Spanish Jupiter Class Mine-Layers (more info added about the sinking of the Castillo de Olite 08/03/2025)

 Spanish Jupiter Class mine-layers and the SCW

by Richard Baber

Now navel wargaming and history isn`t my thing, I have played naval games and also included ships/landing craft in scenarios I`ve written, but on the whole this aspect of war leave me cold. But a few years back whilst browsing at a boot fair here in Spain I came across this photo which had been used a Christmas postcard by a member of her crew.

Now i had no idea what the vessel was, but could tell by the general layout she was of SCW or WW2 vintage. The single funnel and general layout had me stumped as to her type or class, but I assumed she was Spanish.

Anyway I frequent a FB page dedicated to wargaming the SCW and a few months back they started posting images of ships and talking about the naval aspects wargames of the war. So I took the plunge and asked if anyone could identify the ship - within an hour that legend and font of all knowledge (when it comes to SCW) Bob Cordery (author of the Arriba Espana! rules) came back with the answer - she was a Jupiter Class mine-layer!

Armed with this info I did a bit of internet digging and this is what I discovered: 

Commissioned by the Spanish republican Government in 1935, to be built by SECN at Ferrol. All the four vessels of this class fell into rebel hands when the port and facilities came under rebel control. Only three actually served during the SCW with the last not completed until late 1939.

Ships:

Jupiter (F11) completed March 1937

Vulcano (F12) completed August 1937

Marte (F01) completed November 1938

Neptuno (F02) completed November 1939

Stats:

Displacement: 2100tons std; 2600tons loaded

Length: 96M, Breadth: 12M, Draught: 3.5M

Max speed: 18.5 knots

Powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines with four Yarrow boilers

Range: 3700 nautical miles @ 12 knots

Crew: 180

Armament:

Júpiter: 2 x 1 - 105/42 SK L/45, 2 x 1 - 76/40 Ansaldo 1917, 3 x 1 - 40/39 Vickers-Terni 1915, 264 mines, 2 DCR

In 1938 the Jupiter was upgraded:

Júpiter: - 2 x 1 - 105/42, 3 x 1 - 40/39; + 4 x 1 - 120/45 Vickers-Armstrong Mk F, 3 x 1 - 20/65 C/38

Vulcano: 4 x 1 - 120/45 Vickers-Armstrong Mk F, 2 x 1 - 88/42 SK L/45, 3 x 1 - 20/65 C/38, 264 mines, 2 DCR

Marte, Neptuno: 4 x 1 - 120/45 Vickers-Armstrong Mk F, 2 x 1 - 76/40 Ansaldo 1917, 3 x 1 - 20/65 C/38, 264 mines, 2 DCR

Service during the Civil War

Due to the lack of destroyers in the Franco`s fleet, and the potential of their armament, the main mission of these vessels was not minelaying, but to face Government units in open combat, despite their slow speed.

Jupiter

Along with Vulcano, Júpiter was one of the main players in the blockade of international shipping in the ports of Biscay, where she took part in the capture of several merchantmen, especially the British Candleston Castle, Dover Abbey and Yorkbrook, the French Cens and a number of Basque Auxilliary Navy trawlers during the second half of 1937. She also laid four minefields off Santander and Gijón, from April to July 1937. The rebel battleship Espana was lost on 30 April after hitting by accident one of her mines at Santander. There were only four casualties among España's crew.

On 17 July, while on patrol off Gijón, Júpiter caught two British cargo ships while they were attempting to run the blockade. One of them, Sarastone, managed to reach the harbor despite being fired on. The other steamer, Candleston Castle, stopped after the minelayer fired two shots across her bows. She was handed over by Júpiter to the auxiliary cruiser Ciudad de Palma, which escorted the captured merchantman to Ferrol. A fruitless sortie was launched from the French port of Saint jean de Luz by the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak and the destroyer HMX Basilisk.

She engaged the Basque Auxiliary Navy destroyer Ciscar on 10 August off Gijón. During this exchange of fire, Júpiter's gunfire accidentally straddled the British destroyer HMS Foxhound. Occasionally, she also provided support fire for the rebel troops inland. On 24 August 1937, after the fall of the port of Santona, Júpiter, along with other naval units was called from Bilbao to watch the British steamer Seven Seas Spray, taken in custody by Nationalist troops while attempting to evacuate Basque troops as part of the ill-fated Santona Agreement between the Italian Corpo truppe Volontarie and the Basque Nationalist Party.

