View source for SS Cantabria (1919)

{{Short description|Spanish cargo ship sunk in a military action of the Spanish Civil War}}
{{otherships|SS Cantabria}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
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{| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= SS-Cantabria-Nadir.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Cantabria'' sinking, photographed from<br>the Nationalist cruiser ''Nadir''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= Spain
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Spain|1785}} {{shipboxflag|Spain|1931}}
|Ship name=*1919: ''War Chief''
*1919: ''Alfonso Pérez''
*1937: ''Cantabria''
|Ship owner= *1919: UK [[Shipping Controller]]
*1919: AF Pérez
*1938: A Zubizarreta<ref>''Times Online Archive'', Letter to the Editor, 5 November 1938</ref>
|Ship operator= *1919: [[William Raeburn|Raeburn]] & Vérel, [[Glasgow]]
*1938: Dept de Nav, Santander
|Ship registry= [[Santander, Spain|Santander]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= J Coughlan & Sons, [[Vancouver]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 19 August 1918
|Ship completed= February 1919
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification= *[[code letters]] HBNP (until 1933)
*{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Bravo}}{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Papa}}
*[[Maritime call sign|call sign]] EAAL (by 1934)
*{{ICS|Echo}}{{ICS|Alpha}}{{ICS|Alpha}}{{ICS|Lima}}
|Ship fate= sunk by gunfire, 2 November 1938
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= 
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|5743}}, {{NRT|4180}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{cvt|410.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|54.1|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught=
|Ship depth= {{cvt|27.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 2
|Ship power= by 1926: 532 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
|Ship propulsion= *1919: [[steam turbine]]
*by 1926: [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]]
|Ship speed={{convert|8|-|10|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew= 33
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
{{Campaignbox Spanish Civil War}}
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'''SS ''Cantabria''''' was a Spanish-owned [[Cargo ship|cargo]] [[steamship]] that was built in 1919 in [[Canada]] and sunk in 1938 in a naval action in the [[Spanish Civil War]] in the [[North Sea]]. She was built as '''''War Chief''''', renamed '''''Alfonso Pérez''''' shortly after she was built, and renamed ''Cantabria'' during the Spanish Civil War.

''Cantabria''{{'}}s wreck is off the coast of [[Norfolk]], 12 miles ENE<ref name=Tikus>{{harvnb|Tikus||p=13}}</ref> of [[Cromer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Jolly|2002|p=}}{{page needed|date=September 2022}}</ref> She was shelled by the [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Spanish Nationalist]] [[auxiliary cruiser]] ''Nadir''.

==Building and career==
J Coughlan & Sons of [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]] built the ship as ''War Chief'' for the UK [[Shipping Controller]]. She was launched in 19 August 1918 and completed in February 1919. Her registered length was {{cvt|410.5|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|54.1|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|27.5|ft|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|5743}} and {{NRT|4180}}. She had a single [[Propeller|screw]], and her original engine was a [[steam turbine]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1919|loc=ALF}} By 1926 this had been replaced with a three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]] that was rated at 532 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1926|loc=ALF}}

The Shipping Controller initially appointed [[William Raeburn|Raeburn]] and Vérel of [[Glasgow]] to manage ''War Chief'',<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/WWIStandardShipsWarC.html#WAR%20C |title=War C – War H. |work=WWI Standard Ships |publisher=Mariners |access-date=13 September 2022}}</ref> but by mid-1919 had sold her to AF Pérez, who renamed her ''Alfonso Pérez'' and [[Ship registration|registered]] her in [[Santander, Spain|Santander]]. Her [[code letters]] were HBNP.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1919|loc=ALF}} By 1926 she was equipped for [[wireless telegraphy]],{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1926|loc=ALF}} and by 1934 her [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was EAAL.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934|loc=ALE–ALG}}

In the [[Asturian miners' strike of 1934]] she was used as a [[prison ship]].<ref name=prison>{{cite web |url= http://elcuevanodelpasiego.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/historia-del-barco/ |title=Historia de "el barco" |work=El Cuévano del Pasiego |date=23 April 2011 |lang=es}}</ref> In 1937 the ''Departamento de Navegación'' of Santander requisitioned her for the Republican government and renamed her ''Cantabria''.<ref name=Tikus/>{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1937|loc=ALE–ALF}} The Republican authorities used her as a [[prison ship]] in Santander.<ref name=prison/>

