Joint Force Harrier commemorates Falklands 25th Anniversary
The short but bloody Falklands Conflict of 1982 can be regarded as a conflict that came out of nowhere, mainly thanks to Government Ministries ignoring the complicated politics and history of the region.
As a ten year old, the editor can recall looking through a world atlas to find the location of these unknown and distant islands some 8,000 miles away in the South Atlantic; it appears much of the British Military and Government also had to do the same.
Operation CORPORATE, the British operation to recover the 'Malvinas' from occupying Argentinean forces could very easily have turned into a disastrous military adventure, considering the distance and logistics involved, and although ultimately successful it proved to be the last time Britain would be able conduct a military operation of any scale alone and relatively unaided.
The Harrier is an iconic image of the Falklands War, much the same as the Spitfire & Hurricane is to the Battle of Britain. Both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy contributed much to the success of Operation CORPORATE and the current combined operator of the type, the RAF Cottesmore based Joint Force Harrier (JFH), began its commemorations of the 25th Anniversary of the Falkland Islands liberation on 13th June.
Three Harrier pilots who participated in Operation CORPORATE were reunited: Sqn Ldr Tony Harper, Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook MBE DFC and Lt Cdr David Morgan DSC. Details of these pilots service during CORPORATE can be found at the bottom of this article.
A Service of Commemoration and Remembrance, attended by HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, was held at the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel, Pangbourne, on 14th June to mark the Anniversary. The service included a flypast of four Harriers, representing 1(F) & IV(AC) Sqns from the RAF and 800 & 801 NAS from the Fleet Air Arm.
From left to right: Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook DFC, Sqn Ldr Tony Harper, Lt Cdr David Morgan DSC
Above images Gordon Jones
The Falkland Islands are situated in the South Atlantic, around 400 miles east of the South American mainland and 850 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. The archipelago consists of two main Islands (East and West Falkland) and 778 smaller islands, with a total land area of approximately 4,700 sq miles - roughly half the size of Wales.
Pete Thompson presents a day by day history of what was happening during the campaign to recover the Falkland Islands, with particular focus on the activities of 1(F) Sqn's role in the campaign.
19th March 1982
Oddly enough many people simply overlooked the main news piece from the region on this day, when "scrap metal" workmen, accompanied by a military presence, land on South Georgia Island, hoisting an Argentinean flag.
The red faces in Whitehall, that this could occur, were, as usual, hidden behind the veil of "diplomatic efforts". If only it had been known then what was to unfold over the coming weeks...
26th March
In Argentina the Military Junta under General Galtieri decide to invade 'Las Ilas Malvinas', The Falkland Islands. Operation ROSARIO is planned to take place on either 25th May or 9th July - both important Argentine national celebrations.
However the mood in the country brings its own pressures to bear on the Junta and as a consequence the date of the invasion of the Falkland Islands is brought forward.
In London the Foreign Office, under Lord Carrington, are still searching for a diplomatic solution.
28th March
The Government receives reports that five Argentine warships have been sighted near South Georgia. Representation is made to the Junta in Buenos Aires requesting clarification of the Junta's position on this matter, but only a muted response is received.
29th March
Diplomatic efforts by the Foreign Office continued on this day.
Several 'Departments' began to gather, order, and evaluate a mass of intelligence that was pouring in from all over the region. Most was useless, some was of interest, and several items held very clear clues to what was likely about to occur.
This information was either ignored or overlooked. It was almost as if while groping in the dark for a 'final note' solution, the tangible inevitability of conflict had been ignored.
30th March
Despite evidence that the Argentine Navy had begun to assemble troops in Puerto Belgrano, the UK Joint Intelligence Committee's Latin American group stated on March 30 that "invasion was not imminent".
British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington states in Parliament "a diplomatic solution is being pursued".
31st March
In what appeared to be a remarkable, but equally very delayed change of opinion, late on the 31st March British Intelligence leaned to the belief that an invasion of the Falkland Islands was imminent.
The Governor of the Falklands, Sir Rex Hunt, was passed the information, as was the small detachment of Marines based in and around Port Stanley.
1st April
Both the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru, and the UN Security Council, meeting at Britain's request, calls for restraint and avoidance of the use of force with respect to the Falkland Islands.
In Buenos Aires the Junta convinced of the lack of a strong political will, to intervene in any invasion, in the UK, ignore the call from the UN and make ready their troops for invasion.
On the morning of the 1st of April, in Port Stanley the Governor Rex Hunt broadcasts to the Falkland Islanders informing them of imminent invasion, thereafter he spends time trying to form a hasty defence using the Royal Marines Naval Party 8901 (NP8901) and members of the indigenous Falkland Islands Defence Force.
At 11am, Major Norman of NP8901 briefed his forces, telling them "Tomorrow you're all going to start earning your pay".
2nd April
The Argentine Navy lands thousands of troops on the Falklands Islands. The Royal Marines based on the islands put up isolated but stiff resistance before Governor Rex Hunt orders them to surrender. A meeting with the Argentine commander Admiral Busser was arranged to formalise the surrender. Hunt refused to shake Busser's hand saying, "This is British property. You are not invited". Busser was visibly upset when the former Governor
refused to shake his hand.
News of the invasion began to reach London at around midday on 2nd April - 8am Falklands time, and was publicly announced in Britain that afternoon.
The British Government immediately cuts diplomatic ties with Argentina and begins to assemble a large naval taskforce.
Meanwhile for 1(F) Sqn at Wittering life continued almost as if nothing had happened.
The Squadron had an AOC's Parade Rehearsal that morning, the Inspection being due on Thursday 29th April. They were also down to play in a five-a-side football competition that afternoon at 14:15. Never the less the crew room conversation is dominated by the news of the Argentinean invasion of the Falkland Islands. The GLO, Major John Moseley, is tasked to find a map to confirm the exact whereabouts of the Islands. The flexibility of the Harrier makes it a viable option to be used to regain the islands but the deployment options look very sparse. A popular choice would be to be held in reserve in Rio de Janeiro.
3rd April
Argentine troops seize the islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich group following a short battle, prompting enthusiastic celebrations in Buenos Aires. Royal Marines led by Lt Keith Mills didn’t surrender without a fight, downing a Puma, and damaging an Alouette with small arms fire and severely damaging a corvette with a 84MM Carl Gustav anti tank weapon, and small arms fire.
The UN Security Council passes Resolution 502 calling for troops on both sides to withdraw and renewed negotiations for a peaceful solution. Argentina refuses to comply.
In a House of Commons emergency session, unique in being held on a Saturday the first time since the Second World War, the British government faces criticism for not foreseeing the Argentine attack.
The first Royal Air Force transport aircraft are deployed with stores to a small volcanic island in the Atlantic called Ascension, and its equally small but vital airfield called Wideawake.
4th April
In New York the United Nations condemned the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in the strongest possible terms, which were unsurprisingly ignored by the Military Junta in Buenos Aires.
In the UK the order to mobilise 3 Commando Brigade reinforced by 3 PARA and other Army units was given. Naval yards around the country went into over time to prepare vessels for sea.
5th April
Lord Carrington resigned as Foreign Secretary today, stating he felt his position was untenable after losing the support of Parliament and Party colleagues over the Falklands crisis.
The first Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft arrived on Ascension Island, forward deployed in advance of the growing task force to provide anti submarine protection to the fleet.
Type 21 frigates Alacrity and Antelope left Devonport and later that day met Sir Geraint, Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Percivale. The landing ships carried up to 400 Royal Marines, Army, Naval and RAF personnel along with the 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron.
Four hours after the departure of the frigates, the aircraft carriers left Portsmouth under the full glare of the media.
HMS Invincible passed the vast crowds which lined the walls of Portsmouth and Southsea seafront half an hour ahead of HMS Hermes. Sea Kings and Harriers lined the decks, both for ceremonial purposes and to allow the hangers deck below to be used as holding areas for the rapidly delivered extra stores.
6th April
Francis Pym was appointed Foreign Secretary by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
US Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, begins a peace shuttle between London Washington and Buenos Aires. Leaving Washington later today, he and his party arrive in London on 7th April. The basis of this and all peace plans that are put forward are threefold - both sides' forces to withdraw from the islands, an interim administration to be set up, and a long term settlement to be negotiated.
HMS Fearless departed Portsmouth, heading south to catch the carriers and on to Ascension island.
7th April
The British Government says it intends to impose a 200 mile Maritime Exclusion Zone (MEZ) around the islands on 26th April.
A group of ships known as the Antrim Group - HMS Antrim, HMS Plymouth and RFA Tidespring are ordered to "proceed with despatch" to Ascension Island to join up with, and accompany, RFA Fort Austin which is due to head south to replenish HMS Endurance.
The ocean liner Canberra arrives in Southampton for conversion and to embark stores and troops.
In Port Stanley Maj-Gen Mario Menendez is appointed Commander-in-Chief of Argentine forces, and Military Governor of The Falkland Islands.
8th April
Ships of the Task force continued their steady progress south towards Ascension Island.
At RAF Wittering 1(F) had a quiet week preparing for the ferry flight of eight aircraft to Canada for Exercise MAPLE FLAG. They also had aircraft at Lyneham and Hullavington to film for the TV Series "Squadron".
That afternoon as everyone wound down for the Easter Grant, the Station Commander, Group Captain Pat King, received a signal asking for details of operational requirements to cater for possible involvement in the South Atlantic. It was proposed by Assistant Chief of the Air Staff(Ops) - AVM Ken Hayr, a Harrier man and a pioneer of the aircraft with 1(F), - that the Sqn undertakes DACT (Dissimilar Air Combat Training) with the French Air Force.
The response to the signal included a "yes" to the DACT, 'operational' weapon deliveries and Ultra Low Flying. It was also urged that consideration be given to the fitting of Sidewinder, a fit that the GR.3 had never worn before.
9th April
The luxury liner Canberra, a vessel in Royal Navy parlance 'STUFT' (Shipping Taken Up From Trade) departs Southampton, with 40 and 42 Commando RM, and 3 PARA embarked, in the company of Elk, with 2,000 tons of ammunition on board.
US Secretary of State Alexander Hague continues his mediation efforts, with little visible result.
10th April
Today the EEC banned imports from Argentina in support of Britain.
The group of ships led by HMS Antrim arrived in the waters off Ascension Island.
The P&O liner Uganda is 'STUFT', while on an educational cruise in the Mediterranean. Her passengers are put ashore in Naples and she is taken to Gibraltar for conversion to a hospital ship.
At RAF Wittering a further signal is received, this time warning of a possible deployment. As a result of this second signal, a recce of the container ship Atlantic Conveyor, which is currently in Liverpool Docks has to be carried out. The aim will be to see if the deck offers sufficient space for Harrier embarkment. Squadron Leader Bob Iveson (Flight Commander) and Bruce Sobey (SENGO) will do this. At the same time preliminary preparations and selections are made from the Harrier fleet by the Engineers as to which, if any, aircraft will deploy.
In the meantime, the wisdom of continuing with a deployment to Canada, planned for 13th April, is queried. HQ Strike Command confirms that the Exercise should continue.
12th April
The Antrim Group departed Ascension with M Coy 42 Commando, and members of Special Forces units embarked, destination the waters around South Georgia.
Task Force Commander Admiral Sandy Woodward reached Ascension with his other ships and was joined on passage by RFA Appleleaf.
13th April
HMS Falmouth which was on the Royal Navy's 'sales list' was brought forward and recommissioned nine days later.
1(F) Sqn deployed as planned to Goose Bay with eight aircraft. For Wg Cdr Peter Squire, the OC of 1(F), it was his first long ferry flight using Air to Air Refuelling (AAR), and it proves to be a very useful dress rehearsal for what is to come. It is interesting to note that after the 6hr 40mins flight, the INAS (Inertial Navigation and Attack System) on Squires aircraft is less than 1.5nm out without any updates en-route. At Goose Bay the Harriers are handed onto RAFG pilots, and the following day 1(F) fly home in a Nimrod, arriving at Wittering around 22:00.
The recce of Atlantic Conveyor confirms that with some modifications, the deck can be used as a platform for both Harriers and helicopters. Furthermore, it’s five car decks can also be loaded with enormous quantities of stores.