 On 5 October, while she was escorting the seized freighters Dover Abbey and Yorkbrook to ribadeo, the former vessel sent a distress message to HMS Resolution, giving the position and course of the convoy and claiming that her capture had taken place outside territorial waters. Actually, they have been caught by armed trawlers 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off shore, well inside Spanish maritime boundaries, Júpiter successfully outran the British battleship and the convoy reached destination without incident.

At least five minor vessels carrying refugees and soldiers of the Republican army where seized by the minelayer after the fall of the last government's strongholds on northern Spain by the end of October.

 On Christmas Day 1937 she shelled the port of Burriana, near Castelion, in the Mediterranean coast, where the British freighter Bramhill was at anchor. The merchant was hit by several rounds, specially on her bow, and had to withdraw to Marseille to undergo repairs.

Towards the end of the war, along with the auxiliary cruiser Mar Negro, she supported the landing of an infantry division on Mahon, Menorca after the Republican surrender of this island, on 9 February 1939. She was one of the units involved in the blockade of Alicante, where thousands of refugees gathered in order to flee Spain when Franco's victory was in sight. Assisted by her sister ships, Jupiter entered the port on 31 March, the day before the official end of the conflict, in order to land the 121st and 122nd battalions of the Galician Regiment.

After the Spanish Civil War, in December 1940, Júpiter carried out an undercover reconnaissance mission around Gibralter with Admiral Canaris and General Lang and a Spanish officer aboard. The goal was to gather intelligence about the British fortifications and boom defenses as a first step toward the proposed Operation Felix.

 Vulcano

Vulcano temporarily blocked the entrance to Gijón of the British merchants Stanray and Stangrove. 

At the end of the war in the north she joined a naval squadron which drove back the steamers Hillfern, Bramhill, Stanhill and Stanleigh off Cape Peñas, seizing a number of small Republican vessels crowded with refugees in the process.  During this period she shelled, without success, the British Thorpebay when this steamer entered the port of the Musel. Between the last months of 1937 and 1939 Vulcano was active in the Mediterranean, where she was part of the rebel fleet which bombarded Castellon, Burriana and Vinarios on Christmas Day 1937. She played a key role, along with her sisters ships, in ferrying troops after Franco's army reach the coast between Valencia and barcelona in April 1938.

On 17 October 1938, she seized the soviet cargo ship Katayama, of 3,200 tons. She also played a secondary role in the capture of the Greek merchant Victoria by the auxiliary cruiser Mar Cantábrico and the British Stangrove by the gunboat Dato, in the final months of the civil war. All these freighters joined the Spanish merchant fleet at the end of the conflict.

Perhaps the most famous action of Vulcano is the chase and capture of the Republican Churruca-class destroyer Jose Luis Diez off Gibraltar, in the course of a battle fought as close as 50 metres (160 ft) between the ships involved. José Luis Diez eventually became stranded in Catalan Bay, in the territory of Gibraltar, the last day of 1938. The destroyer was turned over to Franco's government after its recognition by Britain as the legitimate authority in Spain^.

She was the leading unit of an aborted landing at Cartagena on 7 March 1939, after the withdrawal of the Republican fleet from its bases and its internment at Bizerte. 

On 7th March 1939 just days before the end of the war a small fleet of rebel ships were approaching the port of Cartagena. The operation was mounted on the belief that anti-communist Republicans had taken over the port once the Government navy fled, they expected to sail into an unguarded port and claim the city for Franco. However, loyalist forces retook control of the coastal batteries around the harbour. All the ships received the order of aborting the operation, but two transports, Castillo de Olite and Castillo Peñafiel, didn`t have radios and continued toward Cartagena unaware of the danger! They were the former Soviet steamers Postishev and Smidovich, of 3,545 and 2,485 tons respectively, which had been seized by the Nationalists on the high seas. Castillo de Olite was hit by a 381 mm (15 in) shell from the coastal battery commanded by Captain Fernando López-Canti (of the 206th Mixed Brigade, one of the last elite units of the Republican army) at La Parafiel at the tip of La Algameca about 4km from the port, which set off ammunition stored aboard and she blew up and sunk with a loss of 1477 military, civilian and naval personel, the worst loss of life at sea during the Civil War! The Castillo de Olite carried on board, among others,  several platoons of the Falange militia (militarized civilians who had been assigned police functions in the Francoist rear areas) and a military-juridical court (presided over by the auditor colonel Antonio Martín de la Escalera), who, once the landing and occupation of the city had been completed, were to be responsible for deploying the Francoist repressive apparatus.

