Naval Station Pascual Ledesma Cavite Naval Base - Naval Installations Command Base Naval de Cavite-Guarnición Naval Fortaleza de San Felipe Estacion Naval "Comodoro Pascual Ledesma" Comando Naval de Instalaciones y Dependencias Terrestres | |
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Fort San Felipe, San Roque, Cavite City in the Philippines | |
Coordinates | 14°28′54″N120°54′58″E / 14.48167°N 120.91611°E |
Type | Naval base |
Area | 9 hectares (22 acres) |
Site information | |
Owner | Armed Forces of the Philippines |
Controlled by | Philippine Navy |
Open to the public | No |
Condition | Active |
Site history | |
Built | late 16th century |
Built by | Spanish East Indies |
In use | Spanish shipyard: late 16th century – early 19th century Spanish naval station: early 19th century – 1898 U.S. Naval facility: 1898–1971 Philippine Naval facility: 1971–present |
Battles/wars | Battle of Manila Bay |
Events | Cavite Mutiny of 1872 |
Garrison information | |
Current commander | Cmdre. Romeo Santiago Nebres |
Garrison | Naval Sea Systems Command Naval Logistics Center |
Naval Station Pascual Ledesma, also known as Cavite Naval Base or Cavite Navy Yard, is a military installation of the Philippine Navy in Cavite City. In the 1940s and '50s, it was called Philippine Navy Operating Base. The 9-hectare (22-acre) naval base is located at the easternmost end of Cavite Point in the San Roque district (specifically Fort San Felipe) of the city. Via traffic lane, this naval establishment is next to the famous Samonte Park. It was the former extension of U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point (transferred to the Philippines in 1971) which is now Naval Station Heracleo Alano. In 2009, it was named after Cmdre. Pascual Ledesma (b. May 17, 1843 – d. June 6, 1917), a leader of the Philippine Revolution and the first Officer-In-Command of the Philippine Navy.
The port town of Cavite Nuevo was established after the Spanish colonizers found that the deep waters around the tip of Cavite Point (Cavite la Punta) are suitable for large ships and established the Astillero de Rivera (Rivera Shipyard). Cavite City became the main seaport of Manila and the staging port for the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade. After the demise of the galleon trade, the shipyard became the Spanish Arsenal. [1]
When the sovereignty of the Philippines was ceded to the Americans after the Spanish–American War, the U.S. took over all the military stations left by the Spaniards including the Cavite Naval Yard. The Americans made several modifications and improvements, but also included the demolition of Fort Guadalupe and partially of Fort San Felipe.
It was the US Navy's only ship repair facility in the western Pacific before World War II. Sangley Point was a component of the navy yard. Sangley Point was a subordinate command of the Yard and where the naval radio transmitting facility and the naval hospital was located.
In 1941, the 16th Naval District was established in the navy yard during the American colonial period. At the beginning of World War II, the Cavite Navy Yard was destroyed by Japanese bombers. It was abandoned and the Japanese used the yard for small boat repair. It is the same place the Japanese forces used as a headquarters after they conquered Cavite during the Second World War. [1]
In 1945, the yard was retaken by the combined Filipino and American forces and recommissioned, but it was turned over to the Philippine government in 1947 for the Philippine Navy.
Early in December 1970, it was officially announced that U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point would be closed. On July 1, 1971, Sangley Point changed status from active to inactive in preparation for the turnover of the facility to the government of the Philippines. On-the-job-training sessions were conducted for Philippine naval personnel to ensure the safe and proper operation of all base industrial facilities. On September 1, 1971, the base was officially turned over to the government of the Philippines, ending 73 years as a U.S. naval facility. It is currently used as a facility of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force. William J. Mitzel and his wife Barbara were the last US personnel to occupy quarters on the installation. Mr. Mitzel was responsible for the final turn over and lived on the installation with his wife, when the turn over was completed.
