ARA ''Bahía Buen Suceso'' (B-6) was a ''Bahía Aguirre''-class 5,000-ton fleet transport that served in 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 t ...

from 1950 to 1982. She took part 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 territori ...

as a logistics ship tasked with resupplying the Argentine garrisons scattered around the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) 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 about from Cape Dubou ...

. Captured by British forces on 15 June after running aground at

Fox Bay Fox Bay ( es, Bahía Fox or ''Bahía Zorro'' ) is the second largest settlement on West Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is located on a bay of the same name, and is on the south east coast of the island. It is often divided into Fox Ba ...

, she sank in deep waters while being used as

target practice In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon. Targets being shot a ...

by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

on 21 October 1982.

History

The ship was constructed by Halifax Shipbuilding Limited at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, Canada, and commissioned in June 1950 for service under the ''Transporte Navales'' command. In 1958 she carried the crew of the new aircraft carrier to the United Kingdom. The vessel participated in numerous

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and o ...

supply missions. In October 1966, she transported the passengers, crew and hijackers of Aerolineas Argentinas DC-4 LV-AGG from the

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...

. The aircraft had been hijacked by a group of Argentine nationalists and flown to the islands three days earlier. On 10 March 1969 she made a trip to Europe, visiting cities such as

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The purpose of the trip was to carry wheat to Europe and bring military items to Argentina. While sailing through the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, she collided with the

tanker Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum ta ...

''Asprella'' and was repaired at the Ferrol shipyard in

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

, Spain. ''Bahía Buen Suceso'' was often hired out to commercial companies, usually on coastal runs down to southern Argentina and also an annual summer tourist voyage to the Argentinian research bases in Antarctica. In 1972 she began regular service between the continent and the

Falklands war

The ship landed scrap-metal workers on

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 ...

on 19 March 1982. She was involved in the

blockade running A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usual ...

to the Falkland Islands. She sailed from

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

towards Falklands Sound on 29 April, before the first British attack. While heading to the south on 6 May, the ship spotted the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

''Penelope'', property of the

Falkland Islands Company The Falkland Islands Company Ltd is a diversified goods and services company owned by FIH Group. Known locally as FIC, it was founded in 1851 and was granted a royal charter to trade in 1852 by Queen Victoria. It was originally founded by Samue ...

, at anchor along a pier in

Speedwell Island Speedwell Island (formerly Eagle Island; Spanish ''Isla Águila'') is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the Falkland Sound, southwest of Lafonia, East Falkland. The island has an area of , measuring approximately from north to south and ...

. The small craft was taken over by an Argentine

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had sufficie ...

the following day. While berthed in Fox Bay East on

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coast ...

, she was attacked by two BAe Sea Harrier FRS.Mk.1s (''XZ500'' and ''ZA191'') from . Because the ship was so close to private homes, the Sea Harriers used their 30 mm ADEN cannons rather than

general-purpose bomb A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings. Characteristics ...

s. They damaged the ship's

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and engine room, and set fire to a paint store and workshop ashore. One of the Sea Harriers was hit in the tail by a 7.62 mm bullet while strafing the transport; the aircraft was able to return to ''Hermes'' safely. After the attack the ship did not sail again and remained moored in Fox Bay East. During a storm, she partially tore loose from her moorings and the bow swung onto the beach. After the war, ''Bahía Buen Suceso'' was towed to

San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San Carlos" refers to ...

by the

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

''Irishman''. Her cargo of ammunition was unloaded.

Fate

On 21 October 1982 her hull was towed out to deep water where it was sunk by a combination of naval gunfire and fire from Sea Harrier FRS.Mk.1s from

809 Naval Air Squadron 809 Naval Air Squadron (809 NAS) is a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm of the United Kingdom. It was first formed in 1941 and flew in the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean and the Far East during the Second World War. After active service during the Su ...

. The ship was also hit by a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

from the submarine .

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

*
Photos of the ship 1
2009-10-24)

2009-10-24)

2009-10-24)

2009-10-24) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahia Buen Suceso Cold War auxiliary ships of Argentina Transports of the Argentine Navy Ships built in Nova Scotia Shipwrecks of the Falklands War Falklands War in South Georgia Falklands War naval ships of Argentina Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1969 Maritime incidents in 1982 1950 ships Ships sunk with no fatalities Captured ships