![banderagall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Banderagall.jpg)
The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the
Armed Forces of Uruguay
The Armed Forces of Uruguay ( es, Fuerzas Armadas del Uruguay or ''FF.AA. del Uruguay'') consist of an army, navy, and air force. These three branches are constitutionally subordinate to the President of Uruguay through the Minister of Defense. Th ...
under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR).
History
Independence
Under the late
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
,
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
became the main naval base (''Real Apostadero de Marina'') for the South Atlantic, with authority over the Argentine coast,
Fernando Po, and the
Falklands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
. The arrival of 100 ships under Viceroy
Pedro de Cevallos
Pedro Antonio de Cevallos Cortés y Calderón, also spelled Ceballos (29 June 1715 – 26 December 1778), was a Spanish military Governor of Buenos Aires between 1757 and 1766, and the first Viceroy of the Río de la Plata in 1776.
Biography ...
in 1777 was the beginning of the city's prosperity.
The Uruguayan navy, however, dates its origin from
General Artigas
General Artigas is a town in the Itapúa Department of Paraguay.
It is named after the Uruguayan national hero, José Gervasio Artigas, who spent his last 30 years exiled in Paraguay (1820-1850).
Sister cities
General Artigas is twinned with:
...
's
letter of marque on 15 November 1817, which authorized his forces to plunder
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
shipping wherever they found it. Portuguese forces from Brazil had invaded Uruguay (then known as Banda Oriental) in August 1816. Under the nominal leadership of the
Pedro Campbell, the Irish "
Gaucho
A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
Admiral", around 50
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s and
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
s (including ''República Oriental'', ''Fortuna'', ''Valiente'', ''Temerario'', and ''Intrépido'') were able to capture more than 200 enemy vessels as far off as Madagascar, Spain, and the
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
.
Early Republic
Following
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, a navy was established under Colonel
Pablo Zufriategui
Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul.
People
* Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer
*Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
*Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer
* Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist
*Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer
* Pablo Bren ...
, a veteran of Artigas's campaigns and the
33 Easterners. As Captain of Ports (''Capitán General de Puertos''), he fought smuggling and in 1832 Zufriategui led the first sovereign engagement when the schooner ''Aguila'' chased off the pirate ship ''Exquisit'' from Uruguayan waters.
Although the force remained too small to play a decisive role in the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, it is notable that command of the small fleet was personally assumed by
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
, who captured
Colonia del Sacramento
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento
, pushpin_map = Uruguay
, subdivisio ...
,
Isla Martín García
Isla or ISLA may refer to:
Organizations
* International Securities Lending Association, a trade association
* International School of Los Angeles
* International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles
People
* Isla (g ...
, and
Gualeguaychú. The flagship during this period was the corvette ''Sarandí'', named after an important battle in the war for independence.
The first specially fitted warships were the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
s ''General Rivera'', ''General Artigas'', and ''General Suárez''. The first was assembled in Uruguay by the Academy of Arts & Crafts (''Escuela de Artes y Oficios'') and commissioned in April 1884; the second was constructed in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
, then part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, and commissioned in December 1884; the last was the 23-year-old French gunboat ''Tactique'', acquired in 1886. ''General Rivera'' was the first ship of the Navy to pass the
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...
.
Modern era
Just prior to World War One,
President Williman devoted considerable effort and expense to modernizing the navy, viewing it as demanded for Uruguay's "sovereignty and honor." After false starts in 1817, 1863, and 1874, the Naval Academy (''Escuela Naval'') was eventually established in December 1907. New ships included the gunboat ''Dieciocho de Julio'' (constructed in the UK in 1889), the cruiser ''Montevideo'' (the ex-Italian cruiser ), the transport ''Maldonado'' (constructed in Germany in 1886 and soon renamed ''Barón de Río Branco'' for its tasks for the Commission on the Limits of the
Merín Lagoon), the steamer ''Vanguardia'', and the courier ''Oriental''. The
torpedo gunboat
In late 19th-century naval terminology, torpedo gunboats were a form of gunboat armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were superseded by their more successful c ...