14th April
Intelligence assessments puts Argentine strength on Falklands at 7,000 men.
US Secretary of State Haig continues his shuttle diplomacy.
At Wittering 1(F) are told the MoD is very keen to obtain publicity photographs of Harrier GR.3s using the ski-jump, the Sqn have aircraft ready to fly to Yeovilton but are as yet to receive CofA clearance.
At the same time, work is begun on a number of modifications that are essential if the GR.3 is to be operated from the deck of a Carrier. These include shackles on the outriggers, modification of the nose wheel steering and a means of aligning the INAS platform on a moving deck. 1(F) Sqns engineers under the Sqn SENGO Sqn Ldr Bruce Sobey are backed in this task by RAF Wittering's 625 man Engineering Wing under Wg Cdr Richard Fitzgerald-Lombard.
15th April
HMS Glamorgan with Admiral Woodward on board met with HMS Hermes. Admiral Woodward transferred his flag to the carrier. Hermes was now in the company of HMS Alacrity, Broadsword and Yarmouth.
At Wittering with 1(F) Sqn, all postings from the Sqn are frozen and a request for pilot reinforcements to cater for a full deployment is put in to the MoD. The first four to be earmarked all have recent experience on 1(F). They are Sqn Ldr Peter Harris (CTTO), Flt Lt Ross Boyens (TWU), Flt Lt Jim Arkell (OCU) and Sqn Ldr Tim Smith (3[F] Sqn). In the meantime Lt Cdr Al Craig has been recalled by the RN and Capt Skip Beasley (USAF) ordered to take no part.
In the afternoon 1(F) receives the CofA release for the GR.3 to use the ski-jump, and the first three pilots deploy to Yeovilton to carry out training.
16th April
Both HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible arrived in Ascension Islands waters, while ashore Wideawake airfield was amongst the busiest in world that day.
At Devonport fitting out of the Cunard container ship Atlantic Conveyor began. Meanwhile at Wittering with 1(F):
Ski-jump training continued at Yeovilton while a planned deployment to Cyprus, filming for the BBC TV programme "Squadron" is cancelled.
Wittering is tasked to deploy up to 12 aircraft on or about 26th April. The modification programme for the aircraft starts in earnest to provide a carrier deck capability. The required modifications include an I-Band transponder (for IMC recoveries), deck restraint shackles on the main undercarriage, active nose wheel steering, hardened limiters for the JPTL (Jet Pipe Temp Limiter) system and anti-corrosion treatment. The possibility of an AAM fit is still being considered.
RAF Gütersloh is requested to provide additional aircraft so operational training can continue. Additional pilots will include Flt Lt Clive Loader as of 19th April.
17th April
US Secretary of State Alexander Haig had been holding Peace talks with the Argentine Junta. After further meetings today, the talks break down in deadlock.
C-in-C Fleet, Admiral Fieldhouse, and Major General Moore fly to Ascension to brief Admiral Woodward, Commodore Clapp and Brigadier Thompson on the forthcoming operations and fly back to Britain on the same day. It was decided that after a period of "blockade" and precursor operations an assault on the Falkland Islands would be mounted in San Carlos water before 24th May.
At Wittering:
In response to requests from higher authority for detailed operational requirements, 1(F) seeks more information on its likely employment. The questions needing to be answered include: what role (air defence or attack), split between CVs, rates of effort, possible basing ashore? As answers were not forthcoming 1(F) ends up trying to provide support packages to meet all eventualities.
At the same time, 1(F) continued to press for an AIM-9 capability; even if at this stage it was only a cardboard mock up, which if photographed and publicly displayed, could be advantageous.
18th April
The main Carrier Group left Ascension Island waters heading south. Vessels included were:
HMS Hermes
HMS Broadsword
HMS Glamorgan
HMS Yarmouth
HMS Alacrity
RFA Olmeda
RFA Resource
HMS Invincible was delayed leaving Ascension, awaiting urgently-required stores, but sailed later in the day and caught up with the main group with ease.
Six RAF Victor tanker aircraft of 55 and 57 Sqns arrived at Ascension from RAF Marham.
© Sqn Ldr Tony Harper
At Wittering 1(F) Sqn receive a signal confirming their deployment, first to Ascension Island and subsequently to the Falkland Islands.
19th April
The Carrier Group commences a routine of defence watches, basically ensuring all mission critical stations are manned 24 hrs a day.
At Wittering 1(F) receives the initial deployment plan. Nine aircraft are to deploy to Ascension Island between 26th and 28th April. Six will join the Task Force and of three will remain at Ascension Island for air defence duties. Eighteen of the Sqns NCOs will provide GR.3 expertise split between both Carriers, and remainder of the Squadron will follow for subsequent operations from ashore.
The requested reinforcement pilots began to arrive and the Sqn undertook a training programme of DACT with Hunters from Brawdy.
The eight pilots who are nominated to go south are; Wg Cdr Peter Squire, Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook, Sqn Ldr Bob Iveson, Flt Lt Tony Harper, Flt Lt John Rochfort, Flt Lt Mark Hare, Flt Lt Ross Boyens and Flt Lt Geoff Glover. Sqn Ldr 'Bomber' Harris and Sqn Ldr Tim Smith will remain at Ascension Island while Sqn Ldr Gavin Mackay commands the remainder of the Squadron.
20th April
The liner Canberra and the Elk arrived at Ascension Island.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher orders the recapture of South Georgia, under the name of Operation PARAQUAT. The retaking of the island will be led by the Antrim group consisting of: HMS Antrim, HMS Plymouth, HMS Endurance, and RFA Tidespring. To the south of this group by a days sailing, the Nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror was also in the waters around South Georgia.
At 02.50 Ascension local time, four Victor tankers fully laden with 48 tons of fuel took off. Their plan was to place, six and a half hours later, a single Victor in the vicinity of South Georgia, some 2,850 miles away. The single aircraft that arrived, piloted by Sqn Ldr John Elliott, cruised to the island at 43,000 ft. Once in the vicinity of the Island the aircraft descended to 18,000ft, the optimum altitude to carry out a radar search. The search took just 90 minutes, but in that time the aircraft searched an area equivalent to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Sea, a total area of some 150,000 square miles. The aircraft returned safely to Wideawake in the afternoon of the 20th having been airborne for 14 hours 45 minutes and covering a distance of more than 7,000 miles making this, at that time, the longest recorded recce mission in aviation history.
The results of the search proved that there were no enemy Naval assets in the waters around the Island, and that there were no dangerous ice flows in the area that could interrupt the retaking of South Georgia, set for the morning of 21st May 1982.
In the meantime 1(F) Squadron carried out live BL755 Cluster Bomb Unit drops against a splash target off the east coast.
21st April
The Antrim Group arrived off South Georgia and began reconnaissance in preparation for landings to re-take the Islands. At first light Lt Cdr Ian Stanley of 737 NAS launched his Wessex from the deck of HMS Antrim to fly a reconnaissance of the area around the Fortuna glacier where later in the day it was intended to land British Special Forces Troops to watch the Argentine positions at Leith and Stromness.
Lt Cdr Stanley returned to Antrim and left later in the company of two transport Wessex from RFA Tidespring. The South Atlantic weather was as usual at its changeable worst and the three helicopters could find no way through the now low cloud and heavy snow showers, and consequently returned to their respective ships. Around noon conditions did improved and the three aircraft set off again but soon found themselves again in the grip of low cloud, snow and violent and sudden changes in wind speed and direction. In spite of this all three helicopters reached their objectives and disgorged their human cargo on to the Glacier.
For the helicopters the problem had abated, they had carried out their insertion successfully, for the troops on the ground it was the start of a nightmare. That night on the Glacier, winds rose to 80 MPH, as temperatures plummeted, and vital equipment was blown away. By morning with most of the men suffering from exposure they would signal their position was untenable and request picking up.
The liner Uganda Converted for use as a Hospital ship sailed from Gibraltar.
Wg Cdr Peter Squire attends a meeting at HQ 18 Group. He is briefed on the concept of an amphibious assault followed by the building of a Harrier site ashore. The employment conditions for the GR.3 are still uncertain but the following assumptions are made:
Sustained period of operations in cold climate from bare base
Fuel/comms/ATC/catering provided
Re-supply within 22 days
12 aircraft in AD role armed with guns and AIM-9
Initial weapons provision 48 AAMs plus 5,760 rounds 30mm
Sortie length 45 minutes
Eight sorties per day.
Notwithstanding the Air Defence employment, Wg Cdr Squire asks for the provisions of LGBs (Laser Guided Bombs).
22nd April
RFA Brambleleaf joins the Antrim Group. HMS Brilliant detaches from the Group she is leading with her two helicopters to support the Antrim Group at South Georgia. Captain J F T G Salt, commanding HMS Sheffield deputed to lead the Brilliant Group.
Wg Cdr Peter Squire and Sqn Ldr Bob Iveson fly to Yeovilton for a meeting with Captain Mike Layand, who will be the Senior Naval Officer embarked in Atlantic Conveyor. Also there was Lt Cdr Tim George, CO 809 NAS, whose Sea Harriers will also be loaded onto the ship for the journey south.
Early this morning the position of the Special Forces became untenable due to the atrocious weather conditions they were experiencing on the Fortuna Glacier. Lt Cdr Stanley departed HMS Antrim in the company of the two transport Wessex from RFA Tidespring. In the area of the Glacier the weather was found to be far worse than that encountered the previous day when dropping off the troops, with severe turbulence caused by the mountains by the Glacier causing wind speeds of 80 mph interspersed with lulls of a mere 10 mph; challenging conditions indeed. Fuel shortage required the three to return to their ships and then return for a further attempt at a pick up. This time they made the landing site, and began loading.
No sooner than they had done this than the weather closed in again whipping up the snow around the aircraft. One transport Wessex took off but straight away entered 'white out' conditions, with no visual references points. The wind took over and pushed the Wessex over far enough for the main rotor to touch the ground, the aircraft fell and slid 50 yards coming to a rest on its side. Remarkably no one was seriously injured. The personnel onboard made for the remaining two helicopters. Both took off but the second Wessex troop carrier met the same white out conditions, descended slightly, and stuck the top of a ridge, its rotor blades hitting the ground and smashing down on its side. Lt Cdr Stanley, his aircraft already overloaded, had little alternative and left the scene and returned to Antrim with his cargo. Having dropped off his human cargo, refuelled, and taken on blankets and medical supplies, Stanley departed Antrim for the Glacier. On the way in he made radio contact with the men on the ground and was amazed to learn that again there were no serious injuries, despite some of the troops having been involved in two aircraft crashes within a short space of time. Stanley stayed in the area and made several attempts to collect the men but the weather, in particular the wind, made landing impossible, so he returned to Antrim to wait for the weather to clear. About an hour later the weather did improve, and this time Lt Cdr Stanley was able to locate, pick up, and return the survivors to Antrim.
Remarkably with the level of activity that had been going on the Glacier the Argentineans were unaware of what went on, although being in the area did complicate matters for the rescuers.
For his determination, skill and bravery, Lt Cdr Stanley was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Later that day British Special Forces were successfully inserted onto South Georgia by Helicopter and Gemini powered rubber dinghy.
Losses this day:
2 x Wessex of 845 NAS
23rd April
A Sea King helicopter operating from HMS Hermes crashes into the sea, south of Ascension Island, after dark - with the loss of Petty Officer K S Casey
1(F) Sqn is involved in DACT with Mirage and Etendard aircraft of the French Armed Forces. The Mirages operate from RAF Coningsby to retain some anonymity while the Etendard merely fly to a rendezvous point off the south east coast. It provides good experience and some crews got the chance to fly in the back seat of a Mirage.
Following the successful design, manufacture and fit of an AIM-9 capability for the Harrier GR.3, missiles are allocated for practice firings at the Aberporth Range.
Losses this day:
1 x Sea King of 846 NAS
24th April
Atlantic Conveyor completed her fitting out at Devonport.
HMS Brilliant joined the Antrim Group off South Georgia, in preparation for the retaking of the island, however at the same time a fly appeared in the ointment in the shape of the Argentine submarine Santa Fe arriving in the waters around South Georgia.
