There was a question asked by my mate Mal the other day on the Naval Wargames Group on Yahoo about assistance "with data on the various merchant ships taken up for service as Armed Merchant cruisers etc. During the Spanish Civil War.....and during the WW2 era." A bit more information about the armed auxiliary vessels used during the Spanish Civil War in the Gulf of Biscay (source: "Memoria de la Guerra de Euzkadi", Vicente Talon, Plaza & Janes 1988).Jim Broshot replied with the following information: CONWAY'S ALL THE WORLD'S FIGHTING SHIPS 1922 - 1946 states that the Basque Government had a small naval force during the Spanish Civil War, consisting entirely of small mercantile conversions, "mostly armed trawlers and coastal fishing vessels, employed as gunboats and minesweepers". Those listed are:
Armed vessels of the Euzko Itxas Gudarostea (Basque Auxiliary Navy): Armed trawler Nabarra - In service: 1936-1937 - Weapons: Two 101mm guns, one fore and one aft (cannibalised from Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I) - Remarks: Ex-trawler Vendaval. Seized, commissioned and armed for the Basque Auxiliary Navy in November 1936. Sunk by Spanish Nationalist cruiser Canarias (shown below) off Matxitxako Cape in March 1937.  Armed trawler Bizkaya - In service: 1936-1937 - Weapons: Two 101mm guns, one fore and one aft (cannibalised from Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I) - Remarks: Ex-trawler Euskal-Herria. Seized, commissioned and armed for Basque Auxiliary Navy in November 1936. Transferred to Spanish Republican Navy in August 1937 after the exile of the Basque Government. Interned in France after the fall of Santander in September 1937. Armed trawler Gipuzkoa - In service: 1936-1937 - Weapons: Two 101mm guns, one fore and one aft (cannibalised from Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I) - Remarks: Ex-trawler Mistral. Seized, commissioned and armed for Basque Auxiliary Navy in November 1936. Transferred to Spanish Republican Navy in August 1937 after the exile of the Basque Government. Interned in France after the fall of Santander in September 1937. Armed trawler Araba - In service: 1936-1937 - Weapons: Two 101mm guns, one fore and one aft (cannibalised from Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I) - Remarks: Ex-trawler Hispania. Seized, comissioned and armed for Basque Auxiliary Navy in November 1936. Disarmed and scuttled in Bilbao before the fall of the city in June 1937. Refloated, rearmed with two 88mm and two 47mm guns and recommissioned as "Alava" for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Armed trawler Donostia - In service: 1936-1939 - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 45mm aft - Remarks: Ex-Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed, decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler "Guimera" in 1929. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy as "Virgen del Carmen" in 1936. Captured at night by surprise by three crewmen and steered to Bilbao in December 1936. Recomissioned as "Donostia" for Basque Auxiliary Navy. Heavily damaged by Spanish Nationalist CA Canarias off Cape Matxitxako in March 1937, escaped and interned in La Rochelle, France. Armed trawler Gasteiz - In service: 1936-1939 - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 45mm aft - Remarks: Ex-trawler Santa Rosa. Seized, commissioned and armed for the Basque Auxiliary Navy. Surrendered to the Spanish Nationalist Army along with the Basque Army in Santonna in August 1937 and recomissioned as "Santa Rosa" for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Armed trawler Irunna - In service: 1936-1939 - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 45mm aft - Remarks: Ex-trawler Mari Begonna. Seized, commissioned and armed for the Basque Auxiliary Navy. Captured by the Spanish Nationalist Army in Bilbao after the fall of the city in June 1937 before completing the arming works. Rearmed and recomissioned as "Virgen de Begonna" for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Armed trawler Goizeko-Izarra - In service: 1936-1939 - Weapons: One 47mm gun - Remarks: Ex-trawler. Seized, commissioned and armed for the Basque Auxiliary Navy. Transferred to the Spanish Republican Navy in August 1937 after the exile of the Basque Government. Defected after the fall of Santander in September 1937. Armed vessels of the Spanish Nationalist Auxiliary Flotilla of the Gulf of Biscay: Armed trawler Galerna - In service: 1936-1939 - Displacement: 1200t - Speed: 13kt - Weapons: Two 101mm and two 57mm guns, and one AA machine-gun - Remarks: Ex-Spanish Republican armed trawler. Captured in night surprise action by boarding party of the Spanish Nationalist armed trawler Alcazar de Toledo in October 1936. Recommissioned for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Armed trawler Tritonia - In service: 1936-1939 - Speed: 8kt - Weapons: One Nordenfeld 55mm gun fore and one Vickers 55 mm aft - Remarks: Ex-German Imperial Navy Patrol Boat. Handed to France in 1918 after armistice. Disarmed, decomissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler (based in Santander) in 1928. Seized and rearmed in Ferrol for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in August 1936. Armed trawler Virgen de Iciar - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex Ondo-Jan, built in Pasajes in 1936. