Spanish Navy
Encyclopedia
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch
of the Spanish Armed Forces
, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas
, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path from the Far East to America across the Pacific Ocean
(Urdaneta
's route). For three centuries the Spanish Navy played a crucial defensive and logistical role within the Spanish Empire
. It formed part of a vast trade network that sailed the Pacific from Asia to America
and the Atlantic from America to Europe
escorting the galleon
convoys. The Spanish Navy was the most powerful maritime force in the world in the 16th and early 17th centuries. After a gradual decline in the second half of the 17th century, it was revived following the Spanish War of Succession and for much of the 18th century was the third strongest in the world.
As of 1987, the Armada had 47,300 personnel, including Marines
, of which about 34,000 were conscripted. In 2002 all branches of the Spanish armed forces were professionalized. The main bases of the Spanish Navy are located in Rota
, El Ferrol, San Fernando and Cartagena
. See also: Structure of the Spanish Navy in the 21st century
.
As of 2010 the total displacement of the navy is approximately 250,000 tons.
on the Atlantic coast; the Straits Maritime Zone with its headquarters at San Fernando near Cádiz
; the Mediterranean Maritime Zone with its headquarters at Cartagena
; and the Canary Islands
Maritime Zone with its headquarters at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
.
Operational naval units are classified by mission and assigned to either the combat forces, the protective forces, or the auxiliary forces. Combat forces are given the tasks of conducting offensive and defensive operations against potential enemies and for assuring maritime communications. Their principal vessels
included two carrier groups, naval aircraft, transports, landing vessels, submarine
s, and missile-armed fast attack craft. Protective forces have the mission of securing maritime communications over both ocean and coastal routes, securing the approaches to ports and maritime terminals. Their principal components are destroyer
s, frigate
s, corvette
s, and minesweeper
s. It also has marine units for the defense of naval installations. Auxiliary forces are responsible for transportation and provisioning at sea and has diverse tasks like coast guard operations, scientific work, and maintenance of training vessels. In addition to supply ships and tankers, the force included destroyers and a large number of patrol craft.
The second largest vessel of the Armada is the aircraft carrier, Principe de Asturias (R11), which entered service in 1988 after completing sea trials. Built in Spain
it was designed with a "ski-jump" takeoff deck. Its complement is twenty nine AV-8 Harrier II vertical (or short) takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft or sixteen helicopters designed for antisubmarine warfare and to support marine landings.
The carrier has an escort group of four Álvaro de Bazán class frigate
s, built in Spain, equipped with the AEGIS combat system
and armed with Harpoon and Standard missiles. The first was commissioned in 2002. Also in the inventory are six F-80 Santa María class frigates, commissioned between 1986 and 1995, built in Spain
. Six slightly smaller corvette
s of Portuguese
design were constructed in Spain
between 1978 and 1982.
The submarine
force consists of Franco-Spanish designs. Four of the Agosta 90B class submarine
were constructed in Spain between 1983 and 1985. They are equipped with the submarine-launched version of the Exocet
anti-ship missile. Four Daphné class submarine
s were completed between 1973 and 1975 and are now retired. The Spanish armada is constructing new S-80 class
submarine with long range, conventional propulsion and new anti-detection technology .
The Marines
have 11,500 troops and are divided into base defense forces and landing forces. One of the three base defense battalions is stationed with each of the Navy headquarters. "Groups" (midway between battalions and regiments) are stationed in Madrid
and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
. The Tercio
(fleet - regiment equivalent) is available for immediate embarkation and based out of San Fernando. Its principal weapons include light tanks, armored personnel vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and TOW and Dragon antitank missiles.
The roots of the modern Spanish navy date back before the unification of Spain
. By the late Middle Ages
, the two principal kingdoms which would later combine to form Spain, Aragon
and Castile
, had developed powerful fleets. Aragon possessed the third largest navy in the late medieval Mediterranean, although its capabilities were exceeded by those of Venice and (until overtaken in the 15th-century by those of Aragon) Genoa. In the 14th and 15th centuries, these naval capabilities enabled Aragon to assemble the largest collection of territories of any European power in the Mediterranean, encompassing the Balearics, Sardinia
, Sicily
, southern Italy
and, briefly, the Duchy of Athens
. Castile meanwhile used its naval capacities to conduct its reconquista
operations against the Moors
, capturing Cadiz
in 1232 and also to help the French Crown against its enemies in the Hundred Years War. In 1402 a Castilian expedition led by Juan de Bethencourt conquered the Canary Islands
for Henry III of Castile
.
In the 15th century Castile entered into a race of exploration with Portugal
that inaugurated the Europe
an age of discovery
. In 1492 two caravel
s and one carrack
, commanded by Admiral
Christopher Columbus
, arrived in America, on an expedition that sought a westward oceanic passage across the Atlantic, to the Far East
. This began the era of trans-oceanic trade routes, pioneered by the Spanish in the seas to the west of Europe and the Portuguese to the east.
, Spanish conquistador
s Hernán Cortés
and Pizarro were carried by the Spanish navy to the mainland, where they conquered Mexico and Peru
respectively. The navy also carried explorers to the North American mainland, including Juan Ponce de León
and Alvarez de Pineda who discovered Florida
(1519) and Texas
(1521) respectively. In 1519, Spain sent out the first expedition of world circumnavigation
in history, which was put in the charge of Ferdinand Magellan
. Following the death of Magellan in the Philippines
, the expedition was completed under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano
in 1522. In 1565, a follow-on expedition by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
was carried by the navy from New Spain (Mexico) to the Philippines via Guam
in order to establish the Spanish East Indies
, a base for trade with the Orient. For two and a half centuries, the Manila Galleon
s operated across the Pacific linking Manila
and Acapulco
. Until the early 17th century, the Pacific Ocean
. Aside from the Marianas and Caroline Islands
, several naval expeditions also discovered the Tuvalu archipelago
, the Marquesas
, the Solomon Islands
and New Guinea
in the South
Pacific
. In the quest for Terra Australis
, Spanish explorers in the 17th century also discovered the Pitcairn
and Vanuatu
archipelagos. Most significantly, from 1565 Spanish fleets explored and colonised the Philippine archipelago, the Spanish East Indies
.
