Jaime I (new photo added 28th May 2025)

 Jaime I

Pride of the Republican Navy

Jaime I was the last of three Espana Class Dreadnought Battleships build by Spain between 1909 and 1923. The ships were part of an informal mutual defence treaty between France, Britain and Spain, the building of the ships was supported by Britain and the construction of Jaime I was much delayed due to Britains involvement in WW1 which caused supply difficulties, and even though she was virtually complete and ready for sea by May 1915, her main guns could not be delivered until 1919. The Espana class of Dreadnought were the only ones ever built by Spain and they were smallest Dreadnoughts built by any nation.

The class's limited displacement necessitated by the constraints imposed by the weak Spanish economy and existing naval infrastructure, requiring compromises on armour and speed to incorporate a main battery of eight 12-inch (305 mm) guns.

Jaime I as she appeared in 1932, note the AA guns on the fore and rear turrets

Layout of the Espana Class gun turrets

Displacement: Normal 15,700 tons, full load 16,450 tons

Length: 140m

Beam: 24m

Draft: 7.8m

Propulsion: 12 x Yarrow coal-fired boilers, 4 x Parsons steam turbines with 4 shafts

Speed: 19.5 knots

Range: 5,000 nautical miles @ 10 knots

Crew compliment: 854

Armament: 8 x 12 inch, 20 x 4 inch, 4 x 3-pounders, 2 machine guns

Armour: belt – 203mm, deck – 38mm, turrets 203mm, conning tower 254mm

Jaime I finally completed her sea trails and entered service with the Spanish Navy on December 20^th 1921. Along with her sister ships she took part in the Rif War in Morocco, shelling enemy positions in support of ground troops. She was hit by Riffi shore batteries in 1924, but took part in and supported the amphibious landings at Alhucemas Bay on 8^th September 1925 which eventually led to the end of the conflict. Some minor modifications were carried out in 1926, both Jaime I and her sister Alfonso XII gained a pair of Vickers 76.2mm (3 inch) AA guns, one each on top of turret numbers 1 and 2. In the 1930s, the foremast was reduced slightly on the two surviving ships

In 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, Jaime I and her surviving sister Alfonso XIII (now renamed Espana) were reduced to reserve duty to save on costs. But in 1933 Jaime returned to the fleet as flagship with major plans to modernise her, but these were interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War!

At the outbreak of the Nationalist revolt, wireless operators in the navy headquarters Madrid intercepted radio messages from General Francisco Franco to rebels in Morocco. Madrid immediately sent the follow telegram to all major vessels, this one to Jaime I (my English translation).

“Comrades Jaime I: all the true Spanish people are currently aware of the attitude of our fleet. The time has come to show that traitors have no place on our ships. I have never doubted your heroism and your loyalty. Follow the example of the Cruiser Libertad by doing your duty. Long live freedom, long live the revolution. Traitors die”

The crew mutinied against their rebellious officers and two officers and an ensign killed along with three “loyal” crewmen, plus there were at least a dozen more injured on both sides. But due to their shift action, they ensured the ship would remain under Republican control. Sadly due to loss and or imprisonment of most of the officer corps the vessel would be crippled by poor discipline for some time. (the same thing applied to most of the Republican fleet).

Photographs of sailors after the take-over

Once under Republican control Jaime I sailed to Tangier to take on coal and supplies and take any wounded and injured to the Spanish hospital there. Just off the coast she was attacked by a rebel Spanish aircraft, who it is claimed made loyal (raised fist) salutes to deceive the crew into thinking he was loyal to the Republic before dropping several incendiary bombs which caused some injuries among the crew.

During the first months of the war, some modifications were made and her armament enhanced with two Vickers 47 mm (1.9 in) 50-caliber anti-aircraft guns and a twin 25 mm (0.98 in) Hotchkiss mounting.

She shelled a number of rebel strongholds, among them Ceuta, Melilla and Algeciras.

On August 7^th accompanied by the Cruiser Libertad, Jaime I entered the bay of Algeciras and bombarded the city and harbour. She hit Rebel gunboat Eduardo Dato, which was burned down to the waterline (although she was later repaired and returned to service). She also heavily damaged two transport vessels in the harbour which had been requisitioned by the Rebels. The Customs House and warehouses along the port were destroyed, the railway station, military headquarters, artillery barracks and the power plant all took hits! Fires and explosions engulfed the town. The naval bombardment was supported and enhanced by Republican aircraft that carried out bombing raids. Unfortunately the Republic did not take advantage of this successful raid and the Rebels continued using the port once the ships left.

Jaime I also tried (with little success) to act as an anti-aircraft barrier to those planes flying rebel troops from Morocco to the mainland.

On 13 August 1936 she was damaged by a rebel air attack by two German JU-52 aircraft from the Condor Legion at Malaga; a single, small bomb struck the ship in the bow and caused minimal damage, though did result in one crewman killed, two more missing presumed dead and five wounded! Rebel controlled Seville Radio claimed this air attack to have been a total success and actually sunk her!

