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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