TRANSPORT SHIP ARA CANAL BEAGLE
AND THE CONFLICT OF
1978:
THE FIRST STAFF
EDUARDO C. GERDING
Published in Spanish by Fundación Histarmar
On October 3, 1975, Decree No. 2793 was drafted, authorizing the construction of the Transport ship ARA Canal Beagle by the prestigious Principe, Menghi and Penco Shipyard located on Vieytes and Arroyo Maciel streets (Isla Maciel, Avellaneda).29 ,30.Said unit was launched on October 19, 1977, her godmother being Mrs. María del Carmen Long de Torlaschi. The flag was affirmed on June 19, 1978 at 11 a.m. in Dock A in the presence of the Commander in Chief of the Navy, the Chief of the General Staff of the Navy, the Director General of Naval Personnel and the Director of Hull Machines. On July 4 of that year the unit was officialy received by the Navy. On July 26 she received her war flag donated by the Governor of the National Territory of Tierra del Fuego and South Atlantic Islands.This unit, like her twins the ARA San Blas and ARA Cabo de Hornos, were specially designed to meet the requirements of Patagonian traffic due to its beaching capacity. They can transport a wide variety of cargoes, heavy machinery, containers and weapons. The ARA Canal Beagle presents small differences compared to the rest: it loads 9700 m3 or 7000 T of bulk coal or 140 TEUS. It has a refrigeration capacity of 210 m3. Two booms of 1.5 T each. Three Liebherr cranes: one of 5 T for warehouse No. 1 and two of 20 T each for warehouses 2 and 3 that, working in parallel, lift 40 T. 30. Its flat-bottom design allows it to beach without difficulty in Río Gallegos ( where there is a tidal range of 8.8 m) and also facilitates interesting pitching and rolling.
Note
TEU: Unit of measurement of maritime transport capacity in containers. Originally it is an acronym for the English expression “Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit”. It is the size that has been established as a base, taking as a unit the capacity of a 20-foot container.
The assignment
I made my transfer to the ARA Canal Beagle on March 2, 1978.20. My last destination was the Health Department of the Admiral William Brown Naval Lyceum in Río Santiago.
I introduced
myself to the Naval Transportation Service, whose offices were located on the
6th floor of Reconquista 385.
The Head of the
Service was the Captain José María Palau and the Chief of Armaments was the Commander
Juan Bautista Bigliardi.
My aspiration was that, upon completing my year of navigation, I could apply to enter the Internal Medicine Residency at the Puerto Belgrano Naval Hospital whose main office was led by Navy Lieutenant Medicine Doctor Carlos Guillermo Weyland and directed by Professor Dr. José Burucúa.
My commander would be Teodoro R. Sabbino, 45 years old, a specialist in Submarine Weapons who as a Lieutenant had served on the ARA Cruiser General Belgrano. Sabbino was commander of this unit from March 2, 1978 to January 12, 1979. 30
What was happening in the world in 1978? That was the year in which our team won the world football championship, the year of the three Popes (Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II), the year in which Muhammad Ali lost the all-weight crown, the year in which Caroline of Monaco married Philippe Junot and also when the first test tube baby was born.
There was a
collective suicide of 900 people in the People's Temple sect in Guyana. 7. The
Horizon gray uniform was still used.
Mrs María del Carmen Long de Torlaschi
(Kindly submitted by Sra María Rosa Torlaschi)
ARA Canal Beagle coat of arms
Painted by Mr.Carlos
Salvadeo
The Naval
Transport Service 37
ARA Transport Canal
Beagle
This 119.90 meter long ship transport displaces 10,984 tons thanks to its two Sulzer diesel engines of 4000 HP each achieving a speed of 16 knots.36 It has three cranes with a power greater than its twin units. I was the only health personnel on board.
I had the honor of designing the unit's shield and participating in the design of its infirmary.
Work on board
carries risks and this ship was no exception. I remember insisting a lot to
Engineer Mazzini regarding the equipment of a specific stretcher. Initially I
used a Graf Spee type stretcher that allowed me to extract the injured through
the hatches. My concern then was that of a possible surgical emergency while
navigating the Le Maire Strait, famous for its alternating weather conditions.
