ARA General Belgrano underway
Career
Builder:	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down:	1935
Launched:	March 1938
Christened:	USS Phoenix (CL-46)
Renamed:	General Belgrano
Fate:	Sunk in 1982
General characteristics
Class and type:	Brooklyn-class
Displacement:	9,575 tons (empty) 12,242 (full load)
Length:	608. The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900 Early service She was laid down 15 April 1935 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden New Jersey; launched 13 March 1938 sponsored by Mrs 3 ft (185. 4 m)
Beam:	61. 8 ft (18. 8 m)
Draft:	19. 5 ft (5. 9 m)
Speed:	32. 5 knots (60 km/h)
Complement:	1,138 officers and men
Armament:	15× 6"/47 cal (152 mm), 8× 5"/25 cal (127 mm) AA
Aircraft carried:	2 helicopters

The ARA General Belgrano was an Argentine Navy cruiser sunk in a controversial incident during the Falklands War with the loss of 323 lives. The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic ( Armada de la República Argentina — ARA is the Navy A cruiser is a large type of Warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the Losses from the Belgrano totalled just over half of Argentine deaths in the Falklands conflict.

It is the only ship ever to have been sunk by a nuclear-powered submarine and only the second sunk by any type of submarine since the end of World War II. Nuclear navy, or nuclear powered navy consists of Ships powered by relatively small onboard Nuclear reactors known as naval reactors. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Royal Navy submarine used three Mk 8 mod 4 torpedoes. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The list of torpedoes includes all Torpedoes operated in the past or present listed alphabetically The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below

This was the second warship to bear the name General Belgrano. The name had earlier been used for a 7,069-ton armoured cruiser completed in 1899.

General history

The warship was built as USS Phoenix (CL-46), the sixth of the Brooklyn-class cruisers, in New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation starting in 1935, and launched in March 1938. Early service She was laid down 15 April 1935 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden New Jersey; launched 13 March 1938 sponsored by Mrs Design The Brooklyn s arose from the London Naval Treaty of 1930 which suspended the construction of Heavy cruisers, ie ships carrying guns between A cruiser is a large type of Warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900 She survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and was decommissioned from the US Navy (USN) after World War II in July 1946. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The former USS Phoenix was sold, with another of her class (Boise (CL-47) renamed ARA Nueve de Julio (C-5)), to Argentina in October 1951, for $7. History Boise was launched 3 December 1936 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News Virginia, sponsored General History The ARA Nueve de Julio (C-5 was built as the in 1936 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia 8 million. She was renamed 17 de Octubre after an important date for the political party of the then president Juan Perón. Juan Domingo Perón (October 8 1895 &ndash July 1 1974 was an Argentine Colonel and Politician, elected three times as President of Argentina Ironically, she was one of the main units which joined the coup against Peronism. The Revolución Libertadora ( Spanish, Liberating Revolution) was a military uprising that ended the second presidential term of Perón was subsequently overthrown in 1955, and in 1956 the ship was renamed General Belgrano (C-4) after General Manuel Belgrano, who had fought for Argentine independence in 1816. Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano, usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano ( June 3, 1770 &ndash June 20, 1820 Several years before becoming General, as a colonial officer, he founded the Escuela de Naútica (School of Navigation) in 1799. The cruiser was outfitted with Sea Cat missiles between 1967-1968. Sea Cat was a British short-range Surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes ^[1]

Falklands War

After the April 2 landings the Argentine military junta began to reinforce the islands in late April when it was realised that the British Task Force was heading south. On 2 April 1982 Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas following the civilian occupation of South Georgia on As part of these movements, the Argentine Navy fleet was ordered to take positions around the islands. The General Belgrano had left Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego on April 26, 1982, with two destroyers, the ARA Piedra Buena (D-29) and the Bouchard (D-26) (both also ex-USN vessels), as Task Group 79. Ushuaia (u'swaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego and is sometimes considered to be the southernmost city in the world Tierra del Fuego ( Spanish for " Land of Fire " in English tiˈɛərə dɛl ˈfweɪgoʊ] Spanish ˈtjerað̞elˈfweɰo is an Archipelago Events 1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) In naval terminology a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance Warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, Convoy World War II Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Collett reached Pearl Harbor 16 October 1944 and Ulithi 3 November History The second Borie (DD-704 was launched 4 July 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co 3.