''Uruguay'' was constructed to order in Germany and commissioned August 1910. Also in 1910, the government acquired the Cibils-Jackson shipyard, renaming it the National Dock. These advances were then sabotaged by funding cutbacks throughout the 1920s that left the navy poorly maintained.
In June 1916, the tug ''Instituto de Pesca Nº1'' - manned by Navy servicemen - led the second failed attempt to rescue the men of
Shackleton's expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossin ...
from
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
.
In 1925, the Fleet Aeronautics Service (''Servicio de Aeronáutica de la Armada'') was created under Captain Atilio Frigerio, the first Uruguayan pilot to obtain the brevet of Military Pilot (
Aviano Aviano ( fur, Davian; cim, Pleif) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy.
Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (Oncological Referral Center), a cancer rese ...
, Italy, 1912). The first planes, however, did not arrive until 1930.
In 1934, the first Naval Act (''Ley Orgánica de la Armada'') created the Inspectorate of the Navy (''Inspección General de Marina''), freeing the Navy from direct subordination to the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. The next year, three patrol boats ordered from Cantieri Navali Riuniti in Genoa arrived. The ''Paysandú'', ''Salto'', and ''Río Negro'' having served for about 30 years, were decommissioned, and then were brought back into service in the 1990s.
World War II
In December 1939, the Río de la Plata saw the first major naval engagement of World War II when the German pocket battleship faced the cruisers , , and and then fled into Montevideo harbor during the
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commande ...
. Although Uruguay was officially neutral, her pro-British sentiment allowed the Royal Navy to carry out a highly successful disinformation campaign that ended in the German scuttling of the ship.
In 1940, La Paloma's Naval Base (''Base Naval de la Paloma'') was established. The same year, Uruguay introduced conscription and the Navy established the battalions ''Zapicán'' and ''Honor y Patria'' as part of its Reserve Fleet. The next year, the Navy created the Naval War School (''Escuela de Guerra Naval'') to improve its officers' training.
Although Uruguay did not officially join the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
until 15 February 1945, it was involved in assisting the
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
effort. This involved the confiscation of two Italian and two Occupied Danish freighters in Montevideo, which were manned by the Navy and rechristened ''Montevideo'', ''Maldonado'', ''Rocha'' and ''Colonia''. ''Montevideo'' was incidentally sunk by the in March 1942, which prompted Uruguay to seize the German freighter ''Tacoma''. In August 1942, ''Maldonado'' was sunk after its commander was taken prisoner by the German submarine . Following this incidents, Uruguay leased a number of its boats to the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
and received in 1944 the anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-capable corvette ''Maldonado''.
The Fleet Aeronautics Service received six
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
seaplanes from the United States in 1942 and established Laguna del Sauce Aeronaval Base (Base Aeronaval No.2 de Laguna del Sauce) in 1947.
Cold War
Following World War II, the beginning of the Cold War saw the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca'') is an agreem ...
signed in Rio de Janeiro, which provided for "Hemispheric defense" and required signatory states to work to improve and coordinate their naval forces. Between 1949 and 1952, the FAS received sixteen TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, three SNJ Texan trainers, and twelve F6F Hellcat fighters. More, in 1952, the surface fleet received the destroyer escorts ''
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
'' and ''
Artigas'' and, in 1953, the frigate ''
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
''.
In 1955, the Coast Guard received three motor launches: ''PS-1'', ''PS-2'', and ''PS-3''. In May 1959, ''PS-2'' stood out in the rescue of the crew of the Uruguayan freighter ''Pietrina'', stranded on the English Bank, a sandbar off Montevideo.
In 1957, the
UNITAS Unitas may refer to:
* 306 Unitas, a main belt asteroid
* UNITAS, a multi-lateral naval exercise in South and Central America
* Unitas Capital, a private equity firm, formerly known as CCMP Capital Asia
* ''Humani generis unitas'', a planned ency ...
joint exercises began between the United States and the navies of Latin America. The basic training was oriented towards protection of marine lines of trade and communication, focusing on escort and ASW exercises. With the aim of improving the navy's range and support capability, the oiler ''Presidente Oribe'' was purchased in 1962; ten years later, the second oiler ''Presidente Rivera''; and in 1978, ''Juan Antonio Lavalleja''.
