Summary
of Main Events
TASK
FORCE SHIPS IN AND AROUND TEZ (26th)
CV Hermes, Invincible;
DD Bristol, Glamorgan, Cardiff,
Exeter, Glasgow; FR Brilliant,
Broadsword, Active, Alacrity,
Ambuscade, Avenger, Arrow, Andromeda,
Argonaut (UXB damage), Minerva,
Penelope, Plymouth, Yarmouth; Assault
ships Fearless, Intrepid; RFA's Fort
Austin, Olmeda, Olna, Regent,
Resource, Tidepool; LSL's Sir
Bedivere, Sir Galahad, (UXB
damage), Sir Geraint, Sir
Lancelot (UXB damage), Sir Percivale,
Sir Tristram; Transports Elk, Europic
Ferry
plus submarine force, hospital ships
in RCB, repair ship
and tugs in TRALA, and some
tankers
(Sheffield, Ardent,
Antelope, Coventry and Atlantic
Conveyor lost so far)
3 COMMANDO
BRIGADE LOCATIONS & MOVEMENTS
3 Cdo Bde HQ and 40 Cdo at San
Carlos 3 Para
west and north of Port
San Carlos; 42 Cdo returning to Port
San Carlos from
Cerro Montevideo;
45
Cdo at Ajax Bay M&AW
Cadre on Bull Hill and Evelyn
Hill
1. SBS to Port
Salvador 2. D
Sqdn SAS recon patrol to Mt
Kent
AIRCRAFT
AND SHIP LOSSES & MOVEMENTS
3.
Argentine aircraft lost just
north of Pebble Island - [a50,a51,a52] Daggers (24th)
4. LSL's
Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot damaged in San
Carlos Water (24th) 5. Argentine
aircraft lost in King
George Bay, West Falkland -
[a53] Skyhawk
(24th) 6. Argentine aircraft
lost just north of Pebble
Island
- [a54] Skyhawk
(25th) 7. Argentine aircraft lost
over San Carlos Water - [a55] Skyhawk (25th)
8. Argentine aircraft lost north
east of Pebble Island - [a56] Skyhawk
(25th) 9. Broadsword
damaged,
COVENTRY sunk and Lynx helicopter [b16] lost 10
miles north of Pebble Island (25th)
10. ATLANTIC
CONVEYOR sunk 90
miles north east of Stanley; aircraft lost -
[b17-22] Wessex, [b23-25]
Chinooks,
[b26] Lynx (25th) 11. DD Antrim, RFA
Stromness, Transports Canberra, Norland
to South Georgia
3
CDO BDE MOVEMENTS (continued) 12. 2 Para moved from
Sussex Mountains half way to
Camilla Creek House (26th)
on their way to Darwin
13. L Coy 42 Cdo
helicoptered from Port
San Carlos to Sussex
Mountains (26th)
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As plans for the Darwin raid went
ahead, Brigadier Thompson prepared to move towards
Stanley. D Sqdn SAS and then 42 Cdo were to fly to Mount Kent, and when "Atlantic
Conveyor" arrived with her Chinooks, more of 3 Cdo
Bde would be flown forward. A start was made when an SBS team went ashore in Port Salvador to check Teal Inlet and a D Sqdn patrol landed on Mount Kent, but the weather closed in
stopping the rest of D Sqdn joining them. Also 2 Para's
artillery could not be flown in, so the raid on Darwin
was cancelled. Then on Tuesday 25th, "Atlantic Conveyor" was lost and the planning had to
start all over again. By then the battle for control of
the air had almost been won, but the losses on both sides
were heavy. In this, "Broadsword" and
"Coventry" in their missile trap and radar
picket role off Pebble Island played a major part.Monday 24th saw four more Argentine aircraft
destroyed. That morning, four Grupo 6 Daggers came in low
over
Pebble Island, but under "Broadsword's" direction, two
No.800 Sea Harriers brought three of them down with
Sidewinders [a50, a51, a52]. As this happened, more Daggers and Grupo 4
and 5 Skyhawks reached the anchorage from the south.
LSL's
"Sir Galahad"
and "Sir
Lancelot" each
received a UXB and "Sir Bedivere" was slightly
damaged by a glancing hit, all believed to be from
Skyhawks of Grupo 4. The three aircraft in this flight
were damaged by the fierce AA, including claims by both
"Fearless" and "Argonaut" Sea Cats,
and on the way home, one crashed into King George Bay off
West Falkland [a53].
Some of the crew of both LSL's were evacuated, but the
bombs were later defused, although "Sir
Lancelot" was not fully operational again for a long
time.