(15/2/79)
 |
Transport ARA
Beagle Channel First Staff- Year 1978
Sitting from left to right:
Head of Health Frigate
Lieutenant Medicine Doctor Eduardo C. Gerding,
Machine
Assistant Antonio Manuel Mingarro,
Second Commander
Navy Lieutenant Horacio Ignacio Amarante †,
Commander
Teodoro R. Sabbino
Deck Chief Rodolfo Simian
Radio Division
Chief Eduardo Ochoa,
First Machine
Officer Emilio Juan Felipez †.
Standing from Left to Right:
General Office Chief Midshipman Gabriel Omar Urchipía,
First Deck
Officer Aldo Luis Nicoletta,
Supply chief
Frigate Lieutenant Osvaldo Julio Chaves,
Navigation Chief
Lieutenant Luis Eduardo Raña,
Third Machine
Officer Luis Peña.
Chief Engineer
was Leandro Nicolás Selen † (not present in the photo) and Second Engineer
Officer (also not present in the photo) was Gustavo Sergio Schelling.
Chief Engineer Leandro Nicolas Selen
(Kindly submitted by Mrs. Eva María van Caneghem )
Second
Engineer Officer Gustavo Sergio Schelling
ARA
Canal Beagle navigation during 1978 13
|
Sailing
date |
From |
Up to |
|
27-06-78 |
Buenos
Aires |
Campana |
|
02-07-78 |
Campana |
Puerto
Belgrano |
|
05-07-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Ingeniero
White |
|
07-07-78 |
Ingeniero
White |
Puerto
Madryn |
|
12-07-78 |
Puerto
Madryn |
Comodoro
Rivadavia |
|
17-07-78 |
Comodoro
Rivadavia |
Puerto
Deseado |
|
20-07-78 |
Puerto
Deseado |
Santa
cruz |
|
23-07-78 |
Santa
Cruz |
Ushuaia |
|
30-07-78 |
Ushuaia |
Comodoro
Rivadavia |
|
07-08-78 |
Comodoro
Rivadavia |
San
Julián |
|
09-08-78 |
San
Julián |
Río
Gallegos |
|
13-08-78 |
Río
Gallegos |
San
Nicolás |
|
18-08-78 |
San
Nicolás |
Buenos
Aires |
|
02-09-78 |
Buenos
Aires |
Ingeniero
White |
|
05-09-78 |
Ingeniero
White |
Puerto
Belgrano |
|
08-09-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Puerto
Madryn |
|
10-09-08 |
Puerto
Madryn |
Puerto
Deseado |
|
12-09-78 |
Puerto
Deseado |
San
Julián |
|
15-09-78 |
San
Julián |
Santa
Cruz |
|
16-09-78 |
Santa
Cruz |
Ushuaia |
|
25-09-78 |
Ushuaia |
Río
Gallegos
|
|
30-09-78 |
Muelle
comercial |
Muelle
del Turbio |
|
03-10-78 |
Río
Gallegos |
Puerto
Belgrano |
|
06-10-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Buenos
Aires |
|
17-10-78 |
Buenos
Aires |
Rosario |
|
19-10-78 |
Rosario |
Puerto
Belgrano |
|
28-10-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Ingeniero
White |
|
31-10-78 |
Ingeniero
White |
Puerto
Madryn |
|
01-11-78 |
Puerto
Madryn |
Puerto
Deseado |
|
03-11-78 |
Puerto
Deseado |
Santa
Cruz |
|
05-11-78 |
Santa
Cruz |
Ushuaia |
|
15-11-78 |
Ushuaia |
Rio
Gallegos |
|
18-11-78 |
Muelle
Fiscal |
Muelle
El Turbio |
|
21-11-78 |
Río
Gallegos |
San
Nicolás |
|
26-11-78 |
San
Nicolás |
Buenos
Aires |
|
04-12-78 |
Buenos
Aires |
Puerto
Belgrano |
|
08-12-78 |
Amarradero
80 |
Amarradero
63 |
|
11-12-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Santa
Cruz |
|
14-12-78 |
Santa
Cruz |
Ushuaia |
|
17-12-78 |
Ushuaia |
Caleta La Misión |
|
19-12-78 |
Fondeadero |
Caleta La Misión |
|
21-12-78 |
Caleta La Misión |
Santa Cruz |
|
24-12-78 |
Santa Cruz |
Puerto Belgrano |
|
26-12-78 |
Puerto
Belgrano |
Buenos
Aires |
|
12-01-79 |
Buenos
Aires |
Ingeniero
White |
|
16-01-79 |
Ingeniero
White |
Santa
Cruz |
Note:
On July 4, the unit was visited by the Commander of Naval Operations and on August 25 by the Governor of the National Territory of Tierra del Fuego and South Atlantic Islands Captain (Ret)Jorge Luis Arigotti. The December 4 tri was recorded on the Navigation Log page 85. 13. The cargo was exclusively military and the unit was directly dependent on the Military Operations Command. A total of 16,327 miles were navigated. The change of command took place on February 16, 1979.