1(F) Sqns deployment date is delayed until at least 1st May. This thankfully will give more time to complete the ongoing modification programme which is enormously manpower intensive. The whole of RAF Wittering’s Engineering Wing is working round the clock to modify an initial batch of 12 aircraft in order to get nine to Ascension Island. In addition to which the engineers have to support a daily flying programme, which, while not intensive, is very varied.
25th April
South Georgia is Re-taken
At 08:10 'Humphrey', the Antrim's Wessex, armed with depth-charges and piloted by Lt Cdr Stanley had taken off for an anti-submarine search. Once the Wessex had swept Cumberland Bay Lt Parry, Humphrey's observer made a single sweep with the radar. He immediately saw a 'blip' and the helicopter went to investigate. The 'blip' was the Santa Fe. The Antrim launched the first naval air attack on a submarine since World War II. One of the two depth-charges dropped exploded close to the port side of the Santa Fe, causing enough internal damage to prevent the submarine from diving. The Santa Fe turned to run for the safety of Cumberland Bay and was followed by the Wessex firing its General-Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and HMS Brilliant's Lynx, which first fired a homing torpedo and followed with more GPMG fire. HMS Plymouth's Wasp was scrambled following the Wessex's sighting of the Santa Fe but was beaten to a firing position by one of Endurance's helicopters piloted by Lt Cdr Ellerbeck. The helicopter, armed with AS12 missiles, got off her two shots, the first exploding inside the submarine's large fin. The helicopter had returned to the Endurance, reloaded and returned to the Santa Fe before the Plymouth's Wasp had time to fire. Again one hit and one miss was recorded by the Endurance's Wasp. The Plymouth Wasp had time to fire only one missile, the return flight to HMS Plymouth being 50 miles. Endurance's second helicopter, piloted by Lt T S Finding was on her way by 10:00 and after encountering machine-gun fire from King Edward Point scored another hit on Santa Fe's fin. Lt Cdr Ellerbeck's third attack was more strongly opposed with anti-tank rockets, rifle-fire from the shore and at least one machine-gun in action on the Santa Fe. The Wasp escaped damage and scored its most damaging hit, striking the periscope standards. At 11:00, the Santa Fe was alongside the pier, listing and apparently on fire.
The task group Commander decided to make the most of the offensive, and sustain the effort to recover the island. The first team ashore were a Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) team, landed by Lt Cdr Ellerbeck's Wasp. The team's spotting officer almost immediately called for gunfire against troops on Brown Mountain which the frigate provided for the next twenty minutes. The first wave of the assault was landed by HMS Antrim's Wessex and HMS Brilliant's two Lynxes about two miles from Grytviken. The remainder of the landing force was ferried ashore by the three helicopters, which were later joined by Lt Cdr Ellerbeck's Wasp. HMS Antrim and Plymouth provided fire when called to do so.
The troops stormed Grytviken and very soon the Argentines raised the white flag, sang their national anthem, and lowered the Argentinean flag after just 23 days of occupation at Grytviken.
In London the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, uttered the famous phrase 'just rejoice at that news' to news men gathered outside 10 Downing Street.
26th April
HMS Intrepid and RFA Bayleaf departed UK for Ascension Island. The Argentine submarine Santa Fe, damaged during the recapture of South Georgia was moved from King Edward Point Jetty to the whaling station.
After a long and involved "battle", clearance is received from Command to carry out operational low flying (down to 100ft AGL). Considering that 1(F) had only recently worked up in preparation for MAPLE FLAG, where flying to this low level was allowed, this seemed to be a particularly petty problem which in the end required the AOC's personal intervention to overrule SASO (Senior Air Staff Officer) at Strike Command.
The Sqn flying programme also includes firing rockets from a very shallow angle at low level with level breakouts to avoid the debris hemisphere. 1(F) also received clearance to carry and fire the Naval 2 inch rocket (36 per pod). Flt Lt Tony Harper flies to Yeovilton to carry out a trial sortie. 1(F) will not be cleared to use the standard RAF SNEB pod while embarked due to possible dangerous conflicts with the electro magnetic environment on board ship.
The possibility of live firing AIM-9Gs at Aberporth prompts an intensive ground school programme on the weapon and its capability. Sqn Ldr Russ Peart of Boscombe Down briefs crews on the installation, peculiar to the Harrier, while exchange officer Capt Skip Beasley USAF comes into his own in tutoring on the AIM-9 Sidewinder system as a whole. Indeed Capt Beasley will use his detailed knowledge and experience of the system to brief and train the whole of the Harrier Force.
27th April
The Norland, a flat bottomed North Sea ferry, with 2 PARA embarked, and RFA Sir Bedivere sailed from the UK. Battling through the Southern Ocean storms in a flat bottomed ship would lead one Para to wonder "who's side the Navy are on for putting us on this ship"
1(F) carry out a Fire Power Demonstration for 5 Brigade at Senneybridge. 5 Bde will be the follow on forces for the land battle in Falkland Islands.
More aircraft arrive from Germany to sustain the flying programme while more aircraft commence modifications. The latter now includes a jettison facility for the AIM-9s and for FINRAE (Ferranti Inertial Navigation Reference and Attitude Equipment), which Ferranti hope to have working prior to deployment. FINRAE is the internal equipment which will allow the GR.3 INAS to align on a moving Aircraft Carrier.
28th April
In the Houses of Parliament Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tells the House of Commons that the time for diplomacy is fast running out. US Secretary of State Haig has all but given up his shuttle diplomacy and in private believes that conflict is almost inevitable.
In the seas around South Georgia, the Antrim Group fresh from their part in the retaking of the islands depart to join up with the Task Force main body leaving HMS Endurance on patrol.
29th April
The Hospital Ship Uganda left Ascension heading south, while HMS Argonaut, HMS Ardent, RFA Regent, RFA Plumleaf and the Forward Repair Ship Stena Seaspread all arrived at Ascension.
The Argentine Fleet which had been at sea continuously since 17th April, and designated Task Force 79, split into two groups to cover the Falklands. The first group comprising the carrier 25 de Mayo, two guided missile destroyers, the Hercules and Santisima Trinidad, and four smaller destroyers and frigates took up a position just outside of the Maritime Exclusion Zone (MEZ) and to the north west of the islands. The second comprising the General Belgrano and two destroyers took up a similar position to the south west of the islands.
30th April
The British Naval Task force moved into the Maritime Exclusion Zone, which at dawn was redesignated a Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) within which any, and all, Argentinean aircraft intercepted would be attacked without warning. At the same time the Argentinean Junta declared an exclusion zone of its own where any British ships and aircraft would be attacked on sight.
In Washington DC President Ronald Reagan declared the unilateral support of the United States for the United Kingdom
At this point nothing short of a miracle would be able to stop an armed conflict between the two nations.
1(F) Sqn deploy six aircraft to Valley carry out live AIM-9 firings on the Aberporth range. Of the six missiles fired only one fails and, as a result, 1(F) create something of a record on STCAAME (STrike Command Air to Air Missile Establishment) where the pace of life is normally somewhat slower.
1(F) also received the tanker plan from 1 Group for the deployment to Ascension Island. Concern is expressed that the tankers intend to leave the Harriers 1000nm north of Ascension Island with no SAR cover for the final leg. 1(F)’s request is considered and a Nimrod MR.2 flying out of Ascension Island will provide the required cover.
1st May
It was decided that there was a need to make a show of force using the naval and air forces at the disposal of Admiral Woodward.
Woodward's Carrier group entered the TEZ, with HMS Invincible launching the first Sea Harrier Combat Air Patrol (CAP) of the conflict. HMS Glamorgan, Alacrity and Arrow headed for the Falklands protected by the CAP, while HMS Brilliant and Yarmouth headed to the north-west of the Carrier group on anti submarine patrol. By mid-afternoon, the Glamorgan group came within gun range of Port Stanley airfield. As the Glamorgan group bombarded the airfield they came under attack by three Mirages. HMS Glamorgan and Alacrity were both near-missed by 1000lb parachute-retarded bombs and strafing caused some superficial damage to Glamorgan and Arrow, wounding Arrow's Seacat aimer. HMS Glamorgan tracked Argentine aircraft and gave warnings to the carriers for the rest of the day. The Glamorgan group's bombardment of Stanley airfield continued until 01:35 covering the landings of reconnaissance teams at Port Stanley.
Mean while on Ascension Island at about 22:50 local time on the 30th April, 11 fully laden Victor tankers of 55 and 57 Sqn's took to the air, accompanied by two Vulcan bombers. The number of tankers was required to deliver fuel to one aircraft which would be making the flight all the way to Port Stanley Airport 3,886 miles away, the equivalent of London to Karachi, to deliver its load of 21 1000lb medium capacity bombs on to the airfield. At the controls of Vulcan XM607, was Flt Lt Martin Withers of 101 Sqn, flying the reserve Vulcan. As they climbed to cruising altitude it became clear that there was a problem with the lead Vulcan. They could not pressurise the cockpit, a total necessity to reach the cruising altitudes necessary to reach the Falkland Islands and complete their mission. When told they had the lead of the mission, a long silence fell over the cockpit which was only broken by Martin Withers words "It looks like we’ve got a job of work fellas".
At 04:30 the air around Port Stanley Airport was ripped by the detonation of XM607’s 21 Bombs hitting the airfield. Their job done XM607 and its crew flew north on the return leg of its epic mission. Contrary to popular belief the crew did not contact the fleet below, but did radio "Superfuse" the one word message that meant the success of ‘Black Buck 1’.
The news the Vulcan raid had been a success soon reached the fleet and later that morning the Sea Harriers of HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible were about to get into the action with co-ordinated follow up attacks on Port Stanley airfield and the airstrip at Goose Green, the second largest in the islands. While 800 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) on Hermes would be the bombers, 801 NAS would provide top cover with their AIM-9 equipped Sea Harriers. BBC Correspondent Brian Hanrahan made possibly the most famous quote of the whole conflict when reporting this attack. On the return of all the aircraft safely, albeit Lt Dave Morgan’s Harrier had a hole in the tail from a stray 20mm round, he said "I counted them all out and I counted them all back again".
Inflicting damage was not confined to the bombers with 801 NAS claiming three kills with Sidewinder that day, and 800 NAS one kill.
Losses today:
Argentine Forces
Islander - Port Stanley - Hit by Cluster bomb - Sea Harrier 800 NAS
Pucara (Groupo 3) - Goose Green - Hit by Cluster bomb on take off - Sea Harrier 800 NAS – Lt Jukic Killed
Mirage (Groupo 8) – East Falklands - Damaged by AIM-9 Sea Harrier 801 NAS and shot down by own air defences whilst attempting an emergency landing at Port Stanley - Capt Cuerva killed (Lt Thomas credited)
Mirage (Groupo 8) - N/W Falklands – AIM-9 - Sea Harrier 801 NAS (Flt Lt Barton credited) Lt Perona killed
Dagger (Groupo 6) - West Falkland – AIM-9 - Sea Harrier 800 NAS (Flt Lt Penfold credited) Lt Ardiles Killed
Canberra (Groupo 2) - N/W Falklands – AIM-9 - Sea Harrier 801 NAS (Lt Curtiss credited) Lt Ibanez and Lt Gonzales Killed
2nd May
Admiral Woodward's Carrier Battle Group is rejoined by the Glamorgan group, with HMS Brilliant and HMS Yarmouth. HMS Glamorgan, Yarmouth, Alacrity and Arrow formed an anti-aircraft and anti-submarine screen protecting the main body of the two carriers and the RFAs Olmeda and Resource, with the Type 22s goalkeeping for the carriers.
Today saw possibly one of the most controversial of all actions in the Falklands War with the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. HMS Conqueror tracked the movements of the Argentine cruiser sinking her with torpedoes. Whether or not the Belgrano and her escorting destroyers had posed an immediate threat to the Task Force would be debated for years afterwards - but the commanding officer of the nuclear-powered Fleet submarine, HMS Conqueror Cdr. Christopher Wreford-Brown, was in no doubt when he arrived home at the Clyde Submarine Base. He had attacked on direct orders from Fleet headquarters, he said, and though he regretted the loss of life, he had "saved a considerable loss of life from the British Task force and a potential threat from Exocet missiles with which she was armed."
Further North a very curious Russian spy trawler was sighted close to Ascension, commencing a long game of, us watching them, watching us.
