ARA Alférez Sobral (A-9) was an 800-ton ocean-going tug that was in service with the Argentine Navy from 1972 until 2019, where she was classified as an aviso. fuerzasnavales.com: Technical Specs and picture of aviso ARA Sobral Launched in 1944, she had previously served in the US Navy as the fleet tug . In Argentine service an aviso is a small naval vessel used for a number of auxiliary tasks, including tugging, laying buoys, and replenishing other ships, lighthouses and naval bases.Aviso ARA A"lférez Sobral" en combate , article by her second-in-command in 1982
US Navy service
Built by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., at Orange, Texas as a Sotoyomo-class rescue tug, she served as USS Salish (ATA-187) from 1944 to 1972.
Argentine Navy service
The ship was named after Antarctic explorer Alférez José María Sobral (1880–1961). She was acquired on 10 February 1972 along with her sister-ship from Mayport, Florida on 6 March 1972 and arriving to Puerto Belgrano on 18 April.
Falklands War In the early hours of 3 May 1982, the vessel was hit by at least two Sea Skua anti-ship missiles fired by British Westland Lynx HAS.Mk.2/3 helicopters.
At the time the ship was approximately north of the Falkland Islands searching for the crew of a Canberra bomber that had been shot down two days earlier by an AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM (air-to-air missile) fired from a British BAe Sea Harrier FRS.Mk.1 (XZ451). The Alférez Sobral was initially spotted by a Westland Sea King helicopter. When the helicopter approached to investigate and was engaged by Alférez Sobral's fore Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, the helicopter retreated and requested an armed response.
In response and launched their Westland Lynx HAS.Mk.2/3 helicopters. Coventry Lynx (XZ242) attacked first, firing two Sea Skua (air-to-surface) anti-ship missiles. One of the missiles narrowly missed the bridge, the second hit Alférez Sobral fibreglass motorboat, injuring the crew of an Oerlikon cannon and knocking out the radio aerials.
Twenty minutes later Glasgow Lynx (XZ247) launched two more missiles, at least one of which struck the bridge, causing extensive damage. The attack killed eight of the crew, including the ship's captain, Lieutenant Commander Sergio Gómez Roca, and injured eight. The Alférez Sobral lost all her electrical power, radio, radar and compass; she had no working navigational aids other than a landing compass, unsuitable for sailing.
She was found and helped by a Sikorsky S-61N LV-OCL (a civilian helicopter requisitioned by the Argentine Air Force as part of Escuadron FenixEscuadrón Fénix Web site: History and piloted by First Lieutenant Lucero) which evacuated the injured. Alférez Sobral was then piloted by the civilian trawler María AlejandraMuñoz, Jorge (2000) Misión Cumplida. Editorial Epopeya, p. 141 and finally reached Puerto Deseado on 5 May. The attack had occurred at the approximated position .
Post-war Alférez Sobral was based at Ushuaia from 1993 to 2010, when she moved to Mar del Plata switching places with ARA Gurruchaga.Un navío heroico con nuevo puerto en Mar del Plata In 2001 she assisted the expedition ship Caledonian Star which had been struck by a rogue wave during transit of the Drake Passage. She remained in service until 2018. After several years at dock, Alférez Sobral was expended as target off Mar del Plata on 21 May 2025, shelled by the aviso ARA Puerto Argentino.
Legacy The ship survived the conflict and remained in naval service until August 2018. There were plans to preserve Alférez Sobral as a museum ship in Santa Fe, however, these never came to fruition. In 2022 it was reported that she might be placed on the disposal list. The ship's badly damaged bridge is currently on display at the in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
Argentina's second batch Espora class corvette was renamed to honour Sobral'''s captain, Sergio Raul Goméz Roca, the first commander of an Argentine ship to be killed in action since the war with Brazil in the 19th century.Rememoran el ataque al aviso “Sobral” La Gaceta Marinera, 5 May 2010. The aviso ARA Teniente Olivieri (A-2) is named after the guardamarina (midshipman) Claudio Olivieri, also killed in the action and posthumously promoted to lieutenant.A-2 official site
Specifications ARA (A-9) Alférez Sobral, Sotoyomo-class avisoThe US Sotoyomo-class were fleet tugs; this vessel was classified as an aviso in Argentine service Displacement 835 tonnes Length 43.6 m Beam 10.3 m Draught 2.2 m Propulsion 2 GM 12-278 A diesel-electric 2200 HP engines, 2 1500 HP generators, 1 propeller Cruising speed 8 kn Maximum speed 13 kn Range 16,500 nm Armament 1 Bofors 40/60 C cannon, 2 x 20mm Oerlikon cannons Crew: 46
References
Notes
Bibliography The Fight for the Malvinas'', Martin Middlebrook,
External links Histarmar Site pictorial naval-history.net: Details of the Falklands War incident nafts.org: Pictures of the damage done by the Sea Skua missiles ARA official website: Side view (profile) of ARA Alférez Sobral ARA official website: Technical Specifications of ARA Alférez Sobral