The navegation
At night I used to stay with the watch personnel both on the bridge and in the engine room. The Beagle Channel was truly impressive. The echo sounder graphed the profile of the bottom, which was the closest thing to navigating over a mountain ridge.
The Beagle
Channel has a depth that ranges from 130 m and increases rapidly in its distal
third.11. I think that at that time my concern about hypothermia was born,
which would crystallize years later in the SARRRAH Project.32 If in the middle
of the summer month a crew member wearing conventional clothing had fallen into
the water (average surface temperature = 13 º C) it would not I would have had
many opportunities after 40 min. 16
The Beagle
Conflict
In November 1978, while the TRCB faced its journey south, the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Squadron, the 54-year-old naval aviator Vice Admiral Raúl López Silva, anchored his units in a hideout near the O'Brien Canal about 100 miles from Cape Horn. 33. At that time our Commander of Naval Operations was Vice Admiral Juan Antonio Torti and the Commander of the Marine Corps was Rear Admiral Marine Corps Oscar F. Abriata.
Gradually we became aware of the increase in tension between Argentina and Chile and each person in their position took the necessary precautions for the eventual confrontation. Where would I assist the wounded? What was the most protected place for them? Le Maire was now a totally secondary topic.
It is worth
remembering that the Beagle Conflict probably represented the largest
concentration of troops on the South American continent since the Chaco War 33.
According to the British magazine Aerospace International, in 1978 Argentina
had a total of 32,900 men (12,000 conscripts) while Chile had 24,000 men (1600
conscripts). We had, among others, the aircraft carrier ARA 25 de Mayo with 15
A4Q aircraft, 2 Brooklyn-type cruisers, 9 destroyers, and 4 submarines (2 type
209 and 2 ex-Guppy class).
Chile in turn
had 3 cruisers (2 ex-Brooklyn and one Swedish Tre Kroner class), 6 destroyers,
2 Leander class frigates (informally known as Type 121), 4 corvettes, 3
submarines (2 Oberon and one Balao class) apart from other units. 1,8,10,35.
Some publications report that there may even have been a plan drawn up by the
Peruvian general Edgardo Mercado Jarrín, considered Peru's greatest military
theorist, which contemplated a military offensive against Chile after
hostilities began in the extreme south. 9.
The plan
It has been
postulated that the Argentine attack plan began with the occupation of the
Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands by the Marine Corps Battalions No. 3 and 4.
Two hours later the V Army Corps would attack from the Santa Cruz area trying
to conquer the maximum Chilean territory in the Patagonian zone. 26.27
Simultaneously, the Argentine Air Force would begin strategic bombing. On the 23rd the Chilean Air Force on the ground would be destroyed. In a later phase, an offensive would be launched using the III Army Corps, in the area of Paso Los Libertadores, Paso Maipo and Paso Puyehue (today Cardenal Samoré Border Pass) with the purpose of cutting communications in the territory of continental Chile. This included the conquest, with the support of the Sea Fleet, of a coastal city, probably Puerto Williams, while the Air Force supported maritime and land operations.
