Pete Hegseth’s claim the US has been the first country to sink an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War 2 is wrong. The US Secretary of War delivered a press briefing on Wednesday, to announce the sinking of an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka had been carried out by the States.
During the briefing, Mr Hegseth said the Iranian ship had been sunk by a torpedo, adding: “The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War 2. Like in that war… we are fighting to win.” However, the sinking of the frigate Iris Dena, which is believed to have killed at least 80 people, isn’t the first successful attack by torpedo against an enemy ship since the 1945.
In fact, another warship was sunk by a torpedo four decades ago, at a defining moment in British history.
During the Falklands War in 1982, a British nuclear-powered submarine sunk Argentina’s only cruiser, the General Belgrano, by hitting it with two Tigerfish torpedoes. Initial reports at the time said Tigerfish missiles had been used, but it was in fact older Mark 8 torpedoes that sunk the Argentine ship. Argentina, in retaliation, sank HMS Sheffield killing 20 men.
The sinking of the old WW2 ship was the most controversial event of the Falklands War. The conflict went on for many more weeks, until the Argentine forces finally surrendered and peace was declared on June 20.