The first five aircraft of 1(F) Sqn deploy to St Mawgan. This will allow four aircraft to launch on Monday in order to get three to Ascension Island. The same pattern will then be repeated be repeated on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Leaving Wittering is somewhat emotional for the crews. A departure formation fly-past in Box four was carried out by Wg Cdr Squire, Flt Lt Harper, Flt Lt Hare and Flt Lt Rochfort. The fifth aircraft, flown by Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook, departs as a singleton to carry out an air test en-route).
Losses today:
Argentine Forces
1 x Alouette - (1st Naval Helo Recce Esc) - Went down with the General Belgrano
3rd May
Two Lynx helicopters from HMS Coventry and HMS Glasgow attacked two patrol craft. The patrol craft were actively engaged in the search for the two airmen from the Canberra shot down the previous day. The Lynx were both armed with the untried Sea Skua missile which had been rushed into service, The Coventry Lynx fired both missiles and sinks one of the craft. The Glagsow's Lynx targets the Alferez Sobral and launches her two Sea Skua missiles. One of the missiles hits the bridge structure, killing the commanding officer and several ratings, but she remains afloat. Two days later she would limp into the Argentine main land port of Puerto Deseado. Neither airman from the Canberra was recovered.
A heavy fog descended over the Carrier Battle Group's operating area.
Following the sinking of the Belgrano, Argentine warships are pulled back to operate in shallower water, where submarines would not follow, but at the same time placing them further away from their required operational area.
At RAF St Mawgan the launch of the first wave of Harriers of 1(F) Squadron is preceded by lengthy briefings which cover all the Rules of Engagement for maritime forces. Four aircraft launch at 09:30 to rendezvous with three Victor tankers in the overhead at about 25,000ft. The three to go south are Wg Cdr Squire, Flt Lt Harper, and Flt Lt Hare, a fourth aircraft flown by Flt Lt Rochford is the airborne spare in case of unserviceability.
© Sqn Ldr Tony Harper
One of the tankers has difficulty taking on fuel and in the end the Victors renumber. However, the end result is that they have insufficient fuel to get all three GR.3s to Ascension Island; one must return to Banjul with the last tanker. The tanker is then to proceed on to Ascension Island that night. Wg Cdr Squire decides to send Flt Lts Harper and Hare on while he diverts. This sortie lasts 9 hours 15 mins which must rank as one of the longest Harrier sorties in history.
At Banjul the Harrier and Victor are met by many eager and interested people. After refuelling the aircraft, there is a chance to have a welcome drink, and plan the leg to Ascension Island, most of which will be flown in darkness. In the event, there was a lot of medium/high level cloud with frequent electrical storms to add unwanted disorientation. The three refuelling brackets are successful. With just under 100nm to go Wg Cdr Squire departed the tanker for a straight in approach to the humped runway at Wideawake, eventually landing at 22:15 after eleven hours flying.
Losses today:
Argentine Forces
MB339 – 1st Naval Attack Sqn – Nr Cape Pembroke – Operational Accident crashed into ground returning to Port Stanley in bad weather. Lt Benitez Killed
4th May
Overnight the Carrier Battle Group had moved, the carriers were within 100 miles of Port Stanley with the three Type 42s formed into a picket line.
HMS Sheffield was off the Falkland Islands patrolling the Exclusion Zone when she was hit by one of the most lethal of conventional weapons in the world's armoury. An airborne Exocet anti-ship missile was launched from an estimated distance of 20 miles by one of a handful of Super Etendard aircraft in Argentine hands. The weapon struck with devastating effect, hitting the centre of the ship and starting raging fires which quickly spread. For four hours the surviving members of the ship's company fought vainly to save the destroyer, even as part of her hull glowed white hot. In addition to the 20 men who died in the ship, 24 were injured. The injured and the 242 other survivors were transferred to other ships in the Task Force, including HMS Hermes.
The Sheffield herself, gutted and deformed by her still burning fires, lingered on for six more days. She was taken in tow but finally sank outside the Exclusion Zone on 10th May, becoming an official war grave.
Late in the evening of the 3rd May, in a repeat performance of Black Buck 1 eleven Victor tankers take a lone Vulcan, captained by Sqn Ldr John Reeve of 50 Sqn and his crew, to attack Port Stanley Airfield for a second time, delivering their weapons in the early hours of the 4th May, narrowly missing the western edge of the runway and causing little additional damage.
Later that morning three Sea Harriers of 800 NAS, led by Lt Cdr Gordon Batt with Flt Lt Ted Ball and Lt Nick Taylor, are tasked to re attack the airfield at Goose Green. Lt Cdr Batt and Lt Taylor were to attack the parked Pucara aircraft with BL755 cluster munitions, while Flt Lt Ball was to run in from another direction and deliver three parachute retarded 1000lb MC bombs to crater the runway. As Flt Lt Ball rolled in on the target he was searching for Lt Taylor as Taylor had to be clear before Ball could deliver his weapons. Ball saw Taylor exactly where he expected him to be and then watched in horror as Taylor’s aircraft was hit by a large calibre cannon (believed to be a 35mm Oerlikon) and burst into flames. The aircraft flew on for a short way then crashed in a large fire ball. Lt Taylor made no attempt to eject and died in his aircraft.
On Ascension Island the members of 1(F) Sqn spend the day looking around the airfield at Wideawake and to an extent the Island. While the officers are accommodated at 'Two Boats', the ground crew are living at 'English Bay' quite some distance from the airfield. At the airfield there is activity everywhere with helicopters rushing in all directions. Everything has a very makeshift appearance and the operations room run by Group Captain Jeremy Price and Wg Cdr David Baugh is located in the top of the fire section.
Sqn Ldr Bob Iveson and Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook both arrive that evening but Flt Lt John Rochfort has diverted to Porto Santo! (a Portuguese island 50 km northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean) The news that HMS Sheffield has been sunk and Lt Nick Taylor killed dampens the atmosphere, and concentrates the minds of those yet to enter the fray.
Losses today:
Royal Navy
1 x Sea Harrier FRS.1 - Goose Green – Anti Aircraft Artillery, possibly radar laid 35mm Oerlikon canon. Lt Taylor killed.
5th May
With the loss of HMS Sheffield the Task Force moved East, the weather closed in and a period of little air activity followed except for normal Recce and Combat Air Patrols (CAP). Off the Argentine coast however the Argentine Navy was committed to a full blown anti submarine hunt after an Argentine Navy S-2 Tracker aircraft reported a possible submarine contact. An intensive search revealed nothing, but the incident was enough for the 25 De Mayo to disembark her air component and return to the Argentine naval base at Bahia Blanca and remain there for the duration of the conflict.
For 1(F) at Ascension the day starts with an enormous thunderstorm, which lasts for three hours. After it subsides Wg Cdr Squire visits the Atlantic Conveyor. There will only be accommodation for Wg Cdr Squire and Sqn Ldr Iveson on board; the remaining pilots will be housed in the North Sea Ferry Norland, although this has yet to be confirmed. Flt Lt Brian Mason (JENGO) and the 18 NCOs who have travelled down in Atlantic Conveyor are sleeping in portakabins bolted to the deck. Sqn Ldr Harris, Flt Lt Smith and Flt Lt Glover arrive at Ascension but Flt Lt Boyens diverts to Banjul in the Gambia. The Sqn brief with 809 NAS the landing procedures for bringing the Harriers aboard Atlantic Conveyor the following day.
6th May
Bad weather continued to dog the Task force with very little opportunity to operate in any area. At 09:00 local time two Sea Harriers of 801 NAS from HMS Invincible were on Combat Air Patrols (CAPs). A Recce Sea King reported a contact well to the south of the Task Force, and both Sea Harriers were vectored in to investigate. What happened next still remains surrounded by conjecture and speculation, both aircraft disappeared from radar. Nothing was seen of the aircraft or their pilots again despite an intensive search and rescue effort being mounted. In what appears to be a million to one freak event it is assumed that the aircraft, in appalling weather, suffered a mid air collision. This reduced the number of available Sea Harriers to 17, a number that while operationally capable, meant that no more losses could be accepted with out reducing the already stretched air defences of the fleet.
At Ascension Island preparations to embark 1(F) Sqn on to Atlantic Conveyor are well advanced. The plan is to embark the aircraft early in the day when the temperature is low and, starting with the worst performing engines. Wg Cdr Squire and Sqn Ldr Iveson launch as the first pair and land-on after some formation aerobatics over the Island. Sqn Ldr Iveson has landed on ships before with the USMC (as had Sqn Ldr Harris and Flt Lt Smith) but Wg Cdr Squire found the shortage of space alarming, especially as the ship is rolling in the swell. Flt Lt Hare has a particularly tricky time coping with the swell and the lack of space.
© Sqn Ldr Tony Harper
Also today, Flt Lt Boyens arrives from Banjul with his aircraft and Flt Lt Rochfort makes it to Ascension from Porto Santo in a C-130 Hercules.
Losses today:
Royal Navy
2 x Sea Harrier – Mid air collision in poor visibility – Lt Cdr Eyton-Jones and Lt Curtiss killed
7th May
In New York a new peace initiative to call an end to the conflict is tabled by United Nations secretary-general, Javier Perez de Cuellar.
The bad weather in the South Atlantic continued to interfere with operations. It did however provide cover for the Argentine forces to re supply the Falklands by air using C-130, Fokker Friendship, and Lockheed Electra aircraft, which would average two missions a day bringing in vital supplies from the mainland.
The MV Norland, carrying 2 PARA, arrived at Ascension to join Amphibious Task Group.
The loading of Sqn stores for 1(F) on Atlantic Conveyor continued today. Wg Cdr Squire visits Fearless in the morning for an intelligence update. That afternoon Wg Cdr Squire was sent ashore to obtain Sidewinder missiles, in order to give an air defence capability against the Boeing 707 shadower aircraft that have been snooping around the task force, and may be expected to try to find the Amphibious Group while travelling south. After a great deal of negotiation he manages to get six missiles and after much rushing about, helicopter transport out to Atlantic Conveyor. In all the confusion, however, the missile fins go astray and these are eventually found on HMS Intrepid.
© Sqn Ldr Tony Harper
In the darkness that night the Amphibious Group leave Ascension Island in radio silence and without lights.
8th May
The bad weather and poor visibility continued, bringing a virtual halt to airborne operations. In the previous four days 800 NAS have flown only four sorties due to the weather. Today is notable however as being the first day that long-range air supply drops, by C-130, to the Task Force are made
On Board Atlantic Conveyor bagging of the aircraft to give extra protection from the salt water begins today. The bags do not allow for external fuel tanks and so all of these must be removed. The FINRAE equipment fitted to 1(F) Sqn's Harrier GR.3s is also found to be not working properly; this problem is notified to MOD for further investigation somewhere a little more stable than a rolling deck. The problem is the FINRAE will not transfer alignment data to the aircraft's Inertial Navigation and Attack System, making the use of the moving map display impossible and navigation difficult.
Emergency life raft stations are practised, as from tomorrow it is assessed that there will be a potential submarine threat.
9th May
The Narwal, an Argentine fishing vessel being used as a spy ship, was bombed and strafed by two RN Sea Harriers of 800 NAS flown by Lt Cdr Gordon Batt and Flt Lt Dave Morgan. The Hermes and Invincible flew off three Sea Kings to board and take the ship and capture her crew. Troops abseiled down to the trawler, where once aboard they found one man had been killed and eleven more injured. More interestingly one of the crew turned out to be an Argentine Naval officer and captured documents confirmed the vessel had been intelligence gathering. The prisoners were winched up to the Sea Kings, which then took them back to the carriers.
During the day HMS Broadsword and HMS Coventry bombarded positions around Port Stanley. Later in the day HMS Coventry picked up a slow moving object on radar and engaged it with a Sea Dart missile, shooting down an Argentine Puma helicopter, which crashed killing all on board.
The Argentine forces suffered further losses when, due to poor visibility, two A-4 Skyhawks of Groupo 4 flying at low level to attack Royal Navy ships crashed into the steep sides of South Jason Island off the North West coast of the Falklands. Both pilots died immediately.
With 1(F) Sqn, the bagging of aircraft on Atlantic Conveyor continues and there was some limited success with the FINRAE. The engineering team find a wiring fault in one of the looms. This information is relayed to MOD so that future aircraft can be checked.