==Sinking==
By 1938 ''Cantabria'' was [[Chartering (shipping)|charter]] to a British company called the Mid-Atlantic Shipping Company, based in London. She was not engaged in Spanish trade. She was in passage in ballast from the [[River Thames]] to [[Immingham]], whence she was to sail for [[Leningrad]] under Captain Manuel Argüelles. Aboard were 33 crew and eight passengers, of whom five were children and three women. The passengers included Argüelles' wife Trinidad, their son Ramon, aged six, their daughter Begoña, aged eight, and another child, aged three.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===Auxiliary cruiser ''Nadir''===
[[File:MV-Ciudad de Valencia.jpg|thumb|Spanish Nationalist auxiliary cruiser ''Nadir'' in [[ship camouflage|camouflage]]]]
''Nadir'' was a {{GRT|2497}} [[armed merchantman|auxiliary cruiser]] of the Spanish Nationalist navy, armed with a {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} main gun, two {{convert|105|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} guns and two {{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} anti-aircraft guns. She was converted from the merchant ship ''Ciudad de Valencia'',{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1938|loc=CIU–CLA}} and took part in the blockade of the [[Bay of Biscay]] in 1937. The Nationalists had renamed her to deceive the [[Spanish Republican Navy]] about the real number of commerce raiders at sea. Her targets were Republican cargo ships operating from ports in northern Europe. She had been launched on 18 October 1930 at the shipyard {{ill|Unión Naval de Levante|es}} as ''Infante D. Gonzalo'', owned by the Compañía Transmediterránea.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1938|loc=CIU–CLA}} The Nationalist government requisitioned her on 30 October 1936.<ref>[https://www.trasmeships.es/los-buques/ciudad-de-valencia/ M/N ''Ciudad de Valencia''] {{in lang|es}}</ref>

===Attack===
[[File:The Wreck of the Cantabria.JPG|thumb|upright|Map showing where ''Nadir'' sank ''Cantabria'']]
[[Nazi Germany]] allowed Spanish Nationalist ships to use the port of [[Emden]] as a base from which to raid Spanish Republican shipping in the [[North Sea]] and the [[English Channel]]. At about 11.30 am on 2 November, Argüelles was concerned that a ship was shadowing ''Cantabria''.{{sfn|Garcia Duran|1985|p=331}} He changed course a degree or two to see if the other ship followed suit. It did. His officers studied the following ship with binoculars. She looked like an ordinary passenger ship of about {{GRT|1500}}.

But the ship following ''Cantabria'' was in fact ''Nadir''. Argüelles again changed course, now heading for the Norfolk coast. ''Nadir'' followed and increased speed. In the afternoon ''Cantabria''{{'}}s crew then saw ''Nadir''{{'}}s crew raise the Spanish Nationalist flag. At the same time ''Nadir'' unmasked her guns and signalled ordering ''Cantabria'' "Heave to or I fire". The cruiser then opened fire.<ref>''[[The Times]]'', message from [[Reuters]] dated from [[Oslo]], 4 November 1938</ref>

The incident was in [[international waters]], outside British [[territorial waters]], but near enough to the coast to be seen from shore. According to the statement by Argüelles, he refused to stop ''Cantabria'' after ''Nadir'' fired a shot across her bows. Nearby [[Fishing vessel|fishing boats]] intervened by heading towards ''Nadir'' sounding their [[Siren (alarm)|sirens]]. This persuaded the cruiser to change course and break off her attack. The fishing boats, satisfied that they had ended the attack, continued on their way.

However, after the fishing boats had gone, ''Nadir'' returned and opened fire on ''Cantabria''. A shell struck the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]], destroying it. The raider circled ''Cantabria'' firing shells and raking her with machine-gun fire. A shell penetrated the [[engine room]], rendering ''Cantabria'' powerless.

''Cantabria''{{'}}s wireless telegraph operator had been sending signals that she was "being shelled by unknown vessel". After her bridge had been destroyed and her engine room disabled he transmitted an [[SOS]] signal. He gave ''Cantabria''{{'}}s position as 8½ miles southeast of [[Haisborough Sands|Haisbro]] [[Lightvessel|Light Ship]].{{sfn|Jolly|2002|p=161}}

===Rescue===
It was now nearly dark and at 5pm the [[Cromer Lifeboat Station|Cromer]] Lifeboat {{ship|RNLB|H F Bailey|ON 777|2}} with coxswain [[Henry Blogg]] at the helm was launched to rescue ''Cantabria''{{'}}s crew and passengers. Before ''H F Bailey'' arrived, fire spread through the ship. Two boats were lowered and some of the crew and passengers abandoned ship. Captain Argüelles, his wife and children and the second steward, Joaquin Vallego, remained aboard fearing what their fate would be if they surrendered to the insurgents aboard ''Nadir''. With the boats now lowered, ''Nadir'' ceased fire.

