Zulia Class Battleship
The
Zulia Class Battleships were five super-dreadnought battleships built just prior to and serving in the First World War. They were designed as an answer to the british Orion Class and also following the desire of the Venezuelan government to expand the navy's fleet to secure its territorial waters and federal dependencies. The ships were significant because they were the first super dreadnoughts to enter service with the Venzuelan Navy and provided useful experience for engineers and sailors alike. The basic design proved to be very capable and versatile to the point that the next battleship class commissioned by the Navy (Táchira class) used the same basic design but with a longer hull, new bow and increased fire power and protection. The first ship of the class ARV Zulia was commissioned in 1915 with the other four commissioned in the following years. They remained in service until 1948 after haing survived both world wars and been rebuilt and upgraded many times along their career.
Class overview
Built: 1910–16
In service: 1915–48
Completed: 5
Lost: 0
General characteristics
Type: Battleship
Displacement:
27,000 tons standard
33,500 tons full load
Length: 193 m
Beam: 27 m
Draught: 8 m
Propulsion:
Steam turbines, 4 shafts
24 boilers
26,500 shp (20 MW)
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Armament:
8 × 14 in (381 mm) guns
12 × 5-inch (152.4 mm) guns
Barcelona Class Heavy Cruiser (Pocket Battleship)
The
Barcelona class was a series of heavily armed cruisers built by the Venezuelan Navy. They were designed especifically to hunt light cruisers and heavy cruisers although they would end up been used also as commerce raiders, but they were never authorized to fight battleships, and battlcruisers were only engaged in combat when the Barcelona class cruisers had a numerical advantage. The ships relied on their speed for defence since they shared the armour of the Miranda class cruiser upon which they were based, but their heavy armament compensated for the lack of protection.
Class overview
Name: Barcelona-class heavy cruiser
In commission: 1931–1950
Planned: 4
Completed: 4
General characteristics:
Type: heavy cruiser
Displacement:
Design: 18,000 tons
Full load: 20,000 long tons
Length: 200 m overall
Beam: 22 m
Propulsion:
3 × steam turbines
3 × three-blade propellers
135,000 shp (98 MW)
Speed: 34 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range: 6,800 nmi (12,600 km; 7,800 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:
42 officers
1,340 enlisted
Armament:
6 × 15 in guns
11 × 5 in guns