Crete Naval Base (, ''Nafstathmos Kritis'') is a major

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 usu ...

of the

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 ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

at Souda Bay in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

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 ...

. Formally known in NATO as Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay (NSA-Souda Bay), and more commonly in Greece as the Souda Naval Base (, ''Naftiki Vasi Soudas''), it serves as the second largest (in numbers of warships harboured) naval base of the

and the largest and most prominent naval base for

in the eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Additionally, it features the only

deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

and the

that is suitable and capable of maintaining the largest

aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a fl ...

(class "supercarriers"). The only other such options available for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

are Norfolk Naval Station and the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

in the United States and the Port of Jebel Ali,

Emirate of Dubai The Emirate of Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the most populous emirate of the UAE. The capital of the emirate is the eponymous city, Dubai. Governance Dubai is governed as an absolute monarchy by the A ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

History

Souda is a naturally protected

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

on the northwest coast of the island of Crete, founded for the first time during the Ottoman period, in 1872. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...

, the harbor was the target of an Italian raid against the Allied navy as part of the Mediterranean Campaign. After the war, the naval base was founded, around the same period with Greece's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.

Facilities

The Naval Base of Souda Bay occupies an area of , including the old artillery barracks of the Hellenic Army's 5th Infantry Division as well as later land acquisitions. The facilities include a dry dock, workshops, a fuel depot and an ammunition depot. The Naval Station is commanded by a Commodore or Captain of the Hellenic Navy. The Forward Logistics Site Souda Bay (FLS Souda Bay) was under the operational control of NATO's Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (COMNAVSOUTH), until 2013. Since then, it is under the control of the

Allied Maritime Command The Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core ...

(MARCOM) which replaced NAVSOUTH. The Hellenic Navy radio communications station SXH has also been located at Mournies, near Souda, since 1929. The Κ-14, a deep-water quay, is the only of its kind in the Mediterranean Sea that allows the aircraft carriers to dock. Since 2007, the Souda Bay Naval Base is host of the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (ΝMIOTC), which is located at the Northern Sector of the base (Marathi).

Based units

Since 2020, the USS Hershel "Woody" Williams, a expeditionary mobile base, of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, is deployed to Crete Naval Base.

Gallery

File:USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) departing Greece.jpg, The American aircraft carrier USS ''Harry S. Truman'' (CVN-75) sails out of the Souda Bay harbor in Crete, Greece, following a four-day port visit to Greece's largest island. File:070725-N-0780F-004.jpg, Greek line handlers assist as Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS ''Forrest Sherman'' (DDG-98) arrives in Greece for the first port visit of her maiden deployment. File:US Navy 030321-N-0780F-032 FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) arrives for a port visit.jpg, The Naval Support Activity Souda Bay's Security Department soldiers stand a security watch in front of the French aircraft carrier FS ''Charles DeGaulle'' (R 91) as it docks at the Marathi NATO pier facility in Souda Bay. File:A Hellenic navy special operations forces instructor, right, conducts small arms training with U.S. Sailors aboard the Hellenic navy training ship Aris (A-74) at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational 120512-N-FV216-014.jpg, A Hellenic navy special operations forces instructor, right, conducts small arms training with U.S. Sailors aboard the Hellenic navy training ship ''Aris'' (A-74) at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre in Souda Bay, Crete File:080611-N-0780F-003.jpg, Sailors conduct mooring operations as the fast-attack submarine USS ''Albany'' (SSN-753) arrives in Souda Bay for a routine port visit. File:101109-M-4471M-047 (5189824611).jpg, Greek Navy Warrant Officer Alexander Tsaltas demonstrates tactical sweep techniques for U.S. Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime interception operations assault force aboard the training ship HNS ''Aris'' in Souda Bay, Crete, Greece File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - A Sailor climbs aboard the training ship Aris..jpg, A U.S. Navy and Hellenic Navy in training exercise at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center in Souda Bay, Crete, May 12, 2012, during Phoenix Express 2012, a two-week exercise and cooperation among partners from Africa, Europe and United States. File:USAF F-16 taxiing during joint US-Greek training exercise in Souda Bay, Greece.jpg, A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft pilot taxis to the flight line in Souda Bay, Greece, Aug. 18, 2014, during a training event between Greece and the United States. File:A Qatar Emiri Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet takes off as part of a Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn mission.jpg, A Qatar Emiri Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet takes off as part of a Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn mission, at Souda Bay. File:Nike-Hercules firing NAMFI 220Sq.jpg,

Nike-Hercules The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range anti-aircraft, air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclea ...

firing at NAMFI by 220 Squadron RNLAF, from Souda Bay, Greece File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War AX28A.jpg, The Royal Navy during

, harboured in Souda Bay.

References

External links