This article describes the composition and actions of the Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War . For a list of naval forces from the United Kingdom, see British naval forces in the Falklands War.
The Argentine Navy (ARA), particularly its commander-in-chief and Junta member, Admiral Jorge Anaya, was the main architect and supporter of a military solution to resolve the long-standing claim of sovereignty over the islands. By 1982 the country was already in the midst of a devastating economic crisis and large-scale civil unrest against the repressive government and Anaya, now a member of the ruling Junta, ordered Operation Rosario to be brought forward to 2 April, after a group of Argentina military infiltrated a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants and raised the Argentine flag at South Georgia 19 March.
General Galtieri, acting president, agreed in his intention to mount a quick, symbolic occupation, followed rapidly by a withdrawal, leaving only a small garrison to support the new military governor and force the UK to begin talks on the long-delayed sovereignty claim. On 2 April an amphibious landing was made at Stanley and on 3 April Argentine marines used helicopters to take over the Georgias. Whilst the military junta was redeploying the assault units back to their home bases they found the British responded with a large-scale mobilisation to organise a naval task force and ground forces to retake the islands by force.
The war could not have happened at a worse time for the Argentines. They were expecting new destroyers, frigates and submarines being built in West Germany and their shipment of French Super Étendards and Exocets were not yet complete.
She was later attacked by Argentine A4s, shelled by one of our frigates and finally attacked by Antelope's Lynx, which sank her on 23 May with 2 Sea Skua missiles.
HMS Cardiff was a British Type 42 destroyer and the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honour of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.
HMS Alacrity was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy.
HMS Coventry was a Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.
The Argentine Navy is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force.
ARA Santa Fe was an Argentine Balao-class submarine that was lost during the Falklands War. Built by the US during the Second World War, the ship operated in the United States Navy as USS Catfish (SS-339) until 1971 when she was transferred to the Argentine Navy. She served until 1982 when she was captured by the British at South Georgia after being seriously damaged and subsequently sank along a pier, with just her conning tower (sail) visible above the waterline. The submarine was raised, towed out of the bay and scuttled in deep water in 1985.
ARA Isla de los Estados was an Argentine Navy supply ship sunk during the Falklands War.
ARA Bahía Buen Suceso (B-6) was a Bahía Aguirre-class 5,000-ton fleet transport that served in the Argentine Navy from 1950 to 1982. She took part in the Falklands War as a logistics ship tasked with resupplying the Argentine garrisons scattered around the Falkland Islands. Captured by British forces on 15 June after running aground at Fox Bay, she sank in deep waters while being used as target practice by the Royal Navy on 21 October 1982.
These are some of the key weapons of the Falklands War used by both sides.
Kidney Island so called due to its shape, is a small island with a land area of 33 hectares, to the east of East Falkland, not far from Stanley. It lies is at the east end of Berkeley Sound near Kidney Cove, and is separated from Port William by Menguera Point. It is a nature reserve and, unlike most of the main islands, is still covered in tussac grass. Its wildlife includes penguins and sea lions. It is one of only three places in the archipelago where king penguins breed; the others are Saunders Island and Volunteer Point on East Falkland.
The Battle of Seal Cove was a minor naval action west of Lively Island, during the 1982 Falklands War. On the evening of 22 May 1982, while supporting Operation Sutton off San Carlos Bay, the British frigates HMS Brilliant and HMS Yarmouth received orders to stop and seize the Argentine Navy armed coastal supply boat ARA Monsunen. Under heavy shelling, the coaster managed to avoid capture by grounding on a nearby inlet.
The Espora-class corvettes are six warships of the Argentine Navy built in Argentina to the German MEKO 140A16 design, this in turn being based on the Portuguese João Coutinho-class project. The first entered service in 1985 but accidents and lack of funds meant the last was not completed until 2004. The ships currently form the 2nd Corvette Division of the Argentine Navy and their home port is the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the Espora-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.
The Drummond class are three corvettes designed and built in France based on the A69 D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos. The ships were commissioned in the Argentine Navy between 1978 and 1982.
HMS Tiger Bay was a Z-28-class patrol boat operated by the British Royal Navy, previously the Argentine Coast Guard vessel PNA Islas Malvinas (GC-82), which was seized at Port Stanley by the crew of HMS Cardiff on 14 June 1982 following the Argentine surrender during the Falklands War.
The invasion of South Georgia, also known as the Battle of Grytviken or Operation Georgias, took place on 3 April 1982, when Argentine Navy forces seized control of the east coast of South Georgia after overpowering a small group of Royal Marines at Grytviken. Though outnumbered, the Royal Marines shot down a helicopter and hit the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico several times before being forced to surrender. It was one of the first episodes of the Falklands War, immediately succeeding the invasion on the Falkland Islands the day before.
ARA Drummond (P-31) is the lead ship of the Drummond class of three corvettes of the Argentine Navy. She is the second vessel to be named after Scottish-born Navy Sergeant Major Francisco Drummond.
ARA Alférez Sobral (A-9) is an 800-ton ocean-going tug that was in service with the Argentine Navy from 1972 until 2019, where she was classified as an aviso. She had previously served in the US Navy as the fleet tug USS Salish (ATA-187). In Argentine service an aviso is a small naval vessel used for a number of auxiliary tasks, including tugging, laying buoys, and replenishing other ships, lighthouses and naval bases.
ARA Granville (P-33) is a Drummond-class corvette of the Argentine Navy named after Guillermo Enrique Granville, who fought in the 1827 Battle of Juncal against Brazil.
The Sea Fleet Command is one of the commands in the Argentine Navy, headquartered at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (BNPB).
The Falklands Naval Station was the main base of the naval component of Argentina in the Falklands Islands, during the South Atlantic conflict of 1982.