Battle of Cape Spartel (1936)

Battle of Cape Spartel
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Date29 September 1936
Location
Cape Spartel, near Tangier, present-day Morocco
Result Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spain Spanish Republic Francoist Spain Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
Fernando Navarro Capdevila Francisco Moreno Fernández
Strength
2 destroyers 1 heavy cruiser
1 light cruiser
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk
1 destroyer damaged
None

The Battle of Cape Spartel (Cabo Espartel in Spanish) was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican naval blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the maritime supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war. The action occurred on 29 September 1936 between two Nationalist cruisers and two Republican destroyers.