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Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile) is the naval force of Chile.
History
The origin of the Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".
This led to the development of Chilean Navy, and the first legal resolutions outlining the organization of the institution were created. Chile's First National Fleet and the Academy for Young Midshipmen (predecessor of the current Naval Academy) were founded, as were the Marine Corps and the Supply Commissary.
The British seaman Lord Thomas Cochrane was hired by O'Higgins to be the first commander of the Navy, who in turn hired an all-anglophone complement of officers and midshipmen, and crews of British, Irish and American seamen. He was a key figure in the war against loyalist forces in Peru. He later took control of the fortresses of Valdivia, but failed in his attempt to conquer Chiloe Island.
The Navy's Hydrographic Office was founded in 1874 with Francisco Vidal Gormaz as first director.
The Chilean war hero and martyr Arturo Prat is regarded as the ultimate example of the commitment of the Navy to its country, after his death while leading a boarding party onto the enemy ironclad Huascar at the naval battle of Iquique on 21 May 1879, during the War against Peru and Bolivia. The anniversary of this battle is celebrated every year as a public holiday called Dia de las Glorias Navales.
During the Chilean Civil War of 1891 a large part of the navy rebelled against the president Jose Manuel Balmaceda and critically helped depose him.
Present
The 25,000-person navy, including 5,200 Marines, is directed by Admiral Edmundo Gonzalez. Of the fleet of sixty-six surface vessels (soon to be increased to seventy-four), twenty-one are major combatant ships based in Valparaiso. The navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no fighter or bomber aircraft. The Navy also operates four submarines and a tender ship to support them, all based in Talcahuano.
The Navy permits the integration of Chile's Pacific and Southern island regions, thus integrating its disjointed geography. The transport of passengers, especially during the school year or in cases of emergency, together with the supply of provisions and fuel, are of key importance to the inhabitants of these insular zones.
The Chilean Navy is generally considered to be among the most capable and professional in the Americas, and is heavily aligned with significant naval powers such as the United States Navy and several European navies, most notably the British Royal Navy.
The institution regularly carries out civil operations whereby Navy professionals provide social assistance and health care to the civilian population, and provide support in cases of natural catastrophe.
It also undertakes preventative education campaigns for Chile's population on issues that include security on beaches and seaside resorts and measures to be taken in the case of a tsunami.
The most important naval bases and supply depots are (from north to south) in the Pacific Ocean: Iquique, Easter Island, Valparaiso, Talcahuano, Puerto Montt, in the atlantic zone: Strait of Magellan: Punta Arenas, in the Beagle Channel: Puerto Williams, and in Antarctica: Captain Arturo Prat Base.
Wars
The Chilean Navy has fought the following wars:
Chilean War of Independence against Spain commanded by Lord Thomas Cochrane (18101826)
War of the Confederation against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation (18361839)
Chincha Islands War against Spain (18641866)
War of the Pacific against Bolivia and Peru. (18791883)
Chilean Civil War (1891)
Order of Battle
See list of active Chilean Navy ships:
2 Thomson class (Type 209/1400) submarines
* Thomson (SS-20), refitted in ASMAR ("Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada") (MLU)
* Simpson (SS-21), entering midlife upgrade and refit in 2009
2 s
* ''O'Higgins(SS-23)
* Carrera(SS-22)
2 L class frigate
* Almirante Latorre(FFG-14), ex-HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck
* Capitan Prat(FFG-11), ex-HNLMS Witte de With
2 M class frigate
* Almirante Blanco Encalada(FF-15), ex-HNLMS Abraham van der Hulst
* Almirante Riveros(FF-18), ex-HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes
1 Type 22 frigate
* Almirante Williams(FF-19), ex-. Under a refit in ASMAR Talcahuano, installation of OTO 76 mm gun, Harpoon anti-ship missile and Barak SAM instead of Sea Wolf for defence.
3 Type 23 frigate
* Almirante Cochrane(FF-05), ex-
* Almirante Condell(FF-06), ex-
* Almirante Lynch'' (FF-07), ex-
3 Sa'ar 4 (Reshef) class missile boat
4 (Type 148)
2 + 2 Proyecto Patrulleros de Zona Maritima OPV (PZM) offshore patrol vessels
20 coastal patrol craft
8 Dabur class inshore patrol craft
2 BATRAL class landing ship tank
* Rancagua (LST-92)
* Chacabuco (LST-95)
1
* Valdivia (LST-93), ex-
2 Elicura class landing ship medium
* Elicura (LSM-90)
* Orompello (LSM-94)
1 Henry J. Kaiser class oiler
* USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190)almirante montt which replaced the oiler "Araucano".
12 Support ships
Recently decommissioned ships
2 s
* (sold to Ecuador)
* (sold to Ecuador)
The two s were stricken from Chilean Navy service, after the arrival of their Type 23 frigate replacements in 2007. Despite their age, and due to their excellent condition and constant modernization, both ships were sold and delivered to the Ecuadorian Navy in 2008.
Marines
The Chilean Marines or (Infanteria de Marina de Chile) is the land/amphibious attack force of the Chilean Navy. The 5,200 man force combines special training and tactics with state of the art equipment.
Equipment Chilean Marines
Vehicles
40 Bandvagn 206
20 HMMWV
29 FV101 Scorpion
30 MOWAG Piranha
Mowag Grenadier
artillery and Anti-Aircraft Artillery
28 Soltam M-71 155 mm howitzer
KH-178 105 mm.
30-40 GPFT (Puteaux)
Oerlikon Antiaereo de 20 milimetros
Oerlikon GDF 35 mm.
anti-arms tamqueand and portable ground-air
AT4 anti-tank weapon.
Mistral Manportable surface-to-air missile Manportable superficie-a-aire de misiles.
Weapons
Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifle
M16 rifle
Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun
Ultimax 100 squad support light machine gun
Rheinmetall MG42/58 (MG1) general purpose machine gun
M60 machine gun
Barrett M82 high powered sniper rifle
Milkor MGL grenade launcher
Mk 19 grenade launcher
M252 Mortar
anti-ship missiles and naval air land
Exocet MM-38 and MM-40 anti-ship missiles (Excalibur coastal defence system)
Boeing Harpoon AGM-84 block 2 anti-ship missiles
Gabriel missile sea-to-sea missile
Seawolf block 2
Barak SAM an Israeli missile system
RIM-66 Standard SAM missiles
RIM-7 Sea Sparrow SAM missiles
adquisisiones future Navy
40 Armored combat veiculos stryker M1128 Mobile Gun System
15 PVP Panhard armored 4x4 veiculos
Scientific ship Cape Horn
4 barges medium
adquisision potential of Indian-Russian missile brahmos anti-ship
ah admiral also talked about a future strategy or projection ship LPD.
SHOA
SHOA or Servicio Hidrografico y Oceanografico de la Armada de Chile (Spanish for Hydrological and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy) is an agency of the Chilean Navy managing situations dealing with hydrology and oceanography including tides and tsunamis.
Historic ships
Covadonga
Flach
Huascar
External links
Armada de Chile website
Armada de Chile website
Ranks of the Armada de Chile
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Chilean Navy
