Once Spain was the most powerful country in the world in the 15th and 16th centuries, with colonies all over the world. Although it was later surpassed by the emerging Netherlands, England and other countries, Spain's strength should not be underestimated, especially its naval strength, which still ranks among the top in the world. The sail battleship Santa Trinidad, built by Spain in the second half of the 18th century, became the most powerful warship in the world at that time.
In 1765, the battleship Santa Trinidad was designed by Irish shipbuilders and began construction in Havana, a Spanish colony in Cuba, and was completed in 1769. The ship was originally built as a three-deck gun deck with 112 cannons. However, in order to surpass the British capital ship Victory, a layer of gun decks was added between the bow decks in 1795, making it the only four-deck sail battleship at that time, and the number of guns reached an unprecedented 140. After a period of use, the number of guns was reduced to 136, but still more than other battleships at the time.
The Ship Santa Trinidad is 61.3 meters long, 16.2 meters wide, has a draft of 8.02 meters, carries 1050 people and has a displacement of 4950 tons, which is much larger than the British Victory of 3556 tons. At that time, the naval warships of various countries were generally divided into six classes, of which at least 64 second- and third-class guns were loaded and more than 100 first-class guns, and their main task was to form naval combat columns and conduct large-scale fleet artillery battles. The Santa Trinidad was designated a first-class battleship, and with a displacement of nearly 5,000 tons and 140 cannons, it became the world's heaviest warship in the 18th century, reaching its same equipment, the American Pennsylvania, which only appeared in 1837.
In 1779, Spain declared itself supporting American independence with France and was at war with Britain. The battleship Santa Trinidad, the flagship of the Spanish fleet, joined the Combined Franco-Spanish Fleet in the English Channel that summer. On January 16, 1780, at Cape Saint Vincent, Portugal, 31 British warships and 11 Spanish warships encountered each other, and a naval battle broke out between the two sides.
The St. Trinidad was besieged by six British warships, including the British Croden, Blenheim and Unyielding. In the face of outnumbered enemies, the Santa Trinidad was badly damaged, with half of its crew killed or wounded. They eventually escaped under the cover of their own Perayu and Prince of Asturias, but on the way back to Santa Trinidad were attacked by the British Dancing Goddess, fortunately a small ship with only 32 guns, and St. Trinidad managed to escape.
The Santa Trinidad was repaired in the port of Cadiz. In August of that year, the British battleship Ramilis and three three-masted fast battleships were escorting a fleet when they were attacked by a fleet led by St. Trinidad, causing serious damage to the British ships. In March 1782, the Santa Trinidad transported a battalion of cavalry in the Mediterranean and took part in the second siege of Gibraltar.
On October 21, 1805, the British fleet consisted of 31 warships and 16,820 officers and men; The Combined Franco-Spanish Fleet had 46 warships and 21,580 officers and men, and the famous Battle of Trafalgar broke out between the two sides. During this battle, The Saint Trinidad attacked the British capital ship Victory. However, because the large displacement sail warship would be very bulky and slow to turn, the huge Santa Trinidad was bombarded by the British ship's concentrated fire, causing the mast to be broken, more than 200 crew members were killed, and finally the ship had to surrender to the British ship Neptune.
The Battle of Trafalgar ended with a great victory for the British fleet. After being captured, st. Trinidad was towed back to England by the British ship Principe. While on the way, the sea was windy and torrential rains, and the Santa Trinidad sank in the Atlantic Ocean due to the four-deck gun deck and the high center of gravity of the ship's hull, which overturned in the storm. The most powerful warship of the Spanish Navy, whose role was extremely limited, disappeared into the smoke of history.