25 Years ago the Falkland War took place and one of the greatest loss in lives was the sinking of the Argentine cruiser GENERAL BELGRANO.
Argentine issued a set of stamps in 2007 remembering this war, one of the 75c stamps depict this cruiser.
Built as a cruiser under yard No. 416 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden N.J. for the USA Navy.
15 April 1935 laid down.
13 March 1938 launched under the name USS PHOENIX (CL-46). Sponsored by Mrs. Dorothea Kays Moonan. She was one of the Brooklyn Class.
Displacement 10.500 ton standard, 13.645 ton maximal, dim. 185.4 x 18.8 x 6.9m. (draught).
Powered by geared Westinghouse turbines, 100.000 shp., four screws, speed 32.5 knots.
Armament: 15 – 6 inch, 8 – 5 inch guns, 8 – 0.50 cal. MG.
Could carry 4 planes.
Crew 868.
03 October 1938 commissioned under command of Capt. John W. Rankin.
After her shakedown cruise she made a voyage to Port of Spain, Trinidad, Santos, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and San Juan and Porto Rico before heading to Philadelphia where she arrived January 1939.
She was then assigned to the Pacific fleet and first she operated on the west coast of America, before she sailed to Pearl Harbour, where she was based.
During the attack on Pearl Harbour on 07 December 1941 she lay at anchor southeast of Ford Island near the hospital ship SOLACE (AH-5). Lookouts on board the PHOENIX sighted the rising sun of Japan on strange planes coming in low over Ford Island. A few second later the guns on board the PHOENIX took them under fire.
She escaped unharmed and shortly after noon that day she was underway to join the light cruiser ST LOUIS (CL-49) and DETROIT (CL-8) and several destroyers in an impromptu task force to search for the enemy carriers.
She then escorted the first convoy to the United States from Hawaii and thereafter used for the convoy escort service between Hawaii and the United States.
Then she sailed from San Francisco with a force bound for Melbourne, Australia arriving Melbourne 01 February 1942.
She was then used as a troopship escort in Australian waters, once steaming up as far north as Java.
During the following months she was used for patrol in the Indian Ocean, escorting a convoy to Bombay, and also present during the evacuation of Java.
She sailed from Brisbane, Australia for an overhaul at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in July 1943.
After her overhaul she carried Secretary of State Cordell Hull across the North Atlantic to Casablanca.
Then assigned to the 7th Fleet and she sailed for the South Pacific.
26 December 1943, in company with the light cruiser NASHVILLE (CL-43) she bombarded the Cape Gloucester area of New Britain, New Guinea, smashing shore installations in a four-hour shelling.
Then she covered the landing operations and furnished support fire against enemy strong points which had not been demolished.
In the night of 25-26 January 1944 she took part in a night raid on Madang and Alixshafen, New Guinea, shelling shore installations.
She moved then to the Admiralty Islands to support the 1st Cavalry Division in a reconnaissance-in-force on Los Negros Islands on 29 February.
When the troops went ashore after the prelanding bombardments, enemy resistance was so weak that a withdrawal was not necessary and the island was occupied.
On 4 and 7 March 1944, PHOENIX, NASHVILLE and the Australian heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE bombarded Hauwei Island of the Admiralty Group. Enemy guns on this island had threatened Allied positions in the Admiralties, particularly on Manus; and although return fire from the beach was heavy, enemy batteries ceased firing when shells from the cruisers burst in their vicinity.
Hollandia on New Guinea was next to fall to the mounting amphibious offensive. This largest assault till then undertaken by Allied forces, was launched by 200 ships.
PHOENIX shelled the shore in the Humboldt Bay of the Hollandia area as the troops went ashore on 22 April, and supported them as they consolidated their gains and prepared for further attacks along the northwest coast of the big island.
PHOENIX shelled airdromes and plane dispersal areas at Wakde and Sawar on the night of 29-30 April to neutralize the danger of air attack on newly won Allied positions in New Guinea.
General MacArthur’s troops next landed at Arare on 17 May to secure airdromes to support further operations in the Netherlands New Guinea area. This beachhead was later extended to include Wadke Islands by a shore to shore movement of troops. PHOENIX bombarded the Toem area and escorted the troops to the landing beach.