By April 29, the ships were patrolling the Burdwood Bank, south of the islands. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. On the 30th, the Belgrano was detected by the British nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine HMS Conqueror. Hunter-Killer is a Military term traditionally used to describe an entity in which the roles of "sensor" and "shooter" are separated Further reading Footnotes The submarine approached over the following day. Although outside the British-declared Total Exclusion Zone of 370 km (200 nautical miles) radius from the islands, the British decided that the group was a threat. After consultation at Cabinet level, the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, agreed that Commander Chris Wreford-Brown should attack the Belgrano. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 ^[2]

According to the Argentine government , Belgrano's position was 55°24′S 61°32′W / -55.4, -61.533. ^[3]

At 15:57 on May 2, Conqueror fired three conventional Mk 8 mod 4 torpedoes, each with an 800 lb (363 kg) Torpex warhead, two of which hit the General Belgrano. The list of torpedoes includes all Torpedoes operated in the past or present listed alphabetically The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below Torpex is a Secondary explosive 50% more powerful than TNT by weight The Conqueror was also equipped with the newer Mark 24 Tigerfish homing torpedo, but there were doubts about its reliability. The Mk 24 Tigerfish torpedo is a heavy Acoustic homing Torpedo used by the Royal Navy for several years The Mk 8 dated back to 1925 and was not a homing design. ^[4]

One of the torpedoes struck 10 to 15 metres aft of the bow, outside the area protected by either the ship's side armour or the internal anti-torpedo bulge. The effect of this was to blow off the bow of the ship, but the internal bulkheads held and the forward powder magazine for the 40 mm gun did not detonate. There was no one in that part of the ship at the time of the explosion.

The second torpedo struck about three-quarters of the way along the ship, just outside the rear limit of the side armour plating. The torpedo punched through the side of the ship before exploding in the after machine room. The explosion tore upward through two messes and a relaxation area called "the Soda Fountain" and finally ripped a twenty metre-long hole in the main deck. Later reports put the number of deaths in the area around the explosion at 275 men. There was no fire after the explosion, but the ship rapidly filled with smoke. The explosion also damaged the Belgrano's electrical power system, preventing her from putting out a radio distress call.

Though the forward bulkheads held, water was rushing in through the hole created by the torpedo and could not be pumped out because of the electrical power failure. The ship began to list to port and to sink towards the bow. Twenty minutes after the attack at 16:24 Captain Bonzo ordered the crew to abandon ship. Inflatable life rafts were deployed and the evacuation began without panic.

The two escort ships were unaware of what was happening to the Belgrano as they were out of touch with her in the gloom and had not seen the distress rockets or lamp signals. Adding to the confusion, the crew of the ARA Bouchard felt an impact that was possibly the third torpedo striking at the end of its run (an examination of the ship later showed an impact mark consistent with a torpedo). The two ships continued on their course westward and began dropping depth charges. By the time the ships realized that something had happened to the Belgrano, it was already dark and the weather had worsened, scattering the life rafts.

Argentine and Chilean ships rescued 770 men in all from May 3 to May 5. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the In total 323 ^[5] were killed in the attack: 321 members of the crew and two civilians who were on board at the time. ^[6].

Controversy over the sinking

The Belgrano sinking after being struck by torpedoes fired by HMS Conqueror

There was some controversy surrounding the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano. Further reading Footnotes The sinking also became a cause célèbre for anti-war campaigners (such as Labour MP Tam Dalyell). A cause célèbre (plural causes célèbres, French famous case) is Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns 11th Baronet (born 9 August 1932) known as Tam Dalyell (diːˈɛl is a Scottish Politician Part of the reason for the controversy was that early reports claimed or suggested that approximately 1,000 Argentine sailors had been killed in the sinking.

Legal situation

The Belgrano was sunk outside the 200-nautical-mile (370 km) total exclusion zone around the Falklands. However, exclusion zones are historically declared for the benefit of neutral vessels; during war, under international law, the heading and location of a belligerent naval vessel has no bearing on its status. The law of war (also law of armed conflict, LOAC) is Law concerning acceptable practices relating to war A belligerent is an individual group country or other entity which acts in a hostile manner such as engaging in Combat. In addition, the captain of the Belgrano, Hector Bonzo, has testified that the attack was legitimate^[7] (as did the Argentine government in 1994). ^{[8][9][10][11]}

Argentine view

Map published in El Clarín newspaper. Clarín is a major Newspaper in Argentina, founded by Roberto Noble on August 28 1945. The black circle with the number "1" shows the place where the ARA Belgrano sank. The circle with the number "2" shows the place of the last radio contact with the Argentine ship ARA Alferez Sobral. US Navy service ATA-187 (ex-ATR-114 was laid down on 29 August 1944 by the Levingston Shipbuilding Co The full first page of the newspaper can be seen under El historiador.

