São Martinho (1580)

Here is the Portuguese galleon São Martinho 1580. She became the San Martin when taken into Spanish service in 1580. In 1588 San Martin was the flagship of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada. She had a length of 180 feet and a beam of 40 feet. San Martin carried 48 heavy guns and many smaller weapons.

San Martin dueled with Sir Francis Drake in Revenge at Gravelines. Both ships have been beautifully modeled by Zvezda in 1/350 scale for their game Armada Invincible. Master Modeler, Julián Fernández de Sevilla Campos of ModelJShip has built and customized San Martin to go along with Revenge (see earlier post). Julián has done a magnificent job following the illustration of San Martin by Joseph Wheatley in his book "Historic Sail". The flags and banners were all hand made, along with the tiny swivel guns that line the rails. The lower mainsail carries the heraldic device of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia.

The excellent photographs are all the work of Julián.