BRP Agueda Esteban
BRP Teodora Alonzo
BRP Melchora Aquino
BRP Gregoria de Jesus
BRP Espiridiona Bonifacio
BRP Gregoria Montoyo
Named after the famed feminine heroes of the 1898 Revolution, the Agueda Esteban class is a series of 6 air-defense cruisers built by Great Britain for the Philippine Navy.
With the threat of aircraft becoming more imminent in the 1930s, the Philippine Navy decided to find smaller-than-battleship vessels with enough firepower against both ships and aircrafts. The design came up in 1933, fleet escorts to protect heavier units from both light surface targets and aircraft. The ships were ordered from Great Britain in 1936, and laid down in 1937.
Two ships,
Agueda Esteban and
Teodora Alonzo were ready for delivery by 1939, when World War 2 sparked. They were purchased by the Royal Navy prior to completion for use in the War and was renamed HMS Falcon, HMS Eagle, HMS Vulture, HMS Pigeon, HMS Penguin, and HMS Hawk. They were refitted by the Admiralty in mid-1942 that added air-warning radars in their arsenals for improved detections. The ships saw action in many of the battles in the Mediterranean, notably in the Battle of Sirte, in which HMS Hawk and HMS Pigeon sank the Italian battleship
Littorio and light cruiser
Giovanni delle Bande Nere. The ships, after modernized, greatly affected in the final phases of the Battle of Britain, berthed at the Channell Islands and firing against the approaching German bombers, contributing to their loss that prevented the invasion of Great Britain. The ships were also used in intercepting V-1 and V-2 guided bombs hurled by Germany to Great Britain in the final phases of the War.
After the end of the war in Europe, Philippines began to seek additional ships to bolster its fleet. In the end, the Philippines decided to acquire 4 out of the 6 Agueda Esteban class cruisers and were recommissioned to the Navy in 1947.
The ship remained active until 1966, when BRP Teodora Alonzo, deployed to Vietnam as a specialized land bombardment vessel, was severely damaged by North Vietnamese Mig-17s, killing 102 out of its 190 crew. The ships were decommissioned in 1968, and were sold for scrap. The 8-inch gun of BRP Agueda Esteban is moored at Corregidor as a museum piece.