Summary
of Main Argentine Naval Invasion Forces
FALKLAND ISLANDS
TASK FORCE 20 - DISTANT COVER
AND SUPPORT
(Vice Admiral Juan Lombardo i/c)
CV “25 de Mayo” (flagship)
DD “Comodoro Py”, “Hipolito Bouchard”, “Piedra Buena”,
“Segui” (all ex-US)
Tanker “Punta Medanos”
TASK FORCE 40 - AMPHIBIOUS
(Rear Admiral Jorge Gualter Allara)
DD “Santisima Trinidad” (flagship) , “Hercules”
(both British type 42's)
FR “Drummond”, “Granville”
SS “Santa Fe”
TASK GROUP 40.1 - LANDING
FORCES
(Rear Admiral of Marines Carlos Busser)
LST “Cabo San Antonio”
Icebreaker “Almirante Irizar”
Transport “Isla de los Estados”
SOUTH GEORGIA
Icebreaker
"Bahia Paraiso" became Task
Force 60 with
arrival of Guerrico
First War for 100 Years -
As Argentina went to war for the first time since the
Paraguayan War of
1865-70, the Navy and
Marines would spearhead the invasion on Friday 2nd April
1982, the Army would garrison and finally lose the
Falklands, and the Air Force, which could possibly have
won the coming Anglo-Argentine war, got ready to
establish a presence there.
NAVAL
FORCES
Navy or
Armada Republica Argentina - With a strength of
30,000 officers and men, including 12,000 conscripts,
the Navy was a mix of World War Two and modern ships.
Main units in commission were:
four patrol submarines
("SANTA FE"
lost),
one light fleet carrier and
the old cruiser "GENERAL
BELGRANO" (sunk),
six destroyers and three frigates, all Exocet-armed,
amphibious warfare craft,
eight fleet tankers and transports, and
two icebreakers or polar vessels,
.... a large proportion of
which were at sea on the eve of invasion.
Under the overall command
of Vice
Admiral Juan Lombardo,
most sailed by Friday 26th March from the main base of
Puerto
Belgrano.
Distant support and cover
was provided
by Task Force 20,
... while
the landings took place from the ships of amphibious
Task Force 40.
Before being recalled to
join TF 40, frigates "Drummond" and "Granville"
had earlier left for South Georgia, while fleet
transport "Bahia Buen Suceso" had already returned to
Argentina from there.
Marine Corps or
Infantaria de Marina - The Navy also included a
6,000 strong Marine Corps or Infanteria de Marina
organised into two Fleet Marine forces, each with two
infantry battalions and supporting arms. It was from
these, that the assault commandos or Buzos Tactico and
the landing force of some 800 men of the 2nd Marine
Infantry Battalion were drawn. Another battalion was
later deployed near
Stanley.
Naval Aviation Command or
Comando Aviacion Naval Argentina (CANA) -
Included:
- four operational Super
Etendard strike fighters and their air-launched
version of Exocet,
- eight Skyhawk A-4Q attack
bombers,
- ten Aermacchi MB.339's and
- fifteen Mentor T-34C's in
the light attack role,
- Tracker anti-submarine
aircraft and Lynx, Alouette and Sea King helicopters.
Carrier "25 de Mayo" first
sailed with Skyhawks and Trackers embarked, but these
were later landed, and together with the
Super-Etendards, moved to southern airfields. Flying
from there, three of the Skyhawks were lost in combat,
and of the six MB.339's and four Mentors flown to
the Falklands and operated from Stanley or Pebble
Island, only one
MB.339 survived.
Argentine Coastguard
or Prefectura Naval Argentina (PNA) - Separate
from the Navy, the PNA operated its own aircraft and
over 40 patrol vessels. The one Puma helicopter, two
Skyvan light aircraft and two patrol craft transferred
to the Falklands were also lost.
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Argentine
Air Force Mirage |
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Argentine
Navy Super Etendard. The four operational
aircraft mounted a series of attacks on the
British Task force with Exocet missiles, sinking
destroyer "Sheffield" and aircraft/helicopter
support ship "Atlantic Conveyor" |
LAND FORCES
Army or Ejercito -
Although a professional army in South American terms, a
weakness in comparison with the British land forces was
the predominance of one year conscripts in the ranks.
Total strength was 60,000 including 20,000 regular
officers and NCO's. Organised in to five corps, the main
operational unit was the brigade of which there were
around two armoured, one mechanised, four infantry,
three mountain, one jungle and one airmobile, each
consisting of three battalions plus one artillery and
one engineer battalion. In addition there were five
anti-aircraft and one aviation battalions. The Army
(with the Marines) employed on the Falklands, Panhard
armoured cars, 105 and 155mm artillery, 20mm, 30mm and
35mm AA guns, and Roland, Tigercat and Blowpipe SAM's.
Occupation Forces - With the
islands secured by the Marines, a relatively small Army
garrison was air-lifted in to Stanley, but once the
British Task Force was on its way, army strength
built-up to over
10,000 troops. Of these, a reinforced brigade of 8,000
men from five regiments together with artillery, AA,
armoured car and engineer units stayed in the Stanley
area. Nearly 1,000 infantry with AA and some artillery
went to Goose Green, and over on West Falkland, Port
Howard and Fox Bay each received 800 men of an infantry
regiment plus engineer support. Many were killed or
wounded and the rest captured with all their surviving
equipment.
Army Aviation Command or
Comando de Aviacion del Ejercito - Equipped with
aircraft and a large variety of helicopters, many of
which were deployed to the Falklands and all lost - two
Chinook CH-47C's, five Puma SA.330L's, three Agusta
A-109A's and nine Iroquois UH-1H's.
AIR FORCE
Argentine Air Force or
Fuerza Aerea Argentina (FAA)
- According to
best estimates, the FAA started the war with:
- 45 Skyhawk A-4B and C
attack bombers,
- 37 Dagger and
- 17 Mirage fighter and
attack aircraft,
- ten Canberra light
bombers,
- more than 35
Argentine-designed and built Pucara close support
aircraft,
- nine Hercules C-130
transports and tankers,
- Learjets, Boeing 707's and
a number of other aircraft and helicopters.
Not all were
operational.
As soon as the assault forces
landed, the Hercules started a job they continued to the
very end; flying into Stanley the men and materiel vital
to the Argentine defence of the Falklands. Eventually
transferred to the islands were 24 Pucaras at Stanley,
Goose Green or Pebble Island, and two Bell 212 and two
Chinook helicopters. All but the Chinooks were lost. As
the British Task Force headed south, the FAA transferred
many of its aircraft to southern mainland bases and by
the time the war was over had lost 32 Daggers, Mirage
and Skyhawks, two Canberras, a Hercules, a Learjet and
one more Pucara.
Added to the Navy, Coast
Guard and Army casualties, Argentina lost a total of 100
aircraft and helicopters.