The Spanish Republican Navy was the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
History In the same manner as the other two branches of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, the Spanish Republican Navy went through two clear phases during its existence: The pre-Civil War phase, before the coup of July 1936 that would fracture the Spanish military institution The situation after the pro-fascist coup, when most of the fleet remained loyal to the republican government after the crews had overrun their officers and formed committees. Faced with the coup, many officers joined it and others hesitated; only about 5% of the top officers stood steadfastly for the Spanish Republic. The officer corps was later partially reinstated with the aim of improving coordination in the course of the Spanish Civil War.
First years of the Republic (1931–1936) Spain had inherited a large navy from colonial times. A sizeable military fleet had been deemed necessary when the Spanish crown ruled over such far-flung places as the Philippines and Cuba, but by the early 1930s young military officers saw the institution as too large, old-fashioned and ineffective. They balked at the costs and at the lack of results of the Spanish military during the Rif Wars in Morocco and their vision was to have a smaller and more modern Spanish Navy that would meet the needs of the country. Ramón Franco, who was in the Air Force at the time of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, said: "Our little colonies —referring to the small outposts in the Moroccan shores, the Western Sahara and Equatorial Guinea— don't need a strong navy made up of large and numerous units. The policing of our harbors, the implementing of fishery laws and the prevention of smuggling are nowadays the only missions that our Navy has to do.""Nuestras pequeñas colonias no necesitan una fuerte marina, dotada de grandes y numerosas unidades. El servicio de policía de nuestros puertos, la vigilancia de las leyes de pesca y la persecución del contrabando son hoy las únicas misiones que tienen que llevar nuestras fuerzas de mar."; in Joaquín Leguina & Asunción Núñez, Ramón Franco, el hermano olvidado del dictador. Ed. temas de Hoy, Madrid 2002, pg. 172-173
Most top Navy officers, however, were comfortable with the old system, enjoying the perks and the prestige the Navy provided. Life in the high echelons of the Spanish Navy was more glamorous than among Army and Air Force officers, for it often included Yacht Club membership, with regattas, gala dinners and balls. They cast a dim eye on the reforms of the armed forces introduced by newly nominated Republican Minister of War Manuel Azaña within the first few months of the new government. Azaña's aim was to modernize the Spanish Military and cut down the expenses of the state in the aftermath of the Great Depression,Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros, Cambio de Rumbo, Ed. Ikusager, Vitoria 2001, pg. 273 but the naming of Santiago Casares Quiroga, a civilian without a Navy background, as Minister of the Navy was unwelcome by the traditional Spanish Navy officers who despised Casares Quiroga and privately mocked him.Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española (AGGCE); Legajo 3, Expediente 11, Documento 28
In order to ingratiate itself with key officers in the Navy, the Republican Government promoted to high posts men such as Lieutenant Commander Ángel Rizo Bayona who was given the post of representing the state in the Trasmediterránea Shipping Company and Navy engineer Alfredo Cal Díaz who was promoted to the post of Navigation Director.Hermenegildo Franco Castañón, Por el camino de la revolución: La Marina española, Alfonso XIII y la República, Editorial Neptuno, Valladolid 2004, pg. 214 But Azaña's lack of finesse in his dealings with the more conservative officers of the Spanish Navy established a deep mistrust between the majority of those having high posts in the Navy and the new government. Military reform measures were implemented already within the first month of the Republic, such as the repeal of the 1906 "Law of Jurisdictions" (Ley de Jurisdicciones) on 17 April,Carlos Seco Serrano, Militarismo y Civilismo en la España contemporánea, Instituto de Estudios Económicos, Madrid 1984, pg. 22 reform of the military rank rise system; reduction of the armed forces by scrapping ineffective units,Second Spanish Republic 22 April 1931 Decree reduction of the number of high military officersSecond Spanish Republic 25 April 1931 Decree and the replacement of the War and Navy Military Tribunal (Consejo Supremo de Guerra y de Marina) whose functions were taken over by a Military department at the High Court,Second Spanish Republic 11 May 1931 Decree among other measures.
The Spanish Republic was proclaimed in the wake of the rise of Fascism in Europe and this ideology became very attractive for certain sectors of the Spanish military at the time. By 1935 the Unión Militar Española (UME), a secret military organization of pro-fascist officers of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces extended its influence among Spanish officers and began displaying open hostility towards the Spanish Republic. In order to oppose and neutralize this movement, Eugenio Rodríguez Sierra, an officer of the Spanish Republican Navy was instrumental in the foundation of the Military Antifascist Union Unión Militar Antifascista (UMA). The Unión Militar Antifascista was later merged with the Republican Military Union, Unión Militar Republicana (UMR), another clandestine group of similar goals that had been founded in 1929 within the Army, in order to create the Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista (UMRA). This organization would have a great influence among the ranks that were lower in command in the Spanish Republican Navy, opposing them to the conservative ideology of their top officers.Julio Busquets & Juan Carlos Losada, Ruido de Sables, p. 63-64
The Civil War (1936–1939) The Spanish coup of July 1936 dealt a severe blow to the structure of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, which ended up fragmented on the basis of joining the rebels or remaining loyal to the established government. The failure of the coup, especially in the main cities, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia, along with the collapse of authority and the lack of agreement in the first brief negotiations, were only some of the factors that made the conflict drift towards open war. José Giral's government tried to put together a Volunteer Army based on the units that had remained loyal, but the urgency of the moment played in favor of the formation of popular militias that were armed by parties and trade unions.
