Galeon "San Martin": Flagship of the Armada Invincible

This expansion ship may be added to your base game to represent the second of the two Spanish ship cards enclosed and allow players to play 2 vs. 2 ship games. The scale model features fine detail including fully unfurled sails complete with rigging. It includes three alternative ways to assemble the model and two bases, making it perfectly suited for use as an additional gaming piece. Enclosed: 1/350 Scale Model Kit. This kit includes one plastic model of a Spanish fighting ship from the golden age of sail, complete with decals. Model supplied unpainted. Assembly required. This “snap fit” model can be assembled without glue. Historical Notes: Built by the master shipwrights of the Kingdom of Portugal shortly before Portugal was joined with the kingdom of Philip II of Spain in 1580. The Spanish were so impressed by the quality of the Sao Martinho (as the Portuguese called it) that they made it the flagship if their enormous fleet—the Armada—and placed it under the fleet’s commander-in-chief, the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Rechristened the San Martin, this enormous fighting ship measured nearly 40 meters long and had a beam of 9 meters. She was armed with 48 heavy guns in two gun decks, as well as many smaller weapons, and a crew of more than 350 sailors. This was a “square-rigged” vessel with three masts. The San Martin was critical to the defense of the Armada during its fighting with England, at one point keeping a dozen English ships at bay for an hour on her own. After suffering severe damage at the Battle of Gravelines (July, 1588) in battle with Sir Francis Drake and his Revenge. After escaping from the superior numbers of the English, San Martin was badly damaged in a storm and had to take refuge in Laredo.