The Sqn look at and assess deck operations on Atlantic Conveyor with various wind conditions and to assess the best direction for the vertical take-off which will have to be carried out to transfer to the Carrier. It is of great concern that no-one will have flown for two weeks prior to this important and possibly tricky sortie.
Losses today:
Argentine Forces
2 x A4 Skyhawk - CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) – South Jason Island – Lt Casco and Lt Faria both Killed
Puma (Army) – Engaged and shot down by HMS Coventry with Sea Dart – Nr Port Stanley – number of fatalities unknown.
10th May
Poor weather and equally poor visibility continued to limit air operations around the Falklands today. In one of the few offensive actions by either side HMS Glasgow bombarded Argentine positions at Moody Brook near Port Stanley.
On Atlantic Conveyor, 1(F) Squadron carry out more ground training, jointly with 809 NAS. The training revolves around deck operations, standard operating procedures, conduct after capture etc.
An 809 NAS Sea Harrier is brought to 'Readiness State 5' for a possible interception of a shadowing Boeing 707. If launched the aircraft will perform a vertical take-off, join a tanker which is close by and attempt to close with the 707. Fuel and performance margins are very slim and, if launched, it will be a very "bold" sortie.
Today was also the birthday of one of the 1(F) Sqn Senior NCOs and the ship's crew have made a birthday cake measuring 18"x14"x7" covered with icing. It turns out to be a highly decorated case of Carlsberg – apparently a speciality of the galley.
11th May
Ascension Island did not suffer with weather problems to the extent that the Falkland Islands did and this allowed normal operations to continue. Today the RAF demonstrated a new capability, developed for Operation CORPORATE, for the first time, the Nimrod MR.2 with in-flight refuelling. With a single refuelling a crew from 206 Sqn flew their Nimrod 2,750 miles south–south west of Ascension Island to provide anti submarine cover to the amphibious assault group. The in-flight refuelling modification however bore all the hall marks of a Heath Robinson Machine. The probes of the Nimrods had all been scrounged from the Vulcan force (Indeed one example came from a museum exhibit!), and were mounted above the cockpit over what had been the pilot' s escape hatch. Leading from the rear of the probe, through the cockpit, and fastened to the floor to a point 2/3rds of the way down the inside of the fuselage. Ending at the refuelling gallery, was a length of standard rubber on canvas refuelling bowser hose, which people treated with a great deal of respect and avoided when walking past. For all its hasty charm the system worked well and allowed the Nimrod MR.2 to provide a comprehensive radar, electronic reconnaissance and Anti Submarine capability for the task force.
On Atlantic Conveyor the 1(F) Sqn day starts with a call to life raft stations at 06:00. This was only a practice, but later in the day a real alert is sounded in response to a possible sighting. So far the weather since leaving Ascension had been perfect but the forecast is that this will quickly change in the next few days; at least it had given everyone on the Sqn the chance to find their sea legs.
Wg Cdr Squire visited HMS Fearless for a further intelligence update including assessments of the Argentine forces capability. That afternoon the SHAR at Readiness State 5 is scrambled but the launch is subsequently cancelled. It is possible that either the accompanying tanker or Soviet Bear is mistaken for the Argentine 707.
12th May
The QE2 sailed from Southampton with 5 Infantry Brigade embarked.
The weather improved, allowing Hermes to send up a Combat Air Patrol (the first since 9th May).
During the mid-afternoon HMS Brilliant detected four aircraft heading toward her at low level and at high speed. HMS Glasgow's Sea Dart missile loading system failed safe, she opened fire with her 4.5in gun but this jammed after firing eight rounds. HMS Brilliant's Seawolf system fired three missiles in quick succession; two of the missiles scoring direct hits and a third Skyhawk flew into the sea while taking violent avoiding action. The fourth Skyhawk released a 1000lb bomb which bounced off the water and over the top of HMS Glasgow's hangar.
Minutes later another raid was detected, with Glasgow's engineers still fixing the weapons systems. This new wave of Skyhawks approached the ships weaving in order to avoid the close-range gunner's aim. This also confused Brilliant's Seawolf, at the moment when its missiles should have launched, the system 'sulked' a known problem, and trained its launchers to their fore and aft positions. The Skyhawks released their bombs at both ships. The weapons bounced right over HMS Brilliant like skimmed stones, but HMS Glasgow was hit. A 1000lb bomb entered amidships, three feet above the waterline, passed thought the upper part of the Auxiliary Machine Room and exited the ship through the other side at about the same height. Damage control parties improvised plugs and the ships withdrew on a course to minimise the ship rolling which would have flooded the open compartments.
Had the Argentines perfected the arming and fusing of their weapons the result of this encounter could have been hugely different. As it was, with the lucky escape of both Glasgow and Brilliant in mind, Admiral Woodward decreed there would be no further daylight naval bombardment of Port Stanley airfield.
Losses today:
Royal Navy
Sea King – Ditched near to Task Force following mechanical failure – No Injuries.
Argentine Forces
3 x Skyhawk – (Groupo 5) – East of Falklands - Engaged by HMS Brilliant with 'Sea Wolf' scoring two direct hits and causing one to impact the sea while evading all credited to 'Sea Wolf' – Lt Bustos, Lt Nivoli, Lt Ibarlucea all killed.
1 x Skyhawk – (Groupo 5) Goose Green - Having dropped the bomb that holed HMS Glasgow, Lt Gavazzi and his aircraft were engaged and shot down by Argentine Anti Aircraft Artillery at Goose Green – Lt Gavazzi killed.
13th May
Once again bad weather in the Task Force area prevented the flying of CAPs and strike sorties.
The 1(F) Sqn pilots housed on the MV Norland go across to Atlantic Conveyor, mainly for a change of scenery. That evening there are celebrations to mark the 70th birthday of both 1(F) and 3(F) Sqn's - represented by Flt Lt John Leeming and Flt Lt Steve Brown who are on loan to 809 NAS. 1(F) presents the ship with a Sqn plaque and receives in return a Cunard flag.
14th May
Sir Anthony Parsons, Britain's envoy at the United Nations, and Sir Nicholas Henderson, Britain's ambassador to the United States, fly home from the United Nations peace negotiations for urgent talks with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Once again operations are dogged and hampered by bad weather, but on the late evening of 14th May this sort of weather was to provide vital cover for a raiding operation, which although small was of the like not seen since World War Two.
Under the cover of darkness and poor weather, two Sea Kings of 846 NAS with 45 men embarked between them, approached undetected and landed on Pebble Island. Moving swiftly to the airfield, the troops set up an anti ambush screen to prevent counter attack should they be discovered, before the remainder of the men moved rapidly between the parked aircraft placing demolition charges in their cockpits, and at various strategic points of the airfields infrastructure. Under the cover of supporting fire the men then withdrew.
When the demolition charges detonated they put out of action every aircraft on the airfield, six Pucaras, four Turbo Mentors, and a Skyvan. The charges severely damaged the airfields capability to operate, to the extent that not only had one third of the islands based light attack aircraft been destroyed, but the airfield closest to the Argentine mainland was put out off action for the remainder of the conflict. Only one injury was recorded, a sprained ankle to one of the attacking troops. The whole operation had taken a mere five days from conception to completion of the raid.
On Atlantic Conveyor software modification details for the FINRAE arrive by SATCOM and the engineering team set to work immediately to fix the problem. All the aircraft are bagged and it will not be possible to prove the system until the aircraft are ready to cross-deck to the Carriers. In this respect it is possible that two aircraft may fly off on Sunday 16th or Monday 17th.
The weather is also becoming appreciably worse.
Losses today:
Argentine Forces
6 x Pucara Groupo 3
4 x Turbo Mentor 4th Naval Attack Sqn
1 x Skyvan Coast Guard
All destroyed by Special Air Service during ground raid on Pebble Island.
15th May
Bad weather prevented planned photo reconnaissance sorties to cover Port Stanley, Pebble Island and Fox Bay.
801 NAS dropped 1000lb bombs on Port Stanley airfield, Sapper Hill and a helicopter support base near Mount Kent. 800 NAS also dropped six 1000lb bombs on the Port Stanley airfield.
With the main amphibious landings expected to take place in the next few days, the British High Command really needed to be certain that the Argentine Navy was confining itself to its home waters and ports. The ports were blockaded by British Nuclear Submarines, which while being able to remain undetected and being immensely powerful, their sensors were comparatively short ranged and it was not impossible that vessels could have crept past, and be lying in wait for the amphibious element of the Task Force. To find out would take a reconnaissance mission of the like never seen before.
In the cool early morning darkness of the 15th May, a Nimrod MR.2P of 120 Sqn, flown by Wing Commander David Emmerson, departed Ascension Island heading south. Having refuelled from Victor tankers twice, the Nimrod eventually reached a point about 150 Miles due north of Port Stanley. Here the aircraft turned due West and headed for a point some 60 miles from the Argentine shoreline where the aircraft turned once again heading north –east and running parallel to the coast. Flying at altitudes between 7,000 and 12,000 ft and using its powerful Searchwater radar the aircraft was able to reconnoitre an area of ocean 400 miles by 1000 miles in area. Within that zone the crew could say with virtual certainty that there was no vessel larger than a motor launch at sea.
The Nimrod returned to Wideawake Airfield after three air to air refuellings and being airborne for 18 hours and 5 minutes, covering a distance of 8,300 miles. As with the Victor recce 27 days earlier they returned with only negative information, but this was just what was wanted to be heard. To ensure that the Argentines didn’t change tactics Nimrods from Ascension would repeat this feat of endurance on seven out of the next ten nights to check that the enemy ships remained in port.
1(F) Sqn spent a quiet day carrying out more ground training. It is now planned that all six GR.3s should cross-deck to HMS Hermes on 18th/19th. This is thought better than the splitting the aircraft between HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible. The Sea Harriers, however, will split with four going to each carrier. The weather remains atrocious with the ship riding out the most tremendous storm. With half the stabilisation system out of order the ship rolls and bangs in an alarming fashion.
In the UK, the trial on the active I-Band countermeasures pod commenced. Known as 'Blue Eric' and located in a converted Harrier gun pod it was designed to counter the 'Fledermaus' radar which is used to control the highly effective 35mm Oerlikon Anti Aircraft Artillery Cannons. Work also starts on the ALE-40 Chaff and Flare dispenser modification programme begins. The equipment has been provided by our European allies with the parts from USA.
16th May
Sir Anthony Parsons, Britain's envoy at the United Nations, and Sir Nicholas Henderson, Britain's ambassador to the United States, returned to the USA.
801 NAS dropped more bombs on Port Stanley airfield. An Argentine freighter, the Rio Carcarana, spotted off Port King was bombed and strafed. The crew abandoned ship and made their way to Port Howard. The naval auxiliary Bahia Buen Suceso, moored near the civilian settlement at Fox Bay was strafed by the Sea Harriers of 800 NAS. They encountered some resistance, Anti Aircraft fire was quite heavy and one of the aircraft returned with a bullet hole in its fin.
Late in the afternoon 800 NAS mounted a sortie to photograph the damaged ships, Port Darwin, Moody Brook and Port Stanley airfield. The photographs showed another bomb crater on Port Stanley airfield runway. This had been created by the Argentine Air Force unit who had begun to simulate bomb craters using bulldozers to build piles of mud which could be removed at night allowing aircraft to land.
Under the cover of darkness HMS Glamorgan was sent inshore to continue the naval bombardment bombardment. She fired 130 rounds at targets in Port Stanley, Darwin and Fitzroy. The object of this being to convince the Argentineans that landings were to take place to the south of Port Stanley.
That night there was to have been a further Black Buck Vulcan raid to knock out the runway at Port Stanley but the forecast was for extreme head winds so the operation was cancelled.
17th May
Today, 17th May, is Argentina's 'Navy Day', and it was believed that this would be the catalyst for some form of major offensive action.
HMS Invincible's first Combat Air Patrol of the day dropped a couple of 1000lb bombs on the Port Stanley airfield, just to keep some pressure on the occupants.
800 NAS carried out a photo reconnaissance mission, bringing back pictures of Fox Bay, Goose Green, Port King and settlements in Lafonia (an area of West Falkland).
