Leopoldo Fontaine Nakin (born 5 May 1907; date of death unknown) was a Chilean naval officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy from 1958 to 1962.
Early life and family Fontaine was born in Valparaíso, Chile, on 5 May 1907, the eldest of three children of customs agent Carlos Fontaine Pretot and Ida Nakin. His siblings were Odette and René. The latter was a civil engineer who served as manager of gas companies and as a director of the Chilean Maritime and Port Chamber. Fontaine received his primary and secondary education at the German Lyceum of Valparaíso.
He married Mercedes Adriana Andrade Griffiths, with whom he had four children: Adriana Paulette, Carlos, Eliana María, and Marcelo Augusto.
Naval career Fontaine entered the Arturo Prat Naval Academy in 1921 and graduated as a midshipman in 1923. He completed a training voyage aboard the cruiser Blanco Encalada along the Chilean coast. In 1928, while holding the rank of lieutenant, he undertook a voyage around Europe under the command of Julio Allard Pinto. In 1930, as commander of the survey vessel Cóndor, he participated in the first hydrographic survey of the Aysén River.
In 1937 and 1938, while commanding the survey vessel Yelcho, Fontaine carried out a hydrographic survey of the Moraleda Channel. Between 1940 and 1942, he was involved in receiving and overseeing the conversion of the hydrographic vessel Vidal Gormaz, and subsequently conducted a hydrographic survey of Brenton Sound. From 1943 to 1945, he served as chief of staff of the Third Naval Zone, headquartered in Punta Arenas.
In 1946, Fontaine represented Chile at the Pan-American Conference on Geography and History in Caracas, Venezuela. Upon returning to Chile that year, President Gabriel González Videla appointed him naval attaché to the Chilean mission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a position he held until 1947. The following year, he was appointed deputy chief of the Navy General Staff. In 1949, as a commodore, he commanded Chile's third Antarctic expedition, consisting of the frigate Covadonga, the transport Maipo, and the patrol vessel Lautaro.
In June 1949, Fontaine was appointed secretary-general of the Navy, and in February 1951 he became commander of the battleship Almirante Latorre. In 1952, the Chilean government sent him to Spain to oversee the acquisition and construction of the new training ship Esmeralda. The following year, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo appointed him head of the Coordinating General Staff of the Chilean Armed Forces, headquartered in Santiago.
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Fontaine was promoted to vice admiral in early 1958. On 22 March of that year, President Ibáñez del Campo appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, succeeding Vice Admiral Francisco O'Ryan. He remained in office under President Jorge Alessandri until 5 November 1962. During his tenure, the Navy established its tactical diving specialty.
During his naval career, Fontaine received several decorations, including the First Student Medal for his five years at the Naval Academy, the Order of Nichan Iftikhar, the French Order of Maritime Merit, Spain's Cross of Naval Merit, and the Brazilian Order of Naval Merit. He was also a member of the Naval Club and the Chilean Country Club. He died in Santiago, Chile, although the date of his death is unknown.
Ranks Fontaine's promotions in the Chilean Navy included:
1921: Cadet, Arturo Prat Naval Academy 1923: Midshipman 1925: Sub-lieutenant 1928: Lieutenant 1930s: Lieutenant commander 1930s: Commander 1940s: Captain 1949: Commodore 1952: Rear admiral 1958: Vice admiral
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