In September 1936 in an attempt to disrupt the blockade imposed by her sister ship Espana on the northern ports Gijon, Santander and Bilbao, Jaime I sortied forth along with a pair of cruisers and four destroyers. Neither side seemed too inclined to engage each other so eventually the Republicans withdrew in October that year, having achieved nothing!

Then on 21 May 1937, she was attacked again while in dry-dock at Cartagena for repairs after a recent grounding. Five Savoia-Marchetti SM79 bombers of the Italian Aviazione Legionaria carried out the attack, reports of the damage inflicted are mixed; according to Albert Nofi the ship sustained minor damage but Marco Mattioli wrote the damage was more serious.

But on 17 June, still while at Cartagena, she was wrecked by an accidental internal explosion and fire which killed over 300 men and injured many others! (Sabotage is/was strongly suspected, but has never been proved). She was re-floated, but determined to be beyond repair.

Photos of the ship followingthe explosion and fire

 

She was officially discarded on 3 July 1939 and eventually broken up in 1941.

In 1940 all the ships guns were recovered, the front and rear twin turrets were used in the Gibralter Strait coastal defence batteries D9 and D10 - El Vigia and Casquebel respectively near the town of Tarifa in th eprovince of Cadiz. Abandoned in 1985, the twin turrets and guns are still in place, but have not been well cared for and look worse for wear. All the ships other main guns and secondary armaments were placed in single mounts in several locations along the coast.   

During a recent visit to the Naval museum in Cartagena I found this excellent scale model of an España Class battleship on display

I  was a bit puzzeled that the destruction of the Jaime I in Cartagena during the Civil War wasn`t featured among the exhibits, but I`ve found the Civil War is often glossed over in Spanish museums (like the Vichy period is in French ones).

Wargaming with Jaime I

Now I am not  a naval wargamer, but it appears to me there are a couple of potential what if scenarios which present themselves.

1. The Republican attack on Algeciras - what if some Rebel cruisers try to intervene? Or the republic tried to land troops to seize Algeciras?

2. The September 1936 sortee - saw a face off between Jaime I and the Espana plus various cruisers, destroyers and other smaller surface vessels. As it happened no sea battle took place, but it may make and interesting tabletop action. I would penalize the Republicans for the lack of trained officers.  

 

 

 

Vichy Automitrailleuse Dodge-White

French Automitrailleuse Dodge-White

When General Maxime Weygand was made Delegate-General of the colonies in North Africa in September 1940, he found the forces there in some disarray, so set about reoganising and instituting changes.

One of his first orders was to break up armoured and motorised units - Chasseurs d`Afrique, Foriegn Legion Cavalry and other Spahis and local units, to create independent mechanized columns with integrated artillery, armour and infantry (horsed cavalry too).

Weygand  found the quality of material left in Lebanon and Syria after the fall of France to be generally in a poor state of readiness. So began organising a program to cannibalize useful parts from the worst vehicles to rebuilt and recover others in better working condition.

Among the vehicles so built were the Automitrailleuse Dodge-White. By combining the chassis of the Dodge 3T trucks or T110 (purchased from Egypt) and the armored plates of outdated White and White-Laffly armoured cars, some dating back to WWI, the French engineer teams were able to create a few of these basic but functional armoured cars. They served along with refurbished White-Lafflys in the mixed mobile columns. Another variant without a turret called the automitrailleuse Dodge (having run out of spare White-Lafflys to cannibalize), was called the Tanake.

The Tanake and the Dodge-White soldiered on with the Free French in Egypt, and some ended up in the Syrian army, well past WWII.

From photos I`ve identified two different configurations one with a small hexagonal turrent - Which appears to have been taken off a Panhard 165/175 (similar in looks to the AM80), this turret was retrofitted with a 25mm SA 37L gun, whilst the other has a round turret from a White AM50.

I`ve found very little actual information on the vehicles, but I would assume they weighed around 4-5 tons with a maximum speed of 60-70 MPH in perfect conditions.

Photos and plans

Dodge T110 with D60 cab

You will note one this one the White turret still has the 37mm SA18 gun and the front is rounded, not just flat plates

This is the photo which first inspired my obsession to own one for my collection

Note the White turret seems to have only a machine gun

Two photos of the second type with the 25mm gun

                                                              

Photo off the internet of someones wonderful model

Photo taken by me of a 20mm model by Senor Francisco Sánchez Abril at the Museo Militar de Cartagena 

My model

Now as some of you will be aware I have two very clever and technical boys - Alex and Chris. Alex has had a 3D printer for quite a while and produces bits for his hobby with it. Chris is at the end of his four year Bio-Medical Engineering Degree and one of this years projects was to plan and create a 3D model. So he asked me if there was anything I really wanted and I said one of these Dodge-Whites

This is Chris` basic plan to create a Dodge-White, you can see from the drawing the super-imposed Dodge Tanake, so he could work out the scale. After a month or so of trial and error, he sent the STL file he`d created to his brother and Alex produced an 8-part kit.

After some sanding and messing about the model looked like this

Ages back Paul of EWM supplied me with a white metal AM50 turret

Being pedant I am I tinkered - swapped the gun for a nicer Hotchkiss barrel, added a bumper and scored doors into each side. 

