The Cyprus Naval Command (, ) (also known as the Cyprus Navy or Cypriot Navy) is the armed sea wing of the

Cyprus National Guard The National Guard of Cyprus (), also known as the Greek Cypriot National Guard or simply the National Guard, is the military force of the Republic of Cyprus. It consists of air, land, sea and special forces elements, and is highly integrated wit ...

. The Cypriot Navy has the primary mission of defending the

maritime border A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

s of the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

, but is currently unable to access the waters around

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

, which have been controlled by the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

since the 1974

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. This force does not possess any

capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic i ...

s or other major

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s, but is equipped with

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They ar ...

systems and integrated

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

systems, as well as SEALs-type naval underwater demolitions units.

History

Combat actions of 1964

On 6 August 1964,

forces commenced combat action against the

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

enclave of

Kokkina Kokkina (, ; or ) is a coastal exclave (pene-exclave) of the ''de facto'' Northern Cyprus, and a former Turkish Cypriot enclave in Cyprus. It is surrounded by mountainous territory, with the Morphou Bay on its northern flank. Kokkina sits s ...

, in the north-west of Cyprus. This operation was regarded by both

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

as a necessary

interdiction Interdiction is interception of an object prior to its arrival at the location where it is to be used in military, espionage, and law enforcement. Military In the military, interdiction is the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy f ...

against a threat by Turkish Cypriot

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, who were using Kokkina as a

beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...

by which to land supplies and weapons shipped from Turkey. The Cyprus National Guard forces were under the command of General

George Grivas George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

, with the blessing of Athens. A combined land and sea attack was launched against Kokkina using two Cyprus Navy R-151 Group

s, the ''

Phaethon Phaethon (; , ), also spelled Phaëthon, is the son of the Oceanids, Oceanid Clymene (mother of Phaethon), Clymene and the solar deity, sun god Helios in Greek mythology. According to most authors, Phaethon is the son of Helios who, out of a de ...

'' (''commander - Second Leuthenant Dimitrios Mitsatsos'') and the ''Arion'', manned by Greek navy personnel. Firing 40mm and 20mm shells, the two patrol boats bombarded the enclave for a period of time, in conjunction with land-based 25-pounder

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

.Cyprus, 1955-1973 By Tom Cooper, www.acig.org The battle was well underway on 8 August, when the

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

commenced its own attack with

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

, making numerous strafing passes of Greek Cypriot positions. The vessel ''Phaethon'' was struck by rocket fire and burst into flames, forcing the crew to deliberately run it aground near Xeros Harbour. Seven of the crewmembers on ''Phaethon'' were killed and several wounded in the attack, and the ship was unsalvageable and later stricken. The second R-151 Group patrol boat, ''Arion'', was attacked by the same Turkish fighter jet formations, and was reportedly struck several times by strafing fire, but escaped to Paphos. During the attack on the ''Arion'', a Turkish

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

, piloted by Captain

Cengiz Topel Cengiz Topel (September 2, 1934 – August 8, 1964) was a fighter pilot and captain of the Turkish Air Force. Topel was killed in the Battle of Tillyria, becoming the first war casualty of the Turkish Air Force in Cyprus. His name was posthumo ...

, was struck by 40mm anti-aircraft fire and shot down. The pilot ejected over land but was promptly captured and lynched by members of the Cyprus National Guard.

Naval organization in 1970

MTBs flotilla: * First squadron; base - Boghazi; boats: ''T-4'', ''T-5'', ''T-6'' * Second squadron; base - Kyrenia; boats: ''T-1'', ''T-2'', ''T-3'' * Patrol Boats squadron; base - Boghazi; boats: ''Leventis'', ''Dedalos'' * Four radar stations (range of detection 45 nautical miles) * Naval stations at Famagusta, Xylophagos, Limassol, Paphos * Underwater Demolitions Unit (Boghazi naval base)

Cypriot naval vessels from 1964 to 1974

Main armament * 40 mm Bofors Mark III L60 gun * 20 mm Oerlikon Mark 10 L70 cannon * 14,5 mm 2M-5 machine guns * 450 mm type 45-52 torpedoes File:Cyboat3.jpg, Cyprus Navy P-4 "Skinhead" class Motor Torpedo Boat