The Argentine Navy attempted to launch an attack using Exocet missiles and Super Etendards but they had not been able to maintain an accurate plot of the Battle Group's movements. The deception measures put in place by the senior aviators on the British carriers meant that when the pair of Super Etendards popped up to target their Exocets, their radars swept only empty sea.
HMS Hermes left her group in the mid-afternoon in order to rendezvous outside the TEZ with Atlantic Conveyor with a view to enabling the cross decking of the Harriers. One of Hermes' Sea King 5s was lost in the evening in a non combat incident; the aircraft was ditched due to instrument malfunction.
Argentine Air Force commander Brigadier Lami Dozo warns that the British Task Force will receive "a massive attack" if it sails within range of Argentine weapons.
The EEC renewed sanctions against Argentina for another week: Italy and Ireland lift them altogether.
On board Atlantic Conveyor the aircraft are in the process of being debagged in preparation for the cross-decking to HMS Hermes. Initial FINRAE trials with the debagged GR.3s look hopeful.
Losses today:
Royal Navy
Sea King – East of Falklands – Ditched due to technical failure – no injuries
18th May
Once again, to maintain the pressure on the occupiers HMS Invincible’s first three CAP missions dropped six 1000lb bombs on Port Stanley airfield.
The Carrier Battle Group and Amphibious Group rendezvous in the evening and although the Argentine Air Force missed this, they were soon provided with the information by the BBC Overseas Service.
1(F) Sqn are awoken to a practice emergency at 08:00 with a call to life raft stations. There are further false alarms - including a 'blue-on-blue' - at 09:00 and 11:00.
HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible close up with the amphibious group, and Atlantic Conveyor, in order to cross deck aircraft well out of range the enemy. In the end only four GR.3s make it as two went unserviceable; these are flown by Wg Cdr Squire, Sqn Ldr Pook, Sqn Ldr Harris and Flt Lt Rochfort. The VTO is straight forward as is the landing on. Flt Lt Harper remains on Atlantic Conveyor and Flt Lt Rochfort returns to transfer the remaining two aircraft when they are serviceable. The long process of cross-decking of troops, remaining pilots and Sqn stores will take hours.
19th May
In London Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet give their approval for landings to reoccupy the Falkland Islands to take place.
HMS Glamorgan spends the night of the 18/19 bombarding targets between Port Stanley and Lively Island.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Austin disembarked four specially equipped Lynx helicopters. These aircraft were fitted with electronic countermeasure equipment designed by the Royal Air Force to outwit the Exocet missile system. Two Lynx went to each carrier and from their arrival until the end of the conflict one Lynx was held on deck at immediate readiness for launch.
That night a Sea King helicopter of 846 NAS with Special Forces personnel on board, being cross decked to another ship, ditched having hit a large bird (possibly an Albatross) with its tail rotor. HMS Brilliant was swiftly on the scene but 22 lives were lost in the accident.
Meanwhile HMS Hermes had made a high speed dash to the west of the Falklands. Here she flew off a single Sea King of 846 NAS. Speculation as to the mission it was involved in was, and remains today, shrouded in secrecy. What is clear is the aircraft was landed on the Chilean mainland in the vicinity of Punta Arenas, where it was destroyed by its crew, who then went into hiding for three days before handing themselves over to Chilean authorities.
For 1(F) Sqn the day was set aside for operational training and they achieve 15 sorties of Air Combat Training (ACT). Although they practiced air combat, it has been decided that the GR.3s will be used for ground attack missions.
Flt Lt Glover and Wg Cdr Squire fly the first ACT mission and, shortly after getting airborne, are vectored to the North East in an attempt to intercept the shadowing Boeing 707. They are armed with AIM-9s but the Rules of Engagement (RoE) are only to intercept and shadow. At 180nm from the carrier they are outside radar and radio contact, they find nothing and return to the ship.
The FINRAE along with many other Sqn stores have yet to arrive on board Hermes. The aircraft are therefore being flown in pre-align and without any navigation aids. Aircrew are also finding the position of the sun - both southern hemisphere and time zone - also confusing.
Flt Lt Harper arrives with the fifth aircraft from Atlantic Conveyor having refuelled on HMS Invincible en-route. Flt Lt Harper, Sqn Ldr Harris and Flt Lt Glover then carried out night landings at the end of the day.
1(F) shares the Ready Room with 800 NAS. The lack of a Ground Liaison Officer is going to be a severe limitation. With very little room 1(F) bag a nearby cabin to put up maps and hold briefings. One advantage of the 'planning room' is that it allows them to hold meetings in private. Much of the first 'Operations' Group is spent talking of the wartime approach to the job - the acceptance of unserviceable aircraft, the parameters to which they fly etc. Wg Cdr Squire briefs everyone that he will authorise all sorties, if necessary, at the end of the day and that authorisation will not specify any minimum height.
The main pre-occupation in the Ready Room is the Rubic Cube. There are a number of schools with different methods, one of which is available on an OHP slide.
The Captain calls Wg Cdr Squire to his cabin/ops room to brief him on the squadron's first operational mission - an attack on the POL storage area at Fox Bay - the next day.
Losses today:
Royal Navy
Sea King – 846 NAS – Cross decking Special Forces troops suffers a catastrophic bird strike and ditches – 22 killed
Sea King – 846 NAS – Burnt out by her own crew on the ground in Chile near Punta Arenas – The reason for these actions remain secret.
20th May
During the night of 19th/20th HMS Glamorgan went inshore to bombard targets between the entrance to Choiseul Sound and Cape Pembroke. The purpose was to divert attention from events developing in Falkland Sound.
On board HMS Hermes with 1(F). After a quiet night the weather today is pretty grim. However, Flt Lt Rochfort manages to make it aboard in the sixth aircraft and by the evening the remaining Sqn troops have also arrived.
© Sqn Ldr Tony Harper
The bad weather and the ship's working time zone (Zulu) give the pilots hours in which to plan the attack at Fox Bay. Sqn Ldr Iveson, Sqn Ldr Pook and Wg Cdr Squire are to carry out the first mission and spend time pouring over maps in the dining room. The plan is to fly in having three different routes to take account of bad weather.
The three aircraft launch at 14:30, becoming the first offensive mission flown by the RAF from an aircraft carrier since October 1918. The Harriers are armed with nine BL755 Cluster Bomb Units, three per aircraft. The run to the target is in a Hi-Lo-Hi profile, flying battle formation', a wide, flat 'V' formation with about one mile separation between aircraft which works as planned. While en route Lt Cdr Sharky Ward of 801 NAS hears the formation transiting into the target area as "GREEN Ldr/2/3" and asks after Wg Cdr Squire by name! The response to this is not recorded, but can be imagined.
The target was easily acquired, the arrangement of jerry cans and 40 gallon drums had been set out to avoid all being destroyed by a single bomb, this however meant that they were laid out in a pattern ideal for engagement with Cluster bombs. Wg Cdr Squire led the attack, followed by Sqn Ldr Iveson who attacked on a heading about 30 degrees off Squires. Sqn Ldr Iveson reported seeing Squires weapons cause extensive secondary explosions on the target. Sqn Ldr Pook attacked on a heading nearly the same as Wg Cdr Squires and laid his weapons down on the target. During the attack none of the pilots saw anything in the way of defensive fire. All three land back safely on Hermes at 15:40.
The invasion to retake the Falkland Islands, codenamed Operation SUTTON, is certain for tomorrow and it is likely to be a very busy day.
21st May
00:01hrs - HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid lead the fleet into Falkland Sound while HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible steamed south to launch air and sea attacks. Providing close escort to the Amphibious Group during the passage were HMS Antrim, HMS Broadsword, HMS Brilliant, HMS Plymouth, HMS Yarmouth, HMS Argonaut, HMS Ardent and RFA Fort Austin.
The ships of the Task Force ran in under the watchful gaze of a Nimrod MR.2P, once again searching the Argentine coast for signs of naval activity and finding none. The aircraft would be airborne 18hrs and 51 minutes and cover 8,453 miles at the time the record holder for the longest operational reconnaissance mission ever undertaken.
From 02:00 the Task Force landed several thousand troops at San Carlos Water, 50 miles west of Port Stanley. The British bridgehead was established totally unopposed at Port San Carlos, with a combined total of 2,500 Royal Marines and Paras put ashore.
Deployment:
40 Commando RM - San Carlos
45 Commando RM - Ajax Bay
2 PARA - Sussex Mountains
3 PARA - Port San Carlos
42 Commando RM - initially held in reserve.
A diversionary attack on Goose Green, was carried out by some forty members of the Special Air Service, and lasted through the night. So effective was this diversion that the Argentines estimated the attacking strength to be that of a Battalion. A typical Battalion consists of around 600 men; the Special Air Service gave excellent value for money that night.
Dawn broke with British forces well established ashore and sending out patrols to secure the high ground. A brief skirmish occurred with a small force of Argentines troops, who up to that point, appeared happy to avoid contact with the Marines and Paras. As they withdrew, they opened fire on two Royal Marine Gazelles shooting them both down with small arms fire near Port San Carlos. The crews were killed.
The first Argentine response to the arrival of the Task Force was to send a Pucara on a dawn reconnaissance. Unfortunately the pilot, Captain Benitez, over flew a Special Air Service patrol withdrawing from contact at Goose Green and received a Stinger missile from behind. The first Captain Benitez knew of the attack was the missile impacting one of his engine exhausts, causing sufficient damage to make the aircraft become more and more uncontrollable. He ejected shortly afterward, and having landed safely began the walk to Goose Green which he completed early that evening.
Also just after first light HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible launched their Sea Harriers to place a barrier between the Task Force and the approach of attacking aircraft from the mainland.
The first air attack came at about 10:00 from a single MB339 based at Port Stanley. Lt Crippa swept low over the hills surrounding San Carlos water and found himself face to face with what he described as "looked like the whole British fleet". Braving withering fire he launched an attack on HMS Argonaut, with 30mm cannon and fired four 5 inch rockets, damaging some upper deck fittings and injuring three crew members. For this lone attack he was awarded the 'Argentine Medal for Heroism and Bravery' the highest decoration to be awarded in the Argentine Navy during the conflict.
Some 30 minutes later six Daggers of Groupo 6 arrived from the mainland, to carry out an armed reconnaissance. The aircraft led by Major Martinez sighted ships in Falkland Sound. Martinez went for HMS Broadsword, two went for HMS Argonaut and the remaining three went for HMS Antrim. The Daggers attacked with 1000lb bombs and 30mm cannon. The ships defended themselves and one Dagger was hit with a Sea Cat missile, the aircraft hitting the sea, no one being seen to eject. The remaining Daggers went supersonic and turned for home, chased by Sea Harriers directed on to them by HMS Brilliant, but the speed differential was too great and they made good their escape. HMS Antrim was the most severely damaged and had a 1000lb bomb lodged in her stern, she moved in to San Carlos Water to afford herself some protection while work went on to remove the unexploded bomb. HMS Argonaut, HMS Brilliant, and HMS Broadsword all moved close to the inlet of San Carlos Water to give each other mutual support against further air attacks.
The next air action occurred at around noon when two Pucaras of Groupo 3, flown by Major Tomba and Lt Micheloud, took off from Goose Green intending to attack the beachhead area. HMS Ardent engaged the pair at long range with her 4.5 inch gun, scoring no hits. They initially turned away and then turned as if to attack. Again Ardent fired her 4.5 inch gun and with the range reducing fired a Sea Cat missile, neither hitting its target. HMS Brilliant had been watching the slow moving targets on radar and vectored three 801 NAS Sea Harriers in to investigate. The three aircraft, led by Lt Cdr Sharkey Ward, with Lt Thomas, and Lt Craig descended into the fray, chasing the now violently manoeuvring Pucaras. Thomas and Craig attacked the Pucara of Tomba but were moving to fast to score hits, and flew past. In the confusion Lt Micheloud made good his escape. Tomba now had Lt Cdr Ward closing on his tail. Ward fired his 30mm Aden cannon, and hit the Pucaras left aileron shooting it to pieces, the aircraft flew on. Ward climbed, turned, and re-attacked, this time lowering his flaps to slow even further. Firing again Ward hit the aircrafts right engine and observed bits to come off the wing, but still the aircraft flew on. On his third pass Ward hit the left engine which started to burn and large pieces came of the fuselage and around the cockpit. As he turned away Ward was convinced the aircraft would never go down when he saw Major Tomba eject, the Pucara drop and slide over the peat to a halt. Major Tomba landed uninjured not far from his downed aircraft and began the walk back to Goose Green.
