Need help identifying a Spanish Civil War-era destroyer Churruca

[Freecloud]

Hello!  I have a question for the community, though this is about the Spanish Civil War rather than WW2.

I'm in discussion for a piece of trench art that is supposedly from the destroyer Churruca.  According to his description, the person he bought it from had this to say about it:

The ship was commissioned by the Spanish Navy in 1924 and served in the Spanish Civil War,

 

On the 17-18th July 1936, her officers decided she was going to fight on the Nationalist side,  however her crew mutinied the next day and turned the ship over to the Republicans.

She took part in the blockade of Gibraltar strait where in 1937 she was torpedoed by an Italian Submarine though she managed to return to Cartagena for repair

 

 She was finally shelled and destroyed in the Mediterranean on 29th September 1938.

 

I tried searching on my own for information on this destroyer, but Spanish Civil War ship information is spotty at best, especially when compared to other era ships.  Thus far, I found the part concerning the Italian submarine through kbBismarck - a resource I find kinda reliable - http://www.kbismarck.com/mgl/destroy.htm

 

Wikipedia also does mention a Churruca (though she seemed to have been commissioned in 1925), but it said that the ship was sold to the Argentine Navy during the 1920s - https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Cervantes_(D-1)&prev=search.  I have found no evidence thus far that the ship was destroyed...and the torpedo story is only seen on kbBismarck.

 

I know this is a stupidly obscure naval topic, but does anybody have any good information concerning Churruca?  Was there another Churruca that was destroyed during the war while another got sent to the Argentine Navy? 

 

I would definitely appreciate any sort of help on this topic.  Thanks!

 

[Murotsu]

There were two destroyers named Churruca, both from the same class of ship.  The first, laid down in 1925 as the lead ship of the class was sold to Argentina.  A second ship of the same class got the name when it was laid down in 1931.  The second one was the ship that fought in the Spanish Civil War.  I think that's where your confusion comes from.

[mofton]

http://www.navypedia.org/ships/spain/sp_dd_alsedo.htm

Two of these commissioned in 1924, but none are noted on this source as being sunk in 1939.

Same source has Churucca as commissioning in 1927, so depends which you think is more likely to be an incorrect fact.

[Phoenix_jz]

Yes, the original was renamed and sold to Argentina. She was commissioned in '24

 

Another, later member of the class was commissioned in 1931. She was torpedoed by the Jalea (Argonauta-class, one of the 600 tonners).

 

*- damnit, ninja'd

[Freecloud]

1 minute ago, mofton said:

http://www.navypedia.org/ships/spain/sp_dd_alsedo.htm

Two of these commissioned in 1924, but none are noted on this source as being sunk in 1939.

Same source has Churucca as commissioning in 1927, so depends which you think is more likely to be an incorrect fact.

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, Murotsu said:

There were two destroyers named Churruca, both from the same class of ship.  The first, laid down in 1925 as the lead ship of the class was sold to Argentina.  A second ship of the same class got the name when it was laid down in 1931.  The second one was the ship that fought in the Spanish Civil War.  I think that's where your confusion comes from.

Do you have a source for this?  That would definitely be appreciated.  I think the trench art is authentic since Spanish Civil War stuff isn't very popular, but I would love to have an online reference to the Churruca that was hit by an Italian submarine and then sunk in 1938 (the artifact is dated 1938, but it sunk in September...plenty of time for a carving).

[Freecloud]

1 minute ago, Phoenix_jz said:

Yes, the original was renamed and sold to Argentina. She was commissioned in '24

 

Another, later member of the class was commissioned in 1931. She was torpedoed by the Jalea (Argonauta-class, one of the 600 tonners).

 

*- damnit, ninja'd

Oh!  Thanks!  I would love an online source for that please

[Phoenix_jz]

Just now, Battlecruiser_Yavuz said:

Oh!  Thanks!  I would love an online source for that please

 

http://www.navypedia.org/ships/spain/sp_dd_churucca.htm

 

Navypedia is pretty good at listed when ships took heavy damage. Light stuff sometimes gets missed.

 

Also, fun fact; Jalea was the only member of her class to survive the war!

[Freecloud]

9 minutes ago, Phoenix_jz said:

 

http://www.navypedia.org/ships/spain/sp_dd_churucca.htm

 

Navypedia is pretty good at listed when ships took heavy damage. Light stuff sometimes gets missed.

 

Also, fun fact; Jalea was the only member of her class to survive the war!

Oh! I should've checked more carefully.  Thanks!

That is a fun fact!

EDIT: That being said, it seems like the ship was stricken 10/1963, though it was disabled and laid up in 1938. 

Does that mean it wasn't destroyed in 1938?  That's...kinda concerning for the description of the trench art, though that could just be chalked up to incomplete research...perhaps. 

[Murotsu]

34 minutes ago, Battlecruiser_Yavuz said:

Thanks!

Do you have a source for this?  That would definitely be appreciated.  I think the trench art is authentic since Spanish Civil War stuff isn't very popular, but I would love to have an online reference to the Churruca that was hit by an Italian submarine and then sunk in 1938 (the artifact is dated 1938, but it sunk in September...plenty of time for a carving).

Quickest source is just Wiki.  I pulled an old copy of a Jane's.  There's a table on the Wiki site that gives this information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churruca-class_destroyer

 

[GrandAdmiral_2016]

Looking through M. J. Whitley's Destroyers of World War Two, which is in my library. the basic information is given for Churruca (i) as sold to Argentina and commissioning as Cervantes in 1927, stricken June 24, 1961. Churruca (ii) was torpedoed on August 12, 1937 by the Italian submarine Rubino, but reached Cartagena, and was repaired after the end of the civil war. Offered for sale when struck on December 29, 1964, she did not meet her reserve value and was sold for scrap and broken up. This class was essentially a modified RN Scott destroyer leader design, considered the best design in the world when built.

[Freecloud]

11 hours ago, Murotsu said:

Quickest source is just Wiki.  I pulled an old copy of a Jane's.  There's a table on the Wiki site that gives this information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churruca-class_destroyer

 

 

9 hours ago, GrandAdmiral_2016 said:

Looking through M. J. Whitley's Destroyers of World War Two, which is in my library. the basic information is given for Churruca (i) as sold to Argentina and commissioning as Cervantes in 1927, stricken June 24, 1961. Churruca (ii) was torpedoed on August 12, 1937 by the Italian submarine Rubino, but reached Cartagena, and was repaired after the end of the civil war. Offered for sale when struck on December 29, 1964, she did not meet her reserve value and was sold for scrap and broken up. This class was essentially a modified RN Scott destroyer leader design, considered the best design in the world when built.

Oh!  Quick question: The trench art has the sign ASIS in front of the name.  Is that the moniker given to Spanish Republican ships a la HMS for the English?

[GrandAdmiral_2016]

8 hours ago, Battlecruiser_Yavuz said:

 

Oh!  Quick question: The trench art has the sign ASIS in front of the name.  Is that the moniker given to Spanish Republican ships a la HMS for the English?

It would appear that this is the case. Need to research it a bit.