About this episode
The episode introduces the story of the sinking of the General Belgrano during the Falklands War and the revelations from a private diary of an officer onboard the HMS Conqueror.
On 2 May 1982, the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentinian warship, the General Belgrano, killing 323 men. It was the bloodiest event of the Falklands War – and the most controversial. The account of the sinking given by Thatcher's government was inaccurate in every crucial detail – and the truth would only emerge from the pages of a private diary, written by an officer onboard the submarine. The Belgrano Diary is a story of war in the South Atlantic, iron leadership, cover-ups and conspiracies, crusading politicians and competing journalists, and an unlikely whistleblower. A six-part series from the Documentary Team at the London Review of Books, hosted by Andrew O’Hagan. Archive: ‘Good Morning Britain’/ITV/TV-Am, Parliamentary Recording Unit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Andrew O’Hagan
Topics covered
- Falklands War
- military history
- political controversy
- whistleblowing
- documentary storytelling
Keywords
- Falklands War
- HMS Conqueror
- General Belgrano
- Andrew O’Hagan
- military history
- political cover-up
- whistleblower
- documentary
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: HMS Conqueror, General Belgrano, Thatcher's government, London Review of Books
Books & works: The Belgrano Diary
More episodes of The Belgrano Diary
- Aftershock: The War on Terror – Episode 1: With Us or Against Us · November 21, 2025 · 45 min
- Introducing ‘Aftershock: The War on Terror’ · November 15, 2025 · 4 min
- Episode 6: The Trials · May 3, 2024 · 1h 2m
- Episode 5: The Hounds · April 25, 2024 · 52 min
- Episode 4: The Crown Jewels · April 18, 2024 · 54 min
- Episode 3: Small Lies Big Lies · April 11, 2024 · 52 min
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