ARA ''Isla de los Estados'' was an

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 ...

supply ship sunk during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

Ship history

The 3,900-ton ship was built in 1975 by the Sociedad Metalúrgica Duro Felguera in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

, Spain, as ''Trans-Bética''. She was acquired by the

, renamed after the island east of Tierra del Fuego, and commissioned into the Naval Transport Service on 22 December 1980, being used to maintain a regular transport service between the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

and the mainland.

Falklands war

On 28 March 1982 she sailed from

Puerto Deseado Puerto Deseado, originally called Port Desire, is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants and a fishing port in Patagonia in Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, on the estuary of the Deseado River. It was named ''Port Desire'' by the privateer Thomas ...

to participate in Operation Rosario in the Falkland Islands, arriving on 4 April, three days after the initial landings, to provide transport around the archipelago. The ship, among many other things, transported troops to occupy Darwin,

Goose Green Goose Green, also known simply as Goose, is a hamlet in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 4 ...

and Fox Bay. Between 15 and 17 April she sowed mines in the waters surrounding Stanley. These mines had been carried by the ARA ''Bahia Buen Suceso''.

Sinking

''Isla de los Estados'' was sunk by during the first hours of 11 May 1982 in a surface action north of the Swan Islands in

Falkland Sound The Falkland Sound () is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland. Name The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only later being applied to th ...

. ''Alacrity'' engaged ''Isla de los Estados'' with her 4.5-inch gun. The Argentine transport blew up after several hits ignited her cargo of

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...

and ammunition.Mayorga, Horacio A.: '' No Vencidos''. Ed. Planeta, Buenos Aires, 1998, page 320. Only two of the 24 men aboard survived; 15 crew members and seven servicemen (from all three armed forces plus the

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 ...

) were killed or missing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isla de los Estados Merchant ships of Spain Ships built in Spain 1975 ships Transports of the Argentine Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of Argentina Falklands War naval ships of Argentina Shipwrecks of the Falklands War Maritime incidents in 1982

Ship history

Falklands war

Sinking

See also

References