knots.
The ships actually elicited a response from both the Royal navy of the UK and the French navy which each built a pair of similarly massive ships for their fleets. Ordered the same time as the battle ships they were actually delivered before in late 1902.
Protected Cruisers.
While Spain only needed a few of these smaller vessels to protect the small but growing Spanish merchant fleet, defend the coast and work with the battleships. Spain nonetheless wanted capable ships built. They again contacted the Elswick yard and placed orders for a eight ship strong class of ship with an armament of ten six inch guns and twelve three inch guns. This on a displacement of five thousand tons, making the Santa Maria class ships very capable indeed for their type.
Ordered in early 1902 the last vessel of the class (Santa Helena) would join the Armada in 1905 and would soon go about its duty with a mission to New York to show the flag.
Destroyers.
Before the war with the US most of the Armada`s destroyers came from French shipyards. These excellent ships were small, fast and potent and following the adoption of the navy bill Spain saw no need to change suppliers and ordered twenty four small ships of the DD-13 class in 1902 with the first six ships delivered just nine months later by the end of the year. The ships in the class were split into two distinct groups with eight ships carrying a pair of four inch guns and meant to act with the battleships. The other sixteen ships were more lightly armed and were meant to work in coastal defence duties. A job for which they proved quite capable of during the second civil war