Combat actions of 1974

On 15 July 1974,

EOKA-B EOKA-B or Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B (EOKA B ; ) was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971 by General Georgios Grivas. It followed an ultra right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achievin ...

and elements of the

overthrew the legitimate President, Archbishop Makarios and replaced him with

Nikos Sampson Nikos Sampson (; born Nikolaos (Nikos) Georgiadis, ; 16 December 1935 – 9 May 2001) was a Greek-Cypriot journalist, militant and politician, who was installed as acting President of Cyprus during the 1974 coup. A former journalist and EOK ...

. Makarios escaped an initial attempt to capture him at the Archbishiporic in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, and fled to

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

. A naval patrol vessel, ''Leventis'' (pennant number 15) was quickly dispatched to Paphos to begin shelling a radio station there which was being operated by pro-Makarios elements.Cyprus 1974 - The Greek coup and the Turkish invasion, Makarios Drousiotis, Hellenic Distribution Agency On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus in a surprise-attack, without issuing a

declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national gov ...

. A naval force of Turkish vessels was detected by coastal radar at Apostolos Andreas approaching the coast, and a second force of naval vessels was sighted off the coast of Kyrenia during the early hours. The Cyprus National Guard Naval Command quickly ordered its two motor torpedo boats, ''T-1'' (''commander - Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolaos Verikios'') and ''T-3'' (''commander - Lieutenant Elefterios Tsomakis''), (based at

Kyrenia Kyrenia is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

) to attack the Turkish flotilla directly. Both vessels were promptly sunk by combined air and sea attack. The rest of the Cyprus Navy vessels were sunk by their own crews at Naval base "Chrysulis" in Boghazi (14.08.1974). After the conflict, two boats were refloated by Turkish troops and transferred to Golcuk Naval Museum, Turkey (on display with pennant numbers 11 and 12).

Developments from 1975 to 2008

In 1983, the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

acquired a single Type 32L Esterel fast patrol craft from France. The vessel has been upgraded, and has heavy

armament A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is 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 (e.g., murder), law e ...

, including two 2-round Mistral-SIMBAD air-defence missile launchers, 1 40mm .70cal OTO-Breda-Bofors AA cannon and 1 20mm .90cal Rheinmetall AA cannon.The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems By Eric Wertheim Published by Naval Institute Press, 2007 , 9781591149552 Later (circa 2006-2008) 40mm .70cal OTO-Breda-Bofors AA cannon was replaced by 20mm .70cal Oerlikon Mk10 AA cannon. In 1994,

acquired 24 Aerospatiale MM40 Exocet Block-II anti-ship missiles (reportedly initially intended for Iran) from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, along with 3 coastal defence batteries. In 2000, the Cyprus Navy received the ex-

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

patrol boat "''Knossos''", which was renamed "''Kyrenia''", designated ''P02'' and formed the ''Kyrenia'' class. This vessel was Greek made, of the Dilos-class, previously designated P269. This vessel is armed with one single 20mm .70cal Oerlikon Mk10 AA cannon and one 2-round Mistral-SIMBAD air-defence missile launcher. In 2002, the Cyprus Navy acquired two Rodman 55 fast assault boats for the purpose of serving her

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

units. These fast craft are named "Agathos" and "Panagos". During 2004-2006, Cyprus took delivery of four FPB 30M type fast

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the Frenc ...

craft from

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

Cantierre Navale Vittoria of Italy, of which two were intended for the Navy, and two intended for the Marine Police. These vessels were fitted with single 25mm .80cal KBA OTO-Melara automatic cannons and two single 12.7mm machine guns, equipped with radars and Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIRs). The Navy pair were issued the pennant numbers ''P03'' and ''P04''.

