Summary
of British Ships & Aircraft Departing or on Passage
- Forces in Theatre
Royal Navy
All with Advanced
Group:
Antrim, Capt B G Young (awarded DSO) RN - Advanced Group
Arrow, Cmdr P J Bootherstone (DSC) RN
Brilliant, Capt J F Coward (DSO) RN
Coventry, Capt D Hart-Dyke MVO RN
Glamorgan, Capt M E Barrow (DSO) RN
Glasgow, Capt A P Hoddinott OBE RN
Plymouth, Capt D Pentreath (DSO) RN
Sheffield, Capt J F T G Salt RN
Nuclear Submarines:
Conqueror, Cmdr C L
Wreford-Brown (DSO) RN - from UK
Spartan, Cmdr J B Taylor (MID) RN - in Central Atlantic
Splendid?, Cmdr R C Lane-Nott (MID) RN - from UK
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Appleleaf, Capt G P A
McDougall RFA - from Gibraltar
Fort Austin, Comm S C Dunlop CBE (DSO) RFA - in Central
Atlantic
Sir Tristram, Capt G R Green (DSC) RFA - from Belize
Tidespring, Capt S Redmond (OBE) RFA - Advanced Group
Typhoon, Capt J N Morris RMAS and NP 1820 - from UK
Royal Air Force
VC.10's of 10 Sqdn RAF,
Wing Cmdr O G Bunn MBE RAF
Hercules of Lyneham Wing RAF
Helicopters
Disembarked at Gibraltar
- No.824 NAS, B Flt, 2 Sea King HAS.2A's
Falklands
area
British
Ice Patrol Vessel Endurance
Task Force
Departures - Quite fortuitously, warships of the
First Flotilla commanded by Rear
Admiral Woodward (pictured
below) were in the Gibraltar area for "Operation
Springtrain", and before the week was out, many were
heading south. But even before the question of a Task
Force arose, lone "Endurance" needed replenishment, so on
Monday, RFA "Fort Austin" under the command of the Fleet
Commodore sailed from
Gibraltar. She left
behind her two assigned Sea King's of No.824 NAS which
played an important part supplying other ships passing by.
Once the go ahead was given, next to leave on Thursday 1st
April and after loading live torpedoes at
Gibraltar was nuclear
submarine "Spartan" whose job was to help establish a
credible maritime exclusion zone.
Then on Friday an "Advanced Group"
of "Springtrain" ships started to head for
Ascension. Included with Admiral Woodward's flagship,
destroyer "Antrim" was sister ship "Glamorgan", Type 42's
"Coventry", "Glasgow" and "Sheffield", frigates "Arrow",
"Brilliant", "Plymouth", and RFA fleet tanker "Tidespring".
Previously on passage from Curacao to UK, RFA support tanker
"Appleleaf" also sailed from Gibraltar to refuel
Task Force ships on the way south. Two more nuclear
submarines followed "Spartan" to the South Atlantic, but
this time from Faslane
in Scotland. First to go
on Thursday was "Splendid" and within three weeks she was on
patrol off the Argentine coast to shadow carrier "25 de
Mayo".
On Sunday, "Conqueror" left,
later to sink the "General Belgrano". Also departing on
Sunday was the first of many support ships - RMAS ocean
tug "Typhoon" which sailed from
Portland for Ascension
before later heading on to South Georgia. Far to the west
of the "Advanced Group" as it started south, RFA landing
ship, logistic "Sir Tristram" sailed from
Belize in Central
America for Ascension as the first of the many ships that
later merged as the Amphibious Task Group.
The RAF also began
building the vital air-bridge to Ascension and beyond when
the first Hercules flew from
Lyneham to Gibraltar.
However beating them to the South Atlantic was a VC-10 of
10 Sqdn which left on Saturday for
Montevideo to pick
up Rex Hunt and the men of NP 8901. They arrived back
at Brize Norton
on Monday. By the end of the week, the first special
forces units were on their way south or about to leave.
Some SBS may have sailed with "Conqueror" from
Faslane, but most
appear to have flown direct to Ascension.
Rear Admiral J
F Woodward RN, Commander, Carrier Battle Group
(Courtesy - MOD, Navy)
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