TV Team to Search for Wreck of Belgrano

[Mr T.]

One wreck dive I'd love to be on.......and, with the exception of a couple of North/South Korean skirmishes, the only time since the Second World War that a torpedo has been used in anger with its intended effect.

"TV team to search for wreck of Belgrano
By Michael Paterson
(Filed: 07/02/2003)


The team that found the Titanic and the Bismarck will begin hunting this month for the wreck of the General Belgrano, the Argentine warship sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands conflict.

The National Geographic Society will search for the vessel on which 323 of the 1,093 crew died, using sonar and a remote-operated vehicle, 115 miles off the Argentine coast.

Channel 4 is part-funding the filmed expedition and will show the results later this year. Meanwhile, a BBC film crew is to visit the wreck of a British frigate sunk during the 1982 conflict.

The official Falklands veterans' association SAMA 82 is to meet BBC representatives today and will give its blessing to filming of Antelope, which sank in water 70ft deep off Ajax Bay.

The wreck is designated a war grave and Navy divers last year attached an ensign to the roof of the ship's bridge.

The position of the Belgrano may resolve which way it was heading when it was hit by torpedoes fired by the submarine Conqueror.

Argentina has always claimed it was sunk while heading out of a 200-mile British-imposed exclusion zone. This theory was backed by documents leaked by the former Ministry of Defence civil servant Clive Ponting, who was then charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. He was cleared by a jury.

[Bren butted in: Irrelevant which way she was heading at the time she was sunk, as Capital Ships and other ships of war have a nasty habit (even when appearing to be going away from the action) of 'coming about' and heading right back into the thick of it for a second bash - it's called a 'feint']

The Argentine navy is to co-operate with the Belgrano expedition. A spokesman for the US-based National Geographic Society said it had "been working closely with the British government and veterans of the war".

The expedition is to be funded by subscriptions to the National Geographic satellite channel and advance sales of the documentary.

Denzil Connick, who was badly wounded in the conflict and is co-founder and secretary of SAMA 82, believed veterans on both sides would approve of the documentaries provided film makers honoured their commitment not to set foot on board the war graves.

He said: "I believe the films will be done respectfully. Although the programmes will bring back many painful memories, they will be the television equivalent of going to look at a grave and leaving flowers."

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And here's some of the URL's you might find of inteterst around this story:

http://www.sama82.org.uk/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/index.html

They all make very interesting reading.







(Edited by Bren Tierney at 3:04 pm on Feb. 7, 2003)

I have never seen why it was such an issue about the Belgrano, what difference does it make where she was going. By sinking her the RN achieved exactly what they intended, they kept the Argentine surface fleet in port for the duration. Since this saved lots of lives on our side how can you argue with it?