MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina remembers the sinking of General Belgrano on May 2nd 1982

Half the crew of ARA General Belgrano, 323 men lost their lives (Pic gov.ar)

Last Friday, 2nd May Argentina held a remembrance ceremony of the sinking of ARA General Belgrano, which was the largest single loss of lives during the Falkland Islands conflict of 1982.The ceremony took place at the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base headed by Defense minister Luis Petri and all the commanders of the Argentine armed forces three services.

On that date, but 43 years ago the old former US light cruiser USS Phoenix, now under Argentine flag was sank with torpedoes fired by the Royal Navy nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror. Half the crew of the Argentine vessel, 323 men was lost and the rest survived in rafts in the cold waters of the South Atlantic.

The only sinking of a surface battle vessel by a nuclear submarine and the loss of so many lives caused a great controversy but it was later accepted that ARA Belgrano was zigzagging in an out of the exclusive zone imposed by the British around the Falklands.

Besides military and civilian authorities, former sailors from the Belgrano and Malvinas Veterans, as well relatives of the crewmembers lost participated in the ceremony

Following a speech from a representative of the Navy, next of kin discovered plaques with the names of the 323 crew-members and deposited flower wreaths at the cenotaph to the memory of those lost in that tragic day.

Two days later in a retaliatory action, Argentine navy Super Etendard aircraft struck the Tyep42 guided missile destroyer HMS Sheffield with an Exocet, which badly damaged foundered while under tow on 10 May1982.