The Aquilón was a 68-gun ship of the line belonging to the Spanish Navy, constructed between 1753 and 1755 at the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro. She was part of a series known as the 12 apostles or the Apostolate, which included 12 ships built simultaneously, primarily by the British shipwright Rooth using the English method, or by Jorge Juan y Santacilia. Launched on 10 March 1754, the Aquilón was originally armed with 68 guns, although some of her sister ships were later expanded to 74 guns. Her early service included a voyage from Ferrol to Cádiz in mid-1754 under Captain Francisco Lastarría. By April 1755, she was stationed at the Arsenal de la Carraca in Cádiz, where she was found to have leaks and easily rotted wood, issues common with ships built using the Gaztañeta method. She underwent several modifications starting in August 1755 and was stationed at Cartagena to combat Algerian pirates as part of Gutierre de Hevia's squadron between 1759 and 1761. In March 1761, Aquilón, along with the ship Soberano, transported 650 troops of the 2nd battalion of the Aragon Infantry Regiment from Cartagena to Cádiz, before sailing under de Hevia’s command in April towards Havana. Arriving in Havana in June, she participated in the military operations in the Caribbean during a period marked by the outbreak of black vomiting, which caused extensive casualties among troops and crew. A significant event in her service was the Battle of Havana in June 1762, when a British fleet of 53 ships under Admiral George Pocock surprised her in the bay. The captain at the time, Vicente González-Valor y Bassecourt, was killed defending El Morro. The ship was heavily engaged, sustaining 78 hits by June 24, and following Havana’s surrender, she was captured by the British. Renamed HMS Moro, she served in the Royal Navy until 1770, marking her as an important vessel in the 18th-century naval conflicts between Spain and Britain.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.