In line with Philippine Navy General Order number 229 dated July 7, 2009, the naval installations were renamed to honor esteemed predecessors in the military/naval service who fought for the protection of the nation's sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, and the maritime interests of the country. With this, the Naval Base Cavite, the naval station in Fort San Felipe, was assigned the name Naval Station Pascual Ledesma. [2]
Naval Base Cavite provides support services to the Philippine Navy and other Armed Forces of the Philippines tenant units in the base complex, such as refueling, re-watering, shore power connections, berthing, ferry services, tugboat assistance, sludge disposal services and housing.
Formerly the Naval Support Command, the Naval Sea System Command operates the country's military shipyards providing repair and maintenance of all navy ships and aircraft and their weapons. They develop new technologies for the Navy and maintains their communications and electronic equipment in order to sustain the naval defense capability of the Philippine Navy. It is the biggest industrial complex of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The Philippine Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command shared a video on their realization to restart their naval shipbuilding capability with the reopening of the Naval Shipbuilding Center (previously called the Cavite Naval Yard) which was refurbished and retooled as part Israel Shipyard's contract to supply fast attack interdiction crafts to the Philippine Navy.
The new facility will be building/assembling some of the Acero-class FAICs (Shaldag Mk. V) that were procured by the DND under the FAICM Acquisition Project, and will likely to the same once additional orders are made.
The Naval Logistics Center began as the OSP[ clarification needed ] supply center under the finance branch of the Philippine Army for supporting the few vessels turned over by the US Navy. In October 1947, the supply center was elevated to a regular division and paved the way to the establishment of the general supply depot named as the Naval Supply Center in 1950. It was placed under control of the Commander, Naval Shore Establishment, later called the Fleet Support Command and the Naval Support Command in 1967.
It is now called the Naval Logistics Center. The depot procures and maintains, manages supplies and raw materials, operates equipment and facilities and render related services in support of the logistics requirement of Philippine Navy units. [3]
Located within the base is the Cavite Naval Hospital, a medical facility that provides hospital and out-patient services to Philippine Navy personnel and their dependents. It is located on P. Zamora Extension/Reynoso Road,( 14°28′58.6″N120°54′52.5″E / 14.482944°N 120.914583°E ) adjacent to the navy chapel. The other naval hospital, Manila Navy Hospital is located in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, Metro Manila. [4]
Sangley Point National High School is located at Naval Station Heracleo Alano. It is situated along La Naval Rd, Naval Station Heracleo Alano, Sangley Point, San Antonio, Cavite City; not at Naval Base Pascual Ledesma regarding the above topic.
Naval Base Cavite is served by the Stella Maris Chapel, a Roman Catholic military chaplaincy located on P. Zamora Ext. (or Reynoso Rd)( 14°28′59.3″N120°54′50.4″E / 14.483139°N 120.914000°E ) inside the base in Fort San Felipe, Cavite City. [5]
Corregidor is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) west of Manila, the nation's largest city and one of its most important seaports for centuries since the Spanish colonial period. Due to its strategic location, Corregidor has historically been fortified with coastal artillery batteries to defend the entrance of Manila Bay and Manila itself from attacks by enemy warships.
The Battle of Manila Bay, also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Contraalmirante Patricio Montojo. The battle took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War. The battle was one of the most decisive naval battles in history and marked the end of the Spanish colonial period in Philippine history.
Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite, is a 2nd class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people.
The Philippine Navy (PN) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 90 combat vessels, 16 auxiliary vessels, 25 manned aircraft and 8 unmanned aerial vehicles. Tracing its roots from the Philippine Revolutionary Navy on May 20, 1898, while its modern foundations were created during the creation of the Offshore Patrol on February 9, 1939, the PN is currently responsible for naval warfare operations and maritime patrol missions within the Philippine Waters, as well as ensuring the protection of the Philippine's maritime interests, including the West Philippine Sea and Benham Rise.
The Naval Special Operations Command (NAVSOCOM) is a separate command of the Philippine Navy trained in special operations, sabotage, psychological and unconventional warfare and is heavily influenced by the United States Navy SEALs. NAVSOCOM is headquartered at Naval Base Heracleo Alano Sangley Point, Cavite City. It has eleven units located across the Philippines, from Naval Operating Base San Vicente at Santa Ana, Cagayan in the north to Naval Station Zamboanga in the south.
