On May 2, 1982, the ARA General Belgrano was sunk in the midst of the conflict over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands and the South Atlantic. In honor of its crew members, the National Day of the Cruiser ARA General Belgrano was instituted by national decree 745/98.

On April 16, 1982, the ARA General Belgrano departed with 1,093 crew members from the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base to Tierra del Fuego. On April 24, the 182-meter-long ship cast off from the port of Ushuaia: the mission was to stay out of the exclusion area, watching for the intentions of the British forces.

On May 1st, she was sailing towards the assigned sector, unaware that the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror was already following her, and looking for the right moment to open fire.

It was on May 2, at 16:02 hours, when the first torpedo of the submarine hit the Belgrano's engine room; the second torpedo destroyed the bow and the ship began to sink. At 4:23 p.m., the Commander gave the sad and painful order to abandon ship.

The cruiser took one hour to sink, at 4,200 meters under the sea, at the bottom of Los Yaganes basin, south of the Malvinas. It was the greatest naval tragedy in the history of the Argentine Navy, where 323 men lost their lives, almost half of those killed during the entire Malvinas War. It was also one of its greatest tests of heroism. At that time, the cruiser ARA General Belgrano was 210 miles south of Gran Malvina Island. And there it remained as an eternal guardian.

As part of the recognition to these men who defended with honor the Argentine sovereignty, some objects belonging to the cruiser ARA General Belgrano are exhibited in the Héroes de Malvinas hall of Casa Rosada: a bulkhead watch, a boat compass and a sextant.

On this National Day of the ARA General Belgrano, we pay tribute to its crew members, remembering their sacrifice and reaffirming our commitment to the historical memory.