The Transport ARA
Canal Beagle in navigation
During the 1978 Conflict, a large part of the First Army Corps had to be loaded and moved, with armor, artillery and equipment in addition to supplying the Marine Corps that had moved to Tierra del Fuego with 12,000 men. 22,23,24,37
December was
undoubtedly the critical month. One day after the TRCB left Puerto Belgrano for
Santa Cruz, the Sea Fleet began operations with Rear Admiral Humberto Jorge
Barbuzzi as its Commander. The newspapers published the concerns of Gale
William McGee, Democratic senator for Wyoming (USA), representative to the OAS,
and even of President James Carter himself. Six days later, the troops of the
Peruvian Air Force, Navy and Army Aviation carried out joint maneuvers.9
The Chilean
forces sent a scouting plane to the Atlantic, which was intercepted by two
planes from the ARA 25 de Mayo. The plane hid in the clouds and returned to its
base. 18
In the early
hours of the 19th, the TRCB moved from its anchorage to Caleta La Misión. The
logistical support activity carried out by the TRCB in said place was one of
the most relevant at the time of the conflict and perhaps not so well known.
Our unit operated with full efficiency alongside the ARA Cabo San Antonio
Landing Ship (USS De Soto County class) whose flag had been affirmed on
November 1 of that same year. Its commander was then Oscar Enrique Botta.
On the 19th the
Sea Fleet sailed at 20 knots south to the east of the island of the States.
That same day, Vice Admiral Raúl López Silva 19, upon listening to the news
from Radio Minería, ordered all his ships to prepare for sailing.
Immediately he
received a message from the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Navy that said "Prepare
to begin war actions at dawn, imminent aggression..." In 4 more hours
the Chilean Squadron was going to be detected electronically and in six hours
they would enter combat 18
At dawn on
December 20, the Chilean fleet was in the Drake Sea, heading south from the air
bases of our Sea Fleet. 18
Our fleet
endured an intense storm that forced it to turn back waiting for weather
conditions to improve. This was detected by the Chilean naval aviation. It was
8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, December 20. 2 .
According to the
Meteorological Service, at 9 in the morning, in the Burdwood Bank area there
was a wind of 20 knots predominantly from the West and the waves already had a
maximum height of 4 meters.
On Thursday the
21st we set sail from Caleta la Misión (53º 31´30¨ S and 67º 49´ 00¨ W) towards
Santa Cruz 13. At 9am we received a predominant wind from the West of 10 knots
and the waves reached a maximum height of 2m. That morning there were new developments
on the diplomatic front with an Argentine response at 1:30 p.m. that made the
conflict seem inevitable. In the afternoon of that same day, Chilean Marine
Pablo Wunderlich received the order to immediately move to Isla Nueva with a
company of about 150 men. They set sail aboard the 2,130-ton destroyer Serrano,
moving in sight of the forces. Argentina. 2
In order to
neutralize the aircraft carrier ARA 25 de Mayo (ex HMS Venerable and ex Karen
Doorman), the Chilean submarine Simpson (Balao class) with its torpedoes ready
to be fired 2 transited the Drake Passage on December 21 and entered the South
Atlantic. 33.
Chilean submarine CNS Simpson (Balao-Ex class USS Spot)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Spot_(SS-413)
Note:
At the end of 1969, Chile had acquired the British Oberon-class submarines built by Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd of Greenock (United Kingdom). They were characterized by being very silent and having a diving capacity of 300 m (Oberon class submarines). The Balao class submarine had been used by the United States during World War II and had slight improvements over the Gato class by having higher resistance steel that allowed it to be submerged to 120 m.
On the afternoon
of December 21, satellite photos from US intelligence showed a tank advance in
the vicinity of the Puyehue Pass (Pajaritos Pass, currently Cardenal Samoré
Pass) on the Argentine side, with the aim of leaving for Chile in two.34.
