Latvian Navy

Latvian Naval Forces Latvijas Jūras Spēki
Coat of arms of the Latvian Navy
active	1919-1940 Realignment in 1992
Country	Latvia
Armed forces	Latvian National Armed Forces
Type	Armed forces ( navy )
motto	Mūs vieno Latvijas svētais vārds
management
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces	President of Latvia
Military commander in chief	Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš
Commander of the Naval Flotilla	Sea captain Kaspars Zelčs
Important commanders	Archibald von Keyserling Teodors Spāde Gaidis Andrejs Zeibots
insignia
Naval war flag
Gösch

The official name of the Navy of the Republic of Latvia is Latvijas Jūras Spēki ( Latvian Naval Forces ). The country's comparatively small armed forces have been developing since the country regained its independence in 1991 and have been restructured in a targeted manner since 1999. This was accelerated when Latvia joined NATO in 2004.

history

The years 1919–1940

After the country became independent in 1918, the headquarters of the Latvian Army announced on August 10, 1919 the formal establishment of an independent navy. In 1921 the first Latvian ship, the Virsaitis , entered service and subsequently served as the flagship . Despite little financial leeway in the small country, the naval forces could be expanded in the next few years. So z. B. 1926 the establishment of an own naval aviation division . The occupation of Latvia by Soviet troops on June 17, 1940, significant not only for the Latvian state, but also for its naval forces, the temporary end. After joining the Soviet Navy , most of the former Latvian warships were destroyed in World War II.

The time since 1991

The Latvian Imanta together with the British HMS Hurworth in Belfast

After regaining independence, Latvia began rebuilding its armed forces in 1991. The tasks of the Navy were defined as securing their own sea borders, and clearing and destroying mines. On April 11, 1992, which has since been the date of the reorganization of the naval forces, the naval flag of the new naval forces of Latvia was hoisted for the first time on board a boat . The first units of the fleet were former fishing - patrol boats of the Latvian SSR . In the following years, decommissioned ships from foreign navies (including those from the People's Navy ) were taken over. In October 1996 a permanent cooperation with the naval forces of Lithuania and Estonia was decided. From this, the joint mine sweeping association BALTRON developed by 1998 . Since joining NATO in 2004, ships of the Latvian naval forces have regularly taken part in maneuvers of the military alliance, such as B. BALTOPS , SQUADEX or Open Spirit . The country also participates in various international combat missions. The fleet and its equipment have also been modernized since then.

The coast guard is one of the tasks of the naval forces . For this purpose, a national coordination center (MRCC RIGA) was set up in Riga at the beginning of the 21st century, which is now active around the clock.

Commander of the Naval Forces

The following people have been the commanders of the Latvian naval forces over the years :

Surname	period of service	comment
Archibald von Keyserling	until 1931
Teodors Spāde	1931-1940
Gaidis Andrejs Zeibots	1992/93 - September 1999	2003 to 2006 Commander of the Armed Forces
Ilmārs Lešinskis	September 1999 - January 2005
Aleksandrs Pavlovičs	January 2005 - September 2009
Rimants Štrimaitis	October 5, 2009 - November 7, 2013
Kaspars Zelčs	November 8, 2013 - July 11, 2014	interim
Juris Roze	July 11, 2014 - August 2015
Valdis Stanka	August 2015 - April 2016	interim (as chief of staff)
Ingus Vizulis	April 18, 2016 - November 2, 2019
Kaspars Zelčs	since November 2, 2019

organization

The Latvian naval forces are divided into five areas. These are:

• Anti- Mine Squadron ( Latvian Mīnu kuģi eskadra )
• Patrol Squadron ( Patruļkuģi eskadra )
• Maritime surveillance and communication service ( Jūras novērošanas un sakaru dienests )
• Naval Arsenal ( Baltijas valstu pretmīnu aprīko juma darbnīca )
• Coast Guard ( Krasta apsardzes dienests )

The anti-mine squadron, maritime surveillance and arsenal, as well as the headquarters of the naval forces, are based in Liepāja . The patrol squadron and the coast guard, however, are based in Riga .

There is an agreement between the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regarding the joint training of certain special forces . For example, the central school for marine diver training is located in Liepāja.

