Santa Anna (ship)

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Santa Anna

The Santa Anna was a carrack of the Order of St. John in the 16th century and was considered one of the most modern ships of its time. A special feature of the Santa Anna was her hull , partly studded with lead plates , which some authors consider an early form of ship armor , while others see the reduction of water permeability as the main purpose.

history

The Santa Anna was launched in Nice on December 21, 1522 , one day before the Johanniter surrendered during the siege of Rhodes , granting free withdrawal.

The underwater hull of the Santa Anna was completely shod with sheets of lead. Above the waterline, two of the ship's six decks were armored with lead plates that were attached to the wooden hull with bronze nails. The armament of the Santa Anna was designed for 500 soldiers and the officers' area had dining rooms and mess rooms. A smithy was housed in the ship , in which several armourers could do their work on the high seas. The ship even had its own windmill and ovens on board, with which the crew was supplied with fresh bread. In addition, the Santa Anna had a garden with plants that were hung in flower boxes along the stern gallery.

In 1531, the Santa Anna , operating in the Mediterranean , managed to put a Turkish squadron of 25 ships to flight. A year later, the Johanniter ship under the command of Andrea Doria took part in an expedition against the Peloponnese , during which Koron , Patras and the Turkish fortresses at the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth were stormed. In 1535 the carrack was involved in the successful attack of the Spanish fleet under Charles V on Tunis in the Tunis campaign , in which more than 100 ships of the Maghreb corsairs were captured. The ship's firepower played a key role in conquering the La Goletta fortress , which dominated the entrance to the port.

At times the Santa Anna was also used as a wheat freighter, where she could take up to 900 tons of grain on board. Only eighteen years after its commissioning, the warship was scrapped in 1540 on the orders of Grand Master Juan de Homedes .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jochen Brennecke: History of Shipping , Künzelsau 1986 (2nd edition), p. 138.
  2. ↑ ; Bradford, Johanniter p. 140 f.
  3. ↑ a b c Helmut Pemsel: "Seeherrschaft. A maritime world history from the beginnings to 1850", Vol. 1, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-89350-711-6 , pp. 144ff.
  4. ↑ Jochen Brennecke: History of Shipping , Künzelsau 1986 (2nd edition), p. 144.

literature

  • Jochen Brennecke: History of Shipping , Künzelsau 1986 (2nd edition) ISBN 3-89393-176-7 , pp. 138 & 144
  • Helmut Pemsel: Command of the Sea. A maritime world history from the beginnings to 1850 , Vol. 1, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-89350-711-6 , pp. 144ff.
  • Ernle Bradford : Johanniter and Maltese. The history of the order of knights . Munich: Universitas 1983. English first edition 1972 under the title The Shield and the Sword .
  • John Taaffe: History of the holy, military, sovereign Order of St.John of Jerusalem: or, Knights, Hospitallers, Knights Templars, Knights of Rhodes, Knights of Malta. 4 vols. London: Hope 1852.