View source for SS Castillo de Olite

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=SS-Olite.jpg
|Ship caption=Official photo of ''Castillo de Olite''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=
|Ship flag= 
|Ship name=*1921: ''Zaandijk''
*1930: ''Zwaterwater''
*1935: ''Postyshev''
*1938: ''Akedemik Pavlov''
*1938: ''Castillo de Olite''
|Ship namesake= *1921: [[Zaandijk]]
*1935: [[Pavel Postyshev]]
*1938: [[Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite|Palace of Olite]]
|Ship owner= *1921: NV Solleveld, Van der Meer & TH van Hattum's SM
*1930: NV Scheepvaart- & Steenkolen Maatschappij
*1935: [[Soviet Union|USSR]]
|Ship operator= *1930: [[Netherland Line|NVSM "Nederlandsche Lloyd"]]
*1938: [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalist insurgents]]
|Ship registry= *1921: {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Port of Rotterdam|Rotterdam]]
*1935: {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Port of Odesa|Odesa]]
*1938: {{flagicon|Spain|1938}}
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= De Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij NV, [[Rotterdam]]
|Ship yard number= 69
|Ship laid down= 2 April 1920
|Ship launched= 20 November 1920
|Ship completed= 19 February 1921
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification= *1921: [[code letters]] QCVR
*{{ICS|Quebec}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Romeo}}
*1930: code letters QTDL
*{{ICS|Quebec}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Lima}}
|Ship fate= Sunk by gunfire, 7 March 1939
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|3545}}, {{NRT|2150}}
|Ship length= {{cvt|361.3|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|49.8|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught= {{cvt|21|ft|8|in|disp=flip|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth= {{cvt|22.0|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}}
|Ship power= 342 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
|Ship propulsion= [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]]
|Ship speed= {{Convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship armament= *In 1938:
*1 × 120&nbsp;mm [[Vickers]] gun
*1 × [[QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt|57&nbsp;mm Nordenfeldt]] gun
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
{{Campaignbox Spanish Civil War}}

'''''Castillo de Olite''''' was a [[Cargo ship|cargo]] [[steamship]] that was launched in 1920 in the [[Netherlands]] as '''''Zaandijk'''''. She passed through a series of Dutch and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] owners, and at different times was renamed '''''Zwartewater''''', '''''Postyshev''''' and '''''Akademik Pavlov'''''. In 1938 the [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Spanish Nationalist]] Navy captured her and renamed her ''Castillo de Olite''. In the last days of the [[Spanish Civil War]] she was sunk with great loss of life while serving as a [[Troopship|troop ship]]. A total of 1,476 Nationalist soldiers were killed, making it the worst ship sinking in the history of Spain.

==Building==
De Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij NV built the ship in [[Rotterdam]], launching her on 20 November 1920 and completing her in 19 February 1921.<ref name=SMHD>{{cite web |url= https://www.marhisdata.nl/schip&id=7421 |title=Zaandijk - ID 7421 |work=Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank |lang=nl |access-date=14 September 2022}}</ref> Her registered length was {{cvt|361.3|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|49.8|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|22.0|ft|disp=flip|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|3545}} and {{NRT|2150}}. She had a single [[Propeller|screw]], driven by a three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]] that was rated at 342 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].<ref>{{cite book |year=1930 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |at=YUN–ZAB |via=[[Southampton City Council]] |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/30/30b1327.pdf |access-date=14 September 2022}}</ref>

==Career==
''Zaandijk''{{'}}s first owner was NV Solleveld, Van der Meer & TH van Hattum's Stoomvaart Maatschappij, who registered her in [[Port of Rotterdam|Rotterdam]]. Her [[code letters]] were QCVR.<ref name=SMHD/> She traded to [[Java]] and [[Sumatra]].{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In 1930 [[Netherland Line|NV Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Nederlandsche Lloyd"]] acquired ''Zaandijk'' and renamed her ''Zwartewater''. She remained registered in Rotterdam, but her code letters were changed to QTDL.<ref name=SMHD/>

In 1935 the USSR bought her, renamed her ''Postishev'' after the Ukrainian Communist [[Pavel Postyshev]],<ref name=Olite/> and registered her in [[Port of Odesa|Odesa]]. In 1938 she was renamed ''Akedemik Pavlov''.<ref name=SMHD/>

On 31 May 1938 the Nationalist [[armed merchantman|auxiliary cruiser]] ''Vicente Puchol'' captured ''Akademik Pavlov'' in the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], when the latter was carrying a cargo of coal.<ref name=veinte/> She was incorporated in the Nationalist Spanish Navy as the ''Castillo de Olite'', and armed with a 120&nbsp;mm [[Vickers]] gun and a [[QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt|57&nbsp;mm Nordenfeldt]] gun.<ref name=Olite>{{cite web |url=http://www.secc.es/media/docs/5_2_LM_PerezAdan.pdf |last=Pérez Adán |first=Luis Miguel |year=2006 |title=La Expedición sobre Cartagena y el hundimiento del Castillo Olite – Marzo de 1939 |lang=es |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720145009/http://www.secc.es/media/docs/5_2_LM_PerezAdan.pdf |url-status=dead }} Instituto Cartagenero de Investigaciones Históricas, pp. 6-8</ref>

