The Mine Countermeasures Force Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary

The Mine Countermeasures Force (MCM) celebrated its 70th anniversary on April 25 in Cartagena with a naval ceremony featuring the reading of penal laws, the awarding of decorations, and a tribute to those who fell for Spain. The event was presided over by the commander of the Mine Countermeasures Force, Captain Antonio Azpeitia Armán, and was attended by all MCM personnel, crews of the minehunters, and invited civilian guests.

On April 25, 1946, the minehunter “Bidasoa” was commissioned, giving its name to a series of seven units that would be followed by the “Guadiaro” class minehunters, thus establishing what we now know as the Mine Countermeasures Force. In the 1950s, the “Nalón” class minehunters and the “Guadalete” class minehunters arrived, predecessors of the current “Segura” class minehunters, built at the Cartagena shipyard and delivered between 1999 and 2005.

Photo: Spanish Navy