Cartagena Naval Base

The Naval Base of Cartagena also known as Arsenal of Cartagena is a military base and arsenal of the Spanish Navy located in the city of Cartagena, Spain. It is one of the oldest naval bases in Spain and the world, having been created in the 18th century.

History
The port of Cartagena is in a privileged place in the Mediterranean. The port was created by the Carthaginians in the 2nd century B.C. It remained as a commercial port until the reign of Felipe V, when it took remarkable importance when the King remodeled the Navy and placed in Cartagena a naval base that would be the naval center of the Mediterranean.

It was at the end of 1731, when the construction of the arsenal started and finalize in 1782, in the reign of Carlos III. The finale cost was of 112 millions of reales.

The Naval Base of Cartagena was the most important industrial complex of the Mediterranean basin in the 18th century due to the activity of its shipyards and auxiliary factories, including carpentry, rigging, sailing, blacksmithing, as well as crafts and fine arts workshops for Carving of the ornamentation of the ships of the time. In the second half of this century, 21 ships, 17 frigates and more than fifty brigs, xebecs, hulks, galleys, etc. were built there, independently of a large number of smaller vessels. In the Arsenal, thousands of people worked daily in the construction and the maintenance of the units of the Navy.

The Naval Base was enlarged during the reign of Isabel II in 1849. In 1889, electricity was introduced into the arsenal. In 1918, the moats of the dry docks built by Feringán, began to serve as docks of submarine docks, and that after their recent remodeling still serve.

Ships

 * Submarines.
 * ESPN Galerna (S-71)
 * ESPN Mistral (S-73)
 * ESPN Tramontana (S-74)
 * Segura class.
 * Segura (M31)
 * Sella (M32)
 * Tambre (M33)
 * Turia (M34)
 * Duero (M35)
 * Tajo (M36)
 * Transport ships.
 * Martín Posadillo (A04) (operated by the Spanish Army)
 * El Camino Español (A05) (operated by the Spanish Army)
 * Polar research ships.
 * BIO Hespérides (A-33)
 * Las Palmas (A-52)
 * EW support ship
 * Alerta (A-111)
 * Chilreu class
 * Alborán (P62)
 * Tarifa (P64)
 * Descubierta-class
 * Infanta Elena (P-76)
 * Infanta Cristina (P-77)
 * Cazadora (P-78)
 * Toralla class.
 * Toralla (P81)
 * Formentor (P82)
 * Submarine rescue ships.
 * Neptuno (A-20)