==Sinking==

[[File:Restos del pecio del Castillo de Olite (20221102 123332).jpg|thumb|left|The remains of rifles recovered from the wreck in 2004, displayed at the [[Historical Military Museum of Cartagena (Spain)|Historical Military Museum of Cartagena]]]]
In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, Cartagena was one of the last [[Second Spanish Republic|Republican]] strongholds, and harboured most of the remaining [[Spanish Republican Navy|Republican Navy]]. When the anti-communist [[Cartagena Uprising]] broke out, the Nationalists sent reinforcements to try to capture Cartagena and the Republican fleet.

With less than 48 hours preparation, the Nationalists sent from [[Castellón de la Plana|Castellón]] and [[Málaga]] a convoy of 16 ships, carrying more than 20,000 troops. The convoy comprised the {{sclass|Júpiter|minelayer}}s ''Júpiter'', ''Marte '' and ''Vulcano'', the auxiliary cruisers ''Lázaro'', ''Jaime I'', ''Domine'' and ''J.J. Sister'' and the transports ''Castillo de Olite'', ''San Sebastián'', ''Castillo Peñafiel'', ''Gibraltar'', ''Monforte'', ''Mombeltrán'', ''Huertas'', ''Montealegre'' and ''Simancas''.<ref name=veinte>Fernández, 1999, p. 21</ref>

The Republican fleet had left Cartagena for [[Oran]], in [[French Algeria|Algeria]], but the Republican Brigade 206 had retaken the port and its coastal defense batteries, thus preventing the Nationalist landing. The Nationalist ships retreated, except for ''Castillo de Olite'', which had not received the order to withdraw, because her radio was out of order. As the ship approached the docks, the Republicans fired warning shots at them. However, the Nationalist troops, who were battle-hardened veterans of the war, thought the shots were from fellow rebels celebrating their arrival.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=MÉNDEZ |first=JULIÁN |date=2014-03-14 |title=La carnicería final |url=https://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/20140314/mas-actualidad/sociedad/carniceria-final-201403101933.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Frp.liu233w.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.elcorreo.com%2Fvizcaya%2F20140314%2Fmas-actualidad%2Fsociedad%2Fcarniceria-final-201403101933.html |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=El Correo |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The sinking of the Castillo de Olite |url=https://murciatoday.com/sinking-of-the-castillo-de-olite-_9842-a.html |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=murciatoday.com}}</ref> 

The commander of the battery which fired the deadly shot, Antonio Martínez Pallarés, had been reluctant to shoot, believing there was no point since the war was lost for the Republicans. Initially, he refused to fire any more shots. However, his superior, Cristóbal Guirao, was adamant on following orders to prevent Nationalist ships from entering the ports. Eventually, he pulled a gun on Pallarés and threatened to shoot him if he did not fire. At this, Pallarés relented. The one 152mm shell from a coastal battery hit her.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-17 |title=Story of the Lincolns Sweeps History Day Competition - The Volunteer |url=https://albavolunteer.org/2023/05/story-of-the-lincolns-sweeps-the-national-history-day-competition/,%20https://albavolunteer.org/2023/05/story-of-the-lincolns-sweeps-the-national-history-day-competition/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=albavolunteer.org |language=en-US}}</ref> She sank shortly afterwards, broken in two.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="veintidos">Fernández, 1999, pp. 22–23</ref><ref>Pérez Adán, 2006, p. 9</ref>

Of the 2,112 men aboard, 1,476 were killed, 342 were wounded and 294 were captured, after being rescued by local fishermen and the lighthouse keeper, Santiago Saavedra, and his wife, Carmen Hevia. Among the dead were members of the military court which would've carried out [[White Terror (Spain)|Nationalist repressions]], including the head of the court, colonel Antonio Martín de la Escalera.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="veintidos" /> This is the one of the greatest loss of life from the sinking of a single ship in Spanish maritime history.<ref>Férnandez, 1999, p. 20</ref>

After the war, Pallarés was captured by the Nationalists. Although the ship was a legitimate military target, he was nevertheless sentenced to death for the sinking, as well as rebellion and an unproved charge of being a communist. He was shot on 7 March 1941, the anniversary of the sinking. Guirao fled to [[France]]. He later returned to Spain, where he died in 2007.<ref name=":0" />

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite magazine |last=Fernández |first=Carlos |year=1999 |title=Casi un crimen: el Castillo de Olite' |magazine=La Aventura de la Historia |issue=10 |lang=es}}

{{coord missing|Spain}}
{{March 1939 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo De Olite, SS}}

[[Category:1920 ships]]
[[Category:Captured ships]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1939]]
[[Category:Mediterranean naval operations of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Ships built in Rotterdam]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by coastal artillery]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–Spain relations]]
[[Category:Steamships of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Steamships of Spain]]
[[Category:Steamships of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Troop ships]]