ARA Santísima Trinidad (D-2)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see ARA Santísima Trinidad.

History
Argentina
NameSantísima Trinidad
NamesakeAfter a brigantine commanded by Admiral Guillermo Brown in 1815
Ordered18 May 1970
BuilderAFNE Rio Santiago
Laid down11 October 1971
Launched9 November 1974
Commissioned1 July 1981
Out of service1989
Homeport
Puerto Belgrano
naval base
FateSank in harbour in 2013 due to lack of maintenance, later refloated
General characteristics
Class and typeType 42 destroyer
Displacement4,100 tons
Length125 m (410 ft)
Beam14.6 m (48 ft)
Draught5.2 m (17 ft)
Propulsion
  • COGAG
    – 2 × RM-1A gas turbines 8,200 shp (6,100 kW); 2 × TM-3B gas turbines 54,400 shp (40,600 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed28 knots (52 km/h)
Complement270
Armament
  • 1 × 4.5-inch (114 mm) DP gun;
  • 1 × 2
    Sea Dart
  • Capabilities for 4 × MM38 Exocet
  • 2 × 20mm anti-aircraft guns
  • 6 × 12.75-inch (324 mm) torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried1 x Westland Lynx

ARA Santísima Trinidad ("Most Holy Trinity") is a

Puerto Belgrano
due to lack of maintenance, being refloated in December 2015. The navy's plan to turn her into a museum ship was not realised and, in 2020, the Argentine president stated that the ship should be scrapped, though this was later blocked by federal courts.

Construction and trials

The destroyer was built at the Argentine AFNE Río Santiago shipyard, supported by engineers and technicians from the UK, and commissioned in October 1980.[1]

Sabotage

Construction began in 1973, but commissioning was long delayed by an improvised limpet mine attack carried out by divers of the guerrilla organization Montoneros on 22 August 1975. The date was chosen as a retaliation for the Trelew massacre three years before, when a number of leftist militants, most of them from the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), were executed inside Almirante Zar air base, operated by the navy. The raid was allegedly planned in imitation of Operation Frankton, a British commando attack against German shipping in Bordeaux during World War II. The attack involved the use of a folding boat, frogmen and a limpet mine with 375 lb (170 kg) of explosives, which was laid on the river bed below the destroyer after a failed attempt to attach the device to the hull. The ship's bottom and electronics suffered severe damage, and completion was suspended for a year as a result of the attack.[2][3][4]

Commissioning

The Argentine Navy enhanced the offensive capabilities of their Type 42s by fitting

Sea Dart missiles. She returned to Argentina in December 1981 having successfully completed all training and trials.[8]

Operational history

Falklands War

Argentine Landings

Map showing position of Santísima Trinidad during the landings

Santísima Trinidad was the leading ship of the

Rex Hunt (governor), along with the Royal Marines detachment on the islands was also radioed from the destroyer.[10]

Sea Harrier incident

During the remainder of the Falklands War, along with her sister ship Hércules, the unit served as the main escort to the aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo.[11] At first Hércules operated independently along with a group of older destroyers, but the development of mechanical problems in her sister ship forced the Argentine commander to merge the two Type 42 destroyers into one escorting force. The carrier naval group was known as Grupo de Tareas 79.1 (Task Force 79.1), and was intended to search for and engage its British counterpart from waters north of the Falklands.[12] Santísima Trinidad was responsible for the command and control of the group's air defence.[7]

Late on 1 May, the carrier launched a number of

Sea Harrier with her Type 909 fire-control radar, followed afterwards by her sister-ship Hércules. The British aircraft, Sea Harrier XZ451 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Ian Mortimer of 801 Naval Air Squadron, retreated because of the threat of the Sea Dart, but not before spotting the area of deployment of the Argentine fleet.[7][13] After realising that the enemy was not engaged in a major amphibious operation as supposed, which made any attempt of the Argentine against the British carriers extremely dangerous, the Argentine commander, Admiral Allara, decided to withdraw his forces to shallow waters close to the coast.[14]

Coastal surveillance

See also:
Bluff Cove Air Attacks

The destroyer lost her

Air Force attacks on Bluff Cove on 8 June, Santísima Trinidad played a key role by jamming the frequencies used by the Sea Harriers air controllers with interference signals.[17] Once the end of hostilities was declared, Santísima Trinidad escorted the British transport Canberra into Puerto Madryn with about 3,000 Argentine prisoners on board.[16]

