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Dominican Republic The Navy
A Dominican navy was first established in 1873, when
the
country acquired a gunboat built in Scotland. By the time
the
navy was disbanded in 1916, during the United States
Marine
occupation, the fleet had acquired only two more gunboats
and
four armed launches. Several elements of the navy were
incorporated into the Dominican Constabulary Guard in 1917
to
function as a small coast guard. The navy remained an
element of
the National Army until 1943, when the Dominican National
Navy
was formally established as a separate service. During the
next
year, the navy began activities at the naval base at Las
Calderas; in 1948 a separate naval school opened there.
The navy expanded greatly after World War II, acquiring
vessels from Canada and the United States. By 1950 the
Dominican
navy had become the most powerful in the Caribbean. Its
personnel
numbered 3,000, including one marine battalion. Naval
capability
remained relatively constant up to the time of the 1965
civil
war, when naval units participated in the bombardment of
Constitutionalist positions in Santo Domingo. After 1965,
aging
vessels were not replaced, and the naval inventory
steadily
declined.
As of 1989, the navy had approximately 4,300 personnel.
These
included one battalion of marines. Navy headquarters was
located
at the 27 de Febrero Naval Base in Santo Domingo. Other
main
naval bases were located at Las Calderas and at Haina,
both of
which had dockyard facilities.
The navy chief of staff supervised the operations of
three
geographical commands. The Santo Domingo Naval Zone
administered
the naval headquarters and the various naval organizations
located in the capital. The Northern Naval Zone, at Puerto
Plata,
was responsible for the coast from the northern border
with Haiti
to the Mona Passage at the eastern tip of the country. The
Southern Naval Zone, headquartered at Barahona, covered
the
territory from the Mona Passage to the southern border
with
Haiti.
National economic constraints had reduced the Dominican
fleet, by 1989, to one offshore vessel and seventeen
inshore
vessels (see
table 9, Appendix A). Almost all were World
War IIvintage craft of United States origin. The sole offshore
vessel
was a frigate modified for use as a presidential yacht and
cadet
training vessel. The frigate had been acquired from Canada
in the
late 1940s, and it was the only vessel in the fleet not of
United
States origin. The navy's inshore vessels consisted of
five
corvettes used for patrol duties, eleven large patrol
craft, and
one amphibious landing craft. Support vessels included two
tankers, ten tugs, and one floating dock.
Naval enlisted personnel received instruction at the
training
center at Las Calderas. The Naval Academy at Las Calderas
offered
a four-year course to officer cadets.
Data as of December 1989
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