The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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Pelican
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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HMS Hermes passes HMS Victory on her return to Portsmouth from the Falklands conflict in 1982.
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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Please see attached.
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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HMS Invincible returning from the Falklands War after spending 166 days at sea continuously.
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emason
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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An extract from an interesting article in today's Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/0 ... gniter-rhr

The full story of the Falklands war Exocets deserves to be told

It would be good if accolades could be given to the scientists who worked to outwit the enemy and counteract our own lack of preparedness
Charles Moore
3 May 2022 • 6:00am
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Forty years ago tomorrow, HMS Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile in the South Atlantic. Twenty men died. She was the first Royal Navy ship lost since 1945. These were the first British losses in the Falklands war, coming hard on the heels of the sinking of the Argentine cruiser, the Belgrano. I was working in this paper’s offices when the news came through. I remember the shock, and the utter seriousness: emotions rare in a newsroom.

The French-made Exocets were Argentina’s deadliest weapon. Fired from Super Étendard strike fighters, they would drop to the lowest possible level and skim the sea to avoid detection. It was within their power to cripple the British Task Force before it had reached the Falklands.

Sadly, official secrecy has so far prevented the story of Britain’s response to the Exocet threat being told in full, though bits have come out. I have seen no more official documentation than anyone else, but there is clearly a good tale here. A couple of elements of the story follow.

One is British work with Chile. Margaret Thatcher, prime minister at the time, was much criticised for her lifelong loyalty to General Augusto Pinochet, the country’s dictator. But there was reason for it: through MI6 and others, Britain established a high level of trust with the Pinochet regime, which was hostile to Argentina. Chile possessed Exocets from the same stable as those sold to Argentina. It handed us the secrets about them that it found.

We also obtained information about Argentina’s desperate attempts to buy more of the missiles. This allowed us to block the trade.

Another aspect was our own expert work on the Exocets. Before hostilities, Britain, too, possessed some. Given President Francois Mitterrand’s declared support for Britain in the conflict, the British authorities asked the French about devices, colloquially known as “kill switches”, customarily inserted in the missiles’ seeker-heads. These are placed by manufacturers so that if the weapons, once sold, are ever used against the seller, they can be disabled. The French indicated that they did not include kill switches in their sales lest their presence deter customers.

At least one official, however, doubted the French account and wanted to inspect the seeker-heads of the British Exocets. Because normal defence contracts with foreign powers forbid such investigations, approval had to be sought from No 10.

It was, I understand, forthcoming. A seeker-head was taken apart. The official’s anxieties were confirmed. From what was found, it was possible to work out electronic counter measures (ECMs) that could re-programme the missile as it approached its target. (In one case, ECMs worked to tragic effect. The measures successfully distracted an Exocet attacking HMS Ambuscade, but this meant that it flew on beyond the target and locked on to the Atlantic Conveyor which, being a merchant navy ship, lacked protection. She was hit, with 12 men killed and the helicopters intended to carry troops across the islands destroyed.)

In addition, experts at the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE) worked out how to put up “chaff” to confuse the missile, including a decoy in the shape of a perfect “box” that could fool the Exocet that it, and not a British ship, was the right target. This was attached to the helicopters. One of the helicopter pilots volunteering was the nowadays much-derided Prince Andrew. The Sheffield had carried no active decoys. This lack was remedied for other ships.

As a result of the ASWE’s work, the Task Force gained much greater security than before. It also benefited from key information about how to face an imminent Exocet attack. In the few minutes’ notice before the missile hit, it was necessary to “roll” the ship so that it did not present itself broadside. In the case of HMS Glamorgan, hit by the only land-based Exocet fired, quick thinking by the navigator to execute such a roll prevented the destruction of the entire ship. Fourteen men died, which was bad enough, but a small proportion of the total crew of over 300.

