Spanish Cruiser Isla de Cuba - Technical Characteristics

Technical Characteristics

In January 1886, Spain placed orders for two small protected cruisers, the Isla de Luzon'' and the Isla de Cuba with the British shipbuilding company Armstrongs to be built at their Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipyard.

The ship was built with a main armament of six 120 mm (4.7 in) guns, with a secondary battery of four six pounder (57 mm guns), and three 14 in torpedo tubes. The ship's protective armour deck had a thickness of between 2+1⁄₂–1 in (64–25 mm), while the ship's conning tower had 2 in (51 mm) of armour.

She was laid down on 25 February 1886, launched on 11 December 1886, and completed on 22 September 1887. She had a steel hull and one funnel. Having a wide beam for her length, she had poor seakeeping qualities and tended to bury her bow in waves. Small for a protected cruiser, she was often called a gunboat by 1898.