c.1897 Fernando Villaamil portrait

Fernando Villaamil Fernández-Cueto (November 23, 1845 – July 3, 1898) was a Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the designer of the first destroyer warship in history and for his heroic death in the naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba of the Spanish-American war, being the highest Spanish officer to suffer this fate in that event. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (884x1215, 128 KB) c. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (884x1215, 128 KB) c. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ... Combatants United States Spain Commanders William T. Sampson, Winfield Scott Schley Pascual Cervera Strength 4 battleships 1 armoured cruiser 2 torpedo boats 4 armoured cruisers 2 torpedo boats Casualties 2 dead ~100 wounded 474 dead or wounded 6 ships lost The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and... Combatants United States Republic of Cuba First Philippine Republic Spanish Empire Commanders Nelson A. Miles William R. Shafter George Dewey Máximo Gómez Emilio Aguinaldo Patricio Montojo Pascual Cervera Casualties 3,289 U.S. dead (only 332 from combat); considerably higher although undetermined Cuban and Filipino casualties Unknown[1...

The origins

Fernando Villaamil was born in Serantes, near Castropol, in the north of Spain, less than a mile from the Bay of Biscay coastline. He descended from a family of respected noblemen and landowners, but his father found himself almost completely ruined, and had to sell all his property, including the family ancestral home . It seems that this event produced a strong mixed feeling of both affection and anger about his native region in Fernando, which would last for the rest of his life. Small and charming town in the North of Spain (Asturias) http://www. ...

In 1861 he entered the Spanish Navy Colegio Naval de San Fernando, and one year later he went, as midshipman, aboard the frigate Esperanza, the first of the long series of warships on which he would serve his nation until the final Furor. The Spanish Navy (in Spanish, Armada Española) is the maritime arm of the Spanish Military. ...

He then served in the Philippines and Cuba, the last remains of the Spanish Empire, and in 1873 he was back in Spain and was nominated as a teacher in the Naval School that the Spanish Navy held aboard a frigate anchored in the naval base of Ferrol. Along the following years Villaamil took advantage of the studying and writing opportunities presented by his new job, becoming one of the best known and respected Spanish Navy officers. Military flag of the Spanish Empire from the 16th century up to 1843. ... Ferrol can refer to: EUROPE Ferrol, Spain City and Naval Station in North Western Spain, European Union Note: Place of birth of both Francisco Franco (1892) the Spanish dictator and Pablo Iglesias (1850) founder of PSOE and UGT. ASIA Ferrol, Romblon Small Town in the Philippines Note: The Philippines got...

The Destructor

The Destructor

In 1884, Villaamil was appointed Second Officer in the Ministry of the Navy. As such, he took the iniciative of studying and designing a new class of warship intended to fight the then-new torpedo boats. Once he reached his conclusions on the subject, he obtained the agreement of the Minister and selected the British shipyards of James & George Thompson, in Clydebank to build the new vessel, beginning in late 1885. Villaamil was assigned to Great Britain to supervise the works and study the operating procedures of the British naval dockyards, as well as the new Engineers corps. On January 19, 1887, the Destructor, the first torpedo boat destroyer, was formally handed over to the Spanish Navy, with great expectations from the European naval comunity. On the 24 the ship, which had reached 22.5 knots in the trials, weighed anchor in Falmouth, bounded for Vigo, with Villaamil in command. Twenty-four hours later, she reached the Spanish coast, making 18 knots through a stormy Bay of Biscay. In one day the doubts about the ship seaworthiness were answered forever, and her designer and commander had every reason to feel proud. As a consequence of the success of the Destructor, Villaamil's professional reputation grew, both in Spain and abroad. Image File history File links ContratorpederoDestructor. ... Image File history File links ContratorpederoDestructor. ... Clydebank (Bruach Chluaidh in Gaelic) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, lying on the north bank of the river Clyde. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Falmouth (Cornish: Aberfal) is a seaport on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is both a town and a civil parish. ...

Around he world

Fernando Villaamil and the Nautilus, 1894

Villaamil was a strong advocate of oceanic sailing as the best training for the young Navy officers and in 1892, being appointed commander of the corvette Nautilus he took advantage of the celebrations of the fourth centenary of America's discovery to get approval for an instruction cruise around the world. On November 30, 1892 the Nautilus left Ferrol, in northwest end of Spain. She rounded Cape Agulhas and Cape Leeuwin, passed through Bass and Cook straits, rounded Cape Horn, went to New York and eventually, after sailing forty thousand miles, came back to Spain on a shining Sunday, July 16, 1894, in San Sebastián. Here the sailors suddenly realized that an approaching launch hoisted the royal pennant. It was the Regent Queen and her son, the child King Alfonso XIII, coming to welcome Villaamil and all the Nautilus crew. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1008x718, 106 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Fernando Villaamil ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1008x718, 106 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Fernando Villaamil ... To circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A marker at Cape Agulhas indicates the official dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. ... Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Western Australia The most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia. ... Bass Strait (IPA /bæs/) is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland (Victoria in particular). ... A view of from the summit of Mount Victoria, Wellington - Cook Strait stretches to the right (west). ... Cape Horn from the South. ... NY redirects here. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Geography > Europe > Spain > Basque Country > Guipúzcoa San Sebastián with sailboats Statue of Jesus on Urgull Mountain Donostia (in Basque) or San Sebastián (in Spanish) is the capital city of the province of Guipuscoa, in the Spanish autonomous community of Basque Country. ... Maria Christina of Austria, Queen of Spain Maria Christina, Princess Imperia and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (Maria Christina Désirée Henriette Felicitas Rainiera von Habsburg-Lothringen, 21 July 1858–6 February 1929) was the second Queen consort of King Alfonso XII of Spain and... Alfonso XIII of Spain (May 17, 1886 – February 28, 1941), King of Spain, posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain, was proclaimed King at his birth. ...

