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Chilean Navy
''Armada de Chile''
Coat of arms of the Chilean Navy
Coat of arms of the Chilean Navy
Active 1817-present
Country  Chile
Size 25,000 personnel
71 vessels
8 frigates
4 submarines
4 amphibious warfare ship
7 fast attack craft
8 patrol boat
39 auxiliary ship
Motto(s) Vencer o Morir
("Conquer or Die")
Anniversaries 21 May, Día de las Glorias Navales (Navy Day)
Engagements Chilean War of Independence (1810–1826)
Peruvian War of Independence (1811–1824)
War of the Confederation (1836–1839)
Chincha Islands War (1864–1866)
War of the Pacific (1879–1883)
Chilean Civil War (1891)
Commanders
Current
commander
Edmundo González Robles
Notable
commanders
Lord Thomas Cochrane
Manuel Blanco Encalada
Juan José Latorre
Arturo Prat
Jorge Montt
Juan Williams Rebolledo
Insignia
Naval Ensign Ensign of Chile
Naval Jack Jack of Chile
Roundel of Naval Aviation Jack of Chile

The Chilean Navy is the naval section of the Chilean Armed Forces.

History

The origins of the Chilean Navy date back to 1817, when General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared after the Chilean victory at the Battle of Chacabuco that a hundred such victories would count for nothing if Chile did not gain control of the sea.

This led to the development of the Chilean Navy, and the first legal resolutions outlining the organization of the institution were created.

Chilean Marines

Chilean Special Forces 060826-N-8298P-029
Chilean Navy special forces sailors seen here using the MP5N.

The Chilean Marines or (Infanteria de Marina de Chile) are the land/amphibious attack force of the Chilean Navy. The 5,000 man force combines special training and tactics with state-of-the-art equipment.

Present

The 25,000-person navy, including 5,200 Marines, is directed by Admiral Enrique Larrañaga Martin as of 2013. Of the fleet of sixty-six surface vessels (soon to be increased to seventy-four), twenty-one are major combatant ships based in Valparaíso. The navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no fighter or bomber aircraft. The Navy also operates four submarines and a tender ship to support them, all based in Talcahuano.

The Chilean Navy is generally considered to be among the most capable and professional in the Americas, considered by specialists the fourth most capable navy in the Americas, behind Canadian, Brazilian and American navies, and is heavily aligned with significant naval powers such as the British Royal Navy.

Inventory

Submarine

Type vessels source mission photos notes
Submarines
Type 209 - 1400L submarine SS-20 Thomson
SS-21 Simpson
 Germany Submarine CS Simpson SS-21.jpg Updated in 2009 in ASMAR, among the improvements include the ability to launch Exocet missiles and the French combat management system SUBTICS.
Scorpène-class submarine SS-23 O'Higgins
SS-22 Carrera
 Spain
 France
Submarine Submarino General O'Higgins (SS-23).jpg

Frigates

Type vessel(s) source mission photos notes
Surface Combatants
Type 23 frigate Almirante Cochrane
(ex-Norfolk)
 United Kingdom Anti-submarine warfare CHILE-FF-05,FF-07.jpg
Almirante Lynch
(ex-Grafton)
Almirante Condell
(ex-Marlborough)
Type 22 frigate Almirante Williams
(ex-Sheffield)
 United Kingdom General Purpose Almirantewilliams.jpg Modernized in Talcahuano by ASMAR. Addition of an OTO Melara 76 mm gun, SAM Barak VL and SSM Harpoon.
M-class frigate Almirante Blanco Encalada
(ex-Abraham van der Hulst)
 Netherlands Almirante Blanco Encalada (FF-15).jpg
Almirante Riveros
(ex-Tjerk Hiddes)
L-class frigate Almirante Latorre
(ex-Jacob van Heemskerck)
 Netherlands Anti-aircraft warfare Almirante Latorre FFG14.jpg
Capitán Prat
(ex-Witte de With)

Fast attack craft

Type vessel(s) source mission photos notes
Fast attack craft
Sa'ar 4-class missile boat (LM-32) Chipana
(LM-31) Casma
(LM-34) Angamos
 Israel Missile boat US Navy 100315-N-4774B-200 The Chilean navy Sa'ar 4-class fast-attack craft Angamos and Casma perform tactical maneuvering exercises in the Strait Of Magellan.jpg Northern Command

Replenishment vessels

Type vessel source mission photos notes
Underway replenishment
Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler AO-52 Almirante Montt
(ex-Andrew J. Higgins)
 United States Underway replenishment US Navy 110623-N-ZI300-025 Lt. Cmdr. Robert Speight, executive officer of the guided-missile frigate USS Boone (FFG 28), passes orders as the Chile.jpg
Araucano AO-53 Araucano  Sweden Underway replenishment

Amphibious warfare

Type vessel source mission photos notes
Amphibious warfare
Foudre class LSDH-91 Sargento Aldea
(ex-Foudre)
 France Landing platform dock Foudre-01.jpg
Aquiles AP-41  Chile Amphibious warfare Fotos 022.JPG
Rancagua
Chacabuco
LST-92
LST-95
 Chile Amphibious warfare BASENAVAL 462.jpg

Patrol boat

Type vessel source mission photos notes
Patrol boat
Patrulleros de Zona Marítima PZM (OPV-81) Piloto Pardo
(OPV-82) Comandante Toro
(OPV-83) Marinero Fuentealba
(OPV-84) Cabo Odger.
 Chile Patrol boat ARC 7 de Agosto (PZE-47).jpg
Patrullero Clase "Taitao" (PSG-71) Micalvi
(PSG-72) Ortiz
(PSG-73) Isaza
(PSG-78) Sibbald
(PSH-77) Cabrales
(PMD-74) Cirujano Videla
 Chile Patrol boat Clase Taitao PS-G71 Micalvi.jpg
Grumete-class patrol boats (LPC-1814) Díaz
(LPC-1815) Bolados
(LPC-1816) Salinas
(LPC-1817) Téllez
(LPC-1818) Bravo
(LPC-1820) Machado
(LPC-1822) Troncoso
(LPC-1823) Hudson
 Israel Patrol boat Dabur860.jpg

Related pages

  • Military of Chile

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Armada de Chile para niños

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