ARA General Belgrano

ARA General Belgrano was an Argentine Navy light cruiser sunk by the British submarine HMS Conqueror on 2 May 1982 during the Falklands War.

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HMS Conqueror: A British nuclear-powered submarine that served in the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1990. It fired the torpedoes that sank General Belgrano.
Mark 8 torpedo: A British 21-inch torpedo developed during the First World War and used into the late twentieth century. Conqueror fired Mark 8 torpedoes at the cruiser.
Exclusion zone: A declared area from which specified vessels or aircraft are warned to stay away during a conflict. Britain had declared a maritime exclusion zone around the Falklands before the attack.
Héctor Bonzo: An Argentine naval officer who commanded ARA General Belgrano when it was sunk. He directed the cruiser during its final mission and later documented the sinking.
Falklands War: A 1982 war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands and related South Atlantic territories. The cruiser’s sinking became one of the war’s pivotal events.
Torpedo: A self-propelled underwater weapon designed to strike ships or submarines. The attack was carried out with torpedoes rather than missiles or gunfire.
San Carlos landings: The British amphibious landings at San Carlos Water on East Falkland beginning on 21 May 1982. The cruiser’s destruction reduced the threat from Argentina’s surface fleet before the landings.
Christopher Wreford-Brown: A Royal Navy officer who commanded HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War. He commanded the submarine that attacked General Belgrano.
Operation Algeciras: An Argentine plan to sabotage a Royal Navy warship in Gibraltar during the Falklands War. The planned attack on HMS Ariadne shows the conflict’s reach beyond the South Atlantic.
Abandon ship: The emergency procedure by which a vessel’s crew leaves a ship that can no longer be kept afloat. The order enabled hundreds to escape before the cruiser went down.