España-class battleship

The España class was a series of three dreadnought battleships that were built for the Spanish Navy between 1909 and 1921: España, Alfonso XIII, and Jaime I. The ships were ordered as part of an informal mutual defense agreement with Britain and France, and were built with British support. The construction of the ships, particularly the third vessel, was significantly delayed by shortages of materiel supplied by the UK during World War I, particularly armaments; Jaime I was almost complete in May 1915 but her guns were not delivered until 1919. The ships were the only dreadnoughts completed by Spain and were the smallest of the type built by any country. The class's limited displacement was necessitated by the constraints imposed by the weak Spanish economy and existing naval infrastructure, requiring compromises on armor and speed to incorporate a main battery of eight 12-inch (305 mm) guns.

España represented Spain during the opening of the Panama Canal in 1915 and conducted training exercises with Alfonso XIII after she entered service later that year. Both ships conducted long-range voyages to North and South America in 1920–1921; España was damaged in an accidental grounding off the coast of Chile. Both vessels provided gunfire support to ground forces engaged in the Rif War, which started in mid-1921, and Jaime I joined them there after her commissioning later that year. In 1923, España ran hard aground off Cape Tres Forcas while bombarding Rif positions and could not be freed before storm damage destroyed the ship in November 1924. Some of her guns were salvaged and later used as coastal artillery in Spain. The two surviving ships of the class supported the landing at Alhucemas, where Alfonso XIII served as the flagship.

After King Alfonso XIII was deposed and the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931, Alfonso XIII was renamed España and both members of the class were reduced to reserve to reduce costs. Jaime I returned to service for use as the fleet flagship in 1933. Plans to modernize the ships in the mid-1930s were interrupted by the start of the Spanish Civil War. España was seized by the rebel Nationalist faction at the start of the conflict while the Republican government retained control over Jaime I. España was used to enforce a blockade of Republican-controlled ports in northern Spain; the Spanish Republican Navy briefly deployed Jaime I to break the blockade but neither side attacked the other. España was lost after striking a mine in April 1937, though almost her entire crew was saved. Jaime I was attacked by German and Italian bombers during the war before being destroyed by an accidental explosion in June 1937. Guns from Jaime I were recovered and used for coastal batteries.