From 1960 to 1962, naval officers on ''Alférez Cámpora'' circumnavigated the globe.
In 1965, three
S2A Tracker ASW planes were received; in 1966, the minesweepers ''Cte. Pedro Campbell'' and ''Montevideo''; in 1969, the tender ''Hurrican''; in 1970, the minesweepers ''Rio Negro'' and ''Maldonado''. In 1973, the destroyer ''18 de Julio'' replaced ''Montevideo''.
The present Uruguayan Marine Corps (''Cuerpo de Fusileros Navales'') was established in 1972.
In 1978, refit works were completed to the
ROU 20 ''Capitan Miranda'' that was converted it into a training ship and sailing school. Following graduation from the Naval Academy, cadets embark on a cruise of the world that functions as a good-will tour for Uruguay.
Current
![rou0401](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Rou0401.jpg)
In 1981, three French-designed ''Vigilante''-class patrol boats arrive for the Coast Guard – ''15 de Noviembre'', ''25 de Agosto'', and ''Comodoro Coe'' – but it is discovered that their upkeep is considerably more expensive than promised, and the ships are quite unsuited for conditions in the Rio de la Plata. An attempt to sell them in 1995 found no buyers, however, and so the ships have remained in active service.
In 1988, the Navy acquired a new ship to replace its previous oilers, christened ''Presidente Rivera''.
From 1989 to 1991, three ''Commandant Riviere''-class frigates are purchased from France. These were christened ROU 02 ''General Artigas'', ROU 01 ''Uruguay'', and ROU 03 ''Montevideo''. These too ran into problems, particularly with upkeep, and ''General Artigas'' was removed from service. In a decision between the two remaining ships, ''Uruguay'' was decommissioned and ''Montevideo'' received repairs and refurbishment.
![CorbCapitanMiranda-MDQ-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/CorbCapitanMiranda-MDQ-1.jpg)
Following the fall of Communism, a number of former East German Volksmarine ships were purchased from the new government. In 1991, the Navy received the minesweepers ROU 31 ''Temerario'', ROU 32 ''Valiente'', ROU 33 ''Fortuna'', and ROU 34 ''Audaz''. These were named after privateers of the independence era. Also in 1991, ''Otto von Guericke'' was purchased and converted into ROU 26 ''Vanguardia''. In the early hours of 5 August 2000, ''Valiente'' sank after a collision with the Panamanian freighter ''Skyros'', while on patrol off
Cabo Polonio
Cabo Polonio is a hamlet located in the eastern coast of Uruguay in the Rocha Department.
Cabo Polonio has no roads leading to it and is located about 7 km from the main highway. It is accessible by walking through the dunes or by 4×4 ve ...
. Eleven crewmembers died or became missing in the disaster.
The Coast Guard received new ships from the United States, ''Colonia'' and ''Río Negro''; and in 1999, nine boats of the 44 class from the same country.
The
buoy tender
A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work.
The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...
''Sirius'' was constructed in Montevideo at the National Dock, which also refitted the Portuguese ''Cte. Pedro Campbell'' and ''Uruguay''.
At the end of 1998, the research ship ''Oyarvide'' was purchased from Germany for the purpose of studying and charting the Continental Shelf. It is hoped that the work will justify a redefinition of its boundaries that would approximately double Uruguay's marine exclusive economic zone to around 200,000 km
2.
Organization
The National Navy is composed of about 5,700 personnel organized principally into four commands, each with its distinctive color for official functions.
:*The General Corps (''Cuerpo General'' or CG) under the administration of Fleet Command (Color: Black)
:*The Coastal Corps (''Cuerpo de Prefectura'' or CP) under the administration of the Coast Guard (Color: Gray)
:*The Corps of Mechanical & Electrical Engineers (''Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Máquinas y Electricidad'' or CIME) under the administration of the General Directorate of Naval Materiel (Color: Blue)
:*The Corps of Provision & Administration (''Cuerpo de Aprovisionamiento y Administración'' or CAA) under the administration of the General Directorate of Personnel (Color: White)
In addition, there are two General Services Corps (''Servicios Generales'' or SS.GG.)