Meanwhile, Castillo Peñafiel had a narrow escape and though harassed by Republican aircraft, she managed to turn about and flee back out to sea and escape back to Rebel held territory. 

In a letter to General Franco, Admiral Francisco Moreno put the blame on Vulcano's commander for his failure to prevent the departure of the freighters, as ordered by Moreno himself. Vulcano apparently gave a green light to the transports after receiving contradicting orders from the high command to proceed.

At the Museo Militar de Cartagena there is a room and display dedicated to this incident, I took these photos during out visit back in May 2024

1/56th scale model of the Castillo de Olite

Deck gun raised from the wreck

Along with her sister ships, Vulcano landed two infantry battalions at Alicante on 31 March, the day before the official end of hostilities.

Marte

Marte was the last minelayer of the class to be commissioned before the end of the civil war. Marte was released to the Nationalist navy on 11 November 1938. The minelayer departed from El Ferrol in December 1938 to take part in the chase of the Republican destroyer José Luis Díez, which had taken shelter in Gibraltar. Given the inexperience of her crew, Marte didn't play any major role in the neutralization of the Republican warship. Later, in January 1939, while based at the Port of Palma, Marte participated in gunnery trials off Majorca and in blockade activities along the Catalan coast and the Gulf of Leon. In February, she relieved her sister Júpiter from her blockade duties off Catalonia, and on 21 February she attended a naval parade at Salou. On 7 March 1939, during the ill-fated landing on Cartagena, Marte loaded troops and cargo at Castellon before the operation was cancelled. Along with her sisters, she patrolled the Republican waters off Alicante in the waning days of the war. Marte took part in one of the last international maritime incidents of the war on 19 March 1939, when she prevented the British steamer Stanbrook from entering Alicante. The ship, chartered by the Republican government, went back to Oran, Algeria. The Stanbrook eventually reached the Spanish port on 27 March, after the Nationalist side displayed some indulgency toward the evacuation of refugees in return for the British recognition of Franco's legitimacy. Two days later, Stanbrook left Alicante bound for Oran, crowded with at least 2,000 people, one of the last ships to either enter or flee Republican Spain. Her Welsh skipper, Captain Archibald Dickson, later killed during the sinking of his ship in World War II, is today remembered as a hero in Alicante.

You can read more about Capt. Dickson and the Stanbrock too here on this blog: 

https://baberonwargames.blogspot.com/2021/03/archibald-dickson-hero-of-alicante.html

Neptuno

Neptuno, the last of the batch, was not completed until November 1939, seven months after the war was over. 

 

 

 

 

 

British K-type landing Barges in Spanish service (new photo added 21/01/2025)

 British K-type landing Barges in Spanish service

General history

X-Lighters would make a huge difference to amphibious warfare, the craft were designed by naval architect Walter Pollock of James Pollock & Son in 1915. He was summoned to develop a suitable landing craft, taking on Admiralty input – particularly that of the First Sea Lord, ‘Jackie’ Fisher, who was familiar with Pollock’s work and saw the value of the craft in his proposed North Sea and Baltic operations.

The Navy demanded a self-propelled vessel suitable for transporting men, supplies and heavy equipment to shore in an opposed landing. The X-Lighters were designed in just four days, and Pollocks also oversaw their construction. The craft became known as ‘Black Beetles’, due to their black-painted construction, low profile and landing ramp that, when deployed, resembled a stag beetle’s horns.

Orders for 200 were placed and their production given high priority. The 105ft craft displaced some 160 tons and were 21ft across the beam. Each had a distinctive hinged ramp over the bow, which dropped down to disembark infantry. This enabled a platoon to be landed within seconds, while the remainder could filter through in the following minutes.

Although a common design, variances were tolerated to enable smaller yards to maintain swift production. The first X-Lighter launched in April and the Royal Navy received its initial vessels in June, with all delivered by August. With the initial order completed, a further 50 were produced in 1916 to smaller dimensions (98ft long), 25 as stores ships and tenders, with 25 ‘dumb’ (engineless) craft – designated DX-Lighters – for towing. The building of all 250 vessels was spread across 30 shipyards.

The craft were given ‘L’ or ‘K’ numbers depending on their role, though they were officially known by their ‘X’ designation (for example, K77 was X166). Of the original 200, approximately 20 were converted into tenders or similar and one even served as a Q-ship (an armed decoy ship for duping U-boats).