After the unification of its kingdoms under the House of Habsburg, Spain maintained two largely separate fleets, one consisting chiefly of galleys for use in the Mediterranean and the other of sailing ships for the Atlantic, successors to the Aragonese and Castilian navies respectively. This arrangement continued until superseded by the decline of galley warfare during the 17th century. The completion of the Reconquista
with the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada in 1492 had been followed by naval expansion in the Mediterranean, where Spain seized control of almost every significant port along the coast of North Africa
west of Cyrenaica
, notably Melilla
(captured 1497), Mers El Kébir (1505), Oran
(1509), Algiers
(1510) and Tripoli
(1511), which marked the furthest point of this advance. However, the hinterlands of these ports remained under the control of their Muslim
and Berber
inhabitants, and the expanding naval power of the Ottoman Empire
brought about a major Islamic counter-offensive which embroiled Spain in decades of intense warfare for control of the western Mediterranean. (Algiers and Tripoli would be lost to the Ottomans later in the 16th century.)
From the 1570s the Dutch Revolt increasingly challenged Spanish sea power, producing powerful rebel naval forces which attacked Spanish shipping and in time made Spain's sea communications with its possessions in the Low Countries
difficult. Most notable of these attacks was the Battle of Gibraltar
in 1607, in which a Dutch squadron destroyed a fleet of galleon
s at anchor in the confines of the bay. This naval war took on a global dimension with actions in the Caribbean
and the Far East, notably around the Philippines. Spain's response to its problems included the encouragement of privateer
s based in the Spanish Netherlands and known from their main base as Dunkirkers
, who preyed on Dutch merchant ships and fishing trawlers.
At the Battle of Lepanto
(1571), the Holy League, formed by Spain, Venice, the Papal States and other Christian allies, inflicted a great defeat on the Ottoman Navy, stopping Muslim forces from gaining uncontested control of the Mediterranean Sea.
In the 1580s the conflict in the Netherlands drew England
into war with Spain, creating a further menace to Spanish shipping. The effort to neutralise this threat led to a disastrous attempt to invade England
in 1588. This defeat led to a reform of fleet operations. The navy at this time was not a single operation but consisted of various fleets, made up mainly of armed merchantmen with escorts of royal ships. The Armada fiasco marked a turning point in naval warfare where gunnery was now more important than ramming and boarding and so Spanish ships were equipped with purpose built naval guns. During the 1590s the expansion of these fleets allowed a great increase in the overseas trade and massive increase in the importation of luxuries and silver. Nevertheless, inadequate port defences allowed an Anglo-Dutch force to raid Cadiz
in 1596, and though unsuccessful in its objective of capturing the silver from the just returned convoy, was able to inflict great damage upon the city. Port defences at Cadiz were upgraded and all attempts to repeat the attack in the following centuries would fail.
Meanwhile, Spanish ships were able to step up operations in the channel, the North Sea and to Ireland. They were able to capture many enemy ships, merchant and military, in the early decades of the 17th century and provide military supplies to Spanish armies in France and the Low Countries and to Irish rebels in Ireland.
By the middle of the 17th century, Spain had been drained by the vast strains of the Thirty Years and related wars and began to slip into a slow decline. During the middle to late decades of the century the Dutch, English and French were able to take advantage of Spain's shrinking, run-down and increasingly underequipped fleets. Military priorities in continental Europe meant that naval affairs were increasingly neglected. The Dutch took control of the smaller islands of the Caribbean
, while England conquered Jamaica
and France the western part of Santo Domingo
. These territories became bases for raids on Spanish New World ports and shipping by pirates and privateers. The Spanish concentrated their efforts in keeping the most important islands, such as Cuba
, Puerto Rico
and the majority of Santo Domingo, while the system of treasure fleets, despite being greatly diminished, was rarely defeated in safely conveying its freight of silver and Asian luxeries across the Atlantic to Europe. Only two such convoys were ever lost to enemy action with their cargo, one to a Dutch fleet in 1628 and another to an English fleet in 1656. A third convoy was destroyed at anchor by another English attack in 1657, but it had already unloaded its treasure.
By the time of the wars of the Grand Alliance (1688-97)
and the Spanish Succession (1702-14)
, the Habsburg regime had decided that it was more cost effective to rely on allied fleets, Anglo-Dutch and French respectively, than to invest in its own fleets.
arose from the establishment on the Spanish throne of an offshoot of France's ruling House of Bourbon
after the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line. French naval failures and the division of Spain by civil war led to the loss of Sicily, Sardinia, Minorca
and Gibraltar
and the temporary occupation of the other Balearic islands and parts of mainland Spain, which was extensively fought over for several years as a result. Spain's possessions in the Netherlands and mainland Italy were also lost.
Attempting to reverse the losses of the previous war, in the War of the Quadruple Alliance
(1718–20) the navy successfully convoyed armies to invade Sicily and Sardinia, but the escort fleet was destroyed by the British in the Battle of Cape Passaro
and the Spanish invasion army was defeated in Italy by the Austrians. This caused the Spanish to switch to a more careful foreign policy to avoid facing united fronts of multiple enemies and the realisation that the navy was central to its success. A major program to renovate and reorganise the navy was begun. A Secretaría (ministry) of the army and navy had been established by the Bourbon regime as early as 1714; which centralized the command and administration of the different fleets. Following the war of Quadruple Alliance, a program of rigorous standardization was introduced in ships, operations, and administration. Given the needs of its empire, Spanish warship designs tended to be more orientated towards long-range escort and patrol duties than for battle. A major reform of the Spanish navy was initiated, updating its ships and administration, which was helped by French and Italian experts, although Spaniards also rose to prominence in this work. A major naval yard was established at Havana
, enabling the navy to maintain a permanent force in the Americas for the defence of the colonies and the suppression of piracy and smuggling.