Two cargo ships saw the attack: the British ''Monkwood'' and a [[Norway|Norwegian]] ship, but they did not attempt a rescue, fearing the reaction of ''Nadir'', which was still in international waters.<ref name=Argüelles>{{cite web |url= http://www.sbhac.net/Republica/Colabora/Cantabria/Cantabria.htm |title=El último viaje del Cantabria |first=María del Mar |last=Argüelles |lang=es}}</ref> ''Monkwood'' later sent a report to the naval authorities, who sent naval units to the position to ensure that no hostile action would be taken inside British territorial waters.<ref name=Commons>{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |chapter=Spanish Ship (Attack, North Sea) |url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1938/nov/03/spanish-ship-attack-north-sea#S5CV0340P0_19381103_HOC_277 |house=Commons |date=3 November 1938 |column_start=372 |column_end=373}}</ref> Another British merchant ship, ''Pattersonian'', approached in response to ''Cantabria''{{'}}s SOS.{{sfn|Heaton|1985|p=96}} Captain Blackmore of ''Pattersonian'' had seen ''Nadir'' head towards the lifeboat, and steered his ship across the attacker's course, preventing ''Nadir'' from reaching the lifeboat. ''Pattersonian'' rescued eleven crew from ''Cantabria'''s lifeboats. ''Nadir'' captured 20 crew in the second lifeboat. This [[House of Lords]] judged this to be unlawful interference in British shipping, as ''Nadir'' obstructed the legal duty of rescuing seamen.<ref name=Lords>{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |title=Rule of Law on the High Seas |url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1938/nov/15/rule-of-law-on-the-high-seas |house=Lords |date=15 November 1938 |column_start=85 |column_end=114}}</ref>

It was now dark and no more shots were being fired. ''H F Bailey'' arrived at the scene at 6.30 pm. Argüelles signalled the lifeboat with a torch, and it pulled along the starboard side of ''Cantabria'', which was heavily listing. A line was thrown, and the children and Argüelles' wife were handed down to the lifeboat, followed by the steward and Argüelles. When the rescue was complete, ''Cantabria'' suddenly heeled over, damaging the lifeboat's stanchions. ''H F Bailey'' hastily got clear of ''Cantabria'', which sank soon after at position {{coord|53|1|58|N|1|31|57|E|display=inline,title}}. At least one sailor, Juan Gil, was lost with the vessel.<ref name=Argüelles/> Other sources report the loss of four crew members.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Josmar |date=17 December 2009 |title=Corsarios en la Guerra Civil Española. |url=http://mundosgm.com/guerra-civil-espanola/corsarios-en-la-guerra-civil-espanola/ |access-date=27 April 2016 |website=MundoSGM: La Segunda Guerra Mundial al descubierto |language=es}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
''H F Bailey'' returned to Cromer, arriving at 8.15pm. Argüelles, his family and the steward were taken to the Red Lion Hotel, and ''Pattersonian'' took the other 11 rescued crewmen to [[Great Yarmouth]]. The [[BBC]] reported an account of the incident, along with a warning to shipping, giving the sunken ''Cantabria''{{'}}s position. British newspapers carried the story as headline news, but many of the crew at Yarmouth refused to be photographed, fearing Nationalist reprisals. Questions about the incident were asked in both Houses of Parliament.<ref name=Commons/><ref name=Lords/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-----
! colspan="3" | SS ''Cantabria''
|-----
! colspan="3" | Rescued Persons<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SPAIN/2002-04/1018199708/ |title=List of the rescued |access-date=28 May 2008 |archive-date=3 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003163246/http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SPAIN/2002-04/1018199708/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-----
!By {{ship|RNLB|H F Bailey|ON 777|2}}
! By ''Pattersonian''
! Captured by ''Nadir''
|-----
| Capt. Manuel Argüelles ||José López (English speaking)||24 crew
|-----
|  Trinidad Argüelles || Pedro García|| Eduardo Collade (wireless operator)
|-----
| Ramón Argüelles (aged 6) || Francisco Pou  || Wife of Eduardo Collade
|-----
| Begoña Argüelles (aged 8)|| Francisco García || 2 children of Eduardo Collade
|-----
|Joaquín Vallego|| Fernando Manciro ||
|-----
|  || Rafael Leou ||
|-----
|  || Hilaro Trilear ||
|-----
|  || Santiago Glorente ||
|-----
|  || Román Amorebieta ||
|-----
| || Armando Abad ||
|-----
|  || Manuel Figuciras ||
|}

