Spanish sloop Jorge Juan

Jorge Juan
History
Spain
Name	Jorge Juan
Namesake	Jorge Juan y Santacilia
Builder	Naval shipyard at La Seyne, France
Launched	1876
Fate	Sunk 21 July 1898
General characteristics
Class and type	Jorge Juan-class sloop
Displacement	920 tons
Length	209 ft 10 in (63.96 m) overall
Beam	29 ft 7 in (9.02 m)
Draft	15 ft 5 in (4.70 m) maximum
Installed power	1,100 ihp (820 kW)
Propulsion	1-shaft
Sail plan	barque-rigged
Speed	13 knots
Complement	146 officers and enlisted
Armament	2 × 6.2 in (157 mm) guns 2 × 75 mm guns 2 × machine guns
Notes	128 tons of coal

Jorge Juan sinking on 21 July 1898, photographed from USS Leyden.

Jorge Juan was a Jorge Juan-class sloop of the Spanish Navy which was sunk off Cuba during the Spanish–American War.

Technical characteristics

Jorge Juan was built at La Seyne in France. She was launched in 1876. She had a composite hull, one funnel, one screw, and a barque rig. She was the lead ship of a class of two sloops.

Operational history

During the Spanish–American War in 1898, Jorge Juan was in Cuba. She was anchored in Nipe Bay when, late on the morning of 21 July 1898, the United States Navy armed yacht USS Wasp and armed tug USS Leyden moved in toward Port Nipe in order to reconnoitre the bay. Wasp immediately sighted Jorge Juan at anchor some four miles up the bay. Wasp fired several shots at the signal station located at the bay's entrance, then sped forward to engage Jorge Juan. At 1244, Jorge Juan opened fire at extreme range, and Wasp returned fire immediately. Leyden, followed by the gunboats USS Annapolis and USS Topeka, quickly joined in. As the range decreased, American gunfire became more accurate, and all four ships began scoring telling hits on Jorge Juan. Finally, at 1312, Jorge Juan stuck her colors. The four American warships ceased fire and watched Jorge Juan sink at 1342.

References

• Naval History And Heritage Command. "Wasp VII". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command.
• Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York, New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.