Painted up she looks fine (note the added head-lights)

Alternate White turret

Goumier support

Goumier Support

Being the total pedant I am about my wargames, an issue many share I`m sure 😁I was struck by the need to create a few more support weapon teams for my Goumier Tabor.

First up a 1917 water-cooled Browning 1917.30cal MMG.

The Strelets pack M151 actually has a MMG and gunner, but I wasn`t happy with the guns detail (again the pedant in me screams out loud) So I took the Browning from the Esci US infantry set No 202 and combined the two.

This allows me to field a Goumier MMG section with a US supplied .30cal for NWE. 

All the orbats I`ve found online indicate Goumier Tabors had anti-tank platoons, most online sources seem to agree this would be Bazooka, rocket propelled weapons. Now noone does a Goumier Bazooka team in 20mm and I`m not anywhere near as skilled as out Portuguese comrade Joao Pedro Peixoto, but with a little cutting, an arm swap, a white metal Bazooka from the bits box and some plasterscene I created a moving team for my Tabor, note the straps made from tin foil - a really old school conversion 😁

Santa Faz and the SCW

Santa Faz and the SCW

This is not a wargaming article, just a short piece of history. 

I only learned of this incident yesterday during a trip to the church with our Spanish walking group and feel it deserves telling to a wider audience. 

Please understand I am not making judgements, or commenting on religious beliefs, just documenting history here.

  

Santa Faz Church as it is today

The Monasterio de la Santísima Faz was founded in 1453 by Pedro Mena, a local priest inspired by the relic of the Holy Face (Santa Faz) of Jesus. This piece of cloth, believed to have been used by Saint Veronica to wipe Jesus’ face on his way to Calvary, bears the miraculous imprint of Jesus’ face. 

Old postcard image of the relic

Within the monastery grounds also stands one of the best preserved watch towers in the local area dating back to the 13^th Century, this is part of the San Juan Tower Walk path which we did with Alex back in 2013.

https://baberonwargames.blogspot.com/2023/04/tower-walk-san-juan.html

 The Santa Faz (Holly Face) of Alicante is a Catholic relic that is venerated and kept in the Monasterio de la Santísima Faz near the Spanish city of Alicante. The original canvas was a linen cloth with bloodstains depicting a face. Years later, these stains were highlighted with red paint. The tremendous devotion to the Santa Faz aroused led to the canvas gradually being reduced in size due to the pieces cut off by wealthy families. Therefore, a reliquary was placed on it with an image of a Santa Faz in front and an image of the Virgin Mary behind. It is one of the three faces recognized by the Vatican.

The relic is the object of a pilgrimage, which annually attracts more than 260,000 pilgrims, this year (2025) being held today - May 1st.

Santa Faz in its reliquary today

At the start of the rebellion in Spain on 26 July 1936, the settling of scores, revenge, and murders began on both sides. Alicante, remaining in the Republican zone and fell under the control of militiamen during the first months of the war. The monastery was attacked by Communist and Anarchist militia and the church was devastated, they burned the main Baroque style altarpiece, destroying the statues of the facade and the Renaissance baptismal font.

Other churches and religious buildings were also attacked and sacked on the same day around the Alicante area and the casket holding the remains of Father Pedro Mena was burnt in San Juan.

Luckily the relic was saved thanks to the brave intervention of some neighbours - Senor Antonio Ramos Alberola (Tonico Santamaría) who was the local mayor and Senor Vicente Rocamora Onteniente, who sneaked into the chapel and after breaking into the glass cabinet spirited the Santa Faz to safety, hiding it in a shopping basket.

After spending the night at the local mayor's house, the relic was transported by tram or municipal vehicle (depending on the story) to the Provincial Council, where it was stored in the safe. Later, communist mayor Rafael Millá Santos and former mayor Lorenzo Carbonell would save the relic from falling into the hands of government officials who were requisitioning gold objects for the Reparations Fund. The relic spent the next three years hidden at the Villa Marco Estate, where it had been used, secretly during various religious celebrations during the Civil War years.

 The church was used as an aircraft factory by the Republic. The monastery became a Checa – a facility created in the Republican zones to detain, interrogate, torture, summarily try and execute (outside lawful courts) those suspected of sympathizing with the rebels. Checas were mainly used by individuals or groups related to political parties and unions outside the general rule of law.  

 Some sources I have read say that after the occupation of Alicante by Nationalist troops, the Littorio Regiment (which was a mixed regiment with both Italian and Spanish personnel by this period) were housed in the monastery, they left several pieces of graffiti depicting Mussolini and war scenes on the tower, but I have found no photographic evidence to confirm this. Pending archaeological studies, it is believed that a mass grave may exist. In 1989, a replica of the casket of Mósén Pedro Mena was made.

 After the Civil War, the church was restored but did not reopen for three years! A new altar was built, much more spectacular than the original, according to plans by architect Juan Vidal Ramos and thanks to donations from Manuel Prytz.

 

The alter today