ARA ''General Belgrano'' was a

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

. The ship was built in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, along with three sister ships also for Argentina ( ''Garibaldi'', ''Pueyrredón'' and ''San Martín''). The vessel was the first to have been named after the Argentine

founding father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

(1770–1820). The ship was laid down in 1896 and served on the Argentine Navy until she was stricken on 8 May 1947.

Service history

The cruiser was built at the Cantiere Navale Fratelli Orlando, in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, where her hull was laid down in 1896 and launched on 25 July 1897. She was purchased in 1898 by the government of Argentina, engaged in a diplomatic conflict with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. After testing of machinery and artillery, ''General Belgrano'' entered service on 8 October 1898, departing the same day entered the port of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, under the command of Captain Emilio Barilari, arriving at their destination in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, on November 6 of that year. After the conflict with Chile, 20 January 1899, she carried the President of Argentina

Julio Argentino Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...

and the President of Chile Federico Errazuriz Echaurren for signing the peace treaty. After visiting Santa Cruz, Rio Gallegos, Puerto Harberton and

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

, arrived on February 15, 1899, in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

where the two presidents signed the peace treaty between the two countries. In 1902 she was put on hold and after being fitted with a telegraph set in 1907, she was drafted into the fleet again in 1908. In 1912 she was equipped with a radio transmitter. In 1927 he began work to modernize the naval base of Puerto Belgrano, but before the end of this modernization, left for Europe, visiting Genoa, from 7 to 16 October, where the crew attended the unveiling of a monument to General Belgrano. Later, she visited

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and again returned to Genoa to continue the modernization work, including the conversion of boilers to consume gasoline, installing a new mast and changes in the artillery. At the end of this modernization, 25 October 1929, arriving part to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 24 November next. In 1933 she ranked as a

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

ship and in December the same year is sent to Mar de Plata to be used as a depot ship for submarines. On 8 May 1947, after nearly 50 years of service, ''General Belgrano'' was discharged. Towed to Buenos Aires, she was broken up in the

Matanza River The Matanza River is a stream in Argentina that originates in the Buenos Aires Province and defines the southern boundary of the Buenos Aires federal district. It empties into the Río de la Plata between Tandanor and Dock Sud. The La Boca neig ...

shipyards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:General Belgrano (1896) Garibaldi-class cruisers of the Argentine Navy Ships built in Livorno 1896 ships

Service history

References

Further reading

External links