The main naval bases of the Spanish Republican Navy were Ferrol (Northern Coast), Cádiz (Southern Coast) and Cartagena (Eastern Coast). The takeover of the Navy by coup leaders failed mainly because the messages calling for a rebellion against the Spanish Republic were not sent in code, as would have been the norm, from Ciudad Lineal to the senior officers commanding the ships. A young Navy radiotelegrapher, Benjamín Balboa, later took credit for the news leak.Daniel Sueiro, La Flota Es Roja. Papel Clave Del Radiotelegrafista Benjamin Balboa en Julio de 1936, Ed. Silente, Guadalajara 2009,
As a result, most crews in naval ships were alerted and took over the command, overwhelming their officers.Fernando Moreno de Alborán y de Reyna & Salvador Moreno de Alborán y de Reyna, La guerra silenciosa y silenciada: Historia de la campaña naval durante la guerra de 1936-1939, Gráfica Lormo, Madrid 1998, vol 1, p. 153 Thus, most of the ships of the Spanish Navy remained loyal to the republic, but many of the experienced top officers had been imprisoned and some were killed during the countermutinies, a fact that hampered the efficiency of the loyalist navy.Howson, Gerald (1998). Arms for Spain. New York: St. Martin's Press. . OCLC 231874197.
The rebellion, however, was successful in wide areas of Northern and Southern Spain and the important bases of Ferrol and Cádiz would fall into rebel hands. Warships that were in the dockyard, including heavy cruiser that was under construction at Ferrol, were seized and hastily put into use.The "Armada Española" 1936-39 Cádiz was taken for the rebels with the help of the first troops from the Army of Africa.Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2006, . pp. 60–61.
Despite the fact that the greater part of the Spanish coast was on the republican side and despite the great number of naval units belonging to the Spanish Republican Navy, there was a lack of effective action in the first, decisive weeks of the war. Some of the most experienced commanders, such as Francisco Bastarreche, Pedro Nieto Antúnez, Francisco Núñez Rodríguez, Gabriel Pita da Veiga y Sanz, Francisco Regalado Rodríguez, Manuel Vierna Belando and the brothers Francisco and Salvador Moreno Fernández, had defected to the rebels. In addition the crew committees (Comités de Buque) that had taken over the command of the ships were not able to deal with the high coordination that was required at the time. Later in 1936, Republican Defence Minister Indalecio Prieto terminated the Comités de Buque as part of his sweeping reorganization of the Republican Armed Forces.
The Third Reich and Italian Fascist military provided decisive support for General Franco's fraction of the army, so that the Spanish Republican Navy was unable to keep the blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar. Thus, on 5 August 1936, the so-called Convoy de la victoria was able to bring at least 2,500 men of the Army of Africa from Spanish Morocco to Peninsular Spain breaking the republican blockade. From August 6 rebel transport ships crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, with the cover of Italian bombers and republican Alcalá Galiano was attacked and hit by Fascist aircraft while steaming back to Málaga. Pro-Franco sources claim that she suffered 18 seamen killed and 28 wounded.Alpert, Michael (2008). La guerra civil española en el mar. pp. 99-100.
On August 7, the and the cruiser Libertad shelled Algeciras and severely damaged rebel gunboat Eduardo Dato and armed trawler Uad Kert (ex- ; ex-) . Shortly thereafter a Nazi German Junkers Ju 52 struck the Republican battleship Jaime I and Italian bombers began to harass the Republican fleet so that it could not longer prevent the passage of transport ships. Furthermore, two German cruisers,Deutschland class cruiser and patrolled the Strait on so-called non-intervention missions.
In addition, the United Kingdom authorities in Gibraltar and Tangier were openly hostile to the Spanish Republic. British oil companies at Gibraltar, refused to sell fuel to Republican ships and the Tangier International Commission denied the use of the harbor to the Spanish Republican Navy, claiming that "it was contrary to the city's neutrality". Nevertheless, the same British governing bodies authorized the passage of food, goods and gasoline for the Nazi German transport planes and their crews in Spanish Morocco.Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1936-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. pp. 249-250 By the end of September, the Republic had lost the control of the waters between Morocco and the mainland.KBismarck.org: "The Turning point at sea, 29 November 1936". From "Canarias, Adiós", by Willard C. Frank, Jr.