While some authors view her lead sheathed hull as an early form of ironclad,[1] others regard it primarily as a means to improve her watertightness.

[2] Santa Anna was launched in Nice on 21 December 1522,[2] one day before the Knights Hospitaller surrendered at the siege of Rhodes (1522) under honorable terms.

[3] One year later, the carrack took part in the expedition against the Peloponnese under the command of Andrea Doria, during which Koroni, Patras and the Turkish fortresses protecting the entry to the Gulf of Corinth were seized.

[3] In 1535 Santa Anna fought in the successful campaign of the Spanish fleet under Charles V against Tunis, where the Spaniards managed to capture over 100 ships of the Barbary corsairs.

[1] Only eighteen years after her launch, Santa Anna was stripped and abandoned in 1540 on the order of Grand Master Juan de Homedes y Coscon.