From Osorno
(Chile) and through the Southern Pan-American Route it communicates with Villa
La Angostura in our country. At 7:19 p.m. that same day, Chilean naval aviation
detected our fleet at the height of the 59th meridian almost in front of the
islands. At 10 p.m., the Chilean planes reported having detected our fleet in
an attack position in the Cape Horn area.
The Argentine fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Humberto J. Barbuzzi, took up positions east of Cape Horn in the shallow waters of Burdwood Bank to minimize the danger from submarines.
Note:
Cape Horn is located on the coast of the island of Hornos, which is the southernmost of the L'Hermite Islands archipelago, part of the Wollaston Islands and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Its name comes from the Dutch Kaap Horn in honor of the Dutch city of Hoorn.
The Burdwood Bank, also called Namuncurá Bank in Argentina, is an underwater
plateau located in its westernmost part 150 km east of the island of States in the
South Atlantic Ocean. It extends 370 km in an east-west direction and its north-
south width varies between 50 and 100 km. Its depth varies between 50 and 200 m
and it is assumed that it formed an island in the first glacial period.
The defenses of
the ARA 25 de Mayo had been modified with anti-torpedo nets hanging from the
deck. While navigating these waters the fleet had a sonar contact, which was
classified as a probable submarine and was unsuccessfully attacked by aircraft,
AS helicopters and destroyers. This sonar contact was attacked with an SH-3H
Sea King 2-H-231 which attempted to drop an MK-44 torpedo that did not detach
from its chock. The POMA escort ships attacked upon contact with the hedgehogs.
Apparently
explosions were heard but there was no evidence of impact. It is also possible
that a Tracker launched an anti-submarine torpedo. 33. In another incident, an
A-4Q naval Skyhawk aircraft intercepted a Chilean Aviocar 212 fighter on naval
patrol near the fleet, but the pilot was ordered not to fire first. 33 At 11pm
there was a false report from a FACH scout plane who believed it was our forces
when in reality they were the Chilean torpedo boats Fresia, Guacolda, Quidora
and Tegualda. D-day was going to be Thursday, December 21 at 11:45 p.m. 7
Navigation Log
(page 97) of the ARA Canal Beagle on Thursday, December 21, 1978 (Courtesy of
the Agentine Navy Historical Archive)
In the first
minutes of Friday the 22nd, the Chilean Squadron began its movement to face the
Argentine fleet. Some authors report that the Chilean fleet was composed of the
flagship Cruise Captain Prat (former USS Nashville, Brooklyn class), the
missile destroyers Williams and Riveros, the missile frigates Lynch and
Condell, the artillery destroyers Portales, Centeno, Cochrane and Blanco, the
Petrolero Araucano and the Yelcho, logistical support unit. Approximately 2000
men, including 150 officers. 18. Eight days after his birthday, the 63-year-old
Commander in Chief Admiral José Toribio Merino Castro ordered “Set sail
immediately and enter into combat with the Argentines.”
The order was
sent in Spanish without a code, supposedly uncoded so that our radios could
hear it clearly.
Monthly News Report from Senior Transport Staff ARA Beagle Channel in navigation from December 1 to 31, 1978. 20
Vice Admiral
López Silva ordered battle formation. The "Acero" group marched to
the front, bordering the islands in the Drake Sea. In that position they had to
act as a barrier, withstanding the Argentine barrage before firing with their
artillery. The ships of the "Bronce" group, meanwhile, would do so
further south. From that position they would respond to the Argentine attack by
launching their own missiles.
In our country,
in the early morning of December 22 they began to analyze the Vatican
initiative that proposed sending a personal emissary of the Supreme Pontiff.
Meanwhile, both parties evaluated the weather conditions, intelligence reports
and aircraft flying over the area.
Nautical chart
showing the estimated positions of the Argentine Sea Fleet, the Chilean
Squadron, the ARA Canal Beagle Transport that departed from Caleta La Misión
and the alleged position of the Chilean submarine Simpson on December 21 and
22, 1978.
