Argo 16

"Argo 16" was the codename of an Italian Air Force C-47 Dakota aircraft, registration MM61832, used by the Italian Secret Service and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in covert operations. Officially, those operations were limited to electronic surveillance over the Adriatic Sea and interference with the Yugoslavian radar network.

The aircraft crashed on November 23, 1973, at Marghera, Italy, after an improvised explosive device detonated on board. Venetian Judge Carlo Mastelloni determined that the Argo 16 aircraft was used to shuttle trainees and munitions of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members between military bases around Italy: the aircraft had been involved in covert operations, such as the repatriation of terrorists and transport of secret service agents.

The explosion and the subsequent crash killed the four operatives on board.

There are many conspiracy theories surrounding this crash. Some believe that the aircraft was used by the CIA in the Cold War conflict. According to a December 1, 1990, article in The Independent, quoted by Statewatch, "General Geraldo Serraville, head of Gladio from 1971 to 1974, told a television programme that he now thought the explosion aboard the plane Argo 16 on 23 November 1973 was probably the work of gladiatori who were refusing to hand over their clandestine arms. Until then it was widely believed the sabotage was carried out by Mossad, the Israeli foreign service, in retaliation for the pro-Libyan Italian government’s decision to expel, rather than try, five Arabs who had tried to blow up an Israeli airliner. The Arabs had been spirited out of the country on board the Argo 16."

See also

• Operation Gladio, a NATO clandestine structure during the Cold War, engaged in Italy's strategy of tension during the 1970s and 1980s.

Notes

1. ^ document by Statewatch

Coordinates: 45°28′33″N 12°13′29″E / 45.47583°N 12.22472°E / 45.47583; 12.22472