Corbeta Uruguay base
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Corbeta Uruguay base was an
Argentine military The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are ...
outpost established in November 1976 on
Thule Island Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient ...
,
Southern Thule Southern Thule is a collection of the three southernmost islands in the South Sandwich Islands: Bellingshausen, Cook, and Thule (Morrell). The island group is barren, windswept, bitterly cold, and uninhabited. It has an extensive exclusive ...
, in the
South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...
. It was vacated and mostly demolished in 1982 following Britain's victory against Argentina in the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
.


History

Earlier, in January 1955, Argentina had established the summer station, Teniente Esquivel, at Ferguson Bay on the southeastern coast. That station was evacuated in January 1956 because of a volcanic eruption on the neighboring Cook Island. The Corbeta Uruguay base was established in 1976 by the
military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
governing
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
to reinforce the Argentine territorial claims to British territory in the South Atlantic. The British government became aware of the base in December 1976 but sought a diplomatic solution to the issue until 1982. Early in the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
, 32
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
troops from Corbeta Uruguay were brought to
South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east†...
by the
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). 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 ...
ship ''Bahía Paraíso'' and landed at
Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...
on 25 March 1982. Corbeta Uruguay remained manned by Argentine personnel until 20 June 1982, when British forces sent a task force to end the Argentine presence, after victory over Argentina in the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. After the garrison at Corbeta Uruguay surrendered, the facility was left unmanned. In December 1982, it was mostly demolished by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
after a patrolling warship, HMS ''Hecate'', discovered that someone had taken down the
Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
from the base flagpole and run up the
flag of Argentina The national flag of the Argentine Republic is a triband (flag), triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors. The flag was created by ...
.Jeff Rubin
Antarctica.
Lonely Planet, 2008. p. 258.
The base was named after the Argentine corvette, ARA ''Uruguay'', which rescued
Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family that ...
and his crew in 1903 in the
Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...
, near the present-day
Esperanza Base ("Permanence, an act of sacrifice") , pushpin_map = Antarctica , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Esperanza Base in Antarctica , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Esperanza Base in Antarctica , pushpin_mapsize ...
. That ship is now a floating museum, permanently berthed in
Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land ...
,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.


See also

*
History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands The history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement ...


References


External links


La Corbeta Uruguay at Ciber-N@utica
Geography of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Argentine Navy bases Falklands War in South Georgia 1976 establishments in the British Empire 1976 establishments in Antarctica 1976 in the Falkland Islands Dependencies 1982 disestablishments in the British Empire 1982 disestablishments in Antarctica 1982 in the Falkland Islands Dependencies {{SouthGeorgia-stub