The world cruise increased Villamil's popularity even more. He published the story of the voyage in an excellent book in which he not only reported on the events of the cruise, but also on his thoughts on many things he found around the world. His comments on the comparison between British and Spanish colonies are impressively meaningful and well-written. One cannot avoid a thrill when reading Villaamil's reflections after visiting, in May 1894, the Cramp shipyards in Philadelphia, where two battleships and three cruisers were in different stages of construction. He wrote: "While I'm not in a position to decipher the aims that this nation has set itself [...], I notice that in the last years, in an unexpected way, it devotes its attention and money to acquiring warships that represent the latest advances in naval engineering". Indeed, he didn't know that four years later his destiny would make a fatal appointment with those impressive warships, annihilating him, many of his sea-fellows, all their ships and the last remains of the Spanish Empire.^[1] Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Cradle of Liberty, the City That Loves You Back, the Quaker City, The Birthplace of America Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701  - Mayor...

The Spanish-American war

Memorial to Fernando Villaamil erected in 1911 in Castropol

During the following years, Villaamil and some other forward-thinking colleagues tried to make the Spanish public aware of the critical deficiencies of the Navy. Then, events rushed ahead: tension with the United States was rising quickly, and on February 16, 1898 —the day following the blowing of the USS Maine in Havanna— Villaamil was appointed Chief of the First Division of torpedo boats and destroyers. Meanwhile, a totally unrealistic feeling of unbeatable naval power spread over Spain, and the Government decided that a whole fleet, commanded by Admiral Pascual Cervera, should be sent across the Atlantic. Villaamil and his First Division left Cadiz on March 13, and on April 18 they gathered with Admiral Cervera's fleet in the Cape Verde islands. A month later, on April 24, Spain declared war on the United States, and Cervera received the order to go to the Antilles. Villaamil's Division was split, its destroyers integrated in Cervera's fleet, and the torpedo boats sent back to Spain. Image File history File links Monumento_FV.JPG‎ Foto del monumento de 1911 a Fernando Villaamil en Castropol File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Fernando Villaamil ... Image File history File links Monumento_FV.JPG‎ Foto del monumento de 1911 a Fernando Villaamil en Castropol File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Fernando Villaamil ... February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Four ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Maine, named for the 23rd state. ... Havana can refer to: the capital city of Cuba (see Havana). ... Pascual Cervera y Topete, Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (February 18, 1839 - April 3, 1909) served as Almirante (or Admiral) of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ...

Thus, Villaamil was left with no very specific responsibilities. He could have returned to Spain, but he chose to go forward with his fellows, even if he was totally aware of the disaster the underarmed and very poorly provided of ammunition Spanish fleet was headed for. He was always in disagreement with both the Spanish Government's shaky war direction and Cervera's rather passive strategy. Instead, he advocated trying to offset the superiority of the American forces by scattering the fleet and taking the initiative through quick and dispersed daring actions; and he even volunteered to lead an audacious diversionary attack to New York with his destroyers, but his proposals were not accepted. Therefore Villaamil had to resign himself unwillingly to be shut with all the fleet in the bay of Santiago de Cuba.

In the end, on July 3 the whole Spanish fleet came out through the narrow mouth of the bay, ship by ship, almost like a funeral cortege, to be easily destroyed by the waiting American fleet in an eerie kind of target shooting exercise. July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ...

The end

Villaamil was killed on board one of his destroyers, the Furor. Francisco Arderius, officer in the ship, reported Fernando Villaamil's end:

[after several gunshots that caused tremendous damage and many casualties] Capitán de Navio Villaamil went up to the prow gun platform; when I was about to follow him, a grenade exploded there [...]. I could only see a flood of blood coming down. [...] Shortly after we went overboard, the ship, already on fire, sunk with the lifeless body of Don Fernando Villaamil^[2]

Notes

Sources

• Villaamil, Fernando. "Viaje de circunnavegación de la corbeta Nautilus". Madrid: Sucesores de Ribadeneyra, 1895. Reedit. Madrid: Editorial Naval, 1989 ISBN 84-7341-047-5.
• Castropol a Fernando Villaamil, [Special issue, fully dedicated to Fernando Villaamil, of "Castropol" ten-dayly newspaper]. Castropol, 1912.
• Camba, Francisco. "Fernando Villaamil". Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1944.
• Serrano Monteavaro, Miguel Angel. "Fernando Villaamil. Una vida entre la mar y el dolor". Madrid: Asamblea Amistosa Literaria, 1988 ISBN 84-404-2716-6.
• Muñiz, Oscar. "El Capitán de la Reina". Gijón: Llibros del Pexe, 1995. ISBN 84-89985-11-1

External links

• Detailed biography of Fernando Villaamil
• Fernando Villaamil funeral service in Madrid; July 22, 1898 (in Spanish)