# Honduran Navy

The Honduran Navy is one of the Armed Forces of Honduras's three branches.
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.

## 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 sloop HMS Icarus, which had been stationed in British Honduras, in combating an invasion by the filibuster William Walker. Walker was ambushed near the Sico Tinto Negro River, captured, and, nine days later, found guilty and executed.
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.

### 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.
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.

### Professional Naval Force

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.
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. These were the Navy's only proper ships until 1988, when it received the Landing Craft Utility Punta Caxinas, capable of transporting 100 tons of cargo and still in service as of 2021. A few years later, a new Peterson Mk3 patrol boat was acquired, and in 2013 a further two Damen Stan Patrol 4207 also were.

## Active Naval Bases

The Honduran Navy operates from four main naval bases, but it also has another two installations.
Honduran Navy Installations :
| Name | Location | Notes/Mission |
| Puerto Cortés Naval Base | Puerto Cortés, Cortés Department | Headquarters station on the Caribbean coast, host to the Naval Studies Center and the Naval Repairs Center |
| First Marine Infantry Battalion HQ | La Ceiba, Atlántida | |
| Honduras Naval Academy [es] | La Ceiba, Atlántida | 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. |
| Puerto Castilla Naval Base | Puerto Castilla, Colón | WWII-era naval base in the Caribbean coast |
| Amapala Naval Base | Amapala, Valle | Base on the Tiger Island in the Pacific coast |
| Caratasca Naval Base | Caratasca Lagoon, Gracias a Dios | |

## Fleet

| Class | Origin | Type | In Service |
| Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel | Netherlands | Patrol Vessel | 2 |
| Sa'ar 62-class offshore patrol vessel | Israel | Patrol vessel | 1 |
| Guardian patrol boat | United States | Patrol vessel | 2 |
| Swiftship patrol boat | United States/Israel | Patrol vessel | 9 |
| Various classes | Various | Interceptor/patrol launches | 79 |
| LCM-8 LCU | United States | Landing craft | 4 |
| Golfo de Tribuga-class LCU | Colombia | Landing craft | 1 |

## Commanders

Honduran Navy Commanders :
| Order | Commander | Beginning of term | Term end |
| 1 | Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Erin O'Connor Bain | 1976 | 1978 |
| 2 | Infantry Colonel José Matías Hernández García | 1978 | 1980 |
| 3 | Brigadier General Rubén Humberto Montoya | 1980 | 1984 |
| 4 | Infantry Colonel Humberto Regalado Hernández | 1984 | 1986 |
| 5 | Infantry Colonel Ronnie H. Martínez Méndez | 1986 | 1987 |
| 6 | Infantry Colonel Carlos Reyes Barahona | 1987 | 1988 |
| 7 | Ship Captain Leonel Martínez Minera | 1988 | 1989 |
| 8 | Brigadier General Arnulfo Cantarero López | 1989 | 1990 |
| 9 | Brigadier General Luis Alonso Discua Elvir | 1990 | 1991 |
| 10 | Brigadier General Reinaldo Andino Flores | 1991 | 1993 |
| 11 | Rear Admiral Giordano Bruno Fontana Hedman | 1993 | 1997 |
| 12 | Ship Captain Ricardo Reyes Rivera | 1997 | 1999 |
| 13 | Ship Captain Hermán Iván Ramírez Lanza | 1999 | 2000 |
| 14 | Rear Admiral Rolando Gonzáles Flores | 2000 | 2002 |
| 15 | Artillery Colonel Nelson Willy Mejía Mejía | 2002 | 2004 |
| 16 | Rear Admiral José Eduardo Espinal Paz | 2004 | 2007 |
| 17 | Rear Admiral Juan Pablo Rodríguez Rodríguez | 2008 | 2011 |
| 18 | Rear Admiral Ramón Cristóbal Romero Burgos | 2011 | 2011 |
| 19 | Vice Admiral Rigoberto Espinoza Posadas | 2011 | 2013 |
| 20 | Rear Admiral Héctor Orlando Caballero Espinoza | 2013 | 2015 |
| 21 | Rear Admiral Jesús Humberto Benítez Alvarado | 2015 | 2017 |
| 22 | Ship Captain Efraín Mann Hernández | 2017 | 2019 |
| 23 | Ship Captain José Jorge Fortín Aguilar | 2019 | 2021 |
| 24 | Ship Captain Pablo Antonio Rodríguez Sauceda | 2021 | 2023 |
| 25 | Ship Captain Austacil Hagarin Tomé Flores | 2023 | |

## Ranks
### Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |
| Honduran Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Honduran Navy vte | | | | | | | Vicealmirante | Vicealmirante | Contralmirante | Contralmirante | Capitán de navío | Capitán de navío | Capitán de fragata | Capitán de fragata | Capitán de corbeta | Capitán de corbeta | Teniente de navío | Teniente de navío | Teniente de fragata | Teniente de fragata | Teniente de fragata | Alferez de fragata | Alferez de fragata | Alferez de fragata |

### Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Honduran Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | No insignia | No insignia |
| Honduran Navy vte | | | | | | | | | Contramaestre I | Contramaestre I | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre II | Contramaestre III | Contramaestre III | Contramaestre III | Contramaestre III | Contramaestre III | Contramaestre III | | | | | Cabo de cubierta | Cabo de cubierta | | | | | | | Marino de cubierta | Marino de cubierta |