Naval Station Pascual Ledesma, also known as Cavite Naval Base or Cavite Navy Yard, is a

military installation 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 ...

of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

Cavite City Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people. The city was the c ...

. In the 1940s and '50s, it was called Philippine Navy Operating Base. The

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

is located at the easternmost end of Cavite Point in the San Roque district (specifically Fort San Felipe) of the city. Via traffic lane, this naval establishment is next to the famous Samonte Park. It was the former extension of U.S.

Naval Station Sangley Point Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

(transferred to the Philippines in 1971) which is now Naval Station Heracleo Alano. In 2009, it was named after Cmdre. Pascual Ledesma (b. May 17, 1843 – d. June 6, 1917), a leader of the Philippine revolution and the first Officer-In-Command of the Philippine Navy.

History

Spanish period

The port town of Cavite Nuevo was established after the Spanish colonizers found that the deep waters around the tip of Cavite Point ''(Cavite la Punta)'' are suitable for large ships and established the ''Astillero de Rivera'' (Rivera Shipyard).

became the main seaport of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and the staging port for the

Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...

. After the demise of the galleon trade, the shipyard became the Spanish Arsenal."Fuerza de San Felipe Neri"
Muog.

American period

When the sovereignty of the Philippines was ceded to the Americans after the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, the U.S. took over all the military stations left by the Spaniards including the Cavite Naval Yard. The Americans made several modifications and improvements, but also included the demolition of Fort Guadalupe and partially of Fort San Felipe. It was the US Navy's only ship repair facility in the western Pacific before

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 ...

Sangley Point Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

was a component of the navy yard. Sangley Point was a subordinate command of the Yard and where the naval radio transmitting facility and the naval hospital was located. In 1941, the 16th Naval District was established in the navy yard during the American colonial period. At the beginning of World War II, the Cavite Navy Yard was destroyed by Japanese bombers. It was abandoned and the Japanese used the yard for small boat repair. It is the same place the Japanese forces used as a headquarters after they conquered Cavite during the Second World War. In 1945, the yard was retaken by the combined Filipino and American forces and recommissioned, but it was turned over to the Philippine government in 1947 for the Philippine Navy.

After independence

Early in December 1970, it was officially announced that U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point would be closed. On July 1, 1971, Sangley Point changed status from active to inactive in preparation for the turnover of the facility to the government of the Philippines. On-the-job-training sessions were conducted for Philippine naval personnel to ensure the safe and proper operation of all base industrial facilities. On September 1, 1971, the base was officially turned over to the government of the Philippines, ending 73 years as a U.S. naval facility. It is currently used as a facility of the

and the Philippine Air Force. William J. Mitzel and his wife Barbara were the last US personnel to occupy quarters on the installation. Mr. Mitzel was responsible for the final turn over and lived on the installation with his wife, when the turn over was completed. In line with

General Order number 229 dated July 7, 2009, the naval installations were renamed to honor esteemed predecessors in the military/naval service who fought for the protection of the nation's sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, and the maritime interests of the country. With this, the Naval Base Cavite, the naval station in Fort San Felipe, was assigned the name Naval Station Pascual Ledesma. Naval Base Cavite provides support services to the Philippine Navy and other

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

tenant units in the base complex, such as refueling, re-watering, shore power connections, berthing, ferry services, tugboat assistance, sludge disposal services and housing.

Naval Sea Systems Command

Formerly the Naval Support Command, the Naval Sea System Command operates the country's military shipyards providing repair and maintenance of all navy

ships A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

and

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

and their

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

. They develop new technologies for the Navy and maintains their

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

electronic equipment The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

in order to sustain the naval

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

capability of the Philippine Navy. It is the biggest industrial complex of the

Naval Logistics Center

The Naval Logistics Center began as the OSP} supply center under the finance branch of the Philippine Army for supporting the few vessels turned over by the US Navy. In October 1947, the supply center was elevated to a regular division and paved the way to the establishment of the general supply depot named as the Naval Supply Center in 1950. It was placed under control of the Commander, Naval Shore Establishment, later called the Fleet Support Command and the Naval Support Command in 1967. It is now called the Naval Logistics Center. The depot procures and maintains, manages supplies and

raw materials A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedst ...

, operates equipment and facilities and render related services in support of the

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

requirement of Philippine Navy units.

Hospital

Located within the base is the Cavite Naval Hospital, a medical facility that provides hospital and out-patient services to Philippine Navy personnel and their dependents. It is located on P. Zamora Extension/Reynoso Road,() adjacent to the navy chapel. The other naval hospital, Manila Navy Hospital is located in

Fort Bonifacio Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarter ...

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

.Pike, John
"Philippine Navy Organization"
GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2014-10-21.

Education

Sangley Point National High School Sangley Point National High School (SPNHS; ) has total land area of 6100 sq.m., and is situated amongst residential units along La Naval Road inside the Naval Station Heracleo Alano in Sangley Point, San Antonio, Cavite City. Located at its back ...

is located at Naval Station Heracleo Alano. It is situated along La Naval Rd, Naval Station Heracleo Alano,

, San Antonio, Cavite City; not at Naval Base Pascual Ledesma regarding the above topic.

Chapel

Naval Base Cavite is served by the Stella Maris Chapel, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

cy located on P. Zamora Ext. (or Reynoso Rd)() inside the base in Fort San Felipe, Cavite City."Stella Maris Chapel"
Facebook. Retrieved on 2014-10-21.

References

{{Military Bases of the Philippines Naval installations of the Philippines Military installations established in 1971 Military facilities in Cavite Buildings and structures in Cavite City Closed installations of the United States Navy