She was anchored in Barcelona harbor in 1934, during which time she served as the prison for Manuel Azaña after the Asturian uprising.

Following the coup of July 1936, the captain took the side of the Nationalists and rebelled, but the crew remained loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and they took over the ship.

This fleet entered the Cantabrian Sea where Spanish Republican Army troops were isolated from the remaining Republican-controlled territories.

All ships, except Ciscar, which had been requisitioned by the Basque Auxiliary Navy, José Luis Díez, two C and two B-class submarines, returned to the Mediterranean Sea.

Sánchez Barcáiztegui took part in the Battle of Cape Palos where she, together with Almirante Antequera and Lepanto, engaged the cruiser Baleares, firing four torpedoes.