After the apparent repulsion of what they thought was a British landing attempt on May 1 (which included the failed air strike by the aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo), the Argentine Junta decided to wait for the decision of the Peruvian peace proposal before continuing hostilities. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with History The ship was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, England during the Second World War for the Royal Navy The National Reorganization Process (in Spanish, Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, often simply El Proceso) was the name used by its leaders All Argentine Navy task groups were ordered to withdraw from the area until further notice ^[12], and the Argentine Air Force did not attempt any major air strikes during the following days. The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic ( Armada de la República Argentina — ARA is the Navy The Argentine Air Force ( Fuerza Aérea Argentina or FAA) is the national aviation branch of the Armed forces of Argentina. The Belgrano was approximately 35 miles (56 km) out of the British-declared exclusion zone, heading toward the mainland when the attack occurred.

British view

Though the ship was heading away from the Falkland Islands, it had been moving towards the task force all the previous day, and had only turned around because an air attack on the task force was cancelled due to lack of wind to launch planes from the aircraft carrier operating to the north of the Falklands. Belgrano had in fact been ordered back towards the coast to wait for more favourable conditions for an attack. Her captain, Hector Bonzo, said "We were heading towards the mainland but not going to the mainland; we were going to a position to await further orders". ^[13]

The ship was outside the 200 mile (320 km) exclusion zone

Though the ship was outside of the 200-mile (320 km) exclusion zone, both sides understood that this was no longer the limit of British action — on 23 April a message was passed via the Swiss Embassy in Buenos Aires to the Argentine government, it read:

In announcing the establishment of a Maritime Exclusion Zone around the Falkland Islands, Her Majesty's Government made it clear that this measure was without prejudice to the right of the United Kingdom to take whatever additional measures may be needed in the exercise of its right of self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at The United Nations Charter is the Treaty that forms and establishes the International organization called the United Nations. In this connection Her Majesty's Government now wishes to make clear that any approach on the part of Argentine warships, including submarines, naval auxiliaries or military aircraft, which could amount to a threat to interfere with the mission of British Forces in the South Atlantic will encounter the appropriate response. All Argentine aircraft, including civil aircraft engaged in surveillance of these British forces, will be regarded as hostile and are liable to be dealt with accordingly. ^[13]

Interviews conducted by Martin Middlebrook for his book, The Fight For The Malvinas, indicated that Argentine Naval officers understood the intent of the message was to indicate that any ships operating near the exclusion zone could be attacked. Martin Middlebrook (born Boston Lincolnshire, 1932 is a British Military historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society Argentine Rear-Admiral Allara who was in charge of the task force that the Belgrano was part of said, "After that message of 23 April, the entire South Atlantic was an operational theatre for both sides. We, as professionals, said it was just too bad that we lost the Belgrano". ^[13]

Also the rules of engagement were changed specifically to permit the engagement of the Belgrano outside the exclusion zone before the sinking. ^[14]

Key decision makers were unaware that the ship was sailing away from the Falklands when the order was given.

According to the British historian Sir Lawrence Freedman, in a new book written in 2005, neither Margaret Thatcher nor the Cabinet was aware of the Belgrano's change of course before the cruiser was attacked, as information from HMS Conqueror was not passed on to the MoD or Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward (commander of the RN task force). See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it Sir Lawrence David Freedman is Professor of War Studies at King's College London, a post he has held since 1982 The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. Admiral Sir John Forster "Sandy" Woodward GBE, KCB (born May 1, 1932) is a British Admiral who joined ^[15] In his book, One Hundred Days, Admiral Woodward makes it clear that he regarded the Belgrano as part of the southern part of a pincer movement aimed at the task force, and had to be sunk quickly. He wrote:

The speed and direction of an enemy ship can be irrelevant, because both can change quickly. What counts is his position, his capability and what I believe to be his intention. ^[16]

It is, in any case, highly unlikely that a situation report (sitrep) briefing to senior politicians would have included tactical information such as current headings or speeds of enemy units. As Woodward says, strategic decisions are taken on position and capability. The intention of the Belgrano unit in approaching from the south was, indeed, as the Argentine Navy said afterwards, to apply a pincer movement, so a defensive move was very appropriate.

