The Honduran Navy was created through a presidential decree in the 14th of August 1976, with the stated goal of defending Honduran territorial waters, both in the Caribbean and the Pacific coasts.[1]
History
Background
During Brigadier José Santos Guardiola's presidency, there was an attempt to organize a navy, but due to the lack of funds it didn't come to be. The government acquired some ships, but no warships. In 1860, the government had 200 men from the army mustered into a schooner in order to aid the British screw sloopHMS Icarus, which had been stationed in British Honduras, in combating an invasion by the filibusterWilliam Walker. Walker was ambushed near the Sico Tinto Negro River, captured, and, nine days later, found guilty and executed.[2]
In September 1865, during Captain General José María Medina's presidency the Honduran Military Marine was instituted, with the president boarding the schooner Colibrí.
Afterwards, in the 1890s, a contract was signed with a German firm for the construction of two steamers, named Tatumbla and 22 de Febrero, with gross tonnages of 108 and 22 tons, capable of steaming at 10 and 7 knots, respectively, both built in Kiel. The Tatumbla had two guns. In the early 1900s, another steamer was commissioned, the Hornet; only in 1934 would the next acquisitions come, with the Bufalo and the Zambrano. During the 1940s, the Tiger, the General Carias and the General Cabañas were acquired.
SS Contessa, Honduran-flagged cargo and passenger ship active during World War II.
Honduras maintained good diplomatic relations with Germany between the end of the 19th Century and the 1930s. During this period, many businesses were opened by German immigrants in Honduras, and when World War II started in Europe, some citizens of German descent left the country to fight for Germany. The country's ports were on occasion used by German submarines for resupply.[3]
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, due to diplomatic pressure from the United States, relations with the Axis powers were broken. On December 8, 1941, Honduras declared war on Japan, and, four days later, on Italy and Germany, with Honduras thus joining the Allies. Some ships carrying Honduran goods had already been sunk by this point, and the situation worsened over the following months, with many Honduran ships sunk; around 200 Honduran citizens were killed. In the following years, Honduran pilots and sailors were involved in World War II.[4]
Professional Naval Force
Honduran naval pennant
In November 1950, a regulation for the Navy's insignia and uniforms was issued by the government, and in April 1964, the first two officers and 14 enlisted men (who belonged to the Army's Third Infantry Battalion) were assigned to it. One of the officers, Ensign O'Connor Bain, was sent to the US Coast Guard Reserve Officer Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia, and the other, Ensign Regalado Hernández, together with the enlisted men, to the Naval Base Panama Canal Zone, where they were trained by Panamaian and North American officers. Afterwards, they formed the "First Boats Detachment", equipped with US donated patrol boats, which would be used as the core for the Navy when it was formally created in 1976, with Lieutenant Colonel Bain as its first commander.[5]
In 1977, the Navy acquired three ships, the Guaymuras, 105 feet long, and the Patuca and the Ulua, both 65 feet long. In 1982, it was also given the 40+ year old tender USCGC Walnut, renamed to Yojoa; it served until 1998, when it was lost during Hurricane Mitch.[6] These were the Navy's only proper ships until 1988, when it received the Landing Craft UtilityPunta Caxinas, capable of transporting 100 tons of cargo and still in service as of 2021.[7] A few years later, a new Peterson Mk3 patrol boat was acquired, and in 2013 a further two Damen Stan Patrol 4207 also were.[8]
Active Naval Bases
The Honduran Navy operates from four main naval bases, but it also has another two installations.
Founded in February 2000, it is tasked with training officers for the Navy; these may later on continue their studies in the Honduras Defence University.
