On 7 March 1890,
Capitán de navío (
ship-of-the-line captain)
Manuel de la Cámara took command of the Philippine Division, a naval force composed of
Don Juan de Austria and the unprotected cruisers and designated to reinforce the Spanish Navy's Asiatic
Squadron in the
Philippines. The division departed Cádiz Transiting the Mediterranean Sea,
Suez Canal, and
Indian Ocean, the division encountered rough weather during its journey only in the
Gulf of Lyons. It called at Barcelona,
Port Said,
Suez,
Aden, and
Colombo before arriving at
Singapore on 2 June 1890. The three cruisers resumed their voyage the next day and arrived at
Manila on 17 June 1890. In the Philippines, the division became known as the "Black Squadron" because its ships were painted black instead of white, as other Asiatic Squadron ships were. Although a captain, Cámara commanded the division with the title of "
commodore" of the division until December 1890, when illness forced him to relinquish command.
Don Juan de Austria remained in the Philippines after Cámara's departure. When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, part of the Pacific Squadron of
Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón in
Manila Bay. At 1100 hours on 25 April 1898,
Don Juan de Austria and five other ships of the squadron set out for
Subic Bay, where Montojo hoped to take advantage of minefields and shore batteries in the likely event of an attack by
U.S. Navy forces on his squadron. Arriving there, Montojo found that few of the
mines had been laid and the
shore batteries had not yet been mounted. At 1030 hours on 29 April 1898,
Don Juan de Austria and Montojo's other ships departed Subic Bay to return to Manila Bay, where shore batteries could support Montojo's squadron and where the shallow water might reduce the loss of life if the Spanish ships were sunk. The squadron anchored later that day in
Cañacao Bay off
Sangley Point, in the lee of the
Cavite Peninsula, about eight miles southeast of
Manila.
Don Juan de Austria made a quick trip to Manila to procure small craft, such as lighters, small boats, and barges, to be tied up alongside cruiser to protect her wooden hull from hostile gunfire. When the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron under Commodore
George Dewey attacked, early on the morning of 1 May 1898 in the
Battle of Manila Bay,
Don Juan de Austria was at the extreme end of Montojo's line and at 0445 hours was the first Spanish ship to sight the approaching American warships. Dewey's squadron made a series of slow firing passes at the Spanish squadron. in 1898.
Don Juan de Austria got underway in an unsuccessful attempt to close with the American warships. Although suffering increasing damage as more and more American shells struck her, she came to the aid of
Castilla when
Castilla was burning out of control and had to be abandoned. When Montojo's flagship, unprotected cruiser , also was knocked out of action, Dewey's squadron concentrated its fire on
Don Juan de Austria. With her hull riddled and her steering wrecked, she was scuttled in shallow water, coming to rest on the bottom with her upper works above water. After the battle, a boarding party from
gunboat went aboard and set the wreck of
Don Juan de Austria on fire. After the war, the U.S. Navy raised and salvaged
Don Juan de Austria and commissioned her into the U.S. Navy in 1900 as
gunboat . ==References==