The courage of sailors, soldiers and airmen in the Falklands is rightly celebrated. But it would be good if comparable accolades could be given to the ingenious scientists who worked so resourcefully to outwit the enemy and counteract our own lack of preparedness. Please, tell us more.
Best wishes
Bill
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Pelican
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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A comment from elsewhere:

"I have to say that it wouldn't take the stripping down of the target acquisition component of Exocet to identify any 're-acquisition' capability - it was a capability which was 'assumed' in many surface to surface missiles of that age.

The problem really lay in being aware of where the HVUs (High Value Units) are before deploying any mechanical ECM measures such as Chaff.

Sadly, this was an aspect of ASMD (Anti-Ship Missile Defence) which went largely unpracticed in the day. This is a lesson which as since been properly learnt as opposed to being a lesson identified - the latter is a huge pitfall and oft repeated unfortunately!"
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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Hunt is on for the ‘lost wreck’ of the Falklands as HMS Albion marks tragedy’s 40th anniversary

Royal Navy and Royal Marines amphibious experts and veterans of 1982 are making a determined effort to finally find the ‘lost wreck’ of the Falklands Campaign.
Through painstaking research, highly-accurate computer modelling, detailed understanding of weather and sea conditions, they hope to narrow down the search area based on where Landing Craft Foxtrot 4 was last sighted.

Six crewmen were killed when the vessel was bombed late on June 8 1982 – although the tragedy is often overshadowed by the attack on RFAs Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram earlier that same day, the biggest single loss of British lives in the conflict.

In the landing craft community her fate resonates to this day – underlined this week when the 40th anniversary of the tragedy was commemorated aboard amphibious flagship HMS Albion.

Her sailors and Royal Marines gathered on the flight deck for a service of thanksgiving as the ship returned to Plymouth following Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Edinburgh.

They were joined by Rear Admiral Jeremy Larken – in 1982 commanding officer of HMS Fearless, Albion’s predecessor and Foxtrot 4’s ‘mother ship’.

“The remembrance of Colour Sergeant Brian Johnston and his team should be forever with us as a vivid example of the risks we are invited to take in war and take gladly – and of the ultimate sacrifice that for some is taken,” Admiral Larken said.

“It has been a rich privilege to have been able to join with the ship’s company of Albion in paying homage on the 40th anniversary at the approximate hour when Foxtrot 4 was stricken.”

Colour Sergeant Johnston earned a posthumous Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his action in the rescuing of sailors from the stricken HMS Antelope earlier in the Falklands conflict, rescuing campaign over 100 sailors despite fires raging on the frigate – compounded by the threat of an unexploded bomb.

Attached Foxtrot 4 foreground left.

Continues, including photos at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... oT-bhFaqr0
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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Protecting the secrets of a wreck – diving on HMS Coventry

In this historical piece, former Royal Navy clearance diver Ray Sinclair reveals details of Operation Blackleg – the hazardous work to recover classified materials from the wreck of HMS Coventry sunk off the Falkland Islands in May 1982.

HMS Coventry was sunk in about 100 metres of water to the north of the Falklands Sound. Although the wreck was considered too deep for amateur diving, it could be accessible to professional divers. Fearing that the Soviet navy could attempt to access the site, it was considered necessary to mount an operation to recover classified cryptographic material left on board as soon as possible.
Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/protecting- ... -coventry/
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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FALKLANDS

Before heading home from the Falklands, Woodward’s last signal related: “As I haul my South Atlantic flag down, I reflect sadly on the brave lives lost, and the good ships gone, in the short time of our trial. I thank wholeheartedly each and every one of you for your gallant support, tough determination and fierce perseverance under bloody conditions. Let us all be grateful that Argentina doesn’t breed bulldogs and, as we return to enjoy the blessings of our land, resolve that those left behind for ever shall not be forgotten

It’s on page 343 of his book, One Hundred Days.
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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Aerial view of the aircraft carrier HMS HERMES about to berth alongside at Portsmouth Harbour on her return from the Falklands on 21 July 1982. HERMES is surrounded by small boats which sailed out to welcome her home.
Crowds can also be seen on the quayside.
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Re: The 'Second' Battle of the Falklands

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THE ATLANTIC CONVEYOR
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