:*The Auxiliary Corps (''Cuerpo Auxiliar'' or CA) (Color: Purple) and
:*The Specialists Corps (''Cuerpo Especialista'' or CE) (Color: Green)
and the Naval Academy (''Escuela Naval'' or ESNAL).
The National Navy also includes the
Uruguayan Marine Corps
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and the National Naval Aviation Command.
The service is divided into four main sections:
:*Fleet Command (''Comando de la Flota'' or COMFLO),
:*Coast Guard (''Prefectura Nacional Naval'' or PRENA),
:*Materiel Directorate (''Dirección General de Material Naval'' or DIMAT), and
:*Personnel Directorate (''Dirección General de Personal Naval'' or DIPER).
The Fleet Command is in charge of most of the actual ships of the fleet, the marines, and the naval aviation bases and aircraft. The Coast Guard administers the modest Uruguayan merchant marine and naval registry. The Naval Materiel Directorate preserves and repairs naval equipment, in addition to administering the fleet arsenal and directing hydrological and meteorological study. The Personnel Directorate is concerned with human resources and particularly the administration of the Uruguayan Naval Academy.
In addition, the Fleet General Staff (''Estado Mayor General de la Armada '' or ESMAY) assists the admiral in his administration. It oversees naval intelligence, strategic and tactical planning, logistics, liaison, and political lobbying on the Navy's behalf.
Naval ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
Other ranks
Fleet
![ROU Oyarvide](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/ROU_Oyarvide.JPG)
The
ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/n ...
for Uruguay is ROU (for ''República Oriental del Uruguay,'' the "Oriental Republic of Uruguay"). In addition to their ship name, government ships are numerically listed. This is a position and not an identification number: as ships are decommissioned and replaced, their previous numbers are reused by newer vessels.
The current fleet consists of:
Since 1997, the Uruguayan Naval Academy has also maintained the racing
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
''Bonanza'', a gift from the
US Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
at Annapolis.
The Prefectura (Coast Guard) received in 2019 a donation of 4 Metal Shark Defiant 32 patrol boats from the USA.
Uruguayan Naval Aviation
![Grumman S-2G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Grumman_S-2G.jpg)
Uruguayan Naval Aviation (''Aviación Naval Uruguaya'' or ANU) is the sub-branch of the National Navy for naval aircraft and aviation training. Naval aircraft use a new wing emblem instead of the traditional Artigas roundel like the
Uruguayan Air Force
The Uruguayan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, abbreviated FAU) is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on Dec ...
for easier identification and use the Uruguayan National flag as fin flash.
It was created as Aeronautic Service of the Fleet (''Servicio de Aeronáutica de la Armada'') on 7 February 1925, but didn't receive its first aircraft (two
CANT 18
The CANT 18 was a flying boat trainer developed in Italy in the 1920s to prepare pilots for flying boat airliners. A development of the CANT 7, it incorporated various aerodynamic and hydrodynamic refinements. While remaining broadly similar i ...
and one
CANT 21) until 24 September 1930.
On 12 June 1934, the Naval Air Base "Isla Libertad" in Montevideo's Bay was declared operational.
In 1942,
Grumman J4F Widgeon,
Vought OS2U Kingfisher
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher is an American catapult-launched observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a large central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest because of its low-powered engine. The OS2U ...
and
Fairchild PT-23A trainers were received from the US under
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
.
The Naval Air Base Capitán de Corbeta (Corvette Captain) Carlos A. Curbelo at Laguna del Sauce was declared operational on 10 September 1947.
During the years 1949 to 1957, a large supply of North American SNJ-4, Grumman Avenger, Grumman F6F Hellcat, and Martin Mariner aircraft were delivered.
The force was renamed Naval Aviation (Aviación Naval) in 1951, and as Uruguayan Naval Aviation (Aviación Naval Uruguaya) in 1955.