As Lt Cdr Blissett and Lt Cdr Thomas of 800 NAS arrived on station above Falkland Sound they were vectored by HMS Brilliant to attack a Skyhawk which had just attacked but caused no damage to HMS Ardent. The pair descended and accelerated, but never saw the single Skyhawk; instead just by Chartres Settlement they came across a flight of four Skyhawks flying from left to right in front of them. Seeing the Sea Harriers the Skyhawks accelerated and turned to starboard, at the same time jettisoning their under wing tanks and bombs. Lt Cdr Blissett was the first to achieve a firing solution, and launched an AIM-9 Sidewinder. Blissett was then distracted as a Sidewinder, fired by his wingman Lt Cdr Thomas, appeared over his left shoulder and made chase after its own target. Lt Cdr Blissett recalls seeing "a huge fireball in front of me" as his missile impacted and destroyed his Skyhawk. Lt Cdr Thomas’ missile had a similar effect on his targeted Skyhawk and Blissett observed it as it spiralled to the ground on fire. Lt Cdr Blissett then exhausted his 30mm ammunition in short bursts at one of the remaining Skyhawks before turning home for HMS Hermes very short on fuel.
With the time approaching 14:30 the mainland based aircraft had returned to base and debriefed, allowing the Argentines to prepare more thoroughly for the next wave. British forces recognised this possibility and stepped up their Sea Harrier sorties from two pairs per hour to three pairs per hour.
Lt Cdr 'Fred' Frederiksen and Lt Andy George of 800 NAS had just started their patrol when one of the first new wave of raids came in: four Daggers had been seen on radar before the dropped to low level. HMS Brilliant directed Frederiksen and George to the west to intercept. At about 2,500ft over the settlement at Chartres, Frederiksen saw the four Daggers as they crossed the coast about three miles away. Lt Cdr Frederiksen put his number two Lt George into a one mile trail behind himself to keep an eye open for escorts, as he accelerated and went for the left hand element of the formation, with Lt George, having checked that there were no escorts taking the right hand element. Frederiksen went for the tail end Dagger of Lt Luna, getting a lock on, and launching an AIM-9 Sidewinder which impacted Luna’s Dagger in the tail area. Losing control Luna instinctively pulled back on the control column, but due to the damage the Dagger entered a violent roll. With no time to consider anything else he pulled the ejection seat handle. A split second after Luna left the doomed Dagger it smashed into the ground, so close that Luna could feel the heat and blast. Moments later Luna was dumped on the ground, surrounded by burning wreckage, he had a dislocated shoulder and sprained knee. Releasing his parachute, he crawled clear of the remnants of what moments before had been his aircraft. Frederiksen then engaged the element leader with his 30mm cannon but scored no hits. The Daggers having seen the loss of a comrade but not having seen either of the Sea Harriers, pressed on towards their target. Lt Cdr Frederiksen and Lt George last saw the remaining three Daggers as they entered cloud.
While Lt Cdr Frederiksen and Lt George had been engaging the Daggers over West Falkland, a force of Skyhawks had managed to arrive uninterrupted at Falklands Sound. Six of these aircraft singled out HMS Argonaut for their attention, and she was hit by two 1000lb bombs. One smashed her hull just above the waterline just between the engine room and boiler room, causing a boiler to explode and wrecking her steering gear. The second impacted below the water line, travelled through two fuel tanks, through the sonar room and lodged itself in the ships forward Sea Cat magazine where it caused two missiles to explode killing two crew. Although the bombs had caused secondary explosions neither had detonated. Argonaut was now in the position that she had no steering gear and her engines were running at high speed, pushing the ship at speed towards Fanning Head. Realising what was happening Sub Lieutenant Peter Morgan grabbed a couple of men, and ran across the exposed foredeck where they successfully released the anchor bringing the ship to a halt. Morgan would later receive the Distinguished Service Order for his Actions. HMS Argonaut was now stuck fast, in an extremely exposed position with around three hours of daylight left.
Almost immediately HMS Ardent became the centre of attention of the remaining three Daggers of Groupo 6 that had avoided Frederiksen and George. As the aircraft closed on their target from the stern her Captain Alan West tried to manoeuvre her to bring her 4.5 inch gun to bear. He also expected to see a Sea Cat missile leave the launcher but for some reason it refused to fire. Unable to bring her 4.5 inch gun to bear, and her missiles failing to launch, left Ardent defended only by 20mm cannon and light machine guns. Being virtually distracted, the Argentine pilots were able to release their weapons from an altitude that allowed the bombs to arm in flight. One bomb impacted the stern of the ship and exploded. It impacted close to the Lynx hangar blowing off the roof and folding it over the starboard side, and destroying the Lynx. Several crew members had been killed or injured, Ardent had an unexploded bomb lodged aft, she had taken severe damage and had several fires but the damage control teams had them under control, there was no serious flooding and the ships steering and engines still operated, Ardent was far from finished. Cdr West signalled that Ardent could float and move, but due to the damage to her systems she could hardly fight. West was ordered to move north-west where Ardent could receive mutual protection from the other warships there.
The time was now about 14:45 and HMS Brilliant suffered a strafing run with 30mm cannon causing injuries from shell splinters. Further aircraft, Skyhawks of Groupo 5, ran into San Carlos Water, and engaged HMS Ardent again as she pulled out of Grantham Sound, hitting her with two more bombs that detonated in the area of the stern, Ardent was now in a bad way.
Over the valley between Mount Maria and Mount Jock, Lt Cdr Ward and Lt Thomas were patrolling, as the valley had been used previously in the day by attacking aircraft. Thomas caught sight of a pair of Daggers below them, their yellow identification panels showing up clearly. Thomas dove into attack, locked a Sidewinder on the rearmost aircraft and fired; the missile struck the Dagger and blew it apart. Thomas then turned his attention to the second Dagger, again locked up the target and fired his second Sidewinder. This followed the Dagger around the corner and exploded with a bright flash but the aircraft didn’t explode. Argentine records show this aircraft crashed shortly afterwards from damage inflicted by the Sidewinder. While watching Thomas engaging his Daggers Lt Cdr Ward saw a third Dagger heading west. He called Thomas to say he had a third aircraft in sight and gave chase pulling the Sea Harrier round hard, obtaining a lock and firing a Sidewinder. The missile impacted the aircraft and sent it cart wheeling to the ground. Remarkably all three Argentine pilots ejected safely.
At Falkland Sound three Skyhawks of 3rd Naval Fighter and Attack Escuadrillia descended to low level before entering San Carlos Water. The Aircraft made a bee line towards HMS Ardent, and once again Ardent was struck by bombs, but not before Petty Officer John Leake, Ardents NAAFI manager, had hit one of the Skyhawks with small arms fire, stitching a row of holes in the aircrafts wing. By now HMS Ardent was fatally crippled, and with HMS Yarmouth along side Cdr West would give the order to abandon ship, Cdr Alan West being the last man to leave this brave little ship. Twenty two of the ships company had been killed and thirty injured. HMS Ardent, having been hit by seven 1000lb and 500lb bombs finally sank six hours later.
For the three attacking Skyhawks all was not well. Over Goose Green at 10,000ft were Lt Morrell and Flt Lt Leeming of 800 NAS on route to start their patrol. Both heard the radio reports of the attack on Ardent. Morrell had seen the bombs explode and thought that the attackers would try to escape down the Sound to the south-west. Morrell looked where he thought they should be and lo and behold through a hole in the cloud appeared three Skyhawks. The Sea Harriers rolled and dived at full throttle towards their prey. Morrell manoeuvred behind one Skyhawk and having got a lock fired a Sidewinder which tracked to the Skyhawks tail and exploded. The Skyhawk pitched violently and as it went out of control its pilot ejected. Morrell tried to fire a second Sidewinder at another of the Skyhawks but it refused to come off the rail. Morrell switched to his 30mm cannon and emptied his magazines at the Skyhawk but saw no hits, he then switched back to missiles and this time the AIM-9 fired of its own accord, but then lost interest stopped guiding and fell into the sea. One Skyhawk appeared not to see Flt Lt Leeming coming up behind him. Leeming selected Guns and fired a few tentative bursts at the Skyhawk. The third burst splashed into the sea near to the Skyhawk and the pilot must have then realised what was happening as he attempted to manoeuvre. By then it was too late, Leeming was within 200 yards and had the sight on the cockpit area of the Skyhawk, he fired and as the first cannon shells impacted the aircraft exploded. Leeming later stated he believed the engine must have broken up as the Skyhawk just disintegrated. The third Skyhawk had a lucky escape when Morrell’s second Sidewinder failed to guide, but that is where his luck ran out. This was the aircraft of Lt Arca, which had been hit by the machine gun fire of Petty Officer Leake. It had also been hit by some of Morrellls 30mm cannon rounds. Arca’s aircraft was losing fuel so rapidly that he would never reach his home base of Rio Grande or the C-130 tanker orbiting off the coast. His only alternative was to land his crippled jet at Port Stanley Airfield, but when he got there he found he could not lower his undercarriage. Lt Arca ejected from his aircraft and landed in the sea from where he was picked up by helicopter.
For 1(F) Sqn the conflict starts with mixed fortunes. The Sqn's first mission of the day is flown by Sqn Ldr Pook and Flt Lt Hare carrying out an armed reconnaissance for a helicopter forward operating base in the area of Mount Kent. Each Harrier is armed with a pair of BL755 Cluster bombs and 30mm cannon. The pair arrived at the target area just as it was getting light, to find a Chinook, two Pumas and a Bell UH-1 sitting on the ground well spaced apart. On the initial attack run neither pilot was able to score any hits so they pulled a hard left turn around Mount Kent and re attacked. Flt Lt Hare lined up on the Chinook and opened fire with his 30mm cannon, walking the rounds onto the target, the helicopter explode in flames. The pair continued to attack and each managed to set fire to a Puma, the UH-1 was almost impossible to target in the half light and it lived to fight another day. While on his last run Hare felt a thud on his aircraft and on returning to Hermes found three bullet holes in his aircraft.
Shortly after Sqn Ldr Pook and Flt Lt Hare landed back on, Wg Cdr Squire and Flt Lt Glover took off briefed to provide support to troops in the landing area. Almost straight away the mission dissolved. Wg Cdr Squire was unable to retract the undercarriage on his aircraft and was fridge to return to Hermes. Flt Lt Glover went on alone. On arriving in the San Carlos are he asked the Forward Air Controller for a target for his BL755 Cluster bombs. The reply came back that there appeared to be no enemy troops in the vicinity and Glover was asked to fly to Port Howard, about 20 miles away, and attack enemy positions there. Glover made a high speed low level run through the area but saw nothing to indicate a presence. Shots were fired at Glover but didn’t hit and without Glover knowing. Reporting back he had seen nothing he was requested to photograph the area so positions could be identified for future attack. Returning to an area just over flown is fraught with danger, so Glover headed for West Falkland to allow things to quieten down. Returning about 15 minutes after the first run he flew low and fast over the settlement, his camera clicking and seeing nothing of the enemy. The first indication of their presence was his aircraft shuddering under the impact of exploding cannon shells, three in all and likely 20mm. The aircraft flicked into an uncontrollable roll to the right and with little other thought than survival Glover ejected into the 600mph air stream, losing consciousness. Glover came to in the water with a broken left arm, shoulder and collar bone. Almost immediately he was picked up by boat and given medical aid.
1(F) Sqn had suffered its first loss of the conflict and although it hit home hard, their fears were somewhat relieved when an Argentine signal was intercepted that referred to a Flt Lt William Glover.
Flt Lt Dave Morgan probably summed up the day when he said "May 21st was a heavy day".
Losses today:
Royal Air Force/Royal Navy
2 x Gazelles – Royal Marines – Port San Carlos - Shot down by small arms fire during initial landings – both crews killed.
Harrier GR.3 – 1(F) Squadron – Port Howard – Shot down by Anti Aircraft Fire possibly 20mm – Flt Lt Glover ejected, and taken Prisoner of War.
