Canarias

History:

Canarias was a heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in the United Kingdom and was a modified version of the Royal Navy's County-class cruiser. She was built in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval. She saw service during the Spanish Civil War.

Canarias was the flagship of the Nationalist Navy and sank 34 ships[citation needed] including the Spanish Republican Navy destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz during the Battle of Cape Espartel, and the Soviet merchant Komsomol off Oran, both in the second half of 1936. Canarias was the main player of the Battle of Cape Machichaco on 5 March 1937, when the Basque Auxiliary Navy naval trawler Nabarra was destroyed. She also damaged the destroyer José Luis Díez forcing her to seek refuge at Gibraltar on 29 August 1938. Canarias captured the Republican liner Mar Cantábrico, which was later converted to an auxiliary cruiser. During World War II she took part in the search of survivors from the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941.

Type: Cruiser

Primary Country: Spain, a country on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, includes 17 autonomous regions with diverse geography and cultures. Capital city Madrid is home to the Royal Palace and Prado museum, housing works by European masters. Segovia has a medieval castle (the Alcázar) and an intact Roman aqueduct. Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, is defined by Antoni Gaudí’s whimsical modernist landmarks like the Sagrada Família church.