During the War of the Polish Succession
(1733-8), a renewed attempt to regain the lost Italian territories was more successful; with the French as allies and the British and Dutch neutral, Spain launched a campaign by sea and regained Sicily and southern Italy from Austria. In the War of Jenkin's Ear, the navy showed it was able to maintain communications with the American colonies and resupply Spanish forces in Italy in the face of British naval opposition. The program of naval renovation was continued and by the 1750s the Spanish navy had outstripped the Dutch to become the third most powerful in the world, behind only those of Britain and France.
Joining France against Britain near the end of the Seven Years' War
(1756–63), the navy failed to prevent the British capturing Havana, during which the Spanish squadron present was also captured. In the American War of Independence (1775–83) the Spanish navy was essential to the establishment, in combination with the French and Dutch navies, of a numerical advantage that stretched British naval resources. They played a vital role, along with the French and Dutch, in maintaining military supplies to the American rebels. The navy also played a key role in the Spanish army led operations that defeated the British in Florida. The bulk of the purely naval combat on the allied side fell to the French navy, although Spain achieved lucrative successes with the capture of two great British convoys meant for the resupply of British forces and loyalists in North America. Joint operations with France resulted in the capture of Minorca
but failed in the siege of Gibraltar
.
Having initially opposed France in the French Revolutionary Wars
(1792–1802), Spain changed sides in 1796, but defeat by the British a few months later in the Battle of Cape St Vincent was followed by the blockade of the main Spanish fleet in Cadiz. The run down of naval operations had as much to do with the confused political situation in Spain as it had to do with the blockade. The blockade was only partially successful; ships on special missions and even convoys evaded the blockade but otherwise the fleets were, for the most part, inactive. The blockade was lifted with the Peace of Amiens 1802.
. The Spanish fleet was forced into the battle by French Admiral Villanueve, using inexperienced crews against veteran sailors. Of 15 Spanish ships that participated, 6 made it back to Cadiz
. The battle pitted 33 ships of the Franco-Spanish squadron against 27 British ships.
At the time the navy's forces totalled some 150 ships, including 45 ships of the line. Following Trafalgar, some were left in port under blockade until they joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition
in 1808. In the years immediately afterwards, the crisis of Spain's Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic years resulted in some ships being run down, training being neglected and its administration becoming over-run by corruption. Following the loss of most of Spain's colonies in the Americas there was no longer the need to maintain such a large fleet.
During the Spanish-American War
in 1898, a Spanish fleet was defeated as it tried to break an American blockade in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
. Admiral Cervera's squadron was overrun in a heroic attempt to break a powerful American blockade off Cuba
. In the Philippines, a squadron, made up of ageing ships including some obsolete cruisers, had already been sacrificed in a token gesture in Manila Bay. The Battle of Manila Bay took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón. The engagement took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish-American War.
At the end of the 19th century the Spanish Navy adopted the Salve Marinera
, a hymn to the Virgin Mary as Stella Maris
, as its official anthem
.
During the Rif War
in Morocco, the Spanish navy conducted operations along the coast, including the Alhucemas Landing in 1925, the first air-naval landing of the world. The navy became divided in the Spanish Civil War
(1936–39). Two coastal battleships
, one heavy cruiser
, one large destroyer
and half a dozen submarines and auxiliary vessels were lost in the course of the conflict.
Since the mid-20th century the Spanish Navy began a process of reorganization to once again become one of the major navies of the world.
After the development of the Baleares class frigate
s based on the US Navy's Knox class
, the Spanish Navy embraced the American naval doctrine.
Spain is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The Armada Española has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations, from SFOR
to Haiti
and other locations around the world. Today's Armada is a modern navy with two carrier groups, a modern aircraft carrier, a new strategic amphibious ship, modern frigate
s (F-100 class) with the Aegis combat system
, F-80 class frigates, minesweepers, new S-80 class
submarines, amphibious ships and various other ships, including oceanographic research ships.
The Armada's special operations
and unconventional warfare capability is embodied in the Naval Special Warfare Command (Mando de Guerra Naval Especial), which is under the direct control of the Admiral of the Fleet. Two units operate under this command:
Armada officers receive their education at the Spanish Naval Academy
(ENM). They are recruited through two different methods:
).
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
of the Spanish Armed Forces
Spanish Armed Forces
The Spanish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish Armed Forces are a modern military force charged with defending the Kingdom's integrity and sovereignty...
, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
In the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path from the Far East to America across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
(Urdaneta
Andrés de Urdaneta
Friar Andrés de Urdaneta, O.S.A., was a circumnavigator, explorer and Augustinian friar. As a navigator he achieved in 1536 the "second" world circumnavigation after first one led by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano in 1522...
's route). For three centuries the Spanish Navy played a crucial defensive and logistical role within the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
. It formed part of a vast trade network that sailed the Pacific from Asia to America
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
and the Atlantic from America to Europe
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
escorting the galleon
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
convoys. The Spanish Navy was the most powerful maritime force in the world in the 16th and early 17th centuries. After a gradual decline in the second half of the 17th century, it was revived following the Spanish War of Succession and for much of the 18th century was the third strongest in the world.
As of 1987, the Armada had 47,300 personnel, including Marines
Infanteria de Marina
The Spanish Navy Marines is a corps within the Spanish Navy responsible for providing amphibious warfare from the sea utilizing naval platforms and resources...
