Las Palmas Naval Base, also known as Arsenal of Las Palmas, is a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

and

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

located in the city of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is the largest military base of the Spanish Navy on the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

History

In 1922 the Association of Fruit Exporters of Las Palmas began the construction of a dock on the ruins of the Royal Castle of Santa Catalina. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, because of the continuous presence of warships of the

belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...

countries, the

Spanish State Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

took the decision to establish a permanent naval base in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. In 1941 it was temporarily expropriated by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. In 1948, the Arsenal of Las Palmas was formally established at the Nuestra Señora del Pino dock, the Air Force's

Seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

Base. More land was later purchased, allowing the construction of several buildings, named after the first Chief of the Arsenal. During the 1950s two docks were constructed to accommodate

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

. In 2000, the Spanish Navy Marines Corps of Canaries moved from the Manuel Lois Barracks to the Arsenal, where several buildings were converted to accommodate the necessary offices and storerooms.

Ships

* '' Buques de Acción Marítima'' (Offshore patrol vessel) ** ''Meteoro'' ** ''Rayo'' ** ''Relámpago'' ** ''Tornado''https://armada.defensa.gob.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/buquessuperficie/prefLang-en/10buques-accion-maritima--04buque-accion-maritima-tornado-p44

References

{{coord, 28.1353, -15.4268, format=dms, type:landmark_region:ES-GC, display=title Military installations of Spain Spanish Navy bases Las Palmas

History

Ships

See also

References