Government House announces the Falklands will be mine free by December 2020. Government House on Twitter
This is a decent (and decent length) article on the air war during the Falklands. Worth your time not because it contains any revelations, but simply as it's well told. Air War in the Falklands | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine
I think the Argentines' FN rifles were full auto capable and the British ones were not. Not sure though. Any instances of the Brits swapping over to the full auto ones as opportunities arose?
Just a quick plug: this Twitter account has just begun a daily recap of the Falklands War (declared 2 April). I thought some of you might be interesting in following along: Falklands82 on Twitter
I know the Veinticinco de Mayo stayed in port during most of the war but I keep thinking Argentina had another carrier that was in Scotland for repairs when the war started but I can't find any info that anything like that ever existed. Anyone know of a carrier that was any way connected to the Falklands war that I might be thinking of?
Wiki shows they did have two carriers, but the other one was scrapped in 1971. See: List of ships of the Argentine Navy - Wikipedia Mark Felton in this 2020 video refers to one carrier: That might account for your post as in the comments some refer to two, but are corrected that one had been scrapped.
Right, thanks. I did know about the ARA Independencia but I remember seeing a picture of a carrier in a shipyard in Scotland during the war. It seems I must have been wrong about it being Argentine but do you remember what ship it might have been?
I am reasonably sure there was no British carrier in a shipyard, either at Rosyth or on the Clyde. By 1982 the only other European navy with a carrier was the French; given the Free French navy link to the Clyde it is possible there was a visit, either by the Clemenceau or the Foch. Personally I doubt it. There are some strange tales that came out of the Falklands War.
One of which was that Triumph, then a retired repair ship but still having a flight deck, was surveyed with a view to recommissioning as a Harrier Carrier but this was too expensive/impractical and so she went to the breakers.
Can’t have been Triumph either. Having been in reserve at Chatham since 1972 she was sold for scrap in 1981 and was towed to Spain in Dec that year. Anyway, as a repair ship there were a number of permanent structures built on her flight deck. Bulwark was surveyed at the start of the war. Even though she had only decommissioned in March 1981 it was found that her machinery was in a poor state and fire damage suffered in 1980 had not been fully repaired. So the navy passed on her. Steps were begun to bring Tiger and Blake back into service. The plan was to use them as “lily pads” for Sea Harrier ops to either extend the CAP range or to allow them to transit by air from Ascension to the Task Group. I’ve read of both as possibilities. Plans were dropped after the sinking of the Belgrano.
Just had a thought (dangerous I know!). NATO exercises continued as normal with the annual Reforger series in Aug/Sept. One element was MarineCorps landings in Denmark. So it’s probable that at least one Iwo Jima or Tarawa class helicopter carrier was present and maybe stopped off in Scotland at some point.
I'm just reading this two-part in-depth interview with Sharkey Ward, who has a new book out. There's a more recent one (linked at the end) that led me to them, but that's a bit shallow in comparison. Interview with Commander ‘Sharkey’ Ward, Part 1: Sea Harrier FRS Mk 1 & Air combat How the Sea Harrier clipped the F-15 Eagle’s wings: Interview with Commander ‘Sharkey’ Ward (part 2) From the new one: It is worthy of note that all air to air kills by British forces since 1948 have been achieved by naval aircraft... Which is not a fact that I was aware of--and is indeed worthy of note. Full Article: Myths & mistakes of the Falklands War: We ask Commander ‘Sharkey’ Ward New Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Majest...d=1&keywords=nigel+ward&qid=1603068162&sr=8-1
Falkland islanders celebrate being landmine free - after nearly 40 years Blimey brings into perspective the ordnance still in situ around our globe and probably will always be Falkland islanders celebrate being landmine free - after nearly 40 years
Podcasts... 207. Harrier "In this rare foray away from the Second World War Al Murray and James Holland are joined by aviation writer Rowland White to discuss the role of the Harrier 809 in the Falklands War." 216. Falklands "Part two of our conversation with aviation writer Roland White, as he explains the challenges of flying off carriers in the South Atlantic. Roland tells Al Murray and James Holland about the role played by birds around the islands and he describes the difficult relationship between the RAF and the Navy."
The Falklands Play is available on IPlayer currently and for the next 26 days. I watched it the other night and thought it was well acted. BBC iPlayer - The Falklands Play
Argentina during World War II - Wikipedia Has a reference to... Falklands: the Argentine military planned invasion during World War II