Compañía Trasatlántica Española



The Compañía Trasatlántica Española was founded on 1 June 1881 by Antonio López, first Marqués de Comillas, following to his first shipping company, the Compañia de Vapores Correos de Antonio López. Since the beginning it surrogated the maritime communication and mail contract got in public bidding in 1868 by the Compañia de Vapores Correos.

General Armero

        This vessel was never owned by Trasatlántica. She was the first ship of Antonio López y Cía, and also the first Spanish merchant vessel with propeller. She was trading among the Spanish islands in the Caribe.
        She was built in 1853 in the shipyard Ambrose W. Thomson at Filadelfia (USA). Her main specifications were: lenght: 51,8 meters; breadth: 8,5 meters; depth: 5,8 meters; speed: 7 knots; displacement: 716 tons.

Antonio Lopez

        This vessel was since 1866 owned by Compañia de Vapores Correos de Antonio López until he created Trasatlántica. So she was one of the first ships owned by the new company. On 1882 was renamed as "Patricio de Satrustegui" when a new "Antonio Lopez" joined the fleet. She was scrapped on 1891.

Isla de Panay

        This vessel of 3,484 GRT was built in 1882 for the Compañía de Tabacos de Filipinas fleet, that was servicing the Philipines. In 1884 that company was bought by Trasatlántica and the vessel continued in the same line.
        She grounded and was lost in Fernando Poo coast on 7 December 1929.

Manuel L. Villaverde

        This 2.400 MT vessel joined the fleet around 1885 and was scrapped around 1920.

Joaquin del Pielago

        This was the first steamer built in the own Trasatlántica shipyard, at Matagorda (Cádiz).

Alfonso XII

        The first vessel named "Alfonso XII" was built by William Denny & Bros in Dumbarton in 1875. She was 3,000 GRT, with 110 meters length, 11 beam and 8.6 depth. She had capacity for 244 passengers and her speed was 14 knots.
        She grounded and sank on 13 February 1885 in Gando (Gran Canaria) just after leaving Las Palmas, carrying 280 persons including the crew. There was not casualties because as she was so close to shore the local fishermen helped in the evacuation from the fisrt moment.

Alfonso XII

        The second Alfonso XII was built by Wicham Richardson in 1888, and had 5.206 TRB. She was sank by the USA navy at Mariel (Cuba) on 3 July 1898.

Alfonso XII

        In this photo the vessel is at Ferrol shipyard on April 1915.
        She was built by AG Vulcan, Stettin in 1890 as "Havel" for North German Lloyd.
        She was 6,875 GRT with 139.4 meters length and 15.6 beam. With a single screw her speed was 18 knots. Her passanger capacity was 244 in First class, 122 in Second and 460 in Third.
        In 1898 was bought by the Spanish Navy and converted in the auxiliary cruiser "Meteoro". In 1899 was bought by Trasatlántica and renamed "Alfonso XII", being the third vessel with this name. Was scrapped in 1926 in Italy.


The mail and comunications contract with the Spanish ultramarine provinces was extended on 17 November 1886, and the clauses asked for 36 trips per year to the Antilles from Cádiz and Santander.
The contract required vessels with at least 12 knots speed. The same contract demanded 17 knots before 1893, and due this the company ordered four vessels, in two pairs with very different shape, to William Denny & Bros at Dumbarton. One pair, the first "Alfonso XIII" and the "Reina María Cristina" had violín bow and four masts, whilst the other pair, the "Buenos Aires" and "Montevideo" had straight bow and three masts.

