Spanish ship San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso has been described as a technical milestone in 18th-century Spanish shipbuilding. Having fought the Royal Navy in various wars the Spanish admirals were concerned that their ships could not match equivalent British vessels for speed. San Ildefonso incorporated many amendments from traditional Spanish designs in order to improve her speed. Instead of traditional iron bolts holding the hull together the vessel utilised much lighter wooden treenails, the upper parts of the ship were made from pine and cedar instead of oak to reduce weight and lower the centre of gravity and the vessel was constructed shorter in length than a traditional Spanish seventy-four would be. == Armament ==

Although completed with 74 guns, she was later re-armed in accordance with the October 1803 Ordnance Regulations, and by the time of her participation at the Battle of Trafalgar, San Ildefonso actually carried a total of 80 guns, comprising 28 × 24-pounder long guns on her lower deck, 30 × 24-pounder long guns on her upper deck (having replaced the original 18-pounders on that level), 4 × 8-pounder long guns and 8 × 30-pounder obuses (howitzers) on her quarterdeck, 2 × 8-pounder long guns and 2 × 30-pounder obuses on her forecastle, and 6 × 24-pounder obuses on her poop. However, unlike most other Spanish ships of the line (including all those present at Trafalgar), San Ildefonso did not carry any four-pounder anti-personnel obuses on her poop. == Spanish service ==

San Ildefonso was designed by José Romero Fernández de Landa and built by him at the naval dockyard in Cartagena. San Ildefonso was placed in reserve at Ferrol in 1802 for the last time in her career. After another period of refit in July and August 1805 she joined the main Spanish fleet prior to the Battle of Trafalgar. In her career to this point San Ildefonso had been in Spanish service for 21 years but had spent 9 of those years disarmed in reserve and had not fought any engagements. ==Capture and British service==

, the San Ildefonso, riding at anchor the day after Trafalgar, near Cádiz, with other ships wrecked on the coast around Rota in the distance San Ildefonso and her commander, Brigadier (Commodore) José de Vargas, were captured by the British third-rate HMS Defence. Defence was at the rear of the British line and so joined the battle later than most other ships but had already dismasted the French 74-gun ship before engaging San Ildefonso. Ildefonso was laid up at Portsmouth until 3 April 1806 when she was placed under the command of newly promoted Captain John Quilliam, a veteran of Trafalgar. The ship was paid off in Portsmouth on 19 June but recommissioned on 22 July 1808 under Captain Edward Harvey. She was decommissioned later that year and reduced to a victualling storeship in Portsmouth and, later, Spithead. Being obsolete and of no further use after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars she was broken up in July 1816. San Ildefonsos ensign The naval ensign that San Ildefonso flew at the Battle of Trafalgar was hung in St Paul's Cathedral at Admiral Nelson's funeral on 9 January 1806. The flag, damaged during the battle, was presented to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich by the cathedral in 1907. File:NelsonTomb.jpg|The ensign draped in St Paul's for Nelsons funeral File:Spanish naval ensign (1785-1931) RMG A3391.tiff|In 1962 the ensign was draped over the parapet of the Queen's House for photography File:Spanish naval ensign (1785-1931) RMG F4077-1.tiff|Presently at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich == References ==