Chris Wreford-Brown

Chris Wreford-Brown
Chris Wreford-Brown
Born	August 1945
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1965–1996
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Falklands War
Awards	Distinguished Service Order

Christopher Louis Wreford-Brown DSO RN (born August 1945) is a retired British Royal Navy officer.

Falklands War

He was captain of HM Submarine Conqueror during the Falklands War, during which Conqueror attacked and destroyed the Argentine Navy's cruiser the ARA General Belgrano. For the Falklands patrol he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He is currently the only naval officer to have commanded a nuclear submarine which has sunk a warship in war operations. When asked about the incident later, Wreford-Brown responded, "The Royal Navy spent thirteen years preparing me for such an occasion. It would have been regarded as extremely dreary if I had fouled it up."[1]

Operation Barmaid

In July 1982 Wreford-Brown captained HMS Conqueror in an operation during the Cold War in the Barents Sea, where it carried out a successful clandestine sub-surface raid to capture Soviet Navy hydrophonic sonar equipment from Warsaw Pact vessels upon the high sea for technical analysis by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.[2]

Later naval career

He became commanding officer of the frigate HMS Cornwall as well as Captain of 8th Frigate Squadron in 1988. His other commands include the diesel submarine HMS Opossum and the nuclear submarine HMS Valiant.

Post-military career

Wreford-Brown retired from the Royal Navy in 1995 with the rank of Captain, and was employed as a Director of Paignton Zoo in Devon until his retirement in 2010.[3]

References

Sandy Woodward, Patrick Robinson. One hundred days: the memoirs of the Falklands battle group commander, Naval Institute Press, 1992, ISBN 1-55750-651-5, ISBN 978-1-55750-651-1. p. 161
'Secrets of the Conqueror' by Stuart Prebble (Pub. Faber & Faber, 2012).
"Man who sunk Belgrano to retire". This is Devon. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2011. The South Devon man who sunk the Argentine navy cruiser General Belgrano with the loss of 323 lives in the 1982 Falklands War is to retire as Paignton Zoo's manager and administrator.

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[1] Sandy Woodward, Patrick Robinson. One hundred days: the memoirs of the Falklands battle group commander, Naval Institute Press, 1992, ISBN 1-55750-651-5, ISBN 978-1-55750-651-1. p. 161

[2] 'Secrets of the Conqueror' by Stuart Prebble (Pub. Faber & Faber, 2012).

[3] "Man who sunk Belgrano to retire". This is Devon. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2011. The South Devon man who sunk the Argentine navy cruiser General Belgrano with the loss of 323 lives in the 1982 Falklands War is to retire as Paignton Zoo's manager and administrator.