X-Lighters were produced from iron and wood over a metal frame and their spoon-shaped bow and 3½ft draught enabled them to get right up to shore without beaching. Their engine fit varied, but they were unusual in that they were among the earliest small craft to use oil or diesel fuel. Swedish-made Bolinder engines were favoured as Pollocks was their British agent, but two-cylinder engines from six companies were used. Powerplant and screw fit varied between yards (and were often changed postwar) but the most powerful were capable of 7-8kts and used a single screw, while less powerful examples usually incorporated a twin screw and paired engines.

The engine room was encased at the stern with a 450-gal tank on each side. Ahead of those was space for a 16ft dingy, a 12-seat table, a stove and berth for up to a dozen hammocks. Then came the steering and compass platform, protected by an armoured screen. The troop/ cargo well was enclosed and formed 60% of the craft’s length. If necessary, fixtures were provided to secure horses and heavy equipment. At the bow there were two more 450-gal tanks, and a staircase enabled troops clamber up to the hand-lowered ramp, while a portion of the upper deck could drop to provide a stairless exit.

Up to 500 men could be transported in each X-Lighter for short periods, though lack of space was a common gripe. In safe areas, more men were often carried on top. Located amidships was a machine gun platform and shield, which poked out above the deck. Shortages meant the guns were rarely supplied and the platforms were often removed, though a transported party would be keen to lend a Lewis gun to cover their approach.

Specifications:

Displacement: 160 tons

Length: 105ft (32.2 meters)

propulsion: Bolinder semi-diesel, single shaft

Speed: 7 to 8 knots

Draft: 3.5 ft (1 meter)

Capacity: 500men + 4 crew 

Use by Spain

In the mid-1920s Spain bought 26 vessels off the Royal Navy at Gibralter, They were re-numbered K-1 - K-26. These were used as part of the massive amphibious operation at Alhucemas Bay in September 1925 which effectively turned the tide and led to the defeat of Abd el Krim`s rebellion. Most of the craft were used as troop/supply transports but some were modified to carry Ft17 tanks and land them directly on the beaches - in fact due to the nature of the rocky beaches, this never happened and the tanks had to be landed by crane once the defenders had been cleared.

These troops disemarking are obviously Regulares

A really nice shot of the heavily loaded K-13 on its way to Alhucemas

These men appear to be naval personel possibly Infanteria de Marina?

After the Rif War the remaining craft stayed in Spanish service. By 1936 at the time of the Civil War there were still 10 barges still operational at Cartegena. At least two: K-12 and K-26 took part in the abortive attempt by Republican forces to retake Mallorca from the Rebels. After the Republicans withdrew, the two craft were captured and became part of Palma Squadron.

This photo is of a K-type barge unloading militia at Porto Cristo, Mallorca in 1936

Plans for 2025

 Plans for 2025

These really do depend on how we get on with the hotel conversion to HMO back in Swansea! Last year I spent nearly 180 days in the UK almost enough to mean I wasn`t tax resident in Spain! To say the least this compromised my plans for 2024 😔

Assuming everything goes to plan, we hope to back in Spain and mostly retired by March, at which point I will proceed with a basic plan for the year:

1. play one game a month (see note A)

2. write more (see note B)

3. build and paint the plastic kits and resin models & various figures, I`ve bought during my downtime from our hobby back in Wales (see note C)

Notes

A: I continuously come up with idea and scribble down notes, I have several scenarios of various sizes ready to go, but will need more

B: I have four (4) larger articles - The Spanish 1908/09 Melilla Campaign in Morocco, The battle of Taxdirt (Morocco) 1909, The Russo-Japanese War 1904/05 and a comparison piece about Goumier in 20mm; all in the various writing/editing phases plus a few tabletop scenarios at various stages of completion. I will also continue my local history posts, book and film reviews to try and keep things fresh and interesting.

C: I`ve amassed some 14 plastic kits plus a few resins vehicles plus various terrain bits and maybe 200 figures, these cover all aspects of my hobby. I`ll try and paint these to suit the games I want to play and hopefully include new models in those games I play.

Advance to the Zaghouan (May 1943)

Advance to the Zaghouan (May 1943)

 The British entered Tunis on May 7^th and it seemed the war in North Africa was over, but not quite. Stubborn German units were still holding out in the mountainous wilds of the Zaghouan massif to the south of Tunis.

 Koeltz‘s French XIX Corps was given the task to clear this last German pocket.

 Scenario

Elements of Koeltz`s command are advancing through the valleys against sometimes stiff German resistance, at the same time groups of wild Goumier are working the way across the hills and mountains bypassing roadblocks and causing chaos in the enemies rear.

 This game simulates a typical encounter between the advancing French and Germans.

