MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Former RN officer tells how the sinking of the Belgrano was coordinated
On the 30th anniversary of the South Atlantic conflict, the member of the Royal Navy who was responsible for coordinating the attack on the Argentina Navy cruiser “General Belgrano” spoke to UK-based newspaper “The News,” in Portsmouth and explained the steps that led up to the attack that caused 323 deaths and why it was justified at the time. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesOf course the sinking of the Belgrano was justified. Argentina had, without any warning, launched a series of cowardly attacks and were therefore at war. The Belgrano wasn't on a pleasure cruise at the time and was therefore a perfectly legitimate target that you would have to have been stupid not to destroy.
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 07:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Well it certainly worked as there Navy stayed in Port!!!!!!
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 07:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Long Live the Falklands.
Poor old ARA Saint Belgrano, the peace boat... trying to do an obvious pincer movement of the British advanced fleet........shooting out rainbows and happy dreams...
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 07:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0then it sank.
@3
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 07:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0... almost as fast as the General Belgrano league sank in the best traditions of its namesake ;)
the triumph of the conqueror or colonizator or the force over the liberator (Belgrano was a great liberator jointly with San Martín)
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 07:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 05
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 08:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0please feel free to join them up .
Argentina had been warned that the UK submarines would sink any Argentine Navy approaching The Falklands they didnt listen and paid the price, The Belgrano “Task force” was on the offence and our subs were also on the offence, its only just that aggressors die than UK liberators, Its a pity the remaining Argentine task force hadnt shown courage and picked up the survivors instead of bolting back home to be “Heroes” then who knows maybe not so many would have frozen to death in the bitterly cold sea, no?
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 08:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I guess at the end of the day Argentina “You sent them!”, it is you who has to live with the guilt.
The UK showed great restraint in acting in self-defence with “due necessary force”
Argentina the nation of “Zeroes”....sorry i meant heroes.
Once you're at war, the rules of war apply. That doesn't include the Argentinian sports of leaving unmarked minefields and continuing to shoot after they had surrendered.
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 08:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I remember I was dismayed when the news came through. With the benefit of hindsight, however, I'm convinced it was the right decision.
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 10:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What did the Muppets think we would do, just let it come in sailing full steam ahead? Just goes to show what a bunch of lousy amateurs they were and still are. News flash Muppets don't pick a fight with a superior race of people who actually couldn't give a shit about sinking a second hand ship or any other ship for that matter and who have had at least a thousand years to practice the dark art of war.
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 11:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0As we all know, el Belgrano, was a ship of peace and love.
Apr 02nd, 2012 - 11:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@ 5 indiecita ridícula, dejá de escribir pavadas.
Tragic loss of life, not something to be celebrated. But the ship was well armed, potentially dangerous, and certainly not on a goodwill mission. It was criminally irresponsible to send a WWII ship packed with conscripts anywhere near a war zone. Though the ship, compared British ships, was primitive, it was armed with powerful guns, anti-ship and anti-aircraft guns and missiles, 2 helicopters and presumably some (obviously not particularly effective) anti-submarine capability. The RN was right to sink it, anybody who says otherwise is either an idiot, Argentine, or both.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 12:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Bambi, bunny rabbits and puppies with bow were aboard the ARA Saint Belgrano reloading their guns to shoot kisses and friendship. They wanted the submarine to surface because then they could pull alongside and hug everyone on board. Even the ODESSA-pope said it was bad to sink clearly such a clearly peace-ship as the Belgrano, but the HMS Sheffield was clearly being angry.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 06:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0@12, The ship was not packed with conscripts, it had a full crew of highly trained naval personnel and marines. It might have been a WW2 ship, but it was sank with a WW2 Torpedo. Lets not forget who started the conflict.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 06:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0Whilst the action of the British Navy against the Belgrano was seen by many as unacceptable, it pales in comparison to a top-secret plan of the Argentinean Navy that was only narrowly averted.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 06:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0The commander of the Argentinean Navy in 1982, Jorge Anaya, conceived Operation Algeciras to bring the Falklands War to Europe. The original plan had been to hit targets in the United Kingdom, but it was soon realised that it would be rather hard for any Argentineans to pass unnoticed in the country. Instead they concocted an elaborate plan to attack Gibraltar.
http://newhistories.group.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/wordpress/?p=2352
@15 Yup. The Argentinians don't like to know we all know that story. The complicity of the Spanish was also quite hilarious, but you know how Spaniards are when it comes to morality and NATO.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 09:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0The Conqueror should have sunk the Belgrano Hospital Ship's two escorts as well.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 11:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0oh, silly me. They scarpered quick smart & lively.
Didn't hang around to pick up their comrades.
@5 As recently reported, the Belgrano was not headed for its home port as the argie liars said. It was actually headed for a rendezvous within the Exclusion Zone to engage in combat operations. Perhaps that's why they couldn't find it when they went looking the other year. And listen up, argies. If it's within the Falklands EEZ, no, you don't get access! How can you tell if an argie is lying? It's awake! What's with “San Martin”?
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 01:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@18 Doesn't matter what it was or wasn't doing or where it was or wasn't going. It was a military vessel of the belligerent force and a threat the British servicemen. The zone was for neutral shipping, not military craft. The fact they didn't just sink the rest of their fleet and leave them emasculated is what amazes me.
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 02:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The belgrano may well have been 40 years old, but we can assure you, even an old ship firing shells can and would have sunk many a modern ship,
Apr 03rd, 2012 - 08:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If the boot had been on the other foot, and this ship caused massive damage or even sunk a royal navy ship,
The Argies would be celebrating , would they not,
So in fact they have nothing to complain about,
Except for one tiny little point,
[If you did not invade in the first place]
Then they may well av been alive today.
All decisions have consequences,
You mad a decision, so live with it .and move on .
.
Please join -
Apr 04th, 2012 - 03:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Keep the Falklands British -
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Falklands-British/123151384435619?sk=wall&filter=1
@15 stick up your junta Thanks for that link. I'd heard of that botched operation, but didn't know about the Spanish authorities catching the terrorists, then helping them to get home. If they had blown up a civilian tanker, as they'd wanted to, in Europe; that might have woken up some of the fence sitters, like Spain. Respect to the Portuguese, who in stark contrast to their Iberian neighbours, offered the Royal Navy the use of Portuguese naval facilities.
Apr 04th, 2012 - 10:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Please join and press the LIKE button, we would like to expand to over 20,000 members on all three lists...
Apr 07th, 2012 - 06:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 01. Keep the Falklands British -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Falklands-British/123151384435619?sk=wall&filter=1
2. Falklands Forever British
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Falklands-British/123151384435619?sk=wall&filter=1
3. We Will Never Surrender the Falklands
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Falklands-British/123151384435619?sk=wall&filter=1
Join the growing cause to protect the Falklands from Argentine aggression!
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