MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands war vessel in which Argentina surrendered South Georgia, to the scrap yard
The Royal Navy man-o-war on which Argentina formally surrendered the island of South Georgia during the 1982 Falklands War began its final journey on Wednesday before being scrapped. HMS Plymouth could not be saved despite years of attempts to find a permanent home for the frigate. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesOff to the scrapyard but still 10 times better than anything Argentina has!
Aug 21st, 2014 - 08:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0@ 1
Aug 21st, 2014 - 11:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0Damn! You beat me to it. :o)
I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. Everybody remember the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939? Where did the badly-damaged HMS Exeter sail to for emergency repairs? Where was HMS Cumberland refitting before departing to steam at full speed for 36 hours to join Force G (South American Cruiser Squadron)? The correct answer is.....the Falkland Islands. Further back there was the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914. As indicated in the article, HMS Plymouth (F126) played a not insignificant role during the Falklands War.
Aug 21st, 2014 - 02:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0One might have hoped that the Falkland Islands could have found a place for her. Although the British press show some unflattering pictures of her current state, might it not have been within the bounds of possibility for such a vessel to be towed to the Falklands?
Once there, and with the assistance of the Royal Navy, might it not have been possible to refurbish her? Placed in a suitable position, with Royal Navy gun crews, might she not have added to local firepower? And, if she could be restored to navigable state, might she not become the first vessel of the Royal Falklands Navy?
Conqueror,
Aug 21st, 2014 - 03:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I would have been a great idea. I do understand that the FIG has discussed something about a museum, with a possible display of a Harrier in the distant future, but a vessel in port addition would be fantastic.
It is fair to note that maintaining a vessel at dock costs a fortune.
We ought to retain HMS Plymouth for when Argentina surrenders again
Aug 21st, 2014 - 03:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The bottom line is that she is knackered. It would cost a lot of money to keep her hull and superstructure in a viable condition. It's sad to see a ship with a fine tradition being scrapped but a case could be made for so many to be preserved. Better to see her reduced to metal than watch her rust away at anchorage for lack of funding.
Aug 21st, 2014 - 06:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Happens to most RN ships of historic fame...it nearly happened to the Victory; Nelson's ship.
Aug 21st, 2014 - 08:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It happened to HMS Amethyst of Yangste River note: I was the last to work on
de-storing the ship before her break-up. Also the Vanguard, Bramble, Stork and Black Swan. Forgotten ships of latter days. Most of you won't remember these at first-hand like the Falklands War, vessel, mentioned above.
It is the way, otherwise, with the Royal Navies' history, we'd be inundated with former famous vessels.
If the UK preserved all the warships that had taken enemy surrenders they would have a fleet far larger than anything the RGs could even dream of...
Aug 22nd, 2014 - 02:24 am - Link - Report abuse 0One of the abiding memories I have of 1982 is the sight of the disarmed Argentine Army with their heads bowed and their “tails between their legs” after their ignominious surrender. After the totally illegal and unnecessary invasion of the Falklands archipelago this was exactly what, as a nation, they deserved.
Aug 22nd, 2014 - 07:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0#101
Aug 22nd, 2014 - 08:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0About 40 years ago, I worked beside a colleague who had been a signaler aboard the Black Swan during WW2. It seems positively anti deluvian to think that they communicated with Aldis lamps, semaphore and flags back then.
@6. Why not test the proposition? Peel Ports has made a unilateral decision. Why not ask the people of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands if they would donate £2, or even £5, each? Anywhere between £116 million and £290 million. Who's up for it?
Aug 22nd, 2014 - 02:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@7 & 8. Are there any other vessels around that bring together the history of the Falkland Islands, their liberation, the Royal Navy and Plymouth itself? But this IS mostly down to the Falkland Islands. Will you make a space? Will you spend the money to have her towed? It will take time for everyone to contribute. Who saved you from nazi germany and nazi argieland?
@11
Aug 22nd, 2014 - 04:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Very good idea, actually. As pointed out above, it does cost money to keep an old ship afloat as a museum, but ultimately it is not a matter of cost but of the will of enough people wanting to see the ship preserved.
A war memorial by the people and for the people...
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