, of which about 34,000 were conscripted. In 2002 all branches of the Spanish armed forces were professionalized. The main bases of the Spanish Navy are located in Rota
Rota, Spain
-External references:*, official website * On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... ****- External links :...
, El Ferrol, San Fernando and Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
. See also: Structure of the Spanish Navy in the 21st century
Structure of the Spanish Navy in the 21st century
The Structure of the Spanish Navy in the New Millennium - From the early years of the 21st century the structure of the Spanish Navy has changed, and under the new structure the Spanish Naval Force has been regrouped into four naval regions under the general command of the Spanish Admiralty The...
.
As of 2010 the total displacement of the navy is approximately 250,000 tons.
The Spanish Navy today
Subordinate to the Spanish Chief of Naval Staff, stationed in Madrid, are four area commands: the Cantabrian Maritime Zone with its headquarters at El FerrolFerrol, A Coruña
Ferrol , sometimes in Spanish El Ferrol, is a city in the province of A Coruña in Galicia, located on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain...
on the Atlantic coast; the Straits Maritime Zone with its headquarters at San Fernando near Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
; the Mediterranean Maritime Zone with its headquarters at Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
; and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
Maritime Zone with its headquarters at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
.
Operational naval units are classified by mission and assigned to either the combat forces, the protective forces, or the auxiliary forces. Combat forces are given the tasks of conducting offensive and defensive operations against potential enemies and for assuring maritime communications. Their principal vessels
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
included two carrier groups, naval aircraft, transports, landing vessels, submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s, and missile-armed fast attack craft. Protective forces have the mission of securing maritime communications over both ocean and coastal routes, securing the approaches to ports and maritime terminals. Their principal components are destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s, corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
s, and minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s. It also has marine units for the defense of naval installations. Auxiliary forces are responsible for transportation and provisioning at sea and has diverse tasks like coast guard operations, scientific work, and maintenance of training vessels. In addition to supply ships and tankers, the force included destroyers and a large number of patrol craft.
The second largest vessel of the Armada is the aircraft carrier, Principe de Asturias (R11), which entered service in 1988 after completing sea trials. Built in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
it was designed with a "ski-jump" takeoff deck. Its complement is twenty nine AV-8 Harrier II vertical (or short) takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft or sixteen helicopters designed for antisubmarine warfare and to support marine landings.
The carrier has an escort group of four Álvaro de Bazán class frigate
Álvaro de Bazán class frigate
The Álvaro de Bazán class are a new class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defense frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy...
s, built in Spain, equipped with the AEGIS combat system
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
and armed with Harpoon and Standard missiles. The first was commissioned in 2002. Also in the inventory are six F-80 Santa María class frigates, commissioned between 1986 and 1995, built in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Six slightly smaller corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
s of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
design were constructed in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
between 1978 and 1982.
The submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
force consists of Franco-Spanish designs. Four of the Agosta 90B class submarine
Agosta 90B class submarine
The Agosta class submarines are French diesel attack submarines used by Spain, Pakistan and formerly by France. The French Navy grouped this model of submarine in their most capable class as an océanique, meaning "ocean-going." A modernised version built for Pakistan, the Agosta 90B, has a crew of...
were constructed in Spain between 1983 and 1985. They are equipped with the submarine-launched version of the Exocet
Exocet
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
anti-ship missile. Four Daphné class submarine
Daphne class submarine
The Daphné class was a type of diesel-electric patrol submarines built in France between 1958 and 1970 for the French Navy and for export.-History:...
s were completed between 1973 and 1975 and are now retired. The Spanish armada is constructing new S-80 class
S-80 class
The S-80 Class is a series of submarines of advanced technology that is currently under construction for the Spanish Navy. Initially there will be four units, with a future expansion to six, two of which are in production by the Spanish company Navantia at its factory in Cartagena...
submarine with long range, conventional propulsion and new anti-detection technology .
The Marines
Infanteria de Marina
The Spanish Navy Marines is a corps within the Spanish Navy responsible for providing amphibious warfare from the sea utilizing naval platforms and resources...
have 11,500 troops and are divided into base defense forces and landing forces. One of the three base defense battalions is stationed with each of the Navy headquarters. "Groups" (midway between battalions and regiments) are stationed in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
. The Tercio
Tercio
The tercio was a Renaissance era military formation made up of a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers in a mutually supportive formation. It was also sometimes referred to as the Spanish Square...
(fleet - regiment equivalent) is available for immediate embarkation and based out of San Fernando. Its principal weapons include light tanks, armored personnel vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and TOW and Dragon antitank missiles.
History
Origins: The Middle Ages
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. By the late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the two principal kingdoms which would later combine to form Spain, Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
and Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
, had developed powerful fleets. Aragon possessed the third largest navy in the late medieval Mediterranean, although its capabilities were exceeded by those of Venice and (until overtaken in the 15th-century by those of Aragon) Genoa. In the 14th and 15th centuries, these naval capabilities enabled Aragon to assemble the largest collection of territories of any European power in the Mediterranean, encompassing the Balearics, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and, briefly, the Duchy of Athens
Duchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....
. Castile meanwhile used its naval capacities to conduct its reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
operations against the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, capturing Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in 1232 and also to help the French Crown against its enemies in the Hundred Years War. In 1402 a Castilian expedition led by Juan de Bethencourt conquered the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
for Henry III of Castile
Henry III of Castile
Henry III KG , sometimes known as Henry the Sufferer or Henry the Infirm , was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon, and succeeded him as King of the Castilian Crown in 1390....
.
In the 15th century Castile entered into a race of exploration with Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
that inaugurated the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an age of discovery
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration and the Great Navigations , was a period in history starting in the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with...
. In 1492 two caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
s and one carrack
Carrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...
, commanded by Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, arrived in America, on an expedition that sought a westward oceanic passage across the Atlantic, to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. This began the era of trans-oceanic trade routes, pioneered by the Spanish in the seas to the west of Europe and the Portuguese to the east.
