The Sinking of the ARA General Belgrano ARA General Belgrano was an Argentine Navy light cruiser in service from 1951 until 1982. Originally commissioned by the U.S. as USS Phoenix, she saw action in the Pacific theatre of World War II before being sold by the United States Navy to Argentina The vessel was the second to have been named after the Argentine founding father Manuel Belgrano (1770–1820). The first vessel was a 7,069-ton armoured cruiser completed in 1896. She was sunk on 2 May 1982 d