Laid down at the navy yard at Ferrol, Spain as the 100 guns ship of the line Principe Alfonso but finally launched as the 30 gun armoured frigate Sagunto in 1869. In 1885 was reported that her hull was completely rotten. With a displacement of 8.352 tons were her dimensions 89,61 (waterline)x 17,37 x 8,83 (mean) metres or 294’ x 57’ x 29’. The horizontal trunk engine supplied 3.700 ihp allowing a speed of 8 knots. Her coal bunker capacity was 500 tons. At the end of her career consisted her armament of 6-9” rifle muzzle loading guns, 2-8” rifled muzzle loading guns, 3-7.1” guns (2 in barbettes,1 below the forecastle) and 8 quick firing guns of an unknown calibre and 2 machineguns. She was also protected by armour with a belt which was extremely reduced at the ends with the battery, bulkheads and barbettes protected by respectively 5½””, 4’ and 5”. Her crew numbered 560 men.