The Habsburg Era
Following the discovery of America and the settlement of certain Caribbean islands such as CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Spanish conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
and Pizarro were carried by the Spanish navy to the mainland, where they conquered Mexico and Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
respectively. The navy also carried explorers to the North American mainland, including Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
and Alvarez de Pineda who discovered Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(1519) and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(1521) respectively. In 1519, Spain sent out the first expedition of world circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
in history, which was put in the charge of Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
. Following the death of Magellan in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the expedition was completed under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Basque Spanish explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. As Ferdinand Magellan's second in command, Elcano took over after Magellan's death in the Philippines.-Early life:Elcano was born to Domingo Sebastián Elcano I and Catalina del Puerto...
in 1522. In 1565, a follow-on expedition by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador who established one of the first European settlements in the East Indies and the Pacific Islands in 1565. He is the first Governor-General in the Philippines...
was carried by the navy from New Spain (Mexico) to the Philippines via Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in order to establish the Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies was a term used to describe Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted for three centuries . With the seat of government in Manila, the territory encompassed the Philippine Islands, Guam and the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of...
, a base for trade with the Orient. For two and a half centuries, the Manila Galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
s operated across the Pacific linking Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
. Until the early 17th century, the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Aside from the Marianas and Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, several naval expeditions also discovered the Tuvalu archipelago
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
, the Marquesas
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...
, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
in the South
South
South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. In the quest for Terra Australis
Terra Australis
Terra Australis, Terra Australis Ignota or Terra Australis Incognita was a hypothesized continent appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century...
, Spanish explorers in the 17th century also discovered the Pitcairn
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific...
and Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
archipelagos. Most significantly, from 1565 Spanish fleets explored and colonised the Philippine archipelago, the Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies was a term used to describe Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted for three centuries . With the seat of government in Manila, the territory encompassed the Philippine Islands, Guam and the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of...
.
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
with the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada in 1492 had been followed by naval expansion in the Mediterranean, where Spain seized control of almost every significant port along the coast of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
west of Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
, notably Melilla
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
(captured 1497), Mers El Kébir (1505), Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
(1509), Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
(1510) and Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
(1511), which marked the furthest point of this advance. However, the hinterlands of these ports remained under the control of their Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
inhabitants, and the expanding naval power of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
brought about a major Islamic counter-offensive which embroiled Spain in decades of intense warfare for control of the western Mediterranean. (Algiers and Tripoli would be lost to the Ottomans later in the 16th century.)
From the 1570s the Dutch Revolt increasingly challenged Spanish sea power, producing powerful rebel naval forces which attacked Spanish shipping and in time made Spain's sea communications with its possessions in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
difficult. Most notable of these attacks was the Battle of Gibraltar
Battle of Gibraltar
The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place on 25 April 1607 during the Eighty Years' War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a Spanish fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar. During the four hours of action, most of the Spanish fleet was destroyed....
in 1607, in which a Dutch squadron destroyed a fleet of galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
s at anchor in the confines of the bay. This naval war took on a global dimension with actions in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the Far East, notably around the Philippines. Spain's response to its problems included the encouragement of privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s based in the Spanish Netherlands and known from their main base as Dunkirkers
Dunkirkers
During the Dutch Revolt the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers, were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy. They were also part of the Dunkirk fleet, which consequently was a part of the Spanish Monarchy's Flemish fleet ...
, who preyed on Dutch merchant ships and fishing trawlers.
Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto normally refers to the 1571 Holy League victory over the Ottoman fleet. There were also three earlier battles fought in the vicinity of Lepanto:*Battle of Naupactus in 429 BC, an Athenian victory during the Peleoponnesian War...
(1571), the Holy League, formed by Spain, Venice, the Papal States and other Christian allies, inflicted a great defeat on the Ottoman Navy, stopping Muslim forces from gaining uncontested control of the Mediterranean Sea.
In the 1580s the conflict in the Netherlands drew England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
into war with Spain, creating a further menace to Spanish shipping. The effort to neutralise this threat led to a disastrous attempt to invade England
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in 1588. This defeat led to a reform of fleet operations. The navy at this time was not a single operation but consisted of various fleets, made up mainly of armed merchantmen with escorts of royal ships. The Armada fiasco marked a turning point in naval warfare where gunnery was now more important than ramming and boarding and so Spanish ships were equipped with purpose built naval guns. During the 1590s the expansion of these fleets allowed a great increase in the overseas trade and massive increase in the importation of luxuries and silver. Nevertheless, inadequate port defences allowed an Anglo-Dutch force to raid Cadiz
Capture of Cadiz
The Capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo-Spanish War, when English and Dutch troops under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and a large Anglo-Dutch fleet under Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, with support from the Dutch United Provinces, raided the Spanish city of...
in 1596, and though unsuccessful in its objective of capturing the silver from the just returned convoy, was able to inflict great damage upon the city. Port defences at Cadiz were upgraded and all attempts to repeat the attack in the following centuries would fail.
Meanwhile, Spanish ships were able to step up operations in the channel, the North Sea and to Ireland. They were able to capture many enemy ships, merchant and military, in the early decades of the 17th century and provide military supplies to Spanish armies in France and the Low Countries and to Irish rebels in Ireland.
By the middle of the 17th century, Spain had been drained by the vast strains of the Thirty Years and related wars and began to slip into a slow decline. During the middle to late decades of the century the Dutch, English and French were able to take advantage of Spain's shrinking, run-down and increasingly underequipped fleets. Military priorities in continental Europe meant that naval affairs were increasingly neglected. The Dutch took control of the smaller islands of the Caribbean
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
, while England conquered Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and France the western part of Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
. These territories became bases for raids on Spanish New World ports and shipping by pirates and privateers. The Spanish concentrated their efforts in keeping the most important islands, such as Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the majority of Santo Domingo, while the system of treasure fleets, despite being greatly diminished, was rarely defeated in safely conveying its freight of silver and Asian luxeries across the Atlantic to Europe. Only two such convoys were ever lost to enemy action with their cargo, one to a Dutch fleet in 1628 and another to an English fleet in 1656. A third convoy was destroyed at anchor by another English attack in 1657, but it had already unloaded its treasure.