Mount Santa Rita was a facility of the United States Navy in Bataan, Philippines. It was the U.S. Naval Link Station (USNAVLINKSTA) within the Philippines. There were approximately 15 people that were permanently attached to this station at any given time, while there were also seven Marine guards who rotated every seven days. These Marine Guards were members of Alpha Company Marine Barracks, Subic Bay. Other than military personnel, there were Philippine nationals that worked there as well.
Naval Station San Miguel is an installation of the Philippine Navy located in Barangay San Miguel, San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines. The United States turned over the base to the Philippine government in 1992. The Philippine's first BrahMos anti-ship missile complex will reportedly be located at the base.
Sangley Point National High School has total land area of 6100 sq.m., and is situated amongst residential units along La Naval Road inside the Naval Station Heracleo Alano in Sangley Point, San Antonio, Cavite City. Located at its back is the historic Cañacao Bay.
The Port of Subic Bay is in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, on Subic Bay in the Philippines. It is one of the busiest, largest, historical and most important of ports in the Philippines. The Port is operated and managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Cañacao Bay is a small bay located within the larger Manila Bay in Luzon island in the Philippines.
The Cavite Peninsula is a peninsula extending northeast into Manila Bay from the coastal town of Noveleta in Cavite province in the Philippines. The northern tip of the peninsula is geographically the northernmost part of the province of Cavite.
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, the Philippines. The station was a part of the Cavite Navy Yard across the peninsula. The naval station had a runway that was built after World War II, which was used by U.S. Navy Lockheed P-2 Neptune, Lockheed P-3 Orion, and Martin P4M Mercator maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. An adjacent seaplane runway, ramp area and seaplane tender berths also supported Martin P5M Marlin maritime patrol aircraft until that type's retirement from active naval service in the late 1960s. NAS Sangley Point/NAVSTA Sangley Point was also used extensively during the Vietnam War, primarily for U.S. Navy patrol squadrons forward deployed from the United States on six-month rotations. The naval station was turned over to the Philippine government in 1971. It is now operated by the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy.
Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles (680 km2), about the size of Singapore. The Navy Exchange had the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, and the Naval Supply Depot handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any navy facility in the world. The naval base was the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces, after Clark Air Base in Angeles City was closed in 1991. Following its closure in 1992, it was transformed into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone by the Philippine government.
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BRP Heracleo Alano (PC-376) is the sixth ship of the Jose Andrada-class coastal patrol boats of the Philippine Navy. It is part of the first batch of its class ordered through U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in 1990, and was commissioned with the Philippine Navy in January 1992. It was initially designated as Fast Patrol Craft, and was numbered "DF-376", but later on was re-designated as a Patrol Gunboat, and was finally re-numbered as "PG-376". Another round of reclassification was made in April 2016, which redesignated the patrol gunboat as the coastal patrol craft BRP Heracleo Alano (PC-376)
Fort San Felipe is a military fortress in Cavite City, Philippines. It was constructed by the Spanish military in 1609 in the first port town of Cavite, the historic core of the present and larger Cavite City, for its protection. Less than half of the original historic structure survives today. The remaining structure is made of granite blocks with 30-foot high walls and features a wide stairway leading to the top of the bastions and remaining walls. Naval memorabilia including antique cannons and cannonballs decorate the lawns of the fortification. Fort San Felipe is located within the 9-hectare (22-acre) Naval Base Cavite of the Philippine Navy and is not open to the public.
Q-111 Luzon was a motor torpedo boat of the United States Army during World War II as part of the Offshore Patrol based at Manila.
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The United States Navy held a number of bases in the Philippines Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. The US Naval Bases in Philippines were lost to the Empire of Japan in December 1941 during the Philippines campaign of 1941–1942. In February 1945 the United States Armed Forces retook the Philippines in the Battle of Manila in 1945. Before the captured US bases on Luzon were retaken the US Navy Seabees built a new large base, Leyte-Samar Naval Base, on the Philippine Island of Leyte, starting in October 1944.