thumb|right|250px|Admiral's Spanish Fleet [[Manuel de la Cámara|Cámara anchored in the Suez Canal, formed by the best ships of the Spanish Navy, among others by the battleship Pelayo or the cruiser Emperador Carlos V and who ultimately didn't fight in the war.]]

During the Spanish–American War of 1898, Cámara's Flying Relief Column was a naval task force of Spain's most powerful warships, under the command of Rear Admiral Manuel de la Cámara, tasked with relieving Spanish forces in Manila after the defeat of Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón by the American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. The Spanish fleet, consisting of the battleship Pelayo, armored cruiser Emperador Carlos V, auxiliary cruisers Patriota and Rapido, destroyers Audaz, Osado, and Prosepina, and transports Buenos Aires and Panay, left Spain in June 1898. The squadron was far more powerful than that commanded by Dewey, which only consisted of four protected cruisers and two gunboats.

References

Further reading

  • The Spanish–American War Centennial Website