An amphibious assault on Black Island, Geelvink Bay, followed. There MacArthur planned to establish forward base for heavy bombers.
With NASVILLE and the light cruiser BOISE (CL-47), PHOENIX sortie from Humboldt Bay 25 May and two days later supported the landing. Resistance was stubborn. While the task force fired on shore installations, two of the escorting destroyers were hit by shells from shore batteries. PHOENIX wiped out the gun emplacements with two salvos from her 5 inch batteries.
On 4 June 1944, off the northwest coast of the New Guinea, eight Japanese fighter bombers attacked PHOENIX’s task force. Two confined their attention to PHOENIX. Although the ship’s gunfire did not hit the planes, it diverted their bombs runs. Both planes dropped bombs, one of which burst in the water close aboard PHOENIX, killing one man, and wounding four others with fragments. The ship also suffered some underwater leakage and damage to her propellers. The Following night, aircrafts again attacked PHOENIX. This time low-flying torpedo planes struck as she proceeded through Japan Strait, between Biak Island and New Guinea, but her gunfire and evasive tactics prevented damage.
PHOENIX and her task force frustrated an enemy attempt to reinforce their garrisons on the night of the 8-9 June.
When the Japanese destroyers detected the American ships, she turned and fled at high speed that only US destroyer division was able to get within firing range. After a running fight of three hours at long range, Phoenix and her sisters broke off action.
With BOISE and ten destroyers, PHOENIX sortied from Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralties and bombarded shore defences before our forces landed on Noemfoor Island on 2 July.
After the battle, many dead Japanese and wrecked planes were found in the target area assigned to PHOENIX.
BOISE, NASVILLE, SHROPSHIRE, PHOENIX and heavy cruiser HMAS AUSTRALIA joined for the occupation of MOROTAI in the MOLUCCA Islands on 15 September 1944. The cruisers shelled nearby Halmahera Island to cover the landing and protected the assault forces as they went ashore against continuing light opposition.
The long awaited re-conquest of the Philippines began with the landing on Leyte. PHOENIX, attached to the Close Covering Group, heavily bombarded the beaches before the highly successful landing on 20 October. Her batteries silenced an enemy strong point holding up the advance of a battalion of the 19th Infantry regiment and continued to furnish effective call fire.
In the now famous Battle for Leyte Gulf, PHOENIX was a unit of Admiral Oldendorf’s group which annihilated the Japanese Southern Force as it passed through Surigao Strait.
PHOENIX fired four spotting salvos, and when the fourth hit, opened with all of her 6 inch batteries. The target later proved to be the Japanese battleship FUSO, which sank after 27 minutes. The enemy also lost another battleship and three destroyers, and American planes sank a damaged cruiser the next day.
PHOENIX then patrolled the mouth of Leyte Gulf to protect Allied positions ashore. On the morning of 1 November, ten enemy torpedo-bombers attacked her and accompanying ships.
At 09.45, PHOENIX opened fire and five minutes later destroyer CLAXTON (DD-571) was crashed by a suicide plane. Almost at the same instant, hits from PHOENIX’s 5 inch guns set another plane afire but could not prevent it from diving into the starboard bow of the destroyer. AMMEN (DD-527). At 09.57, a plane making a torpedo run on PHOENIX was splashed by the ship’s machine-gun fire, but in a few minutes a bomber hit a third destroyer, KILLEN (DD-593).
After a lull of two and a half hours, enemy planes returned and at 13.40, scored a hit on destroyer ABNER READ (DD-769). Japanese aircraft attacked the other destroyers as they stood by the sinking ship, but PHOENIX shot down one of the raiders.
PHOENIX was attacked again by enemy planes on 5 December and was credited with assisting in the destruction of two attackers. Five days later, a suicide plane attempted to crash the ship but was brought down by 40-millimeter fire when only 100 yards away.
While proceeding to the assault area off Mindoro on 13 December, the ship was constantly under air attack by single suicide planes. That day a lone kamikaze hit nearby cruiser NASHVILLE. On the 15th, a 5-inch shell from PHOENIX brought down a circling plane at 8.000 yards. The ship then furnished her usual fire support and covered the landing forces. This gave the Allies a base from which to strike at Japan’s shipping lanes through South China Sea and to soften up Luzon for forthcoming landings.
