In 1926, Spain ordered two modern "Washington Treaty" cruisers. Vickers-Armstrong created a project based on County-class cruisers with reinforced AA defenses and armor protection. The cruisers were named Canarias and Baleares after the major Spanish archipelagos of the same name. The construction was delayed, but the Nationalists who seized the shipyards forced the ships' construction to speed up until completion. Baleares participated in the offensive against Málaga and in the hunt for transport ships; she carried out raids on coastal fortifications and bombarded cities. The cruiser was sunk by Republican destroyers in the Battle of Cape Palos.