Crete Naval Base
| Crete Naval Base Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης | |
|---|---|
| Souda Bay, Crete, Greece | |
 The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) arrives at Souda Bay, Greece. | |
 Logo of the Hellenic Navy's Crete Naval Base | |
  Crete NB Location of Crete Naval Base, Greece | |
| Coordinates | 35°29′46.5″N 24°08′51.5″E / 35.496250°N 24.147639°E |
| Site information | |
| Owner |  Greece |
| Controlled by |  Hellenic NavyAllied Maritime Command (NATO) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| Built by | Greek Government |
| In use | 1951 – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Current commander | Commodore John Sarigiannis |
| Garrison | 2nd Branch - DDΜΝ - Hellenic Navy General Staff |
Crete Naval Base (Greek: Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης, Nafstathmos Kritis) is a major naval base of the Hellenic Navy and NATO at Souda Bay in Crete, Greece.
Formally known in NATO as Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay (NSA-Souda Bay),[1] and more commonly in Greece as the Souda Naval Base (Greek: Ναυτική Βάση Σούδας, Naftiki Vasi Soudas), it serves as the second largest (in numbers of warships harboured) naval base of the Hellenic Navy and the largest and most prominent naval base for NATO in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.[2][3][4][5] Additionally, it features the only deep water port in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea that is suitable and capable of maintaining the largest aircraft carriers (class "supercarriers"). The only other such options available for the US Navy are Norfolk Naval Station and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the United States and the Port of Jebel Ali, Emirate of Dubai in the Persian Gulf.[6]
History
[edit] |
Souda is a naturally protected harbor on the northwest coast of the island of Crete, founded for the first time during the Ottoman period, in 1872.
During World War II and the Battle of Greece, 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
[edit]The Naval Base of Souda Bay occupies an area of 500 hectares (1,200 acres), 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 (MARCOM) which replaced NAVSOUTH. The Hellenic Navy radio communications station SXH has also been located at Mournies, near Souda, since 1929.[7] 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).[8]
Based units
[edit]Since 2020, the USS Hershel "Woody" Williams, a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base, of the United States Navy, is deployed to Crete Naval Base.[9][10]
Gallery
[edit]-
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. -
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. -
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. -
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 -
Sailors conduct mooring operations as the fast-attack submarine USS Albany (SSN-753) arrives in Souda Bay for a routine port visit. -
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 -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Nike-Hercules firing at NAMFI by 220 Squadron RNLAF, from Souda Bay, Greece -
The Royal Navy during World War II, harboured in Souda Bay.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "NSA Souda Bay: Welcome to U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay". Installations. Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Sitilides, John (June 5, 2017). "Greece deal will give U.S. valuable port: Souda Bay gives the U.S. a singulary valuable port in the Eastern Mediterranean". Opinion: Commentary. Washington Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Souda Bay US Naval Base 'best in the Med'". Category: ελλάδα [Greece]; Tags: Bay, Souda. Daily Hellas. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-03-01. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Goure, Daniel (August 10, 2015). "Souda Bay Base Anchors NATO Role In Eastern Med". Related Topics: Mediterranean, NATO, Souda Bay. RealClearDefense. Lexington Institute. Retrieved 27 March 2017. Reproduced from: Gouré, Daniel (August 10, 2015). "Vital Souda Bay Base Anchors NATO Role In Eastern Med". Lexington Institute. Arlington, VA. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Dinella, Harry (Spring 2015). "The Expanding Strategic Significance of Souda Bay" (PDF). The AHIF Policy Journal. 6 (3). American Hellenic Institute Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ U.S. Embassy in Athens (May 3, 2017). "Ambassador's Remarks at EXPOSEC-DefenseWorld Conference". News & Events; Topics: Ambassador, News, Speeches, U.S. & Greece; Tags: Defense, Exposec. U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece (published 2 May 2017). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Kevin Nice (2003). Ferrell's Confidential Frequency List (13th ed.). PW Publishing Ltd. p. 535. ISBN 1-874110-35-2.
- ^ "Nato Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre". Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2010. (in English and Greek)
- ^ Karam, Joyce (30 September 2020). "US to move giant floating sea base to Greece sparking doubts over Turkish port". The Americas; Turkey, Europe, Greece. The National.
- ^ "USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams Shifts Homeport to Greece". Seapower Magazine. The Navy League of the United States. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
External links
[edit]- "Crete Naval Station" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay (Official web site)". Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay". Global Security web site. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre
- U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay Official's photostream