2011 base disaster

On 11 July 2011, the

Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion On 11 July 2011, at Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, situated at Mari, Larnaca District in Cyprus, a large amount of ammunition and military explosives self-detonated, killing 13 people, including the Commander of the Cyprus Navy, Andreas Ioann ...

resulted in the destruction of much of the infrastructure of the nation's main naval port and loss of the Commander of Cypriot Navy Captain

Andreas Ioannides Andreas Ioannides may refer to: * Andreas Ioannides (footballer), Cypriot footballer * Andreas Ioannides (naval officer) Andreas Ioannides (; 1958 – 11 July 2011) was the head of the Cyprus Navy until his death in the Evangelos Florakis Navy B ...

. Reconstruction began immediately on the strength of domestic contracts for buildings and structures.

Acquisition of new warships

Following various media reports in 2012 that Cyprus was entertaining offers by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

to supply two heavy Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), being far larger and more capable than anything previously operated, it was extensively reported in January 2013 that Cyprus signed an agreement with

to purchase two large, stealthy and well-armed vessels based upon the GOWIND corvette design. This frenzy of media speculation was bolstered by the otherwise sudden and unexplained visit to Cyprus by the L'Adroit, which some sources interpreted as a demonstration of the ship design, to be held at Limassol port from 24 to 26 January 2013. Further unconfirmed reports by the Cyprus media claim to have it on good authority that a US$120 million down payment for the vessels is factored into the 2013 fiscal budget, justified against the

2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis The 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis was an economic crisis in the Republic of Cyprus that involved the exposure of Cypriot banks to overleveraged local property companies, the Greek government-debt crisis, the downgrading of the Government ...

by emergency defense requirements. On 14 February 2017 a vessel was presented to Cyprus as a gift from the

Sultanate of Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. It was part of the

Royal Omani Navy The Royal Navy of Oman (), abbreviated RNO, is the maritime component of the Royal Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Given its long coastline and strategic location along the Indian Ocean, as well as being close to the Strait of Hormuz, th ...

fleet, but was decommissioned and refitted for use in the waters off Cyprus. The ship was renamed Alasia. On 15 January 2018 the Cyprus Navy commissioned the Commodore Andreas Ioannides P 61, the ship was built by

Israel Shipyards Israel Shipyards is a large shipbuilding and repair facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The company also operates a privately owned port in Israel. The company's facilities are located at the Kishon Port (part of the Port of Haifa complex) ...

Limited and is based on the Saar 4.5 FAC. The navy has an option for an additional vessel which was exercised as of December 2018.

2024 Lebanon Migrant crisis

As a result of the Lebanese government's inability to deal with the migrant crisis, It was decided by the Cypriot government to send Port and Marine Police and Navy ships to patrol approximately 30 nautical miles off the Lebanese coast in order to prevent illegal immigration into the country.

Turkish Navy incident

During the patrol off the coast of Lebanon, a Turkish Navy ship was spotted by Cypriot coastal radars approaching the two ships that were on patrol in the area and as such, the command center from one of the ships immediately alerted the government in Nicosia, which got into contact with

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

who immediately sent the Spetsai frigate to support the Cypriot ships. The Turkish ship later left the area with the Cypriot General Staff and rest of the government were fully informed of all the Turkish military movements that were taking place until it left.

Structure

Equipment

Vessels

Also 2 Italian-made speedboats Poseidonas 1 and Nireas 1. Main naval base -

Evangelos Florakis Evangelos Florakis (, Tzoumerka 14 February 1943 – Paphos 10 July 2002) was a Greek Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. After retiring from the Hellenic Army, from 2000 until his death in a helicopter accident in 2002 he comma ...

, Mari - Larnaca Naval stations - Limassol, Pafos

Naval commanders

* September 2000 – 10 July 2002: Captain Nicholas Georgiou (killed in air accident) * July 2002 – 20 August 2008: Captain Evangelos Valvis * 20 August 2008 – 11 July 2011: Captain

( killed in naval base disaster) * 11 July 2011 – 5 November 2011: Captain George Pitsiakos * 5 November 2011: Captain Kyriakos Pochanis * 2019 –:

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Charalambos Charalambous

References

External links

Cyprus Naval Forces in 1964-1974
(Russian) {{Navies in Europe