It's the bitter truth: We couldn't send a task force to the Falklands today

The Daily Mail ^ | 19th February 2010 | Captain Michael Clapp

[sukhoi-30mki]

It's the bitter truth: We couldn't send a task force to the Falklands today

By Captain Michael Clapp

19th February 2010

We approached the Falklands in almost perfect conditions. The thick fog hid us from the prowling Argentine bombers. Unfortunately, our luck didn't last.

The following morning, the clouds lifted, the sun came out - and we became sitting ducks.

As Commander of the Amphibious Task Group, I had 5,000 troops and huge quantities of arms, ammunition and supplies to disembark in San Carlos Bay, an area that soon became known as 'Bomb Alley'.

It didn't take long for the first Argentine jets to arrive. Hidden by the high ground until the very last minute, they screamed overhead, dropping their bombs on anything they saw.

Thank goodness our two aircraft carriers, HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible, were stationed well offshore, near enough for their Sea Harrier fighters to give our Argentine attackers something else to think about, but far enough away to be largely out of danger. For make no mistake, had one of our carriers been sunk, we would have lost the war.

Many other ships, however, couldn't be kept out of harm's way. We lost ships in San Carlos Bay: the frigates Ardent and Antelope - the latter to a heroically brave but unsuccessful attempt to defuse an unexploded bomb. No one can forget the later attack on the Sir Galahad, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing vessel on which so many brave Welsh Guards lost their lives in an appalling inferno.

Those losses stay with me now. But those men died doing what they were trained to do and in the execution of one of the most ambitious and daring sea-borne invasions in British naval history.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Out to pasture: The Sea Harriers that proved so valuable in the Falklands have since been retired

[sukhoi-30mki]

Diminished: The UK's defence capabilities are much less now than in the Eighties when it fought and won in the Falklands

[Vanders9]

Well, they are obsolete - or at least assumed to be obsolete. Personally I think even as they are they are still very good.

[stevie_d_64]

Funny thing I remember about that war...

The US Navy took the hard lessons about damage control from the failures in the UK Navy, very seriously after that...

It proved that all the bells and whistles you have in combat systems still has to be backed up by excellent damage control procedures in the worst case senario...

Not sure if it is still true today, but I heard that most British ships employed civilian support personnel to do non-combat related support jobs on their ships, and were not required to do anything but that, so that the combat “ratings” could concentrate on doing just that “combat”...

Just something else that I recall that interested me about the UK Navy...

And at the time onf the Faukland war, most British sailors receive only rudimentary damage control training...

That has changed obviously since then...

As for them being able to sail a formidable force into a situation...I still believe they could do so, and have good control over that area, unsupported by us or anyone else...

But I seriously doubt we would let them go it alone anymore...Sub-tlty is the best policies...;-)

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"I can't believe the modern US would stand aside in the UN etc in the event of an aggressive war by a state in its 'backyard'."

The above is from the comments section of the article. Yes, the U.S. would help out diplomatically, politically but not militarily other than possibly satalitte and intel. However, the British Falklands is not worth any American blood IMO.

In some ways, the end of the cold war was bad for Europe. Western European countries stopped spending on defense and started plowing that money into their socialist utopia. That was your decision Great Britian, now you're going to have to live with it's consequences.

These same people that are expecting we will come and rescue them in the Falklands are IMO probably the same ones that rail against us and don't want to help (not just us, but Western Europe who is being overrun by Islamo Fascists) in Afghanistan or Iraq.

[Chode]

Ungland...

[Vermont Lt]

The Brits would have had to share the oil had they let anyone else in. And, as the battle waged, I graduated from college. I am thankful that we were not involved. It is really cold in that part of the ocean in May.

[bert]

......It proved that all the bells and whistles you have in combat systems still has to be backed up by excellent damage control procedures in the worst case senario.......