Ranks and Rank Badges

Officers

Rank group	Flag officers			Staff officers			Subaltern officers
badge
Rank	Viceadmirālis	Kontradmirālis	Flotiles admirālis	Jūras kapteinis	Komandkapteinis	Commanders	Kapteiņleitnants	Virsleitnants	Leitnants
Rank (Bundeswehr)	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Flotilla admiral	Sea captain	Frigate captain	Corvette Captain	Lieutenant captain	First lieutenant at sea	Lieutenant at sea
NATO rank code	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1

NCOs and men

Rank group	NCOs						Teams
badge								No badge
Rank	Augstākais bocmanis	Galvenais bocmanis	Štāba bocmanis	Bocmanis	Seržants	Kaprālis	Dižmatrozis	Matrozis
Rank (Bundeswehr)	Chief of Staff	Staff Captain	Chief Boatswain	Captain / Boatswain	Chief Mate / Mate	Oberstabsgefreiter / Stabsgefreiter	Hauptgefreiter / Obergefreiter	Private
NATO rank code	OR-9	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2

equipment

The ships of the Latvian naval forces can currently be assigned to three areas:

• Command and auxiliary ships ( Latvian Štāba un apgādes kuģi )
• Anti- Mine Ships ( Mīnu kuģi )
• Patrol Ships ( Patruļkuģi )

In addition, Latvia had a submarine fleet before World War II .

With the patrol boats of the Skrunda class , Latvia was the first of the three Baltic states to use a newly developed type of ship in the navy. These ships are SWATH patrol boats, which are based on a concept by the German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen . Some of them were made in Latvia.

Current fleet

ID and name	image	origin	Ship class	use	Built	Commissioning (Latvia)	Remarks
Command and auxiliary ships
A-53 Virsaitis		Norway	Vidar class	Command and supply ship	1977	2003	Ex- Vale of the Norwegian Navy
A-90 Varonis		Netherlands	Buyskes- class	Coast Guard command and supply ship	1973	2004	Ex- buyskes of the Dutch Navy
Anti-mine ships
M-04 Imanta		Netherlands	Imanta class	Mine defense & mine hunting	1983	2007	Ex- Harlingen of the Dutch Navy
M-05 Viesturs		Netherlands	Imanta class	Mine defense & mine hunting	1983	2007	Ex- Scheveningen of the Dutch Navy
M-06 Tālivaldis		Netherlands	Imanta class	Mine defense & mine hunting	1983	2008	Ex- Dordrecht of the Dutch Navy
M-07 Visvaldis		Netherlands	Imanta class	Mine defense & mine hunting	1982	2008	Ex- Delfzijl of the Dutch Navy
M-08 Rūsiņš		Netherlands	Imanta class	Mine defense & mine hunting	1982	2011	Ex- Alkmaar of the Dutch Navy
Patrol ships
KA-01 Kristaps		Sweden		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1964	1993
KA-06 Gaisma		Sweden		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1963	1994
KA-07 dimensions		Sweden		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1963	1994
KA-08 column		Sweden		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1963	1994
KA-09 Klints		Sweden		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1963	1994
KA-14 Astra		Finland		Coast Guard Service, SAR ship	1996	2001
P-05 Skrunda		Germany / Latvia	Skrunda class	Coast Guard and Guard Service, SAR ship	2011	2011
P-06 Cēsis		Germany / Latvia	Skrunda class	Coast Guard and Guard Service, SAR ship	2011	2012
P-07 Viesīte		Germany / Latvia	Skrunda class	Coast Guard and Guard Service, SAR ship	2012	2012
P-08 Jelgava		Germany / Latvia	Skrunda class	Coast Guard and Guard Service, SAR ship	2013	2013
P-09 Rēzekne		Germany / Latvia	Skrunda class	Coast Guard and Guard Service, SAR ship	2013	2014