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in September 1936. Transferred to the Mediterranean theatre after the fall of the North Front in 1937. Armed trawler Tiburon - In service: 1936, 1937-1939 - Displacement: 1200t - Speed: 13kt - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 57mm aft - Remarks: Ex-Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Attacked by a Spanish Republican plane off Santander, crew went over to the other side. Captured by the Spanish Nationalist Army in Bilbao after the fall of the city in June 1937.  - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex-Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler (based in Saint Sebastian) in 1928. Seized by the Spanish Nationalist battleship Espana in 1936. Comissioned and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy. Armed trawler Santa Urbana - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex-Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. First flagship of the Spanish Nationalist auxiliary flotilla of Pasajes. Transferred to the Mediterranean theatre early. Armed trawler Denis - In service: 1936-1939 - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 57mm aft, and one machine-gun - Remarks: Ex-Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. Last flagship of the Spanish Nationalist auxiliary flotilla of Pasajes. Armed trawler Virgen del Carmen - In service: 1936 - Weapons: One 76mm gun fore and one 57mm aft, and one machine-gun - Remarks: Ex Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into a civil trawler "Guimera" in 1929. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy as "Virgen del Carmen" in 1936. Captured at night by surprise by three crewmen and steered to Bilbao in December 1936. Recomissioned as "Donostia" for the Basque Auxiliary Navy. Heavily damaged by the Spanish Nationalist Heavy Cruiser Canarias off Cape Matxitxako in March 1937, escaped and interned in La Rochelle, France. Armed trawler Txit-Ona - In service: 1936 - Remarks: Ex Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler (based in Saint Sebastian) in 1929. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. Disarmed in September 1936. Armed trawler Ciriza - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex-German Imperial Navy Patrol Boat. Handed to Great Britain in 1918 after the armistice. Disarmed, decommissioned and sold, converted into civil trawler in 1923. Seized and armed with the guns of Txit-Ona for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in September 1936. Armed trawler Juan Ignacio - In service: 1936-1937 - Remarks: Ex Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler (based in Cadiz) in 1929. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. Disarmed and decommissioned after the fall of the North Front in 1937. Armed trawler Alcazar de Toledo - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex Ondo-Etorri, built in Pasajes in 1936. Seized and armed there for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in September 1936. Transferred to the Mediterranean theatre after the fall of the North Front in 1937. Armed trawler Fantastico - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex French trawler. Built in 1906. Sold and based in Sevilla in 1929. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. Armed trawler Tito - In service: 1936-1939 - Remarks: Ex Royal Navy Patrol Boat. Built in 1909. Disarmed and decommissioned, sold and converted into civil trawler (based in Saint Sebastian) in 1922. Seized and armed for the Spanish Nationalist Navy in 1936. Armed Merchant Cruisers of the Spanish Nationalist Navy operated in the Gulf of Biscay: AMC Ciudad de Valencia - In service: 1936-1939 - Displacement: 2496t - Speed: 16,3kt - Weapons: One 120mm, one 101mm, one 50mm, two 47mm guns and one AA machine-gun - Remarks: Built in 1931. AMC Cruiser Ciudad de Mahon - In service: 1936-1939 - Displacement: 1550t - Speed: 14,6kt - Weapons: Two 101,6mm guns - Remarks: Built in 1931. AMC Ciudad de Palma - In service: 1936-1939 - Displacement: 4085t - Weapons: Two 120mm and two 76mm guns Just a couple of corrections about the information given in Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946: Galdames was not an AMC, but an unarmed steamer. In March 1937 she sailed from Bayonne with supplies bound to Bilbao escorted by Gipuzkoa, Bizkaya, Nabarra and Donostia and was intercepted and captured by the Spanish Nationalist heavy cruiser Canarias, which also sunk Nabarra and heavily damaged Donostia. Also Guernica was an unarmed merchant. She was attacked by the Spanish Nationalist AMC Ciudad de Valencia off the Scandinavian coast and ran aground on it trying to escape. On the other hand, according to Vicente Talon, the Basque Auxiliary Navy had 46 units, not 42, for 8609t in all. |
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