Argentine Forces
Chinook (Army) – Mount Kent – Destroyed on the ground by 30mm cannon fire from 1(F) Sqn Harrier GR.3 flown by Flt Lt Hare.
Puma (Army) – Mount Kent – Destroyed on the ground by 30mm cannon fire from 1(F) Sqn Harrier GR.3 flown by Flt Lt Hare.
Puma (Army) – Mount Kent – Destroyed on the ground by 30mm cannon fire from 1(F) Sqn Harrier GR.3 flown by Sqn Ldr Pook.
Pucara - Groupo 3 – Sussex Mountains – Shot down by ‘Stinger’ ManPAD fired by Special Air Service troops. Capt Benitez ejected.
Dagger – Groupo 6 – Nr Fanning Head, Falkland Sound – Engaged by Sea Cat missiles from HMS Plymouth and HMS Argonaut, aircraft crashed into the sea
killing its pilot Lt Bean.
Pucara – Groupo 3 – Nr Darwin – Engaged by Sea Harriers of 801 NAS flown by Lt Cdr Ward, Lt Cdr Craig and Lt Thomas, Shot Down with 30mm cannon fire, credited to Ward. The pilot Major Tomba ejected.
Skyhawk - Groupo 4 - Nr Chartres, West Falkland - Engaged by Sea Harrier of 800 NAS flown by Lt Cdr Blissett - Shot down with AIM-9L Sidewinder. Lt Lopez killed.
Skyhawk - Groupo 4 - Nr Chartres, West Falkland - Engaged by Sea Harrier of 800 NAS flown by Lt Cdr Thomas. Both shot down with AIM-9L Sidewinder. Lt Manzotti killed.
Dagger – Groupo 6 – South East of Mount Robinson – Shot Down by AIM-9L Sidewinder fired from Sea Harrier flown by Lt Cdr Frederiksen of 800 NAS. Lt Luna ejected with injuries.
3 x Dagger – Groupo 6 – North of Port Howard – Two Shot down by Lt Thomas, and one shot down by Lt Cdr Ward of 801 NAS – All shot down with AIM-9L Sidewinder. Major Piuma, Captain Donadille and Lt Senn all ejected.
Skyhawk – 3rd Naval Fighter Attack Squadron – Falkland sound – Shot down by AIM-9L Sidewinder fired from 800 NAS Sea Harrier by Lt Morrell. The Pilot Lt Cdr Phillippi ejected.
Skyhawk – 3rd Naval Fighter Attack Squadron – Falkland Sound – Shot Down by 30mm cannon fire from 800 NAS Sea Harrier flown by Flt Lt Leeming. The pilot, Lt Marquez was killed.
Skyhawk – 3rd Naval Fighter Attack Squadron – Falkland sound & Port Stanley – Damaged by small arms while attacking HMS Ardent – Further damaged by 30mm cannon fire from 800 NAS sea Harrier flown By Lt Morrell – Attempted emergency landing at Port Stanley Airfield but undercarriage was inoperative and would not lower – Pilot Lt Arca elected to abandon the aircraft and ejected to safety.
22nd May
An Argentine Air Force Boeing 707 on a reconnaissance mission narrowly avoided being hit by Sea Dart missile from HMS Coventry as a flash-door failed safe, preventing the missile loading on the launcher.
A second 707 approached the HMS Bristol Group later in the morning. RFA Tidespring had reported the aircraft's presence and HMS Cardiff dropped back from the group. When the 707 came within her range, HMS Cardiff fired a Sea Dart salvo. One missile was seen to burst close to the target which broke away in a high speed dive and returned to Argentine airspace. HMS Broadsword later joined HMS Coventry on the missile trap station off Pebble Island.
Both Carriers maintained a strong CAP, with sixty sorties being flown. However due to extremely bad weather on the mainland prevented the Argentine Forces launching any air strikes until later in the day when a pair of Skyhawks ran through San Carlos Water at last light, dropped their weapons with no effect and sped clear.
During the first CAP of the day launched from HMS Hermes, Lt Cdr Frederiksen and Lt McHale were approaching Goose Green when they sighted the Argentine Coast Guard patrol boat Rio Iguazu on its way to deliver supplies to the argentine troops garrisoned there. After receiving permission the pair dived on the boat and strafed it with 30mm cannon fire, leaving it burning. The boat was later that afternoon aground among the kelp having been abandoned by its crew.
HMS Brilliant and HMS Yarmouth transited south. Shortly before midnight a Lynx was flown to investigate a radar contact made in Lively Sound; the vessel was identified as the Argentine coaster Monsunnen. The crew ran the fully serviceable ship aground among the kelp and escaped over the rocks.
Today also saw the setting up of the Field Hospital in the old freezer buildings at Ajax Bay. Known to the troops and the 'Red and Green Life Machine' the painting of Red Cross markings would do little in the coming days to ensure its safety from attack.
For 1(F) Sqn, although the operation to retake the islands continues, there was no requirement for Close Air Support. A pre-planned four ship sortie is carried against Goose Green, which is heavily defended, along with one armed recce sortie.
The first mission was tasked as a four aircraft attack on tented positions and possible dispersed Pucaras at Goose Green. The pilots selected for this mission were Sqn Ldr Pook, Sqn Ldr Iveson, Sqn Ldr Harris, and Flt Lt Rochfort.
Reconnaissance photographs of the airfield were available and heavy Anti Aircraft Artillery (AAA) was known to be in the area. The attack was therefore planned as a simultaneous attack from the East. Low cloud on the transit to the target necessitated the Harriers ingressed at Ultra Low Level. At 2km from the target area Sqn Ldr Pook eased up to 200ft and dropped chaff as briefed. He saw nothing at his pre-briefed target marker so attacked a camouflaged box-bodied vehicle on the rear edge of the airstrip. Sqn Ldr Iveson attacked a line of fox-holes on the Northern edge of the field and saw Sqn Ldr Pook's weapons cause secondary explosions. Both pilots saw considerable Anti Aircraft Artillery (AAA), which appeared to be aimed at them.
On his run-in Sqn Ldr Harris was locked-up by a Fledermaus radar but this was broken by a hard jink and releasing chaff. Despite a considerable barrage of AAA he continued his attack but his cluster bombs hung-up. Flt Lt Rochfort dropped his weapons on his briefed target. All four aircraft then ran-out to the West at Ultra Low Level and reformed for the uneventful recovery to Hermes.
During the mid afternoon; and while preparing to launch an armed recce mission the Sqn receive confirmation that Flt Lt Glover is a Prisoner of War, albeit injured. The Squadron cannot communicate this to UK owing to a possible compromise of sources and they have to hope that the Red Cross get in on the act as soon as possible. It will in fact be some days before official information is received regarding the status of Glover as a Prisoner of War.
The late mission, flown by Wg Cdr Squire and Flt Lt Harper, was to carry out an armed recce of the airstrip at Weddell Island. During the transit a strong radar lock from astern forced the pair into an early descent. In retrospect this was probably Sea Harrier radar, and resulted in both aircraft having minimum fuel available in the target area. While en-route at low-level a commercial freighter, later identified as the MV Monsunnen, was seen on a heading of 140 degrees. The two aircraft were short on fuel and were also unsure of the Rules of Engagement so continued to the West. The armed recce was carried out but nothing was seen so the pair returned to the Carrier.
Generally, it had been a quiet day. The Argentines appeared to be attempting to re-supply their forces, but other than that following the debacle of the 21st today was somewhat of an anticlimax.
23rd May
The first air activity of the day was by 1(F) Sqn and was a four aircraft attack on Dunnose Head airstrip in West Falkland which might be a Forward Operating Base for Pucara aircraft or possibly even Hercules. The weapons used are a mixture of CBUs and 1000lb bombs to reduce the time over target. The aircrew for the sortie are Wg Cdr Squire, Sqn Ldr Harris, Flt Lt Hare and Flt Lt A Harper. The aircraft all delivered their weapons on the airfield but there were no troops or aircraft in the area. Flt Lt Mark Hare is hit by the CBU furniture of his leader and drops his bombs late. Sadly this caused damage to local houses. After the conflict was over Flt Lt Hare went ashore with a group of 1(F) Sqn members to help repair the damage. Here he met the farm manager Jimmy Forster who remarked dryly, "If you wanted the runway destroyed why didn’t you tell us? We’d have ploughed it up for you!."
Shortly after the attack on Dunnose Head, Flt Lt Morgan and Flt Lt Leeming of 800 NAS were flying a CAP at 8000 ft over Falkland Sound when Morgan noticed the rotating disk of a helicopter below him in Shag Cove. A former Helicopter pilot Morgan realised that the pilot had made a fundamental blunder in crossing the water which is normally avoided. With Leeming following, Morgan dived down to identify the aircraft. The aircraft dropped close to the ground and at about 500 yards Morgan recognised the helicopter as a Puma, he also realised that the British forces didn’t have any in theatre, so it had to be a 'Hostile'. As he called it Hostile to Flt Lt Leeming, Leeming replied "There are four of them" Morgan then saw a further two Pumas behind the first and these were followed by an Augusta 109. Morgan attempted to engage the lead Puma but was to close, so he pulled a hard climbing turn to re-engage. On looking back the Puma he had over flown was smashed out of control into a hill side and exploded in a ball of flame. Either the pilot had lost control trying to evade, or the Harriers slipstream had caused the helicopter to crash. Post conflict examination showed that the aircraft was heavily laden with mortar bombs which may have contributed to the aircrafts demise. In the meantime the A.109 had landed and the crew were making their escape on foot. The Sea Harriers strafed the target and set it on fire. Just as they were about to depart Flt Lt Leeming spotted the other Pumas on the ground further up the valley. He and Morgan engaged them with cannon fire but had to depart leaving one of them intact due to lack of ammunition, However while climbing out to return to the carrier they gave the position to the control ship who vectored a pair of 801 NAS Sea Harriers to the position, where they shot up the last Puma. All four helicopters were destroyed.
Later that day news is received that Flt Lt Glover is to be transferred by helicopter from Goose Green to Stanley. All helicopters are removed from the ROE until the following day.
In the vicinity of the beach head there was little in the way of air activity until after mid day. On this day however a new Argentine unit appeared. The Fenix Escuadron flew HS.125 and Learjet aircraft in the decoy role trying to draw the defending Sea Harriers away from the fleet. They also provided communications between the radars at Port Stanley and the attacking Daggers and Skyhawks, providing the locations of the Sea Harrier CAPs.
The first attack came around 14:00, when small formations of Skyhawks managed to evade the defending Sea Harriers. During one of these attacks Lt Filipini of Groupo 5 flew so low that he hit the mast of HMS Antelope collapsing it. Another aircraft of the same unit was not so lucky; almost as it released its weapons it was hit virtually simultaneously by a Sea Wolf Missile from HMS Broadsword and a shore based Rapier. The pilot Lt Guadagnini was killed.
A period of relative quiet then descended for about two hours, then a flight of Daggers made an unsuccessful attack around 16:00. Lt Cdr Auld and Lt Hale were flying CAP when Hale saw a Dagger running out west at high speed over Pebble Island. Lt Hale pulled into a firing position but the opening distance was too great. However as he looked around he spotted the Daggers number two about a mile and a half in trail. The Dagger tried to out accelerate Hale, but Hale dropped in behind the aircraft at a range of about half a mile, got a good tone and fired a Sidewinder. The missile tracked all the way up the Daggers tail Pipe where it exploded destroying the aircraft and sending it into Horseshoe Bay
Later that night 800 NAS launched four aircraft to loft bombs on Stanley airfield. The aircraft with Lt Cdr Batt piloting it flew into the sea shortly after take-off and exploded. Lt Cdr Batt was killed.
In San Carlos Water that night one of the bombs lodged in HMS Antelope exploded while an Army bomb disposal team worked to make it safe. One man was killed the other seriously injured. The weapons explosive power blew a hole in the ships side from water line to funnel starting a ferocious and uncontrollable fire that burnt its way to the main magazine, which exploded en masse. After several secondary explosions Antelope's fire burnt out and she sank early the next morning.
Of all the bombs that had hit the ships about 50% had failed to explode. To the Royal Navy keeping t