En route Lingayen Gulf for the invasion of Luzon, lookouts on board PHOENIX sighted the conning tower of a diving submarine in the Mindanao Sea off Siquijor Island. The submarine submerged and fired two torpedoes which PHOENIX dodged. Destroyer TAYLOR (DD-468) blew the midget sub to the surface and rammed her.
Next came Bataan and Corregidor, taken 13 to 28 February 1945. PHOENIX covered minesweeping operations at Balikpapan, Borneo, from 29 June until 7 July 1945.
Resistance from coastal guns was unusually heavy. Mines and shellfire sank or damaged 11 minesweepers. PHOENIX furnished supporting fire and the assault waves landed.
PHOENIX was en route to Pearl Harbor for overhaul when Japan capitulated. She headed home and, upon reaching the Panama Canal on 06 September, joined the Atlantic Fleet.
28 February 1946 her status was reduced to in commission, in reserve, at Philadelphia.
03 July 1946 decommissioned at Philadelphia.
09 April 1951 Sold to the Argentinean Navy, for US$ 7.8 million, thereafter followed a 6 month refit
17 October 1951 commissioned in the Argentine Navy and renamed ARA DIECISIETE DE OCTUBRE (C-4)
Armament: 15 – 152mm, 8 – 127mm, 28 AA Bofors 40/60, 24 – 20mm guns.
Hangar for 4 planes.
1956 Renamed in GENERAL BELGRANO (C-4) after the fall of the Peron Government.
During the Falkland War in 1982 she formed Task Force 79.3 which included also two destroyers.
26 April 1982 GENERAL BELGRANO left Ushuaia under command of Captain Héctor E. Bonzo and a crew of 1.091, with her two escorting destroyers the PIEDRA BUENA (D-29) and the HIPOLTO BOUCHARD (D-26).
30 April the Task Force was detected by the British submarine HMS CONQUEROR when Task Force 79.3 was patrolling at the Burdwood Bank, south of the Falkland Islands.
At that time she was patrolling 20 miles outside the 200-mile exclusion zone, surrounding the Falkland Islands.
Commander Chris Wreford-Brown reported the position of the ships to his headquarter, and waited for instructions, while following the Argentine force for the next 36 hours.
The British War Cabinet at least approved an attack. The task force was a threat for the British Task Force. At that time the GENERAL BELGRANO was about 40 miles out of the exclusion zone and on a course from this zone, she was not heading for the Argentinean coast as some sources give, but she was still patrolling and waiting for instructions.
02 May at around 16.00 hours HMS CONQUEROR fired three conventional “straight running” torpedoes, of which two hit the cruiser, one struck abreast the boiler room, while the second hit a few seconds later the bow of the cruiser. (Some sources give she was hit first in the bow.)
When the first torpedo hit, the GENERAL BELGRANO lost all power, and several fires flared up, she had also lost all communication.
The crew remained calm, and began fire fighting; the wounded men were carried on deck. Damage control was hampered by the large numbers of trainees on board, and that most of the crew was not at their action stations when the torpedoes hit.
The GENERAL BELGRANO took quickly a list to port, and at 16.24 the order was given to abandon the vessel. She slipped below the waves at 16.45 taking with them many Argentine sailors.
The two destroyers unaware of the GENERAL BELGRANO troubles till she had sunk, steamed away in search for the submarine, but the CONQUEROR escaped.
During the attack and sinking of the GENERAL BELGRANO the weather was; overcast sky, rough seas and dusk already falling. The seawater was very cold which would kill everybody in a few minutes when they had to swim.
Many of the crew got in liferafts but life in these rafts was very difficult, even expired seamen got seasick in this rafts.
The next morning some search planes were sighted, but a second long night followed for the survivors in the rafts before the rescue ships arrived.
At all 770 survivors were rescued, from which some had been in the rafts for over 40 hours, while 323 men lost their live.
The GENERAL BELGRANO was the largest vessel sunk during a naval action after 1945.
She went down in a position 55 24S 61.32W. Captain Bonzo survived the sinking.
Source: copied from http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cl46.txt http://www.bobhenneman.info/belgrano.htm and some other web-sites. Modern Shipping Disasters 1963-1987 by Norman Hooke.