Schooner Virjen de Covadonga

The schooner "Virjen de Covadonga" (1859) was a ship that participated in the Chincha Islands War and the War of the Pacific, under Spanish and Chilean flags.

Construction

She was ordered by the Royal Order of June 10, 1857. Her keel was laid at the Arsenal de la Carrara in Cádiz, Spain, on February 13 1858. She was launched on November 28 1859.

The "Covadonga" was a wooden ship fitted with a steam propulsion, commissioned by Royal Command of October 8 1858 at a total cost of 5 million "Reales de Vellón". Her first commander was Lieutenant Evaristo Casariego y García. She was originally intended as a mail boat between Manila and Hong Kong, with her berth at the Naval Base of Manila, in the Philippine Islands.

The ship was named after the Battle of Covadonga - a highly symbolic event in Spanish history, being considered the beginning of the Reconquista.

Chincha Islands War service

During the Chincha Islands War, the "Covadonga" served as an auxiliary ship to the Spanish fleet. She was captured by the Chilean corvette "Esmeralda" under the command of captain Juan Williams Rebolledo, during the Naval Battle of Papudo, on November 26 1865. Her capture caused the suicide of Spanish Admiral Juan Manuel Pareja.

The "Covadonga" was commissioned into the Chilean navy on December 4 1865, keeping her original name. During this war, she also participated at the Naval Battle of Abtao.

War of the Pacific service

During the War of the Pacific, the "Covadonga" together with the "Esmeralda", as the oldest and slowest ships of the Chilean navy, were left behind to blockade the port of Iquique. There they participated in the most important naval battles of the war.

The "Esmeralda" faced the "Huascar" at the Naval Battle of Iquique, and the "Covadonga" manage to escape from the attacks of the Peruvian ironclad "Independencia" when the latter collided with a submerged rock and sank, after trying to ram the schooner; in the so called Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa, both on May 21 1879.

Fate

On September 13 1880, while enforcing a blockade in the port of Chancay, Peru, the sailors of the "Covadonga" saw a boat being carried unmanned by the currents and loaded with fresh fruits and produce. While trying to lift it, it exploded, being a floating mine. The ship sank in less than 10 minutes.

In the disaster, out of the 109 men of the crew, the commander Captain Pablo Ferrari and 32 sailors died, while 29 were rescued by the gun-boat "Pilcomayo", and 48 were captured by the Peruvians. Among the dead was petty officer Constantino Micalvi, a survivor from the Naval Battle of Iquique.

External links

* [http://www.armada.cl/site/unidades_navales/146.htm Official description from the Chilean Navy] es icon
* [http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=16&cid= Historical Text Archive, Chile: A Brief Naval History]