Later political controversy

Some details of the action were later leaked to a British MP, Tam Dalyell, by the senior civil servant Clive Ponting, resulting in the unsuccessful prosecution of the latter under the Official Secrets Act. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns 11th Baronet (born 9 August 1932) known as Tam Dalyell (diːˈɛl is a Scottish Politician See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis Clive Ponting (born 1947) is a British writer former academic and former senior civil servant. The Official Secrets Act is any of several Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the protection of official information mainly related to National

In May 1983, Margaret Thatcher appeared on Nationwide, a live television show on BBC One, where Diana Gould questioned her about the sinking, claiming that the ship was already west of the Falklands and heading towards the Argentinian mainland to the west. Nationwide was a BBC current affairs television series broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news Gould also claimed that the Peruvian peace proposal must have reached London in the 14 hours between its publication and the sinking of the Belgrano, and the escalation of the war could have thus been prevented. In the following emotional exchange, Thatcher answered that the vessel was a threat to British ships and lives and denied that the peace proposal had reached her. ^[17] After the show, Thatcher's husband Denis lashed out at the producer of the show in the entertainment suite, saying that his wife had been "stitched up by bloody BBC poofs and Trots. Major Sir Denis Thatcher 1st Baronet, MBE, TD (10 May 1915 &ndash 26 June 2003 was an English Businessman, and the husband of the Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. "^[18] Thatcher herself commented during the interview "I think it could only be in Britain that a prime minister was accused of sinking an enemy ship that was a danger to our navy, when my main motive was to protect the boys in our navy".

In 1994 the Argentine government conceded that the sinking of the Belgrano was "a legal act of war". ^[19]

Admiral Enrique Molina Pico, head of the Argentine Navy in the 1990s, wrote in a letter to La Nacion, published in the 2 May 2005 edition, that the Belgrano was part of an operation that posed a real threat to the British task force, that it was holding off for tactical reasons, and that being outside of the exclusion zone was unimportant as it was a warship on tactical mission. La Nación is an Argentine daily Newspaper. It is on the right of the political spectrum with the centrist Clarín being its main

"That Headline"

The torpedoing of the Belgrano (before it was known she had sunk) was celebrated on the front page of the British tabloid newspaper The Sun. The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language

The Sun's headline "Gotcha" is probably the most notable (and notorious) headline in a British newspaper about the incident. Editor Kelvin Mackenzie is reported to have used an impromptu exclamation by the Sun's Features Editor, Wendy Henry as the inspiration for the headline. However, after early editions went to press further reports suggested a massive loss of life and Mackenzie toned down the headline in later editions to read "Did 1,200 Argies drown?". Despite its notoriety few readers in the UK saw the headline at first hand as it was only used on copies of the first northern editions; southern editions and later editions in the north carried the toned down headline ^[20].

General characteristics

• Displacement: 9,575 tons (empty) 12,242 (full load)
• Length: 608. 3 ft (185 m)
• Beam: 61. 8 ft (18. 9 m)
• Draft: 19. 5 ft (5. 9 m)
• Speed: 32. 5 knots (60 km/h)
• Complement: 1,138 officers and men
• Armament:
  • 15 × 6 in (152 mm) guns,
  • 8 × 5 in (127 mm) AA guns,
  • 40 mm and 20 mm anti-aircraft guns,
  • 2 British Sea Cat missile AA systems (added 1968)
  • 2 helicopters ( One Aérospatiale Alouette III was onboard when sunk )

Notes

Bibliography

• Dalyell, Tam, MP. (1983), Thatcher's Torpedo, Woolf, ISBN 0-900821-67-1
• Freedman, Lawrence (2005), The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: Vol 2, Routledge, ISBN 0-7146-5206-7
• Gavshon, Arthur & Desmond Rice (1984), The Sinking of the Belgrano, Secker & Warburg, ISBN 0-436-41332-9
• Middlebrook, Martin (1989), written at New York, The fight for the "Malvinas" : the Argentine Forces in the Falklands War, Viking, ISBN 0-670-82106-3
• Norton-Taylor, Richard (1985), The Ponting Affair, Woolf, ISBN 0-900821-73-6
• Ponting, Clive (1985), The Right to Know: The Inside Story of the Belgrano Affair, Sphere Books, ISBN 0-7221-6944-2
• Woodward, Sandy, Admiral (2003), One hundred days : the memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander, HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-713467-3
• Bonzo, Héctor E, Capitán de Navío (2004), 1093 Tripulantes del Crucero ARA General Belgrano, n/a, ISBN 987-96232-0-7 (in spanish)

External links

• Evans, Michael & Alan Hamilton (2005), "Thatcher in the dark on sinking of Belgrano", The Times Online (no. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous June 27, 2005), <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-1670775,00.html>. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on August 24, 2006