THE KONDOR FILE - Author´s Note Part II
TANDANOR Shipyard for Submarines, placed in South Basin
of Buenos Aires port -to build Submarines in partnership with Thyssen-Nordseewerke GmbH. -, was disabled, as the another Projects of
German-
Argentine Weaponry Emporium -that was in strong progress in Argentina in the twilights of 70s. decade. Built by german Firm M-A-N (also supplier of CONDOR-2 Project: its Mobile Launching Platform) in its workshop hidden inside of the Argentine State Steel Plant SOMISA, and delivered piece-to-piece to its placement in Buenos Aires, the large construction has required 11.000 tons of metallic structure and seven hundred million dollars. Was prepared to make more works on Submarines than the own Thyssen in Germany did (many works were made there by subcontractors). Disabled after Falklands War, parts of Submarines in building process had remained for spare parts to same class Argentine Navy Subs or sold to another countries, putting an end to the Submarines Project -a fundamental piece of the ARGENTINE NAVAL PLAN. Maybe TANDANOR Shipyard would become again in business, but one thing is assured: never more it will produce german Submarines.
The episody of the Intelligent Material discovery in the Sipyard is based on textual testimony by a M-A-N´s german technician working on the final steps of Shipyard assembly, when already there were many Submarines under construction; besides, it were testimonies of one modified ship structure, supossed to receive a Nuclear Reactor built in Argentina. In 1983 M-A-N started its withdrawal from Argentina (during Falklands War, on each hour arrived to the Firm, directly from Germany, communications about the progress of War (a mention deserves the notice that US. Marines captured, in beginning the War, some Frigates and Submarines that Blohm+Voss Hamburg had released to delivery to Argentina, that -one more mistery of that War-, had no awaited the arriving of that naval reinforces to launch the Operation AZUL/ROSARIO).
Here are parts of an Information Request from the National Defense Committee of Argentine Senate to the Presidence (Document number S-1550/03, matter: Building of the Interoceanic Submarine Thyssen TR-1700 in TANDANOR Shipyard): << These requirements -characteristics of a true Inter-Oceanic Submarine-, were reached by development of the new model TR-1700 by Shipyard Thyssen Rheinstal Technic of Emden, Germany. This new Class, by its technical features, will become the most advanced Diesel-Electric Submarine of the entire World ...>>. In another passage of that file, we can read: << In accordance with the Project, Argentine Navy ask Thyssen for two Subs TR-1700, the ARA-SANTA CRUZ and the ARA SAN JUAN, planned to enter in service in 1984 y 1985 respectively. At the same time, started the partnership with a first step to build in Argentina four Subs of this Class. That decission implicated the most large transference of technology from Germany to a foreign Nation after World War II ...>>.
It continues: << TANDANOR Shipyard, with a covered surface of 54.000 m2, a human force of almost 1.000 workers in all areas and the most advanced machinery, should become in the first Submarine factory of Latin-America, being Argentina and the United States the only countries in American Hemisphere to fabricate that kind of ships ...>>. The following paragraph cited about its disablement: << With this measure, Argentina not only had lost its possibility to build and operate a modern Submarine Fleet (with the implications of that strategic capability), but had released to go specially trained men with capability to accomplish so complex operations as the welding of heavy boilermaking, at the level of nuclear technolgy ...>>.
The plan goes on, until Falklands War marked its inflection point, so the weaponry adventure that was implicating -inn a strange way-, a Nation positioned very below the exclusive club of the Weeaponry technologies (but posessor of a enormous Lebensraum and a sensitive Geostrategic position), began to collapse... As well as in 1955 German technicians began its exodus when losing the protection of Juan Peron's Government (and were exhausted the State founds to development the new weapons that nazis could hide to the Allies), after argentine defeat in Falklands War, German Firms began its withdrawal when understanding that was ended the long military interreign, and their objectives for Argentina would not be tolerated by the Atlantic Alliance, whose patterns of Global Strategy the politicians of the new democracy will take care of following religiously. Weaponry developments that had survived (during certain period) after Falklands War continued on business, like in 1955, but finally died under US. pressures, or by slow decadence without its German technical mentors.
For second time in history, with their victory in Malvinas, United States and UK had avoided the establishment of an enemy Pole of Power in the South Cone Strategic Area. The NATO already had a southern Atlantic Base (Falklands), and the SATO (South Atlantic, without Argentina) was already a reality, to watch closely over the sensitive tri-ocean South Cone crossroad, impeding the snatching of the South Cone form Western Hemisphere Defense Perimeter -an event that the postulates of the Geostrategy could never allow.
This Novel is based on two facts that are, unquestionably, keys of the mistery: the stealthy establishment in Argentina of a powerful technological outpost from Overseas that intended to develop nuclear power, and the <<blink of complicity>> with the argentine Invasion to Malvinas that General Galtieri and Admiral Anaya always assured to have received from the top levels of the United States Government.