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The Falklands Conflict: The Sinking of The ARA General Belgrano
The listing ARA General Belgrano
Former WO1(GSM) Peter Padley MBE
December 02, 2009
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS
• 2nd May 1982: Sinking of ARA General Belgrano
The Argentine Navy Cruiser ARA General Belgrano, accompanied by two Exocet Guided Missile Destroyers, was patrolling to the south of the Birdwood Bank, on the southern edge of the Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ), a zone imposed on 26th April 1982 by the British Government with a warning given that any Argentine aircraft or ship found in the zone was liable to attack by British Armed Forces.
Shadowed by the British Nuclear Submarine, HMS Conqueror, it was considered that the ARA General Belgrano, in conjunction with the Argentine Aircraft Carrier ARA Veinticinco De Mayo (Twenty Fifth of May) and other vessels, constituted a threat to the Task Force. The decision to attack the General Belgrano was taken and at 1600hrs HMS Conqueror launched 3 conventional Mk 8 torpedoes against the cruiser. The General Belgrano eventually sunk with the loss of 323 lives.
The Sun’s (in)famous Headline after the Belgrano sinking
With the sinking of the Belgrano the Argentine Navy returned to port or remained in Argentine coastal waters where they posed no direct threat to the task force for the duration of the Falklands Conflict.
• 4th May 1982: HMS Sheffield Attacked by Exocet Missiles
Deployed forward of the task force with the responsibility of providing long range radar and missile defence for the Task Force HMS Sheffield was located by an Argentine Lockheed Neptune Maritime Patrol aircraft at approximately 0800hrs on 4th May.
Super Etendard Strike Fighters were launched against the ship from the Argentine airfield at Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego. The Strike Fighters missiles were released at a height of 100 feet in excess of 20 miles from Sheffield but her outmoded radar failed to detect neither aircraft nor missile until approximately 5 seconds from impact giving no time for evasive action. The missile hit just above the waterline ripping through Sheffield’s electricity generating system and water main thus preventing the ‘on board’ wetting systems from operating and allowing fire to take hold and eventually destroy the ship. The second missile launched against Sheffield ‘splashed’ into the sea just short of the vessel.
The attack led to the deaths of 20 members of crew with a further 24 seriously injured. HMS Sheffield was taken in tow by HMS Yarmouth but eventually sank on 10th May 1982.
• 14th/15th May 1982: The SAS Raid on Pebble Island
After invading the Falkland Islands the Argentines located Pucara Counter Insurgency Aircraft on Pebble Island airstrip. The Pucara, a potent ground attack aircraft capable of being fitted with a wide array of weapons, posed a major threat to the approaching Task Force and was considered an ideal target for a classic Special Forces (SF) raid.
A recon team landed on 10th May passing back information on the objective to the main SF Force on board HMS Hermes. The main force of some 50 members of D Sqn 22 SAS landed on Pebble Island on the night of 14th May and moved onto the airstrip deploying ‘cut off’ and ‘cover’ groups en route. As naval gunfire support from HMS Glamorgan was called in by NGFO’s of 148 Cdo FOB RA onto fuel and ammunition dumps the SAS moved in placed explosive charges on the Argentine aircraft. With aircraft, radar installations and fuel and ammo dumps ablaze the SAS withdrew to the extraction point with only slight resistance from the Argentine force on the airstrip.
The raid cost the Argentine’s 6 Pucara, 4 Mentor and a Skyvan aircraft. Only 2 members of the SAS were slightly injured – one when an explosive charge detonated early.
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More:
The Falklands Conflict Part 5 – Battles of Goose Green & Stanley
The Argentine Surrender: Battle for the Falklands – The Final Part