After the war

After the war the British weapons and supplies embargo on Argentina made the purchase of spare parts impossible.[18] The Argentine Minister of Defence considered selling the destroyers,[19] and as a consequence, the Navy placed Santísima Trinidad in reserve as a parts supplier for Hércules.[20] From 2 to 15 March 1987 she took part in Operation Grifo, the Argentine response to Operation Fire-Focus, the largest British military exercise around the Falklands since 1982.[21] Her last Sea Dart missile test launch was conducted on 27 November 1987 against an Argentine-built drone.[22] Santísima Trinidad's last voyage took place in 1989.[23]

Fate

Since 2004, Santísima Trinidad was listed as "in reserve awaiting overhaul", but it was expected that the navy would formally decommission her. There were projects in the

Argentine congress calling for Santísima Trinidad to be converted into a museum ship.[20][24]

On 21 January 2013, Santísima Trinidad suffered a broken valve which resulted in the flooding of several compartments. The flooding was beyond the capacity of the pumps and the crew was evacuated. The ship took on a 50-degree list and then sank at her berth in Puerto Belgrano. Santísima Trinidad was in poor condition before she sank; the ship had been cannibalized to keep her sister Hércules operational, as the British refused to sell spare parts to Argentina after the Falklands War.[25] In September 2014, specialists of the Argentine navy began an operation to raise the ship.[26] In December 2015, Santísima Trinidad was refloated and the Navy announced their plan to turn her into a museum dedicated to the 1982 war.[27] This project seemed to have been discarded by 2018.[28] The Argentine president decreed on 17 December 2020 that the ship should be placed out of use and disposed of.[29]

In December 2021, an Argentine federal court ruled that the ship cannot be scrapped due to her historical significance and can qualify for status as a national historic site.[30]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ISBN 1-86064-769-3
    .
  2. ISBN 0-275-95514-1
    .
  3. ISBN 978-987-1427-00-0
    .
  4. ^ "El buque Santisima Trinidad, los montoneros, y la Operacion Algeciras" (in Spanish). Diario Clarin. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  5. ISBN 0-946378-31-2
    .
  6. ^ Tecnología militar (in Spanish). Vol. 26. Grupo Editorial Mönch. 2004. p. 103.
  7. ^ a b c "Destructor A.R.A. "Santisima Trinidad"". histamar.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  8. ^ "New Scientist". 98. Reed Business Information. 1983. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Smith, 2006. p.18
  10. ^ Insight team Sunday Time (1982): War in the Falklands: the Full Story. Chapter I: Surrender (I)
  11. ^ Smith, 2006. p.56
  12. ^ a b Mayorga, 1998. p.252
  13. ISBN 0-283-99035-X
    .
  14. ^ Mayorga, 1998. p.258
  15. ISBN 1-84176-293-8
    .
  16. ^ a b "Part 50. Falklands, Surrender and Aftermath". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  17. ISBN 978-0-8108-6760-4
    .
  18. ISBN 0-19-829137-X
    .
  19. Ships Monthly". 20 (10–12). Endlebury Pub. Co. 1985. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  20. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59114-955-2
    .
  21. ^ Rodríguez & Arguindeguy, p.338
  22. ^ Rodríguez & Arguindeguy, p.328
  23. ^ "Un barco que se usó como fuente para repuestos". Clarin (in Spanish). 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Proyecto Santisima Trinidad". histamar.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Argentine destroyer that led war against Britain sinks, a symbol of decay for once-proud navy". FOX News Network. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  26. ^ "La Armada Argentina realiza la compleja operación de reflotamiento del destructor Santísima Trinidad" (in Spanish). 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  27. ^ "La Armada incorpora dos navíos comprados a Rusia y reflota el "Trinidad", que participó en Malvinas" (in Spanish). 18 December 2015.
  28. ^ "- El Rosalenio Digital - Punta Alta". elrosalenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  29. ^ Larre, Agustin (18 December 2020). "Argentina declara en disuso el destructor ARA Santísima Trinidad". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Madrid. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Argentine Federal Court upholds Stanley landing ship must not be scrapped".

Bibliography


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