Las Palmas Naval Base, also known as Arsenal of Las Palmas, is a

military base 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 ...

and

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

located in the city of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is the largest military base of the Spanish Navy on the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

History

In 1922 the Association of Fruit Exporters of Las Palmas began the construction of a dock on the ruins of the Royal Castle of Santa Catalina. 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 ...

, because of the continuous presence of warships of the

belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meanin ...

countries, the

Spanish State Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

took the decision to establish a permanent naval base in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. In 1941 it was temporarily expropriated by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. In 1948, the Arsenal of Las Palmas was formally established at the Nuestra Señora del Pino dock, the Air Force's

Seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

Base. More land was later purchased, allowing the construction of several buildings, named after the first Chief of the Arsenal. During the 1950s two docks were constructed to accommodate

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

. In 2000, the Spanish Navy Marines Corps of Canaries moved from the Manuel Lois Barracks to the Arsenal, where several buildings were converted to accommodate the necessary offices and storerooms.

Ships

* '' Buques de Acción Marítima'' (Offshore patrol vessel) ** ''Meteoro'' ** ''Rayo'' ** ''Relámpago'' ** ''Tornado''https://armada.defensa.gob.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/buquessuperficie/prefLang-en/10buques-accion-maritima--04buque-accion-maritima-tornado-p44

References

{{coord, 28.1353, -15.4268, format=dms, type:landmark_region:ES-GC, display=title Spanish Navy bases Las Palmas

History

Ships

See also

References