Posted on 02/19/2010 2:38:49 AM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Oh I dont blame you for trying! Not at all! :)
I hope you’re right about British public opinion vis a vis the war on Islamo Fascism.
I hope I am too.
“The force level increase of 500 represents between 10 and 15% increase in terms of the boots on the ground patrolling in Helmand.”
I don’t know how anyone can say that statement is ambigious with a straight face.
Perhaps you think the troops stay in safely tucked up in bed while their footwear does the hard work.
Blowing smoke I am afraid. As Stolly said, unlike the Gulf War and subsequent wars, Territorial Army and Reserves werent called up. In fact some first rate regular infantry units didnt go, such as the Green Howards who were light infantry suited to fighting in the Falklands.
Also in 1982, Enfields werent being used even for training. Even if they had been, and we had sent reserves, the armouries would have been denuded of FLN’s, Sterling 9MM’s....
Possible.
In 1982, even the SAS/SBS wouldnt be overly au fait with Stingers, at least not in a war. They’d have been more au fait with say the Milan anti-tank weapon.
Do you have anything on the aircraft loss ratio, Argies vs. Brits in the '82 war?
I remember sitting next to my dad, who has since passed on, watching television reports of the fighting. Dad was aghast at how idiotic Argentine was for directly challenging the RAF, shouting something to the effect of: "X Almighty, don't they teach history in Argentina?"
ARGENTINE LOSSES:
Casualties and aircraft losses
Human losses:
6 Army aviation
4 Naval aviation
55 Argentine Air Force members (28)
29 pilots
12 air crew (6 on C-130H shot down June 1, 4 on Learjet LJ-35A shot down June 7 and 2 Canberra navigators)
14 Ground crew
Aircraft Lost in the Air: no suffix: Air Force
Argentine strike aircraft did not carry air-to-air missiles, with the exception of 8th Air Brigade Mirage IIIEA fighters and 6th Air Brigade Daggers on May 1. All retained a secondary armament of either 20 mm or 30 mm cannon.
11 IAI Dagger A 9 by Sea Harrier[29] , 1 Sea Wolf HMS Broadsword[30], 1SAM Rapier [31]
10 A-4B Skyhawk 3[32] by Sea Harrier, 3[33] Sea Wolf HMS Brilliant, 1[34] Sea Dart, 1[35] AAA HMS Fearless, 1[36] 20mm cannon Fire from HMS Antelope and 1[37] friendly fire
7 A-4C Skyhawk 2[38] by Sea Harrier, 3[39] Sea Dart, 1[40] Sea Cat from HMS Yarmouth, 1[41] combination Sea Cat/Rapier/Blowpipe/
3 FMA IA 58 Pucará 1[42] by Sea Harrier, 1 SAM Stinger, 1 small arms fire 2nd PARA
3 A-4Q Skyhawk Navy 3[43] by Sea Harrier. (3rd damaged by 30 mm cannon fire, attempted to land at Port Stanley but the undercarriage was inoperative and the pilot elected to eject.)