 French forces

Recce platoon 5RCA (Regiment Chasseurs d`Afrique) – 2 x Jeeps & crews

7^th escadron, 12 RCA (Regiment Chasseurs d`Afrique) – 3 x Somua S-35

2 companies from 7RTA (Regiment Tirailleurs Algériens)

6^th Batterie 69RAA (Regiment Artillerie d`Afrique) 

75mle1897 - 2 guns + tows

 Arriving on table on the northern edge on turn 10

3^rd Groupe de Goumier, 52^nd Goum

German defenders

HQ – 2 officers, NCO, 2 runners, 80mm mortar, MMG

4 mixed infantry platoons (9 figures each, inc LMG)

50mm Pak38

Beute GMC SP 75mm (3 rds of AP, 2 rds of HE)

By May 12^th not far from the ruins of the ancient Roman aqueduct at Zaghouan, the last German units surrendered to General Mathernet, the campaign in Tunisia was over.

My table

Note the cratered road and abandoned, destroyed German trucks

The initial dispositions saw one German platoon defending the farm along with the MMG team and the second covering the left flank. The mortar team and 50mm Pak38 were placed to support the defence of the farm. The third platoon covered the second on the left and also formed a fall-back for the 1^st at the farm. The last platoon was set in reserve at the bridge and rear farm along with the German HQ. The GMC 75 was concealed covering the road near the back farm.

The French elected to send one Algerian company up each side of the valley and their tanks straight up the track. The `75 battery was set up to support the advance, initially targeting the first farm.

The first few turns saw a steady French advance on both flanks whilst the `75s plastered the first farm causing casualties including the MMG team. The Germans could only reply with mortar fire, which did cause a few casualties among the Algerians.

Turn 4 saw the lead Somua rounding a bend on the track and finding a couple of emplacements which could not be seen until that point! It was also fired on by the Pak38 (miss), the Somua commander was on fine form, spotting the gun and then planting a 47mm round bang on target knocking it out!

On the right flank the 2^nd Algerian company took a couple of casualties from dug-in Germans this round also. 

Turn 5 the lead Somua fired on the first emplacement, killing one man forcing the rest to abandon their exposed position. But the Beute GMC 75 way back across the stream fired a desperate long range shot scored a magnificent 11 followed by a 10 for effect claiming the French tank!!

The 2^nd Algerian company began clearing the Germans out of their emplacements using a combination of LMG/VB grenades before close assaults

VB grenades can be surprisingly effective

On the left the 1^st Algerian company was now engaged with emplacements flanking the farm, combined casualties from small arms and the German mortar meant the one platoon needed a morale check next turn.

Turn 6 No2 Somua moves off the track to assist the 2^nd Algerian company (also moves itself out of sight from the gun that knocked out its mate). The Algerians don`t really need any help as they clear what was left of the German platoon in front of them and prepare to move forward next turn anyway.

On the left, the Algerian platoon at the farm fails its morale check and goes to ground, luckily the company CO is close at hand and moves to sort them out. The other two platoons continue their advance up the left valley side.  

Turn 7 on the right the 2^nd Algerian company now following a Somua advance up the valley. On the left the 1^st Algerian CO rallies the pinned platoon, whilst the rest of the company advances past the farm, up a valley side; the last Somua moves off the track towards the farm. The Germans can do little except move men around in the hope of stalling the French advance.

Turn 8 the 2^nd Algerian company is hit hard by a German platoon which has moved forward and its lead platoon takes enough casualties for a morale check!

Above the farm on the right a German LMG nest which has been dominating the farm approach finds itself flanked and overwhelmed by a platoon of Algerians, the close assault leads them to surrender!

Seeing this the German mortar team dismantle their tube and prepare to withdraw. 

Turn 9 Over on the right Algerian platoon fails its check and goes to ground, the other two platoons engage the Germans, the Somua moves forward to assist, the German NCO makes an heroic action roll and close assaults the tank with grenades!! He fails and dies “heroically” in the attempt!

On the left supported by the last Somua the Algerian CO leads his men into the farm, engaging the remaining German defenders. 

Turn 10 On the right the 2^nd Algerian company clear their hilltop

The surviving Germans in the farm surrender

The Goumier arrive on table  

Turn 11 on the left the 2^nd Algerians with their Somua resume their advance

The farm is now in French hands, the `75 battery moves forward to set up there for the next stage of the advance.

The Goumier catch and slaughter the German mortar team

At this point with the Germans having only one platoon left intact, the GMC 75 is out of ammo too having fired off its HE rounds ineffectively against the dispersed Goumier; so the German CO decides to live to fight another day and orders a withdrawal.