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>>Howdy Gents, >> >>How many of the Spanish Havana squardron SOL's were >>ready for sea at the time of the Battle of Chesapeake >>and/or could conceivably been made ready for sea? >>Ship names and rates? >> >>Thanks Much, >>Tom > >No idea of condition or serviceability. Havana was a >major building yard and thus had all the skilled >workmen and facilities to maintain a large squadron, >except for a dry dock (which none of the European >navies had on the western side of the Atlantic). >Havana was used as a base for the attack on Pensacola, >and I do not believe the British ever had the strength >in the West Indies during the War of American >Independence to significantly disrupt Havana's >communications. Therefore, most of the ships should >have been seaworthy, and it should have been possible >to repair any that were not fairly quickly. > >Jonathan P. Dull, <i>The French Navy and American >Independence,</i>, 371-72, lists the following ships >in commission at Havana on April 1, 1781 (he does this >once a year and so does not have a September list): ><b>French</b> >74—Destin, Intrépide >64—Palmier, Triton ><b>Spanish</b> >80—San Luis, San Nicolás de Bari >70—Arrogante, Dichoso, Gallardo, Guerrero, Magnánimo, >San Agustín, San Francisco de Asís, San Francisco de >Paula, San Gabriel, San Jenaro, San Juan Nepomuceno, >Velasco >60—Astuto, Dragon >HCMS San Ramón, 70, was supporting the siege of >Pensacola on April 1, and might have returned to >Havana by September. I think the French ships had >left by September.

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