Argentine Submarine Force

Comando de la Fuerza de Submarinos Argentine Submarine Force
TR1700s at Mar del Plata naval base (2007)
Active	1927 – present
Country	Argentina
Branch	Argentine Navy
Type	submarines
Size	3
Part of	Navy Ministry of Defense
Anniversaries	September 3
Engagements	Revolucion Libertadora Falklands War
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President of the Republic
Chief of Staff of the Navy	Admiral
Chief of COFS	Capitán de Navío

The Argentine Submarine Force (Spanish: Comando de la Fuerza de Submarinos, COFS) is the submarine service branch of the Argentine Navy. Argentine submarines have traditionally been named after the provinces of the Republic whose name begins with the letter 'S'; they are home based at Mar del Plata naval base. COFS members have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the Navy. As of 2010, the elite group Agrupación de Buzos Tácticos is under the direct command of the submarine force; two TR-1700 and one Type 209 submarines are in service. Two small surface vessels, ARA Punta Mogotes (P-65) and ARA Luisito (Q-51), are also part of the COFS and used in the training role.

Like the rest of the Argentine armed services the force is struggling to maintain its readiness in the absence of funds for maintenance and training. All three boats have maintenance difficulties and between them spent just 19 hours submerged in 2012.

It is currently composed of three submarines: ARA Salta (S-31), ARA Santa Cruz (S-41) and ARA San Juan (S-42).

In 1917 the Navy sent students to the United States to begin training courses at the Naval Submarine Base New London. Lieutenants Francis Lajous, Osvaldo Repeto, Eduardo Ceballos and Vicente Ferrer served in the US Navy during the First World War.

In 1927 the Argentine Navy signed a contract with the Italian shipyard Franco Tosi of Taranto in order to build the service's first three ships. The units arrived in Buenos Aires on April 7, 1933 and transferred to Mar del Plata on September 3, which became the Anniversary Day for the newly created Submarine Force. The Tarantinos, as they were known, served between 1933 and 1960 when the last one, Santa Fe (S-1), was retired after taking over a thousand dives. In 1938, the crew of the Santa Fe had been awarded a civilian medal after assisting a local fishing boat that was in distress off Cabo Corrientes.Santiago del Estero (S-2) established (at the time) an immersion record for a submarine in the South Atlantic (114 metres).Santiago del Estero took part in the blockade of the Rio de la Plata during the 1955 Revolución Libertadora, where she fought off a strike package of Gloster Meteor fighters loyal to president Juan Domingo Peron.