By the time of the wars of the Grand Alliance (1688-97)
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
and the Spanish Succession (1702-14)
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, the Habsburg regime had decided that it was more cost effective to rely on allied fleets, Anglo-Dutch and French respectively, than to invest in its own fleets.
The Bourbon Era
The War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
arose from the establishment on the Spanish throne of an offshoot of France's ruling House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
after the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line. French naval failures and the division of Spain by civil war led to the loss of Sicily, Sardinia, Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and the temporary occupation of the other Balearic islands and parts of mainland Spain, which was extensively fought over for several years as a result. Spain's possessions in the Netherlands and mainland Italy were also lost.
Attempting to reverse the losses of the previous war, in the War of the Quadruple Alliance
War of the Quadruple Alliance
The War of the Quadruple Alliance was a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife, Elisabeth Farnese, and his chief minister Giulio Alberoni to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French throne. It saw the defeat of Spain by an alliance of Britain, France, Austria , and...
(1718–20) the navy successfully convoyed armies to invade Sicily and Sardinia, but the escort fleet was destroyed by the British in the Battle of Cape Passaro
Battle of Cape Passaro
The Battle of Cape Passaro was the defeat of a Spanish fleet under Admirals Antonio de Gaztañeta and Fernando Chacón by a British fleet under Admiral George Byng, near Cape Passero, Sicily, on 11 August 1718, four months before the War of the Quadruple Alliance was formally...
and the Spanish invasion army was defeated in Italy by the Austrians. This caused the Spanish to switch to a more careful foreign policy to avoid facing united fronts of multiple enemies and the realisation that the navy was central to its success. A major program to renovate and reorganise the navy was begun. A Secretaría (ministry) of the army and navy had been established by the Bourbon regime as early as 1714; which centralized the command and administration of the different fleets. Following the war of Quadruple Alliance, a program of rigorous standardization was introduced in ships, operations, and administration. Given the needs of its empire, Spanish warship designs tended to be more orientated towards long-range escort and patrol duties than for battle. A major reform of the Spanish navy was initiated, updating its ships and administration, which was helped by French and Italian experts, although Spaniards also rose to prominence in this work. A major naval yard was established at Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, enabling the navy to maintain a permanent force in the Americas for the defence of the colonies and the suppression of piracy and smuggling.
During the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
(1733-8), a renewed attempt to regain the lost Italian territories was more successful; with the French as allies and the British and Dutch neutral, Spain launched a campaign by sea and regained Sicily and southern Italy from Austria. In the War of Jenkin's Ear, the navy showed it was able to maintain communications with the American colonies and resupply Spanish forces in Italy in the face of British naval opposition. The program of naval renovation was continued and by the 1750s the Spanish navy had outstripped the Dutch to become the third most powerful in the world, behind only those of Britain and France.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
(1756–63), the navy failed to prevent the British capturing Havana, during which the Spanish squadron present was also captured. In the American War of Independence (1775–83) the Spanish navy was essential to the establishment, in combination with the French and Dutch navies, of a numerical advantage that stretched British naval resources. They played a vital role, along with the French and Dutch, in maintaining military supplies to the American rebels. The navy also played a key role in the Spanish army led operations that defeated the British in Florida. The bulk of the purely naval combat on the allied side fell to the French navy, although Spain achieved lucrative successes with the capture of two great British convoys meant for the resupply of British forces and loyalists in North America. Joint operations with France resulted in the capture of Minorca
Invasion of Minorca, 1781
The Franco-Spanish conquest of Minorca from its British defenders in February 1782, after the Siege of Fort St. Philip lasting over five months, was an important step in the achievement of Spain's aims in its alliance with France against Britain during the American War of Independence...
but failed in the siege of Gibraltar
Great Siege of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
.
Having initially opposed France in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
(1792–1802), Spain changed sides in 1796, but defeat by the British a few months later in the Battle of Cape St Vincent was followed by the blockade of the main Spanish fleet in Cadiz. The run down of naval operations had as much to do with the confused political situation in Spain as it had to do with the blockade. The blockade was only partially successful; ships on special missions and even convoys evaded the blockade but otherwise the fleets were, for the most part, inactive. The blockade was lifted with the Peace of Amiens 1802.
The Navy in the 19th century
The 19th century saw the decline of the Spanish Empire. The size of the navy was reduced following the loss of Spain's major American territories. In 1805 a Franco-Spanish fleet was defeated by the British Royal Navy in the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. The Spanish fleet was forced into the battle by French Admiral Villanueve, using inexperienced crews against veteran sailors. Of 15 Spanish ships that participated, 6 made it back to Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. The battle pitted 33 ships of the Franco-Spanish squadron against 27 British ships.
At the time the navy's forces totalled some 150 ships, including 45 ships of the line. Following Trafalgar, some were left in port under blockade until they joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
in 1808. In the years immediately afterwards, the crisis of Spain's Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic years resulted in some ships being run down, training being neglected and its administration becoming over-run by corruption. Following the loss of most of Spain's colonies in the Americas there was no longer the need to maintain such a large fleet.
During the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
in 1898, a Spanish fleet was defeated as it tried to break an American blockade in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
. Admiral Cervera's squadron was overrun in a heroic attempt to break a powerful American blockade off Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. In the Philippines, a squadron, made up of ageing ships including some obsolete cruisers, had already been sacrificed in a token gesture in Manila Bay. The Battle of Manila Bay took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón. The engagement took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish-American War.
