Belgrano I Base () was a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station, located on Piedrabuena Bay on the Filchner Ice Shelf. It was named after General Manuel Belgrano, one of the Libertadores and the creator of the Argentine flag. At the time of its inauguration in 1954 it became Argentina's southernmost permanent base. It was shut down in 1980 over safety concerns due to it being built on increasingly unstable ice, which endangered both personnel and equipment. A new, larger replacement base was established further south and named Belgrano II; this was followed by Belgrano III, which became the southernmost of the three. History On 18 November 1954 the Antarctic Naval Task Force, commanded by Ship-of-the-Line Captain Alicio E. Ogara, sailed from Buenos Aires with the objective of setting up a base on the Filchner Ice Shelf that would serve as a launch point for expeditions to the South Pole. The fleet consisted of ARA Bahía Buen Suceso, ARA Bahía Aguirre, ARA Punta Loyola, ARA Chiriguano, ARA Sanavirón, ARA Yamana and the icebreaker ARA General San Martín. On 2 January 1955 the expedition sailed up to the southernmost point of the Weddell Sea at 78° 01' S. At the time it set a new world record for the highest austral latitude ever reached by boat. The task force then sailed north along the ice wall, seeking a place tp anchor. On 3 January Brigade General Hernán Pujato, director of the Argentine Antarctic Institute, flew over the ice shelf area aboard a helicopter to choose a suitable place to mount the base, selecting a small cove where the high wall of ice sloped down to the sea. The unloading of materials, equipment, tools, instruments and consumables was conducted from ARA General San Martín. The team built a main house, four quonset huts, food stores and a hangar. They left on the new base enough fuel for three years. On 26 October 1965 Colonel Jorge Edgard Leal launched an expedition from Belgrano I that reached the South Pole on 10 December. Belgrano I was shut down after 25 years of continuous service, due to the fast deterioration of the ice barrier it was sitting on; new, often hidden cracks and crevices endangered the on-duty personnel and material. The base was closed in January 1980 and all of its staff and equipment were evacuated by helicopters operating from the