Cruiser Adamastor
Origin: Shipyard Fratelli Orlando - Livorno
Nineteenth century
Material: Wood and metal
Dimension: Lenght: 1538 mm, Beam: 223 mm (Scale 1/48)
MM.04609
The cruiser Adamastor was built with funds from the Subscrição Nacional of 1890, carried out in response to the English Ultimatum. Built in Italy, the ship was commissioned by the Portuguese Navy in 1897. She features a displacement of 1,757 tons, and two triple expansion steam engines were powered by four coal boilers.
She joined several missions in Africa and the Far East. Adamastor played a key role in the establishment of the Republic. On October 4th, 1910 she gave the signal for the beginning of the revolution by firing three shots. She also took part in military operations in 1916, collaborating in the attack against German positions at the mouth of the Rovuma river, in Mozambique. Adamastor was part of a reconnaissance squadron, operating in the river to support the troops on shore. The commander of this squadron was former Lieutenant-Commander Quirino da Fonseca, who later became the first director of the Maritime Museum, when it ceased to be part of the Naval Academy.