2 Mirage IIIEA 1[44] by Sea Harrier, 1[45] friendly fire
2 B.Mk62 Canberra 1[46] by Sea Harrier, 1[47] Sea Dart
1 C-130E Hercules 1[48] by Sea Harrier
1 Aermacchi MB.339A Navy 1[49] by Blowpipe
1 Learjet 35A 1[50] by SAM Sea Dart
3 Puma SA330L Army 1 gun fire, 1 by SAM Sea Dart, 1 FIM-92 Stinger.[51]
1 Puma SA330L Army Royal Marines gun fire in South Georgia, April 3
Destroyed on the ground
9 FMA IA 58 Pucará
1 Agusta A109 Army
1 Boeing Ch-47C Chinook Army
2 Aérospatiale Puma SA330L Army
4 Beechcraft T-34 Mentor Navy
2 Skyvan 3-M Coast Guard
2 Bell UH-1H Iroquois Army [52]
Captured after the war
11 FMA IA 58 Pucará
2 Agusta A109 Army
7 Bell UH-1H Iroquois Army
1 Boeing CH-47C Chinook Army
1 Aérospatiale Puma SA330L Coast Guard
3 Aermacchi MB.339A Navy
2 Bell 212
Lost with ARA General Belgrano
1 Aérospatiale Alouette AI03 Navy
Flying accident in the war zone
1[53] Westland Lynx HAS.Mk.23 Navy — 2 May, hit ARA Santísima Trinidad
2 FMA IA 58 Pucará — 28 May[54], hit ground, recovered in 1986, 24 May[55][56].
1 Aermacchi MB.339A Navy — 3 May, bad weather crash
2[57] McDonnell Douglas A-4C Skyhawk — 9 May, South Jason Island
Total
75 fixed wing aircraft and 25 helicopters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_air_forces_in_the_Falklands_War
BRITISH LOSSES:
Casualties and aircraft losses
Human losses:
2 Army Air Corps[9]
4 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines
17 Fleet Air Arm
Passengers
1 Royal Air Force[10]
18 Special Air Service (Army)[10]
3 Royal Corps of Signals (Army)[9][10]
Aircraft Lost in the Air:, no suffix: Fleet Air Arm
2 Sea Harrier FRS.1 (hit by ground fire during 4 May attack on Goose Green and by Roland missile during 1 June attack on Port Stanley)[11]
3 Westland Gazelle AH.1 Army and Royal Marines[9][12]
3 Harrier GR.3 RAF (hit by ground fire attacking Port Stanley on 21 May, 27 May, and 30 May)[11]
1 Scout AH.1 Royal Marines (shot down by Pucara at Goose Green on 28 May)[11]
Flying accidents in the war zone
2 Westland Wessex HU.5 (crashed on in bad weather on Fortune Glacier 22 April)[11]
2 Westland Sea King HC.4[10] (1 lost operational accident 23 April)[11]
4 Sea Harrier FRS.1 (two 801 Sqn CAP collided over the task force on 6 May - one 800 Sqn crashed during takeoff from Hermes on 24 May - one 801 Sqn slid off deck in bad weather on 29 May)[11]
2 Westland Sea King HAS.5 (ditched on 12 May & 17 May)[11]
1 Harrier GR.3 RAF (landing accident on 8 June)[11]
Lost onboard a ship
3 Westland Lynx HAS.2 (aboard Ardent on 21 May and aboard Coventry and Atlantic Conveyor on 25 May)[11]
3 Chinook HC.1 RAF[13]
6 Westland Wessex HU.5[13]
1 Westland Wessex HAS.3 (when Glamorgan hit by Exocet on 12 June)[11]
Self-destruct in Chile
1 Westland Sea King HC.4 (on 20 May)[11]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_air_services_in_the_Falklands_War
Much obliged.
If my memory serves me, the Sea Harrier pilots shot down 21 aircraft, at a cost of zero Sea Harriers shot down in air combat.
The Sea Harrier was a totally unknown quantity at the time and i remember it being much maligned for being subsonic. Turned out that didn’t matter even against Mach 2 capable Mirage fighters. Interesting lesson really.
Harrier held the advantage at lower altitudes, which Argie planes were forced to come down to in order to attack the ships....
Exactly, the lesson was that paper capability often means little when faced with reality
Plus they were operating at the edge of their range which meant they couldn’t use high power settings for long periods and still make it back.
No way, not at all. WE have NO amred forces as of right now.
We are in a much worse shape than during the last war.
Our armed forces have been dismanteled, blamed for everything that was ever wrong in the country, and publicly humiliated by the Ks, time and again. Who’s going to fight that war?
Cristina K scaring the brit troops with her face full of botox?
Well... that might kill more than a few you know...
FerFAL
That makes sense.
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