Russians steamship Komsomol destroyed by Spanish cruiser Canarias according to the Dutch newspaper Bataviaasch nieuwsblad dated 22 January 1937

 

German magazine Schiffbau Schiffahrt und Hafenbau dated 15 February 1935

An item referred to a letter of a Belgian sailor published in the London magazine News Chronicle. The man was a crew member of the Belgian steamship President Franqui of Gent who witnessed the destruction of the Russians steamship Komsomol by an anonymous Spanish cruiser. On Monday 14  December 1936 at 15.30 o'clock was on a distance of around 140 miles from the Algerian coast and 31 miles from the Spanish coast a warships sighted pursuing a cargo ship of around 5.000 tons. When the Belgian ship approached the cargo ship was identified as being Russian and the cruiser of an aged type showing the flag of the Spanish nationalists. Suddenly three guns of the cruiser were firing at the cargo ship, totally 15 shots. On deck of the cargo broke fire and soon she started inclining to her port side. An empty  lifeboat was lowered but rammed by the cruiser. The Belgian ship signaled to the cruiser asking what was was going and answered that the Soviet crew was taken on board of the cruiser. An offer to transfer the Soviet crew to the Belgian ship was refused and the cruiser disappeared full speed.(1)

Note

1. The cruiser involved was the Canarias. Of the Canarias-class heavy cruisers consisting of the Canarias and Baleares, a modified British County-class design, laid down  by Sociedad Española de Construcción Baval, Ferrol, Spain on 15 August 1928, launched on 28 May 1931, commissioned in September 1936, decommissioned on 17 December 1975 and broken up in 1977.