During the middle of the 1960s, most of the planes in the inventory reached the end of their operational lives and were written off. In this decade the Beechcraft T-34 A, Beechcraft C-45, Grumman S-2A Tracker, Bell TH-13 and Sikorsky CH-34J were incorporated. Some more T-34A/B Mentors were exchanged from the Uruguayan Air Force for SNJ spare parts.
In 1979 nine North American
T-28D Fennec and three
C-45 were donated by the Argentinian Navy. Fennecs were used as a light attack platform until 2000. By 1980 one Bell 222 Airwolf was bought for SAR operations plus one Beech B-200T for maritime surveillance. In 1982 three Turbo Mentor and three Grumman S-2G Tracker were acquired. Trackers were written off in 2001. One S-2G (ANU 854) is on reserve. Some of the CH-34Js were exchanged from Hi-Lift Helicopters for three Wessex Mk60. Also, several Bell 47G were incorporated from the civilian market.
During the 1990s a number of Westland Wessex HcMkII were also bought from Royan Navy and Royal Air Force surplus. By 2000 the last airworthy Fennecs, three Cessna 182 and two Piper Seneca were sold to private collectors. After failed negotiations about Catpass 250, Falcon 20 from US Coast Guard and IAI Westwind of Israel Defense Forces, two Handley Page Jetstream TMk 2 were incorporated from the Royal Navy for training and maritime patrol duties. They operated until 2010 due to a lack of spare parts for the Turbomeca Astazou XVI C2 turboprop powerplants. They are currently on reserve.
Six MBB Bo-105M were received from Germany in 2006, plus one Helibras Esquilo donated by the Brazilian government. Esquilo replaced Bell 47 as helicopter trainer. Since 2010 Uruguayan Navy has been interested in the acquisition of six Lockheed S-3 Viking used from USN stocks, but a shortage of funds are delaying any purchase.
In 2013 was incorporated another
Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...
. Despite lack of funding, there are some plans for near future to incorporate a heavier maritime patrol platform like Beechcraft B 350ER, C-212-400 MP or some second hand CN-235 MP Persuader, Be-12 Mail or CL-215, a number of surplus Short S.312 Tucanos from Royal Navy or T-34C-1 Turbo Mentors from US Navy stocks and at least three helicopters for carried based operations, like some Bell 212 ASW, Bell 412EP or refurbished Westland SH-3 Sea King from Royal Navy surplus as a replacement of the declining Wessex fleet.
By 2018 the Bo-105M were no longer operative. They are being replaced by two AB-412 from Italian Coast Guard.
The small command w/Squadron Group (Grupo de Escuadrones) consists of 2 squadrons and 1 training school.
Current order of battle
Naval Aviation Academy (Escuela de Aviación Naval)
Originally at Angel S Adami 1944-1947
Since then at Captain Carlos Curbelo Naval Air Base (2) at Laguna del Sauce
Image:Aviacion Naval Uruguaya.jpg, Coat of Arms
Image:Aviación Naval del Uruguay.png, Wing Emblem
Image:Westland Wessex Mk60 (WS-58).jpg, Westland Wessex Mk60
Image:Westland Wessex of Uruguayan Naval Aviation.jpg, Westland Wessex refitted
Future
The Uruguayan Navy plans to modernize its aging fleet through new ship acquisitions over the next decade. In 2021, Admiral Jorge Wilson, Commander of the Uruguayan Navy, signed a Letter of Acceptance which will allow the transfer of three
Marine Protector-class patrol vessels from the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
. Each ship will include a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) that can be launched from the stern of the larger vessel via an innovative launch and recovery system.
Uruguay has also commenced a tender process to purchase two Offshore Patrol Vessels for around $100 million. The current administration will pay $50 million while the rest of the money will be paid in the next ten years, with the first vessel expected to be delivered by June 2024.
See also
*
Flag of Artigas#Uruguayan Navy
References
External links
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional- Official site of the Uruguayan Ministry of National Defense (in Spanish)
Armada Nacional- Official site of the National Navy of Uruguay (in Spanish)
(in English)
*Ranks of the Uruguayan Armed Force
{{Navies in Latin America
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
Military units and formations established in 1817