On 1894 REINA CRISTINA was transferred to Asiatic Squadron as Flagship to prevent the German attempts for to occupy the Caroline Islands.
During the first Tagalog Revolt, she was active in patrols along the Philippine coasts working to stop smuggling of contraband and arms. She supported the Spanish army's actions at Cavite, Novaleta and Binacayan, opening fire on the Insurgents when necessary.
When the Spanish American War broke out, Montojo's Spanish squadron was sent to Subic Bay, as first planned. When it was found that the coastal defense sent to Subic Bay had not been put in place, Admiral Montojo ordered a return to Cavite. As the wooden Cruiser CASTILLA was unable to steam under her own power, she was towed by the cruiser REINA CRISTINA.
On May 1, at 4:00 A.M., Montojo signaled his forces to prepare for action.When american squadron came into view, the REINA CRISTINA slipped her cables to prepare to move against Commodore George Dewey's American vessels. At 5:20 AM, all Spanish ships opened fire. BALTIMORE, OLYMPIA and BOSTON directed their fire mainly against REINA CRISTINA. Several shots hit both her forecastle and her hull. During the action, the REINA CRISTINA tried to close on the OLYMPIA to try to ram her but the American gunfire forced her to abandon the attempt.
With half of her crew out of action and the ship a raging inferno,
Montojo ordered the vessel scuttled, and tried to save his men. During
the abandon of the ship, her commander, Captain D. Luis Cadarso y
Rey, was killed by a shell.
|Classification||Unprotected Cruiser, first class|
|Rig:||2 masts (two fully, one schooner-rigged)|
|Armament:||Six 120 mm (4.7")Honotoria guns|
|Two 70 mm Nordenfelt rapid-fire guns|
|Three 57 mm Nordenfelt rapid-fire guns|
|Two 42 mm Nordenfelt rapid-fire guns|
|Six 37 mm guns|
|Three 350 mm torpedo tubes|
|Contractor:||Naval Shpyards ar El Ferrol, Spain.|
|Beam:||43 feet 5 Inches|
|Draft:||22 feet (6.70 meters)|
|Displacement||3,090 tons (fully loaded)|
|Engine Type:||3,900 hp engines powering a single screw|
|Speed:||16 knots (theoretical) 10 knots (actual)|
|Coal bunker capacity:||720 tons|
|Endurance at normal speed||
|Normal coal supply:||?|
Rear Admiral F. de Bordeje y Morencos. Crónica de la Marina Española en el Siglo XIX, 1868 - 1898. Tomo II. Ministerio de Defensa. Madrid. 1995 (courtesy of Jose Poncet)
Chao, General Andrés Mas, La Guerra de Filipinas 1896-1898 (War in Philippines 1896-1898). Madrid: Editorial San Martín, 1998).
Pery, José Cervera, La Guerra Naval del 98 (Naval War in 1898). (Madrid: Editorial San Martín, 1998)
Poncet, Jose (source of color image of the Reina Cristina on the page).