USS Phoenix passing the burning West Virginia and Arizona Dec. 7, 1941
Posted on 12/30/2011 5:00:35 PM PST by naturalman1975
About one minute before the first torpedo hit, Seaman Marcelo Pozzo had lain down on his bunk and was looking forward to some sleep.
He had been on duty for most of the day at the Damage Control Station in the heart of the light cruiser the General Belgrano as it pushed through the 15m waves of the South Atlantic, and he was due back on at midnight.
As soon as Pozzo closed his eyes, he felt a ‘hammer blow’ that propelled him into the air with such force that he hit the upper bunk.
‘When I fell down, a heatwave engulfed me,’ he later recalled, ‘it felt as if the door of a huge blazing oven had suddenly opened.’
Pozzo rushed out of his berth, and saw his fellow sailors coming up from the lower decks.
He asked a friend what had happened, who answered him in no uncertain terms: ‘We’ve been torpedoed, you idiot!’
It was only then that Pozzo noticed that the skin on both his legs had been lacerated below the knees. In addition, his right forearm was completely burned, but because he was in shock, he felt no pain.
Dutifully, Pozzo made his way to Damage Control Station, but when he arrived, an officer told him to go to the sickbay.
Pozzo would never reach it, because the order was soon given to abandon ship.
A second torpedo had hit the Belgrano, and the captain, Hector Bonzo, knew that there was no chance of saving the 44-year-old vessel.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
In many ways, this is one of the most ridiculous arguments in recent military history. Most of those who criticise the sinking of the Belgrano are profoundly ignorant of the laws of war.
As a matter of international law, Britain was at war with Argentina as a result of Argentina’s act of war in invading British territory. As a result of this, Britain was fully at liberty to sink an Argentinian warship anywhere in the world.
The total exclusion zone declared by Britain on 30th April 1982 was only of relevance to neutral vessels (ie, anyone except Britain and Argentina). It was a declaration that the Royal Navy might sink any vessel or aircraft in that zone, regardless of nationality.
Belgrano was a legitimate target wherever she was, or whatever direction she was sailing in. Britain was at war with Argentina and Belgrano was a combatant warship. The sinking of Belgrano was no crime - it was an legitimate act undertaken in war time.
It was, in a sense, a tragedy. 323 Argentinian sailors - brave men who were serving their country and who were not involved personally in the decisions by their government that lead to war - were killed. But that's what happens in war. Brave men who are serving their country die on both sides. Some wars also involve people who don't deserve to be seen as any sort of warriors, but the sailors on the Belgrano were just doing their duty.
But so were the sailors aboard HMS Conqueror. They did to Belgrano what Belgrano would have done to them if it had had the chance. More significantly they did to Belgrano what Belgrano would have tried to do to the ships of the British taskforce and while in a pitched naval battle, the Royal Navy would have almost certainly defeated the Armada de la República Argentina, the Belgrano along with aircraft from the carrier Veinticinco de Mayo in a combined attack could well have inflicted heavy losses even in a battle they ultimately lost and made it much more difficult for the British task force to complete its overall mission.
In war men die. Fact of life. Hopefully you can win by killing as few of the enemy as possible, but to win, you have to kill enough of the enemy to achieve your strategic goals. And to prevent him killing you and yours.
Totally agree with what you said there. That said, I still think the Sun’s ‘Gotcha!’ headline was crass and tasteless. The crew of the HMS Conqueror apparently cheered only briefly when they scored a hit, but it fell away quickly as the realisation sunk in that other human lives, of other sailors no less, were being lost as a direct result of their actions...
Good post and commentary, thanks very much.
What I remember most from that time is how the Brits sent a taskforce that everyone knew was coming, that took over two weeks to get there - and still managed to launch a “surprise” attack.
The main take-away of this “war crime” debate, then and now, is the lunatic imbecility of anyone on the left (never mind Ron Paul types) who want to shackled wartime commanders with idiotic ROEs that have nothing to do with ethics or intelligence.
USS Phoenix passing the burning West Virginia and Arizona Dec. 7, 1941
The Belgrano was sent on a fool’s errand. If it had proceeded further it would have been sunk all the same.
The Argie’s simply didn’t know they were outclassed, period.
That is the case with pretty much all naval battles, due to the ever-present feeling of mortal vulnerability. There are many accounts of this exact behavior, spanning the days of the tall ships and continuing right into modern times.
The Argentinians have never been particularly bent out of shape over the sinking of the Belgrano - it’s always been British Leftist whackjobs with an obsessive hatred of Thatcher
When 1940’s cruiser technology meets MK48 torpedeo technology,lives will be lost.Too bad that the Argentinian command didn’t keep the Belgrango in port.
HMS Sheffield.
War is war, and war is Hell. There should have been no "safe" zones in that war. And, I feel for those Brit and Argentine sailors involved in the Belgrade sinking. They are men of honor, though, and understand the bottom line: It's war, and it's Hell.
I've heard too many times, of soldiers from the past, who were at each others' throats at the time, but....when they meet face to face, many years later, they shake hands, and catch up on old times.
"How is your wife? How is your family? Did you do well?"
The Belgrano was sunk by British Mk 8 straight-running torpedoes of World War II design.
Sounds like someone was able to intercept orders to the Belgrano....maybe UK had cracked their codes.
that debonaire guy at the bar... he found out and is hi-tailing it for Montevideo in his Aston-Martin.
The Brits are rather good at breaking codes of their enemies—especially the unbreakable ones. I wouldn’t doubt that they have broken our coded messages and read our mail. No. 10 might read the messages before Obama gets back from the golf Though fare. I would like to see a James Bond set in the Argentine War. Losing that war sent the Generals packing from Government and put in an elected president—best thing that happened to Argentina since Evita died.
I'm sure the hand-wringing lib lurkers are appalled at my idea of proper ROE. Probably think I'm some knuckle-dragger. Fine. But my way ends wars quickly, and actually saves lives. Anything else is BS, reduces the horror, reduces the incentive to avoid wars or end them quickly. That makes them drag on and destroy more lives, more treasure.
for the morning
Military coups are no longer sustainable. Noone wants the thankless job of being the jefe and then getting hunted by courts in the hague till your dying day.
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