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Namesake
	86k	Washington Lee Capps was born on 31 January 1864 at Portsmouth, Va. and was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1880. Upon graduation, he served in the screw frigate Tennessee for the two years sea duty then customary prior to commissioning. After becoming an ensign in 1886, Capps studied naval architecture at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. After returning to the United States in 1888 and brief duty at the Navy Department, he was assigned to Cramp's shipyard in Philadelphia. Capps moved to the New York Navy Yard in 1889 and remained there joining the Bureau of Construction and Repair in 1892. Three years later he became the superintending constructor at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco. There, he supervised the construction of Oregon (Battleship No. 3), Wisconsin (Battleship No. 9), Farragut (Torpedo Boat No. 11), Marietta (Gunboat No. 15), and Wheeling (Gunboat No. 14). Later attached to the staff of Rear Admiral Dewey, commander of the Asiatic Squadron, he was present during the Battle of Manila Bay. After the capture of Manila, he had three of the Spanish warships salvaged and repaired. Next Capps spent two years with the Board of Inspection Survey, followed by a tour of duty as the Head, Construction and Repair Department at the New York Navy Yard. In 1903, he became the Constructor of the Navy and Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair with the rank of rear admiral. During his tenure as Constructor of the Navy, numerous new ideas in warship design were tested and adopted. Notable among his innovations was the decision to mount the main batteries of battleships on the centerline, thereby increasing their broadside weight of metal to the maximum. During his tenure, Rear Admiral Capps served on a number of American and international committees which had been established for such purposes, among others, as improving the organization of the Navy and adopting new safety measures at sea to prevent a recurrence of disasters such as the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912. During World War I, he was senior member of the Navy's Compensation Board which oversaw the cost aspect of the Navy's expanded ship acquisition program. He was also general manager of the United States Shipping Board's Emergency Fleet Corp. Forced by poor health to relinquish these duties for a time, Capps returned to his position on the Compensation Board, became the senior member of the Naval War Claims Board, and served on other boards and committees. Although placed on the retired list effective 31 January 1928, Rear Admiral Capps continued on active duty until the day of his death at Washington, D.C., on 31 May 1935. Photo from the Naval Historical Foundation		Bill Gonyo
USS Capps (DD-510)
	42k	Undated, location unknown.		J. D. Miller
Charleston, SC on August 30 1943.				Mike Mohl
	87k	March 29 1944 in Puget Sound.		Ed Zajkowski
	57k	Capps picking up survivors from the sinking LCI(G)-474, capsizing off Iwo Jima, 17 February 1945.		Photo by Bob Harker, Engineering Officer, USS LCI (G)-474, submitted by Vaughn Hampton USS LCI(G)-450
	138k	USS Capps (DD-550) off San Pedro, California, on 12 September 1945. Official U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 19-N-88906.		Robert Hurst
On Spanish Service Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - EBDO
	100k	Undated picture of SNS Lepanto (D21, ex-USS Capps, DD-550), location unknown. Photo by Francisco Tevar Baños.		Robert Hurst
	125k	As the Spanish Lepanto D-42 in San Diego May 1957.		Marc Piché
	34k	Lepanto (ex-USS Capps, DD-550), circa 1958. Photo courtesy Senor A. Aguilera. Photo and text taken from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1958-59" Edition.		Robert Hurst
	42k	Circa 1966, location unknown.		Robert Hurst
	55k	USS Capps was transferred to Spain directly from the reserve fleet and essentially in her WW II configuration. Subsequently, in the 1960s the Spanish Navy decided to modernize and standardize the electronics suit of its five Fletchers. For Lepanto, as far as radar is concerned, this meant SPS-6 and -10 search radars, a tripod foremast to support their heavier antennas, and a Mk.25 substituted for the older sets previously associated to her Mk.37 gun director. All of these modifications are clearly visible against the evening sky in this January 20, 1980, photo taken at Barcelona, Spain.		Fabio Peña
	85k	Lepanto (D 21) underway in 1970, location unknown. Spanish Navy, Official.		Robert Hurst
	58k	As the Spanish Destroyer Lepanto (D-21) taken during her last year of service with the Spanish Navy.		Jose M. Budino
0555022	830k	Watercolor painting by Manuel García García, depicting the Spanish destroyer Lepanto (42), es-USS Capps (DD 550), as she appeared circa 1959-60.		Fabio Pena
	45k	Ship's emblem.		Javier Santos Vázquez

LCDR Bruce Edward Scofield Trippensee    Jun 23 1943 - Oct 24 1944

CDR James Marshall Wood    Oct 24 1944 - Nov 6 1945

LT J. W. Robertson    Nov 6 1945 - Feb 18 1946

LCDR Joseph Henry Laliberte    Feb 18 1946 - Jun 1946

CdF Jose L. Rodriguez Rodriguez de Torres    May 15 1957 - Jul 18 1959 (later VADM)

CdF Guillermo Carrero Carre    Jul 18 1959 - Sep 28 1960

CdF Pedro Aznar Ardois    Sep 28 1960 - Aug 28 1962

CdF Saturnino Suanzes de La Hidalga    Aug 28 1962 - Mar 21 1964 (Later ADM)

CdF Carlos Campos Arias    Mar 21 1964 - Jun 5 1965

CdF Evaristo Diaz Rodriguez    Jun 5 1965 - Oct 25 1967

CdF Jose Manuel Sevilla Gonzalez    Oct 25 1967 - Oct 5 1968

CdF Jose Reinoso Martinez    Oct 5 1968 - May 8 1970

CdF Jacinto Maria Garau Cabrer    May 8 1970 - Jun 25 1971 (Later RADM)

CdF Tomas Gomez Arroyo    Jun 25 1971 - Aug 8 1972 (Later VADM)

CdF Carlos Lamas Montes    Aug 8 1972 - Jan 14 1974

CdF Jose Vallarino Seris-Granier    Jan 14 1974 - Jul 14 1975

CdF Mariano Herranz Perruca    Jul 14 1975 - Jun 25 1977

CdF Enrique Sepulveda Arvez    Jun 25 1977 - Dec 19 1978

CdF Antonio Lopez-Ceron Fernandez de Alarcon    Dec 19 1978 - Dec 19 1979 (Later RADM)

CdF Jaime de Inclan Giraldo    Dec 19 1979 - Dec 20 1980 (Later ADM)

CdF Alfonso Moreno Aznar    Dec 20 1980 - Dec 21 1981

CdF Manuel Cerdido Ferrer    Dec 21 1981 - Jul 7 1983

CdF Emilio Laencina Macabich    Jul 7 1983 - Dec 14 1984 (Later VADM)

CdF Carlos Sanchez de Toca Acebal    Dec 14 1984 - Dec 31 1985 (Later VADM)

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This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright

Last Updated 14 April 2023