Alfonso XIII

        This vessel was built, as many others forTrasatlántica, by William Denny & Bros at Dumbarton, being delivered in early 1889 and registered in Barcelona with the number 184. She was the number 400 in the shipyard, and her sister ship "Reina María Cristina" the 401.
        She was 5,100 GRT, 3,869 DWT and 10,000 displacement, with 124.41 meters length, 14.36 beam and 9.83 depth. With her four masts was an original ship. In her transatlantic trips she used some times the sails when the tail shaft was broken.
        She had single screw with a triple expansion steam machine of 5,260 HP that gave her 17.61 knots in trials. Her accomodation had capacity for 164 passegers in First Class, 15 in Second, 42 in Third and 1,343 in Emigrant. The emigrants or troop travelled in the tweendecks, which when free were used for cargo. This distribution changed several times during the life of the vessel.
        Among other remarkable facts the crew of this ship took part in the "Cabo Machichaco" disaster, when this ship exploded at Santander on 3 November 1893 with more that 500 casualties. The "Cabo Machichaco" carried in her cargo around 50 tons of dynamite when started a fire due to the breaking of a sulphuric acid container. Thirty two crew from the "Alfonso XIII" were helping in the firefighting dying all them.
        Since 1896 to 1898 was attached to the Spanish Navy as auxiliary cruiser, being armed with four Hontoria cannons of 120 mm, two of 90 mm, two of 37 mm and two machine guns, carrying out several transport and patrol missions. On 12 May 1898 five shots hitted her when from the Northamerican Navy attacked San Juan de Puerto Rico. After the was helped to the evacuation of the Spanish Army from the Caribe and Philipines till 20 March 1899 when again started at Santander the line to Havana.
        Except during the war she serviced the line North Spain - La Habana - Veracruz until sank at Santander on 5 de February 1915. The ship was at anchor whilst carrying out works onboard, including on the hull, and in the evening started a strong South wind, typical at Santander that has always produced heavy damages in the area, producing heavy seas which flooded the hold 2. As the vessel had the boilers shut down was not possible to remove the water and , although the crew remaining onboard tried to stop the water intake, the ship listed to starboard until she was completely sumerged except the port side.

Alfonso XIII

        The second ship called "Alfonso XIII" was built in 1890 in Dumbarton by William Denny & Bros for Union Line Steamships as "Scot". She was 6,844 GRT with 143.5 meters length, 16.5 beam and 5.4 depth. The accomodation had capacity for 208 passengers in First Class, 100 in Second and 100 in Third. She was in the line Southampton - Capetown and kept the speed record during more that forty years.
        The propulsion had twin screws, each one linked by a triple expansion steam machine of 1,440 HP. Each machine had a H.P. cylinder with 864 mm bore, a M.P. cylinder with 1,848 and one L.P. one with 2,337 mm, being the stroke 1,524 mm. The trial speed was 19.6 knots.
        In 1895 was lengthened, and her new dimensions were 7,859 GRT, 4,089 NRT and 160 meters length, with accomodation for 400 passengers in First class and 25 in Second.
        In 1900 was transferred to Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co. after the merging of the two shipping companies and in 1905 was sold to Hamburg America Line and renamed "Oceana". She serviced the line Hamburg - New York until sold in 1910 to Bermuda North Atlantic Co. for cruises New York - Bermuda. She was arrested in 1912 and and laid up in the river Hudson.

Alfonso XIII

        This impressive photo was shot at Santander.
        In 1916 was bought by Trasatlántica, after the first "Alfonso XIII" was lost at Santander in 1915, and renamed with this name. In 1923, when a new "Alfonso XIII" was built, was renamed "Vasco Nuñez de Balboa".
        She serviced the lines Spain - New York and Havana until 1925 when was laid up in Cadiz. She was scrapped in Italy in 1927.

Alfonso XIII

        The third ship carrying this name was built in 1927 at Sestao by the Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval, with the number 1. Her cost exceeded several times the initial budget of 10.000.000 pesetas, because finally was 36.500.000.
        She had 10,551 GRT and the displacement was 14,400 MT, being the lenght 146.49 meters, the breadth 19.09 and the depth 9.83. Her speed in trials was 19.5 knots, with two steam turbines of 10,700 HP. The daily consumption was very high: 190 MT of good coal.

Habana

        Due to the arrival of the República she was renamed "Habana" in 1931.
        In the early '40s got a fire at Bilbao and was rebuilt as cargo ship, removing all the passanger accomodation. In 1960 was sold to Pescanova and in 1961 converted in factory vessel and renamed "Galicia". She was scrapped in 1978 at Vigo.

Galicia

        In this photo she is at the Vigo Road waiting to be scrapped.

Reina Maria Cristina

        Sister ship of the first "Alfonso XIII". After the sinking of the "Alfonso XIII" she was known as "La viuda alegre" (The happy dowager). The Queen María Cristina was the wife of the King Alfonso XIII.



  Part of the information has been extracted from the pages of Manuel García
  Part of the information about the three Alfonso XIII has been extracted from the book "Alfonso XIII, un Rey y sus barcos", written by Rafael Gonzalez Echegaray


    

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