A communications
officer approached the Chief of the 3rd Naval Zone in Punta Arenas, Almirante
Luis de los Ríos, with an intercepted message transmitted on three frequencies
and 136 groups of numbers. De los Ríos ordered 50 percent of the aeromaritime
exploration planes that were still on the ground to take off. At 1:22 one of
the planes reported that our fleet was changing course and three minutes later
that the amphibious group did as well.
Simultaneously
from Valparaíso it was reported that Argentina had decided to accept the
sending of a papal emissary. 2. At 11 in the morning on December 22, the cruise
ship Captain Prat entered Cook Bay. 31
That day the
22nd, while the TRCB was sailing from Caleta La Misión (266 km from Cape Horn)
and with the possibility of a Chilean submarine nearby, the naval forces of the
two countries prepared for a confrontation in the Drake Sea.
Note:
The Drake
Passage, Drake Passage or Sea of Hoces is the stretch of sea that separates South
America from Antarctica, between Cape Horn (Chile) and the South Shetland
Islands (Antarctica). It connects the Pacific Ocean to the west with the Scotia
Sea to the east. Its width is about 800 km. Its waters are among the stormiest
in the world. Official Chilean cartography calls it Drake Passage and Argentina
calls it Drake Passage.
Christmas Eve 1978
On December 24 we set sail from Santa Cruz to Puerto Belgrano. That day John Paul II appointed Cardinal Antonio Samoré as mediator. Meanwhile Silvina Suarez (Miss World Argentina) entertained our soldiers in Patagonia. On Christmas Eve, the Commander of Naval Operations Julio Antonio Torti expressed that in Tierra del Fuego there were Navy operational forces in close conjunction with those of the Army and Air Force. We set sail from Puerto Belgrano to Buenos Aires on December 26. That day a devastating storm occurred in Bahía Blanca. The Commander in Chief of the Navy then expressed ¨The men who guard weapons in the south of the Homeland live the honor of the vanguard of our sovereign will. At your side are not only the families, affections and hearts of your comrades, but also the spirit of all the Argentine people who see in you the best of themselves and their own destiny. Of a future that could never be less noble than the past that our parents knew how to build with courage, intelligence and love for the country.
On December 28,
49 artists traveled to the south of the country at the initiative of the Air
Force in a special function for the soldiers. Meanwhile, the President of
Bolivia David Padilla declared that there would be no dialogue with Chile. On
December 29, Cardinal Samoré began his administration in Santiago, Chile. That
same day, General Santiago (General Director of the Gendarmerie) expressed
strong concepts while in Peru Chilean soldiers accused of espionage were
expelled.9
The Montevideo
Act
From 1979 to 1984 there was a papal mediation 14,28. On January 9, 1979, Argentina and Chile signed the Montevideo Act by which they formally requested mediation from the Vatican and renounced the use of force. The New York Times published that a plebiscite carried out during the government of President Raúl Alfonsin had revealed that 10,319,019 Argentine citizens were in favor of the treaty and 2,105,663 were in opposition, that is, 82 against 16 and 2% blank or null. 4 . I went on a visit to the Puerto Belgrano Naval Hospital on April 11, 1979. 20
The possible
casualties of the Beagle Conflict
We all knew that our own cities were going to be targets of Chile's attack, except perhaps Buenos Aires where it was more difficult for Chilean aviation to reach. fifteen
The Argentine
General Staff had already given its marching orders to the troops and had
anticipated 16,000 casualties on the first day of combat alone to force the
Andean mountain range from the Argentine city of Mendoza to Santiago in order
to divide Chile in two.28 . Other sources speak of 20,000 deaths in the first
week 21. The Spanish newspapers El País and Argentine La Nación provided
possible estimates of between 30,000 and 50,000 deaths over the course of the
war.