Former fleet

ID and name	origin	Ship class	use	Built	Commissioning (Latvia)	Decommissioning	Remarks
Command and auxiliary ships
A-18 Parcons	Poland	Goliath class	tractor	1960	1993	2011
A-51 Līdaka	Soviet Union	Nyryad-I class	Diving support ship		1992		ex- Gefests (A 101)
Anti-mine ships
Virsaitis	The German Imperium	Minesweeper 1916		1917	1919	-	Ex- SMS M 68 of the Imperial Navy , taken over by the Soviet Navy in 1940
Imanta				1926	1926	-	Taken over by the Soviet Navy in 1940
Viesturs				1926	1926	-	Taken over by the Soviet Navy in 1940
M-01 Viesturs	German Democratic Republic	Condor II class	Anti-mine ship	1971	1994	2008	Ex- Comence of the People's Navy
M-02 Imanta	German Democratic Republic	Condor II class	Anti-mine ship	1971	1994	2008	Ex- Röbel of the People's Navy
M-03 Namejs	Germany	Lindau class	Mine hunting boat	1959	1999	2008	Ex- Völklingen of the German Navy , since 2009 training ship of the Liepāja Naval School
Patrol ships
KA-02 Spulga	Soviet Union	Ribnadzor class	Coast Guard Service	1964	1992	2000
KA-03 Komēta	Soviet Union	Ribnadzor class	Coast Guard Service	1964	1992	2007	Scrapped in 2013
KA-04 Sams	Soviet Union		Coast Guard Service	1974	1992	1998
KA-05 Gauja	Soviet Union	Project 161	Coast Guard Service
KA-10	Soviet Union	Project 371U	Coast Guard Service
KA-11	Soviet Union	Project 371U	Coast Guard Service
KA-12 Granāta	Soviet Union	Project 1398	Coast Guard Service		1995
P-01 Zibens	German Democratic Republic	Osa- class	Coast Guard & Guard Service				Between 1993 and 1995 five boats were taken over from the People's Navy. Of these, the former Heinrich Dorrenbach , Otto Tost and Josef Schares were put into service, while Paul Wieczorek and Fritz Gast served as material reserves .
P-02	German Democratic Republic	Osa- class	Coast Guard & Guard Service
P-03	German Democratic Republic	Osa- class	Coast Guard & Guard Service
P-01 Zibens	Norway	Storm class	Coast Guard & Guard Service	1967	2001	2012	Ex- Djerv of the Norwegian Navy , from October 2012 at the Navy Training Center.
P-02 Lode	Norway	Storm class	Coast Guard & Guard Service	1967	2001	2013	Ex- Hvass of the Norwegian Navy
P-03 Linga	Norway	Storm class	Coast Guard & Guard Service	1968	2001	2012	Ex- Gnist of the Norwegian Navy
P-04 Bulta	Norway	Storm class	Coast Guard & Guard Service	1967	1995	2011	Ex- trust of the Norwegian Navy
Submarines
Ronis	France	Ronis- class		1926	1927	-	Taken over by the Soviet Navy in 1940
Spīdola	France	Ronis- class		1926	1927	-	Taken over by the Soviet Navy in 1940

See also

• Baltic Naval Squadron

literature

• Eric Wertheim: The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems , US Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 1-59114-955-X , pp. 442 ff.
• Ulf Kaack : NVA type atlas: The ships of the Volksmarine 1960–1990, GeraMond Verlag GmbH, 2014, ISBN 978-3-86245-649-9

Web links

Commons : Latvijas Jūras Spēki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Naval Forces website (Latvian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Article on the history of the Navy on the Naval Forces website (Latvian)
2. ↑ Information on the Naval Forces website (Latvian)
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Article about the years of development of the naval forces on: www.irliepaja.lv (Latvian)
4. ↑ Krasta apsardzes (Latvian)
5. ↑ Article on the 28th anniversary of the reorganization of the naval forces on sargs.lv (Latvian)
6. ↑ Vienības (Latvian)
7. ↑ Information on the Estonian Naval Forces website (English)
8. ↑ Entry of the Ronis class at www.uboat.net , accessed on August 26, 2014 (English)
9. ↑ Štāba un apgādes kuģi ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Latvian) 
10. ↑ Mīnu kuģi (Latvian)
11. ↑ Patruļkuģi (Latvian)
12. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jūras spēku flotiles kuģu krustmātes (Latvian)
13. ↑ Postimees online article from September 4, 2013, accessed on November 15, 2014 (English)
14. ↑ private website with photos of P-01 (Russian)
15. ↑ Article on www.irliepaja.lv (Latvian)
16. ↑ Article with a short history of the ship on the occasion of the last lowering of the flag on www.sargs.lv (Latvian)