Summary
of
British Ships & Aircraft Departing
Ships Departing
Royal
Fleet Auxiliary
Blue Rover, Capt D A
Reynolds RFA
Merchant
Ships
British Tamar, Capt D O
W Jones and NP 1730
British Trent, Capt P R Waller
Stena Seaspread, Capt M Williams and NP 1810, Capt P
Badcock (awarded CBE) RN
Yorkshireman, Capt P Rimmer and NP 1780
Aircraft Departing
Royal Air Force
Victors of 55 & 57
Sqdns RAF, shortly Wing Cmdr A W Bowman MBE RAF
Nimrod MR.2's of 120, 201 & 206 Sqdns RAF, Wing Cmdr D
Emmerson (AFC) RAF
Naval Air Squadron
Embarked
at
Ascension
No.845 C Flt - 2 Wessex
HU.5's, Tidespring
Task Force Departures from
Monday 12th April - The few ships leaving all headed
for Ascension. Tug "Yorkshireman" sailed from Portsmouth
on Tuesday, followed on
Friday by RFA small fleet tanker "Blue Rover" and off-shore
support vessel "Stena Seaspread" with a heavy machine shop
in her role as repair ship. More chartered
tankers
also sailed - "British Tamar" from Milford Haven and
"British Trent" after loading at Fawley, Isle of Grain and
Gosport.
Ascension -
With M Coy 42 Cdo and two No.845 Wessex now on board
"Tidespring", the South Georgia ships were
on their way by Monday. Two days later the "Advanced
Group" followed them south with the exception of
"Glamorgan" which returned north to transfer Admiral
Woodward to "Hermes" as Commander, Carrier Battle
Group. Reaching Ascension
on Friday, the carriers continued working up their air wings
as the CVBG helicopters and especially the No.846 Sea Kings
took part in a massive vertrep. Next day, they were followed
in by RFA "Resource", and ahead of the other amphibious
ships by "Fearless" to allow Brigadier Thompson and
Commodore Clapp to join Woodward on "Hermes" for a council
of war chaired by Admiral Fieldhouse (pictured below) who
had flown in from
Northwood with the other
commanders. The basic plan was (1) to blockade the Falklands
with the nuclear submarines, (2) re-capture South Georgia,
(3) establish air and sea control with the Advanced
and Carrier Battle Groups, (4) carry out a
landing from the Amphibious Group ships,
and then (5) retake the islands.
On their way south, Thompson,
Clapp and their staffs, including Major S E
Southby-Tailyour (awarded OBE) RM who as a previous
commander of NP 8901 and yachtsman had surveyed much of
the Falklands coast, had been planning how and where to
land. With so little intelligence on Argentine forces and
positions, a major task was to put ashore SBS and G Sqdn
SAS teams to gather this information. On Sunday 18th, the
Carrier Battle Group pressed on, leaving
"Fearless" and other arriving ships of the Amphibious
Group including LSL "Sir Tristram" to stay for
up to three weeks preparing for the coming landings. To
assist them, "Hermes" left behind four of her nine No.846
Sea Kings. Other arrivals over the next two days were nine
Victor tankers of 55 and 57 Sqdns whose first job was to
fly reconnaissance for the South Georgia Task Group.
South Atlantic and Falklands -
Back on Monday 12th, "Endurance" met "Fort Austin" to embark
D Sqdn SAS and replenish, and two days later joined up with
the South Georgia ships. Next day, and
only two days after arriving at Ascension, the first Nimrod
MR.2 of the
Kinloss Wing flew on to
drop secret orders to "Antrim". Meanwhile "Fort Austin"
headed back to Ascension transfering her Lynx to ships of
the "Advanced Group", whilst way off to
the south west, nuclear submarine "Spartan" had been on patrol
off Port Stanley since
Monday.
Argentine warships now
went to sea as TF 79 to prepare for
battle. Carrier "25 de Mayo" exercised her air group with
land-based aircraft, further south three frigates sortied,
and submarines "Salta" and "San Luis" probably started
patrols to the north of the Falklands around this time,
although reportedly "Salta" returned to port with
mechanical problems. Over the next two weeks the
Exocet-carrying, Super Etendards practiced attacks on
their own type 42 destroyers.
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Small
Fleet Tanker RFA Blue Rover
(Courtesy - MOD, Navy) |
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Admiral
Sir John Fieldhouse RN, Task force Commander
(Courtesy - MOD, Navy) |
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Disposition
of
British Ships, Aircraft & Land
Forces, including those departing
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UK
Departures
RFA
Blue
Rover, Tankers British Tamar,
British Trent
Tug Yorkshireman, Repair ship
Stena Seaspread
3
Commando Brigade Transport
Transports Canberra,
Elk
LSL's Sir Percivale, Sir
Lancelot, Sir Galahad, Sir
Geraint, Sir Tristram
RFA Pearleaf, Stromness, Fr
Antelope
3
Commando Brigade to Ascension
By air -
X and Y Coy, 45 Cdo RM, also M
Coy 42 Cdo, SBS, SAS
With Carrier Battle Group
(CVBG) - A Coy 40 Cdo on
Hermes, part of Z Coy 45 Cdo on
Resource
Rest of Brigade scattered
around Amphibious Task Group
ships:
- Brigade HQ on Fearless,
- B & C Coy 40 Cdo, K &
L Coy 42 Cdo and 3 Para on
Canberra,
- 45 Cdo RM (part) on RFA
Stromness,
- Brigade helicopters on
Fearless and four LSL's, light
tanks on Elk.
- (total strength approximately
5,500)
2 Para to
follow on Norland, with
equipment and AAC helicopters on
Europic Ferry.
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Ships
and Aircraft in Ascension Area
RAF Aircraft
Nimrod MR.2's of 120, 201 and
206 Sqdns,
Victors of 55 and 57 Sqdns,
Hercules, VC.10's
Ship Arriving
Assault ship Fearless
Support
Tanker in South Atlantic
RFA
Appleleaf
Carrier
Battle
Group
CV Hermes, Invincible
DD Glamorgan, Fr Alacrity,
Broadsword, Yarmouth
RFA Olmeda, Resource
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Advanced
Group
DD Coventry, Glasgow,
Sheffield, Fr Arrow, Brilliant
South
Georgia
Task Group
DD Antrim, Fr Plymouth, RFA
Tidespring
M Coy 42 Cdo, SBS, D Sqdn SAS
joined by Ice Patrol Vessel Endurance
Returning
to
Ascension
RFA Fort Austin
In
South Atlantic
RFA Brambleleaf
In
Falklands & South Georgia Area
(MEZ in force from Monday
12th April)
SSN's Splendid, Spartan, Conqueror
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