Independence to World War II in Tallinn, 1927 The Latvian Naval Forces were founded on 10 August 1919 with its first ship being the former Imperial German minesweeper
SMS M68. Previously,
M68 had been sunk by a mine off
Riga on October 29 1917. She was raised in 1918 and taken back to Riga for repairs, but was later seized by forces of the
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic in 1919, before being recaptured by Germany. Upon the conclusion of the
Latvian War of Independence, and the victory of the
Latvian Provisional Government,
M68 was formally commissioned into the Latvian Naval Forces as
Virsaitis. She would remain the Latvian Navy's only warship until 1926. In 1926, two new
Viesturs-class minesweepers,
Viesturs and
Imanta were ordered from France and commissioned later that year. The same year, two
Ronis-class submarines;
Ronis and
Spīdola, also ordered from France, were commissioned. A sixth vessel, the former German icebreaker
Passat became the submarine tender
Varonis. The six ships consisted of the entirety of the Latvian Naval Forces during its first incarnation, as
The Great Depression hindered further expansion. The Navy saw no action during its early existence. In August 1940, the
Soviet Union invaded and occupied Latvia, and thus, seized all six Latvian warships. All were incorporated into the
Baltic Fleet. Both submarines retained their names, but
Virsaitis was renamed
T-297 (her name was restored the following year),
Viesturs was renamed
T-298,
Imanta was renamed
T-299, and
Varonis was renamed
Ural. All six ships served in
World War II in various roles.
Ronis and
Spīdola were scuttled in
Liepāja on June 24 1941 to prevent their capture by German forces.
T-299 struck a mine and sank off
Saaremaa on July 1 1941.
Ural struck a mine and sank on 28 August 1941.
Virsaitis took part in the evacuation of the Soviet garrison on the
Hanko Peninsula in late 1941. On December 2 1941, she struck a mine and sank off Hanko.
T-298 was the only former Latvian warship to survive World War II and was later converted to a survey ship in 1948. Her final fate is unknown.
Post-1991 parade, 2014 When
Latvia regained its independence in 1991, it began recreating the Latvian Naval Forces under the command of Admiral (then Captain)
Gaidis Zeibots. In 1994 the Naval Forces were composed of the Southern Region (in
Liepāja), the Central Region (in
Riga), the Coastal Defense Battalion (in
Ventspils) and the Training Center (in
Liepāja). The most important naval event of these early days of the re-established Latvian Republic occurred on 11 April 1991 when the Latvian flag was hoisted on the re-established Navy's first ship "Sams" ('
Catfish'). This date is now recognized as the rebirth of the Latvian Naval Forces. In 1999 the Baltic Naval Squadron (
BALTRON) was created with ships from the
Lithuanian,
Latvian and
Estonian Navies. Latvian Navy Captain Ilmars Lesinskis, then the Commander of the Southern District, was appointed to serve as the first commander of this multi-national force. On 1 July 1999 Latvian Naval Forces were reorganized. The present structure was established on the basis of previous regional units – the War Ships Flotilla (HQ is in Liepāja), the Coast Guard Ships Flotilla in Riga (subunits are in Liepāja and Ventspils), the Coastal Defense Battalion in Ventspils (subunits are along the coast of the Baltic Sea and Riga Bay), the Training Center in Liepāja, the Logistic Base in Liepāja (subunits are in Riga and Ventspils). On 1 July 2004 Latvian Naval Forces were reorganized again and since that time they consist of the Naval Forces Headquarters, Naval Forces Flotilla HQ with subunits and the Coast Guard Service. The new structure organizes personnel training and specialization better than before, as well as shares greater responsibility between commanders. As part of the program to equip the Naval Forces with modern assets, the first of a new generation of nationally made patrol vessels, made with German assistance, was launched in 2011. == Mission ==