Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa in the war with Spain in 1898. Plaque donate by Jo Hayes Camp, Spanish War Veterans of Ottumwa". Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa Infanta María Teresa was the lead ship of her class of armoured cruiser constructed for the Spanish Navy. The ship fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. "Infanta María Teresa" was built at Bilbao, northern Spain, to a design drawn up by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Jarrow, England. Her keel was laid in 1889, she was launched on 30 August 1890, and was completed in 1893. She had two funnels
Heavy cruiser than the typical guns of later armoured cruisers, their intended targets were other cruisers and smaller vessels. Further reasons for the difference were the advances in technology and naval design, both of which the heavy cruiser was able to take advantage. Heavy cruisers, like all contemporary ships, were typically powered by oil-fired steam turbine engines and were capable of far faster speeds than armoured cruisers had ever been (propelled by coal-fired reciprocating steam engines of their era). Nonetheless, heavy cruisers often had a larger number of main guns (some armoured cruisers had a mixed instead of uniform complement of main