Item Description
Original Item: One of Kind. Where here is a great bit of U.S. Naval History! This Spanish naval boarding cutlass was recovered from the wreck of the battle cruiser Cristóbal Colón, sunk 3 July 1898 during the Spanish-American War. She was 8000 tons and 112 meters in length, built in Italy as a Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruiser, an ultra modern design. She was then sold to the Spanish Navy, and was acquired 16 May 1897.
She was designed to be an intermediate type of ship between extant battleships and cruisers, powerful enough to function as a part of a battle fleet and yet fast enough to outrun more powerful ships, and in this sense was the Spanish Navy's first true armored cruiser. However, the Spanish Ministry of Marine rejected her 10-inch (250 mm) guns, and she was delivered without them, detracting considerably from her designed firepower.
As such, the Cristóbal Colón was completely outmatched by the U.S. Navy during the Battle of Santiago Bay, Cuba, 3 July 1898. After several other ships were sunk, the cruiser tried to outrun the U.S. ships, but eventually ran out of high quality coal, and took several hits from U.S. shells. The captain then beached her at the mouth of the Tarquino River, west of Santiago, to end the battle. The U.S. attempted to salvage her, but she capsized on the Cuban coast, in easy reach of divers, which is how this was recovered.
The cutlass is a standard Spanish boarding cutlass, a design in use for over 100 years. It has a 29" blade, and measures 35" overall. The steel bowl guard is broken near the pommel, however other than that the cutlass is in complete condition.
The blade has been painted :-
FROM THE WRECK - CRISTÓBAL COLÓN - SANTIAGO BAY
A genuine shipwreck artifact from a known warship with a known history. Ready to display!
Specifications:
Overall length: 34”
Blade length: 29”
Blade Style: Slightly Curved Single Edge
Basket dimensions: 4" width x 4 3/4” length
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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