Tuesday
the 25th May was
Argentine National Day and the first target for Grupo 5
Skyhawks that morning
was the two missile trap ships, but
"Coventry's" Sea Dart brought one of them down
at long range north of Pebble Island and the sortie was
abandoned [a54].
Then at midday four
Grupo 4 aircraft reached San Carlos Water. One
was blasted out of the sky by small arms fire and
missiles (the claims included "Yarmouth's" Sea
Cat), although the pilot ejected safely [a55], and as the three survivors
escaped, a second aircraft was destroyed to the north
east of Pebble Island by another Sea Dart from
"Coventry" [a56]. In the afternoon, the tables were turned, first of all by
four Skyhawks of Grupo 5 which reached
"Coventry" and "Broadsword". As the
first pair approached, the CAP Sea Harriers were warned
off, but "Broadsword's" Sea Wolf system broke contact and
she was hit by a bomb which bounced up through her stern
and out again badly damaging the Lynx on the way. The
second pair now went for "Coventry", and just
as "Broadsword" prepared to fire Sea Wolf
again, the type 42 got in the way and contact was broken
for a second time. With little to stop them, the Skyhawks
put three bombs into "Coventry" at 3.20 pm. Within half an hour she had capsized and
been abandoned with 19 men killed and 25 wounded. The
survivors were picked up by "Broadsword" and
helicopters from San Carlos and she shortly sank with her
Lynx [b16]. Of the three type 42's that first
sailed south, two were now at the bottom and the third
damaged and soon to return. As "Coventry"
went down, and quite separate from the Skyhawk sorties,
two Super Etendards of CANA 2 Esc approached the CVBG
from the north after refuelling on the way by Hercules
tanker. In their path and close together were the two
carriers and transport "Atlantic Conveyor" at
this time some 90 miles north east of Stanley and heading
in for San Carlos Water. Just after 4.30 pm, they launched two Exocets from a
range of 30 miles, and in spite of attempts to decoy the
missiles away by chaff fired by the warships including
"Ambuscade", one of them hit "Atlantic
Conveyor" and set
her ablaze uncontrollably. Little is known of the fate of
the second Exocet. "Alacrity" and
"Brilliant" closed in to help, but the order
was soon given to abandon ship, and by the time the
survivors were picked up, a total of twelve men had died
including Capt North. Fortunately the Harriers had been
flown off before the attack, but all the helicopters
apart from an airborne Chinook and thousands of tons of
stores including ammunition, Harrier spares and tents,
had to be left on the burning ship. Tug
"Irishman" went to her aid and on Thursday took the burnt out hulk in tow,
but "Atlantic Conveyor" soon sank taking with
her six Wessex [b17-22],
three Chinooks [b23-25] and
a spare Lynx [b26].Still on Tuesday 25th as "Canberra" and
"Norland" made their way to South Georgia, the
two remaining merchantmen in the TEZ continued to support
the landings. "Europic Ferry" with her 2 Para
stores sailed in to complete unloading, while
"Elk" prepared to follow her with more vehicles
and ammo. Meanwhile to the north, nuclear sub
"Conqueror" on patrol had an aerial wrapped
around her propeller, and on Tuesday in bad weather and under threat of aircraft
attack, PO Libby dived to remove it.
With "Atlantic
Conveyor's" loss, and with four Sea Kings already
used for night missions and one for Rapier support,
Brigadier Thompson had only six more plus five Wessex to
move his troops towards Stanley. When his staff met on Wednesday morning
(26th), and with new
orders from Northwood, fresh plans were made. Goose Green
was to be taken and held by 2 Para, and much of the rest
of the Brigade would have to walk! Late that day, Lt Col Jones led 2 Para south on the path to Darwin, and on Thursday, 45 Cdo and 3 Para
started their move overland to Teal Inlet while 42 Cdo waited a later move to Mount Kent. Still on Wednesday, L Coy 42 Cdo flew from Port San Carlos to Sussex Mountains to relieve 2 Para.
British
Gallantry Awards included:
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HMS
Conqueror
PO (Sonar) G J R Libby (DSM)HMS Coventry -
helicopter rescue
CPO Aircrewman M J Tupper (DSM), No.846 NAS
RFA
Sir Galahad - bomb disposal
Lt N A Bruen (DSC) RN, CO Fleet Clearance Diving Team 3
Chief Eng Offr C K A Adams (QGM) RFA, also assisted with
Sir Lancelot UXB
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RFA Sir Lancelot
- bomb disposal
CPO (Diver) G M Trotter (DSM), Fleet Clearance Diving
Team 3
Merchantman
Atlantic Conveyor
Capt I H North (post DSC) MN
and rescue work
Flt Sgt B W Jopling (QGM), 18 Sqdn RAF
Third Eng B R Williams (QGM), MN
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