Why the conflict did not occur
According to what was published years later by the newspaper Clarín, such precaution was based, in part, on military issues. To achieve victory, certain objectives had to be achieved before the seventh day after the start of the attack. Some military leaders considered that there was not enough time due to the difficulties involved in transportation through the mountain passes. Two consequences were feared: First, a regionalization of the conflict. Second, as a consequence, the conflict could take on proportions that would affect the great powers. In the first case, the leaders feared that Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil would intervene. Then the great powers would take sides. In that case, the resolution of the conflict would no longer depend on the combatants but on the countries that provided the weapons. Even today, Chile has its borders mined. It did not deactivate 106,894 mines, which are scattered in 168 fields, north and south of the Andes Mountains. Peru, Bolivia and Argentina are the three countries that border these barriers. 6.17
Argentine-Chilean
relations
Relations between both countries normalized to the point that in 2003 the first joint Argentine-Chilean military operation since the war of independence was carried out. A combined force (Task Force 21) was formed with the participation of Paraguay whose mission took place on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus 5.
In 2007, the
Anfibio II exercise was carried out at the Marine Infantry Base Batteries in
which Argentine Marines and a section of shooters (39 men) from Detachment No.
3 of the Aldea Marine Infantry, of the Chilean Navy, participated. 3
In 2008, the
Dorotea border crossing, in the town of Río Turbio, Province of Santa Cruz, was
the setting chosen by the commanders in chief of Chile and Argentina to
remember the beginning of the peaceful solution to the border disputes that
both countries were involved in in 1978. The High Command of the two
institutions met, once again demonstrating the climate of mutual trust. (El
Mercurio Online December 7, 2008)
Conclusion:
What did we represent as a unit near the epicenter of the confrontation? Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace was able to describe it this way: “Every general and every soldier is aware of their own insignificance and that they only represent a drop in the ocean of men. However, they are at the same time aware of their strength as part of the whole.¨
At some point
life tests us and it is not exactly when we expect it.
François de la
Rochefoucauld said in 1665 that no man can testify to his valor or courage
until he has been in danger.
In the case of
the ARA Canal Beagle Transport I can affirm that what we lacked in weapons we
had plenty of courage. In the most critical moments, when the confrontation was
imminent, loyalty and discipline prevailed, which was not a coincidence but the
product of adequate leadership and an exceptional human component.
In circumstances
like these where it is difficult to predict what will happen from one day to
the next and the expectation of an attack generates stress. This last term, so
common in our time, barely manages to describe the emotional complexity of such
a disruptive moment.
Our dear wives brought out their courage to endure not only our prolonged absences
but also to assimilate the possibility that we could be the target of an attack.
Part of our crew
would return four years later to the TRCB to get involved in the Malvinas
Conflict 25. I returned to the ARA Canal Beagle as Navy Lieutenant sailing from
February 3 to April 4, 1986 20. The Commander was then the Lieutenant Commander Héctor Augusto
Tebaldi. By then many things had happened. The ship now had a Commissioner on
board named Marta Jiménez who in 1982 knew how to enter the South Atlantic
Theater of Operations.
Let this be a
tribute to our beloved ship and to all those who in some way were linked to it
in the most critical moments of our country.
Note:
In 1989, the ARA Canal Beagle Transport made its 100th trip in 1992, thus completing the 350,000 miles sailed and 629 port entries. On its 134th trip, it transported the ARA patrol boats Baradero, Clorinda, Concepción del Uruguay and Barranqueras to the Gulf of Fonseca in Honduras. On his 141st trip, he made a trip to Antarctica with a stopover in Puerto Arturo (Palmer Base) to extract hydrocarbons from the polar ship ARA Bahía Paraíso and avoid marine pollution. 30
Acknowledgements
-Captain (Ret)
Jorge Bergallo-President of the Brownian National Institute.
-Lieutenant
Joaquín Christello- Chief of Operations of the TRCB (2008).
- Francisco Luis
Florio (Head of Section)-Naval Transport Service.
-María del
Carmen Moro-Head of Cartography-Naval Hydrography Service.
-Carlos Salvadeo
(Supervisor)-Costanera Sur Workshops-Naval Hydrography Service.
-SISH Yolanda de
los Angeles Sánchez-Meteorology Department-Naval Hydrography Service.
-Mrs. Ema María
Van Caneghem de Selen
-Mrs. María del
Carmen Long de Torlaschi (Transport ARA Canal Beagle´s godmother )
Bibliography
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