Belgrano was 'fair target' as it was headed into Falklands exclusion zone and NOT back to port, according to top secret dossier

  • Argentina destroyer was sunk by British submarine with loss of 368 lives
  • Navy's radio signals were intercepted by Falklands force

It was one of the most  controversial events of the Falklands War.

The sinking of the Argentine warship the General Belgrano by a Royal Navy submarine with the loss of 323 lives led to accusations of unnecessary force by Britain and became a cause celebre for anti-war campaigners.

It was claimed the ship was returning to its home port and was outside an exclusion zone imposed by Whitehall.

Invasion: The Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano sinks after being hit by a torpedo as its crew takes to life rafts in the South Atlantic Ocean during the Falklands War in 1982

Invasion: The Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano sinks after being hit by a torpedo as its crew takes to life rafts in the South Atlantic Ocean during the Falklands War in 1982

But now, just months before the 30th anniversary of the attack, a new book based on a top secret report has revealed that the  Belgrano was heading into the exclusion zone when it was hit.

The contents of the report have never been publicly revealed before, but its existence was hinted at by Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time, a year after the attack of May 2, 1982. Quizzed about the Belgrano by teacher Diana Gould on BBC TV’s Nationwide programme during the 1983 election campaign, Mrs Thatcher said: ‘One day, all of the facts, in about 30 years’ time, will be published.’

Resolute: Margaret Thatcher sent a task force of 100 ships to regain control of the Falklands Islands after the Argentine junta invaded

Resolute: Margaret Thatcher sent a task force of 100 ships to regain control of the Falklands Islands after the Argentine junta invaded

The book’s author, Major David Thorp, tells how after the war Mrs Thatcher ‘requested a complete and thorough investigation into the sinking as pressure was building from opposition parliamentary backbenchers . . . for a ministerial enquiry’.

Major Thorp, who spent 34  years working as a signals expert in an elite military intelligence unit,  was ‘provided with every conceivable document, file, report and note imaginable that related to, or included  the name, Belgrano’.

These included the Official War Diary from HMS Conqueror, the hunter-killer submarine which fired the two torpedoes that sunk the Belgrano in the South Atlantic.

All the information was covered by the highest security classification.

It is thought that much of the material will be made public via the National Archives next year under the 30-year rule on the release of secret documents.

Major Thorp, now 72, was in  charge of a signals interception section hidden on the amphibious warship Intrepid as it travelled with the Task Force.

In his book The Silent Listener, he writes: ‘Shortly after the UK’s announcement of the exclusion zone, the Argentinian Navy HQ notified its warships, possibly for the purpose of re-grouping, of a pre-arranged rendezvous (RV) point.
‘When the co-ordinates for the RV were plotted on a map, the actual location, though east of the Falkland Islands, was nevertheless inside the 200 nautical miles exclusion zone.

‘Some considerable time prior to the Conqueror firing its torpedoes, my analysis revealed that the General Belgrano had been instructed to alter course and head in the direction of the RV inside the exclusion zone.

‘The findings of my report stated that the destination of the vessel  was not to her home port as the Argentine Junta stated, but the objective of the ship was to relocate to a pre-arranged RV within the exclusion zone.’

Sunk: The Argentinian destroyer Belgrano was torpedoed by HMS Conqueror  with the loss of 368 lives

Sunk: The Argentinian destroyer Belgrano was torpedoed by HMS Conqueror with the loss of 368 lives

Major Thorp’s report was never disclosed by Mrs Thatcher because she did not want to reveal the extent of Britain’s ability to intercept enemy electronic and radio signals.

The book was cleared for publication by the security services.

The strike on the Belgrano signalled the first loss of life in the Falklands conflict.

Two days later Argentina hit back with a missile attack on the British destroyer HMS Sheffield, killing 20.

The sea battle continued for many more weeks, then the conflict turned to the land before the Argentine forces finally surrendered and peace was declared on June 20, 1982.