Velasco

Velasco (also Belasco or Belasko) is a Spanish family name and masculine first name derived from the Basque bela- meaning 'raven' or 'crow' and the diminutive suffix -sco. The name also made its way into Portuguese language as Vasco. Notable people with the surname include:

Velasco (disambiguation)

Velasco is a Spanish surname and given name.

Velasco may also refer to:

Spanish cruiser Velasco

Velasco was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy which fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War.

Technical Characteristics

Velasco was built by the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. at Leamouth, London in the United Kingdom, as the lead ship of a new class of eight Spanish unprotected cruisers. Her keel was laid in 1881. She had one rather tall funnel. She had an iron hull and was rigged as a barque. She and the second ship of the class, Gravina, also built in the United Kingdom, were differently armed from and slightly faster than the final six ships of the class, all of which were built in Spain.

Operational history

When the Spanish–American War began in April 1898, Velasco was anchored in Manila Bay off the Cavite Peninsula as part of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron's Pacific Squadron. In the Battle of Manila Bay, she was still anchored there when the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron attacked Montojo's squadron on 1 May 1898. She was sunk in the battle.