Velasco-class design and its two subclasses

The class combined iron hulls, barque sailing rigs, a single funnel, and no armour in ships of roughly 1,152 tons. The British-built Velasco and Gravina carried fewer but heavier guns and were slightly faster, while six Spanish-built sisters received 120 mm batteries. Their intended 13-knot speed and 200-to-220-ton normal coal load suited distant-station presence more than fleet combat. The Philippine ships' empty torpedo tubes show how an acceptable paper design could lose much of its value through shortages and weak readiness.