The pretty much total absence of damage control ability lost the Battle of Midway for the Japanese. for a lengthy review and revision to the erronous settled history, read Shattered Sword The untold story of the battle of Midway

http://shatteredswordbook.com/

[Travis McGee]

I was involved in the Falklands War indirectly on the margins. My frogman det was part of Operation Alloy Express 82 in northern Norway. The British Royal Marines were conducting major "cold-wet" amphibious operations along with the USMC.

When the fleets sailed home, the Falklands trouble was brewing. The British fleet sailed into Portsmouth and other bases in the UK, reprovisioned, and sailed straight to the Falklands. The ships were completely loaded for "cold-wet" amphibious ops, and the men were freshly trained. It was just serendipity, but it was a great break for the Brits that they saved WEEKS of getting ready, and had just trained in the very ops they would put to use.

Now it's all gone.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The pretty much total absence of damage control ability lost the Battle of Midway for the Japanese."

You got that right, on the U.S. side we did such a good job with damage control on the Yorktown. The Japanese thought they sunk it at the battle of Corral Sea. We get it back to Pearl and got it underway in time for the Battle of Midway. At Midway, the Japanese hit it again and it was on fire. They thought they sunk it again. We put it out the fires and got it operational and underway so well that the Japanese planes thought it was a different ship on another pass and attacked it again eventually sinking it. They never dreamed that anyone could get a ship repaired and underway like we did after Corral Sea and at Midway.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Now it's all gone."

Perhaps this Argentinian saber rattling is the best thing that could happen to the Brits. It might give them the political will to finish these two new aircraft carriers and build their fleet and Royal Marines back up to respectability. Historically, they've never had a huge army, but they have always had a powerful Navy. It's a shame how they have let a once great naval armada deteriorate.

[Travis McGee]

I doubt that “Great” (sic) Britain any longer has the will or the purse to fight for the Falklands.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"I doubt that “Great” (sic) Britain any longer has the will or the purse to fight for the Falklands."

You may be right, although the difference now is that they have a much larger force on the island to defend it. My fear is that there will be some sort of hue and cry for America to help them out. A British owned island in the South Atlantic has nothing to do with American national interests.

I do find it hard to believe that two democracies would actually go to war with each other. The only other time I can think of this happening is when Britian declared war on Finland in WWII although I don't think they ever actually fought against each other. In 1982, Argentina was ruled by a Military Junta..

[Travis McGee]

The last time the Argies invaded the Falklands, the military junta was trying to deflect attention from the end of the Dirty War and a collapsing economy.

I don’t think the Kirchners are going to try that again. It meant the end of the Generals last time. Completely backfired from their intentions.

[Moltke]

It might give them the political will to finish these two new aircraft carriers and build their fleet and Royal Marines back up to respectability.

My feeling is that they're spending waaay too much on keeping the islamic hordes in Britain entertained - nothing left over for defense. No defense within, no defense without. GB = Good Bye.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

It’s a shame to see a great country being whittled away like that. My fear is that we’re next on the docket....

[skepsel]

The Cold War was the biggest reason for active American assistance to the UK in the Falklands War (such as satellite intel sharing and resupplies of Sidewinders and aviation fuel).

The BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) as it was titled and the position of the UK as an unsinkable aircraft carrier guaranteed the US effort, the UK was a valuable and loyal ally then. UK armed forces were of high quality and had real teeth.

I trained with them once or twice, they had a serious attitude about business. A buddy got butt stroked when he stood up in his hole, pointed a .45 and said “Bang yer dead!”, during an ambush/patrol training exercise once!

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"I trained with them once or twice, they had a serious attitude about business."

I trained a couple times with their Ghurka allies. They were tough little dudes. I think Britian could send them to the Falklands and they could take care of any problems that could arise.

One curious aspect of the war was that a lot of damage done to the Brits by the Argentinians came from Exocet missles, sold by the Brits to the Argentinians.

[Carry_Okie]

One curious aspect of the war was that a lot of damage done to the Brits by the Argentinians came from Exocet missles, sold by the Brits to the Argentinians.

The Exocet missile is French.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The Exocet missile is French."

I know that I read somewhere previously that the Brits sold them those missles.