At the end of the 19th century the Spanish Navy adopted the Salve Marinera
Salve Marinera
Salve Marinera is the official anthem of the Spanish Navy. Its meaning can be loosely translated as "Salutation of the seas" or "Praise song of the seas".-History:...
, a hymn to the Virgin Mary as Stella Maris
Our Lady, Star of the Sea
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century...
, as its official anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
.
The 20th and 21st centuries
Rif War (1920)
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...
in Morocco, the Spanish navy conducted operations along the coast, including the Alhucemas Landing in 1925, the first air-naval landing of the world. The navy became divided in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(1936–39). Two coastal battleships
España class battleship
The España class was a series of three dreadnought battleships. They were the first and last dreadnoughts built in Spain, the only dreadnoughts ever operated by the Spanish Navy, and the smallest dreadnoughts ever built.- Description :...
, one heavy cruiser
Spanish cruiser Baleares
Baleares was a Canarias-class heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in Great Britain and was a modified version of the Royal Navy′s County-class cruiser...
, one large destroyer
Spanish destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz
Almirante Ferrándiz was a Churruca-class destroyer in the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side.She was named in honor of José Ferrándiz y Niño, a Spanish Admiral and former Navy Minister.-History:...
and half a dozen submarines and auxiliary vessels were lost in the course of the conflict.
Since the mid-20th century the Spanish Navy began a process of reorganization to once again become one of the major navies of the world.
After the development of the Baleares class frigate
Baleares class frigate
The Baleares class are a group of five frigates built for the Spanish navy in the 1970s. The ships are a modified version of the American Knox class frigates. The key differences are the replacement of the Sea Sparrow PDMS and ASW helicopter facilities by Standard SAM and associated radars...
s based on the US Navy's Knox class
Knox class frigate
Knox class frigates were United States Navy warships, originally laid down as ocean escorts , but were all redesignated as frigates on 30 June 1975 in the USN 1975 ship reclassification and their hull designation changed from DE to FF.A sub-class of the Knox class was built, commonly referred to as...
, the Spanish Navy embraced the American naval doctrine.
Spain is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The Armada Española has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations, from SFOR
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...
to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and other locations around the world. Today's Armada is a modern navy with two carrier groups, a modern aircraft carrier, a new strategic amphibious ship, modern frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s (F-100 class) with the Aegis combat system
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
, F-80 class frigates, minesweepers, new S-80 class
S-80 class
The S-80 Class is a series of submarines of advanced technology that is currently under construction for the Spanish Navy. Initially there will be four units, with a future expansion to six, two of which are in production by the Spanish company Navantia at its factory in Cartagena...
submarines, amphibious ships and various other ships, including oceanographic research ships.
The Armada's special operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
and unconventional warfare capability is embodied in the Naval Special Warfare Command (Mando de Guerra Naval Especial), which is under the direct control of the Admiral of the Fleet. Two units operate under this command:
- The Special Operations Unit (Unidad de Operaciones Especiales (UOE)): Special operations unit trained in maritime counter-terrorism, combat diving and swimming, coastal infiltration, ship boarding, direct action, and special reconnaissance.
- The Combat Diver Unit (Unidad Especial de Buceadores de Combate (UEBC)): Specialized combat diving unit trained in underwater demolitions and hydrographic reconnaissance.
Armada officers receive their education at the Spanish Naval Academy
Escuela Naval Militar
The Escuela Naval Militar de Oficiales at Marín, Pontevedra, in north-western Spain, is the Spanish institution in charge of training the Spanish Navy's officer class, as well as other naval personnel. It has been established here since 1943, when it was moved from its previous location at San...
(ENM). They are recruited through two different methods:
- Militar de Complemento: Similar to the U.S. ROTC program, students are college graduates who enroll in the Navy. They spend a year at the Naval Academy and then are commissioned as Ensigns. This path is growing in prestige.
- Militar de Carrera: Students spend five years at the ENM, receiving a university degree-equivalent upon graduation.
Ranks
The officer ranks of the Spanish Navy are as follows below, (for a comparison with other NATO ranks, see Ranks and Insignia of NATORanks and insignia of NATO
Ranks and insignia of NATO are combined military insignia used by the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.The rank scale is used for specifying posts within NATO.-Definitions:...
).
| NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student Officer | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
 |
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| Capitán General | Almirante General | Almirante | Vicealmirante | Contraalmirante | Capitán de Navío | Capitán de Fragata | Capitán de Corbeta | Teniente de Navío | Alférez de Navío| Alférez de Fragata | Guardiamarina | Alumno | ||||||||||||
| English equivalent | Captain General Captain General Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings... |
General Admiral General Admiral General admiral was a Danish, Dutch, German, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish naval rank. Its historic origin is a title high military or naval dignitaries of early modern Europe sometimes held, for example the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Republic's navy .-Third Reich:In the German... |
Admiral Admiral Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"... |
Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral... |
Rear Admiral Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"... |
Captain Captain (naval) Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel.... |
Commander Commander Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval... |
Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander... |
Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
Lieutenant Junior Grade/Ensign Ensign An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry... |
Midshipman Midshipman A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya... |
Officer Cadet Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries... |
|||||||||||
Officer Ranks
- Guardiamarina - MidshipmanMidshipmanA midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
- Alferez de Fragata - EnsignEnsignAn ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
- Alferez de Navio - Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Teniente de Navio - LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
- Capitan de Corbeta - Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
- Capitan de Fragata - CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
- Capitan de Navio - CaptainCaptain (naval)Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
- Contraalmirante - Rear AdmiralRear AdmiralRear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
/Counter AdmiralCounter AdmiralCounter admiral is a rank found in many navies of the world, but no longer used in English-speaking countries, where the equivalent rank is rear admiral... - Vicealmirante - Vice AdmiralVice AdmiralVice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
- Almirante - AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
- Almirante General - General AdmiralGeneral AdmiralGeneral admiral was a Danish, Dutch, German, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish naval rank. Its historic origin is a title high military or naval dignitaries of early modern Europe sometimes held, for example the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Republic's navy .-Third Reich:In the German...
