The Spanish fast ocean-going torpedo Gunboat Destructor: The First Destroyer

November 30, 2022

The Spanish fast ocean-going torpedo Gunboat Destructor: The First Destroyer

Military History

The Naval Annual of 1887 contained this drawing of the Spanish Destructor on Plate 129a. She was described here as a torpedo cruiser, but has also been called a torpedo gunboat or even a destroyer.

She was a fast ocean-going torpedo gunboat and a precursor of the destroyer type of vessel. Destructor was the first warship classified as a “destroyer” at the time of her commissioning. Her designer was a Spanish Navy officer, Fernando Villaamil, commissioned by the Minister of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Manuel Pezuela.

Spanish Navy torpedo gunboat Destructor, designed and built in the UK by Thomson and delivered to the Spanish Navy in 1887

Destructor displaced 348 long tons (354 t), and was equipped with triple-expansion engines generating 3,784 horsepower (2,822 kW), for a maximum speed of 22.6 knots (41.9 km/h), which made her one of the faster ships in the world by 1888.

She was armed with one 90 mm (4 in) Spanish-designed Hontoria breech-loading gun, four 57 mm (2.2 in) (6 pdr) Nordenfeldt guns, two 37 mm (1.46 in) Hotchkiss revolving cannons and two 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes. The ship carried three Schwartzkopff torpedoes per tube. She required a crew of 60. And, on her maiden voyage, Destructor established a record after steaming from Falmouth to Ferrol in 24 hours.

Watercolor depicting the Spanish warship “Destructor”

In terms of gunnery, speed and dimensions, the specialised design to chase torpedo boats and her high seas capabilities. Destructor is widely considered the first torpedo-boat destroyer ever built, and was described as such by British naval engineer Sir William Henry White.

Destructor is thought to have become influenced by the design and concept of later destroyers developed by the British Royal Navy. Further developments followed the pattern of the Havock class, built in 1893. The aim of the new destroyer design was not only to neutralize the torpedo boat as an effective weapon, but also to replace it as a faster and more reliable warship.

Written by Harry Gillespie

Historian Harry Gillespie : Collected Works

Harry Gillespie is a writer who resides in the UK with his family. His work focuses on Naval & British history with a specific look at 20th century warfare and ships. From World War 1 to The Falkland Islands Campaign.

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