In 1781, Churruca, as an officer of the Spanish Navy, performed heroically in a siege of Gibraltar under the command of Ignacio María de Álava, earning a distinguished reputation for his services.

Churruca completed his mission with the highest merit and upon his arrival to Cadiz, redoubled his efforts in training his recently recruited and inexperienced civilian crew.

With the Spanish and French squadrons reunited in the port of Cadiz, they sailed on a course to Marticina, where they took the fort of Del Diamante and captured a British convoy consisting of 16 merchant ships; in these moments Villeneuve, the chief of the combined fleet, was informed of the presence of Nelson in the Antillas.

Their defeat is attributed to the indecision and poor command of the chief of the combined squadron, Villeneuve, by Napoleon, who upon reading reports of the battle said: "The Spanish have behaved like lions, while their admiral only offered curses."

Once there, despite the protests and opposing opinions of Churruca, Gravina and Alcalá-Galiano, Villeneuve abandoned the Bay of Cádiz to reach Nelson at the Cape of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.

In honour of Churruca's courage, his cabin bore his name on a brass plate, and all who entered were required to remove their hat as a mark of respect for a gallant enemy.

[1] In the 1942 Spanish film Raza, based on a semi-autobiographical script by then head of state Francisco Franco, the main characters are a family descending from Churruca.