- Capitan General de la Armada - Captain GeneralCaptain GeneralCaptain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
of the Navy/Admiral of the NavyAdmiral of the NavyAdmiral of the navy is a senior-most rank of a naval service.Some navies use the term admiral of the navy as a title bestowed upon a fleet admiral or other senior naval official...
Ranks of Non-commissioned officers and Enlisted
- Marinero - Seaman ApprenticeSeaman ApprenticeConstructionmanvariationFiremanvariationAirmanvariationSeamaninsigniaSeaman apprentice is the second lowest enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just above seaman recruit and below seaman; this rank was formerly known as seaman second class.The actual title for an E-2 in the U.S....
- Marinero de Primera - Ordinary Seaman
- Cabo - Able SeamanAble seamanAn able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
- Cabo Primero - Leading SeamanLeading SeamanLeading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of corporal and some navies use corporal rather than...
- Cabo Mayor - Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Sargento - Petty Officer 2nd ClassPetty Officer 2nd ClassPetty officer, 2nd class, PO2, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of master seaman and its equivalents, and junior to petty officer 1st-class and its equivalents...
- Sargento Primero - Petty Officer 1st ClassPetty Officer 1st ClassPetty officer, 1st class, PO1, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 2nd-class and its equivalents, and junior to chief petty officer 2nd-class and its equivalents. Its Army and Air Force equivalent is warrant officer .The French...
- Brigada - Chief Petty OfficerChief Petty OfficerA chief petty officer is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.-Canada:"Chief Petty Officer" refers to two ranks in the Canadian Navy...
- Subteniente - Sublieutenant
- Suboficial Mayor - Sub-officerSub-OfficerSub-Officer is a term used in many military forces used to indicate ranks below commissioned officers. Sub-Officer is equivalent to the term NCO in the Commonwealth and USA...
Major, Warrant OfficerWarrant OfficerA warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
Current Fleet
Organization
- The Fleet (Headquarter located at RotaRota, Spain-External references:*, official website * On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... ****- External links :...
)- Projection Group located at Rota
- 1 Aircraft Carrier R-11 Principe de AsturiasSpanish aircraft carrier Principe de AsturiasThe Príncipe de Asturias , originally named Almirante Carrero Blanco, is an aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Spanish Navy...
class. 17,188 Tons. - 1 LHD / multi-purpose warship and aircraft L-61 Juan Carlos I class. 27,079 Tons.
- 2 LPD L-50 Galicia class landing platform dockGalicia class landing platform dockThe Galicia class is a class of two 13,900 t landing platform dock ships, belonging to the Spanish Navy. Built in Ferrol, their mission is to carry amphibious warfare by transporting the bulk of the Infantería de Marina....
class. 13,818 Tons. - 1 LST L-42 Pizarro, NewportNewport class tank landing shipNewport-class tank-landing ships are an improved class of American tank-landing ship , intended to provide substantial advantages over their World War II-era predecessors...
class. 8,500 Tons. - 1 Fleet oiler A-11 Marques de la Ensenada class. 14,325 Tons.
- 1 Replenishment ship A-14 Patiño class (located at Ferrol). 17,045 Tons.
- 1 Replenishment ship A-15 Cantabria class (located at Ferrol). 19,500 Tons.
- 1 Aircraft Carrier R-11 Principe de Asturias
- 41st Escort Squadron located at Rota
- 6 Frigates F-80 Santa María class. 4,017 Tons.
- 31st Escort Squadron located at Ferrol
- 5 AEGIS Destroyers F-100 Alvaro de BazánÁlvaro de Bazán class frigateThe Álvaro de Bazán class are a new class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defense frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy...
class. 6,250 Tons.
- 5 AEGIS Destroyers F-100 Alvaro de Bazán
- Submarine flotilla located at Cartagena.
- 4 Submarines S-70 Galerna Agosta class submarine. 1,740 Tons.
- 4 AIP Submarines S-80 S-80 class submarine. (Under construction.) 2,426 Tons.
- MCM flotilla located at Cartagena
- 1 MCM support ship M-10 Descubierta class corvette Modified class. 1,233 Tons.
- 6 Minehunters M-30 Segura class. 585 Tons.
- Patrol craft flotilla
- 5 Corvettes Descubierta class corvette. 1,666 Tons.
- 7 Corvettes Meteoro class, Buque de Acción MarítimaBuque de Acción MarítimaThe BAM ships are new modular Offshore Patrol Vessels of the Spanish Navy adapted to different purposes from a common base, manufactured by Navantia. The BAMs combine high performance with mission versatility, a high commonality with other ships operated by the Spanish navy...
. (5 under construction.) 2,500 Tons.
- Projection Group located at Rota
- TOTAL Tons Main Vessels: 224,158Tons
External links
- Official website (in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) - http://www.todoababor.es/ (Spanish Naval History)
- History of Spanish Mariners
- http://www.revistanaval.com/
- http://www.losbarcosdeeugenio.com/principal_es.html
- El Arma Submarina Española (unofficial website)
- http://www.fotosdebarcos.com/ (Spanish Navy Section, see Armada Española with all kind of Spanish navy ships)
- Spanish Navy page on Andrew Toppan's Haze Gray and UnderwayHaze gray and underwayHaze gray and underway is a United States Navy saying that refers to surface ships in arduous duty at sea, in contrast to submarines or naval units in ceremonial roles or in port...
- Spain Plans to Upgrade Navy's Projection Group
- Foro Militar General (unofficial forum)
- Warships of the Spanish Civil War
- BUQUESDEGUERRA.TK, Spanish website about warships