==Gestapo involvement==
Two weeks after the sinking of ''Cantabria'', Danish police released information that shed new light on the recent confrontation that proved that it had been no coincidence that ''Nadir'' had intercepted ''Cantabria''.{{sfn|Collomb|1939|p=88}} For some time, the Danish police had been interested in the [[Copenhagen]] [[correspondent]]s for a German newspaper, one of whom was [[Horst von Pflugk-Harttung]]. He worked for the ''[[:de:Berliner Börsen-Zeitung|Berliner Börsen-Zeitung]]'', which was an organ of the [[Ministry of the Reichswehr]].{{sfn|Collomb|1939|p=89}} Danish police arrested Harttung and eight other Germans living in [[Denmark]], along with three Danes, and charged them with operating as spies in Copenhagen.

Danish police proved that the accused had all been trained at [[Gestapo]] spy schools and had operated secret broadcasting stations, as well as engaging in [[nautical]] and [[Hydrography|hydrographical]] research. Between them they had drawn up maps and charts, graphs and complex mathematical tables of data. They communicated by complex codes, which they changed frequently. The outlay for so extensive an operation could be justified only as part of [[Third Reich]] preparation for war. The spy ring used the shadowing and sinking of ''Cantabria'' to demonstrate the complicated subversion mechanism that the [[Gestapo]] was developing. The sinking had been formulated by the Spanish insurgents, backed by their allies, as a warning to Britain. Franco was warning the British government that, unless she proved amenable, worse was to come. The Danish police investigation established that the attack was planned by Nazi Germany.{{sfn|Collomb|1939|p=89}} As said above, ''Nadir'' and her sister ship ''Ciudad de Alicante'' used Emden as a supply base.{{sfn|Garcia Duran|1985|p=331}}

===Horst von Pflugk-Harttung===
Horst von Pflugk-Harttung was a German spy, who along with his brother Heinz, had previously been charged in Berlin for the assassination of the Socialist leaders, [[Karl Liebknecht]] and [[Rosa Luxemburg]]. Both men were acquitted but evidently many thought them guilty. Heinz was later killed in an accidental explosion. After Horst von Pflugk-Harttung's trial in Denmark,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cix.co.uk/~jplant/revhist/supplem/trolle.htm |title=Letter and Bibliographical Notes from Mike Jones on Danish Trotskyism, especially Trolle |work=Revolutionary History Unpublished Articles |date=4 November 1996}}</ref> he was sentenced to only a year and a half in prison, and was released after a few months after German government pressure. He became a leading German intelligence chief in Denmark.

==2006 tribute==
Manuel Argüelles and his wife Trinidad later emigrated with their children to [[Mexico]]. In 2006, when the new [[Cromer#Tourism and the town today|Henry Blogg lifeboat museum]] was opened, Argüelles' son Ramón and daughter Begoña made a visit to pay tribute to Henry Blogg and his crew.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Collomb |first=Joseph |year=1939 |title=Armies of Spies |chapter=5: Franco's Fifth Column |place=New York |publisher=[[Macmillan Inc.]]}}
*{{Cite book |last=Garcia Duran |first=Juan |year=1985 |title=La guerra civil española: Fuentes |place= |publisher=Editorial Crítica |isbn=9788474232660 |language=es}}
*{{cite book |last=Heaton |first=Paul M |year=1985 |title=Welsh Blockade Runners in the Spanish Civil War |place= |publisher=Starling Press |isbn=0-9507714-5-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Jolly |first=C |year=2002 |title=Henry Blogg, the Greatest of the Lifeboatmen |place= |publisher=Poppyland Publishing |edition=New |isbn=0-946148-59-7 |page=158}}
*{{cite book |year=1919 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1920ST/ROS1921ST%20Combined/page/n51/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1919}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1926 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1927ST/page/n46/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1926}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=[[Southampton City Council]] |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0037.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1937 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/37/37b0035.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1937}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1938 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/38/38b0199.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1938}} }}
*{{cite book |last=Tikus |first=Ayer |year= |title=The Ship-Wrecks off North Norfolk |place= |publisher=Ayer Tikus Publications}}

{{1937 shipwrecks}}
{{1938 shipwrecks}}
{{Lifeboat Stations in Norfolk}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantabria}}

[[Category:Military history of Norfolk]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Spain]]
[[Category:Prison ships]]
[[Category:Steamships of Spain]]
[[Category:Second Spanish Republic]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1937]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1938]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1938]]
[[Category:1938 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Canada]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vancouver]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:International maritime incidents]]
[[Category:History of Norfolk]]
[[Category:Atlantic naval operations of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Norfolk]]