Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest

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 ...

of the Argentine Navy, situated next to

Punta Alta Punta Alta is a city in Argentina, about 20 kilometers southeast of Bahía Blanca. It has a population of 57,293. It is the capital ("cabecera") of the Coronel Rosales Partido. It was founded on 2 July 1898. The city is located near the Atlant ...

, near Bahía Blanca, about south of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. It is named after the brigantine ''General Belgrano'' (named after

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

) which sounded the area in late 1824. SLR2931

Home of the Argentine Seas Fleet ( ''Flota de Mar''), it concentrates the major ships and arsenals; and is close to the main bases of other Argentine Navy organisations: Marine's camp ''Baterías'' and

Naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

's air base ''Comandante Espora'' ( es, Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora - BACE) .

History

Designed by Italian engineer Luis Luiggi, Puerto Belgrano opened on November 30, 1896, under the name Puerto Militar ( en, Military Port). In 1911, the French-owned railway company Ferrocarril Rosario y Puerto Belgrano opened a broad gauge () line between Puerto Belgrano and Rosario. The harbor was renamed Puerto Belgrano in 1923. D11ARALaArgentina

The base grew in importance with the size of the fleet. During

World War I 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 ...

and

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 opposing ...

the s and were docked here, and during the Cold War the aircraft carriers and were docked at this base. The shipyard continues doing maintenance and refits of vessels and submarines. In April 2006, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's Antarctic patrol vessel entered Puerto Belgrano for repairs after damaging its rudder while in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

in February. It was the first time since the end of the 1982 Falklands War ( es, Guerra de las Malvinas) that a British Royal Navy ship had entered the Argentine naval base.

Facilities

The base contains a naval hospital, specialized workshops, six middle and tertiary level military schools, a banking headquarters and seven residential neighborhoods for naval personnel.

Based ships

Destroyers

* ARA ''Almirante Brown'' (D-10) * ARA ''La Argentina'' (D-11) * ARA ''Heroína'' (D-12) * ARA ''Sarandí'' (D-13)

Corvettes

* ARA ''Espora'' (P-41) * ARA ''Rosales'' (P-42) * ARA ''Spiro'' (P-43) * ARA ''Parker'' (P-44) * ARA ''Robinson'' (P-45) * ARA ''Gómez Roca'' (P-46)

Auxiliaries and Amphibious

* ARA ''Patagonia'' (B-1) * ARA ''Hércules'' (B-52) * ARA ''Canal Beagle'' (B-3) * ARA ''Bahía San Blas'' (B-4) * ARA ''Cabo de Hornos'' (B-5) * ARA ''Puerto Argentino'' (A-21) * ARA ''Estrecho de San Carlos'' (A-22) * ARA ''Islas Malvinas'' (A-24) * ARA ''Teniente Olivieri'' (A-2) * ARA ''Punta Alta'' (Q-63)

Antarctic Naval Command

* ARA ''Almirante Irízar''

Tugships

* ARA Querandí (R-2) * ARA Tehuelche (R-3) * ARA Mataco (R-4) * ARA Mocoví (R-5) * ARA Zeus (R-9)

Space launch pad

A launch pad was considered for the planned Argentine space launch vehicle " Tronador II". Land for the construction of the facilities were ceded to CONAE (Argentine Space Agency). The location was selected because of existing Navy facilities, security measures already in place, large enough available area, and a favorable location for launches into polar orbits.

References

Citations

Sources

*
Puerto Belgrano history
at Histarmar
HMS Endurance completes repairs in Puerto Belgrano

External links

{{Authority control Shipyards of Argentina Argentine Navy bases Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Province Belgrano Rocket launch sites in Argentina 1896 establishments in Argentina