Operation Corporate
147-446: The Mobile Meteorological Unit (MMU) provides meteorological and environmental support to deployed elements of the UK’s joint forces, in order to enhance the effectiveness of national or combined contingency operations. Principally but not exclusively aviation at target, base and the route in between. The unit was established in 1962 to support military exercises. It saw action in 1982 during
294-509: A shuttle diplomacy mission from President Ronald Reagan to broker a peace deal based on an interim authority taking control of the islands pending negotiations. After hearing from Thatcher that the task force would not be withdrawn unless the Argentines evacuated their troops, Haig headed for Buenos Aires. There he met the junta and Nicanor Costa Méndez , the foreign minister. Haig was treated coolly and told that Argentine sovereignty must be
441-417: A British documentary (Falklands Combat Medics, Richard Hawley, History Channel, 2012), "Doctor Rick asked me if I wanted to work with them. I thought it was a good idea because somebody injured has no nationality. I mean, after being introduced we worked as a team, on good terms". 45 Commando liberated Douglas Settlement and 3 PARA liberated Teal Inlet before then end of May. Rodney Hutchings again: May 28
588-466: A Port Stanley resident, describes a typical incident involving two conscripts that had broken into his property: One morning I found that the ducks had gone. I automatically thought they had been stolen in the night, during the curfew. Children being children, Jane and Ralph said they were going to have a look. Jane came back racing and said, 'Come quick, Dad. They're still there.' I went and found two very young, very wet Argentinian soldiers hiding behind
735-516: A Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber from Ascension Island attacked the airbase at Port Stanley before dawn. Royal Navy Sea Harriers attacked Port Stanley and Goose Green airbases at dawn. The bombing led to the Argentines authorities and local civilians organising civil defence in the Falklands capital and several robust houses were designated Defensa Aerea Pasiva (Air Raid Shelters). During the occupation, 114 inhabitants of Goose Green were imprisoned in
882-524: A Señor Caballero, who was a very senior, very efficient man, a man of very high quality; in other circumstances, we would have found it very easy to work with each other. The Argentinians ran the Argentinian mail and my staff continued to run the civil mail. Most mail from Britain stopped and most Falklanders wrote fewer letters, assuming that the Argentinians were stopping the mail but, as far as I know, there
1029-476: A big meal, with bread and cakes, and bring it down to the hall. Considering we were all cramped together in a small place everybody got on very well. People were generally good-natured. On 4 May the British destroyer HMS Sheffield was hit by air-launched Exocet missile south-east of Falklands and a Sea Harrier was shot down over Goose Green. Eric Goss remembers the shocking news that day and having to intervene to save
1176-488: A bin illustration with Ron Buckett the head of transport, soon drawing over a poster a dimunitive local with customary woollen hat and wellington boots with a stump of a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, kicking an Argentine soldier towards a Royal Marine who in turn kicks the soldier into the bin. Buckett would make several photocopies of the altered poster and have them placed all over the Falklands capital. Doctor Alison Bleaney, with her husband Michael as works manager for
1323-478: A bollicking. He told me I would not be troubled by those particular two again. He also said he would keep the ducks as evidence and would return them tomorrow - but tomorrow never came. Susan Betts from Pebble Island Settlement recalls the plight of the conscripts and life under armed guard while confined with the rest of the local civilians in the farm manager's house following the Special Air Service raid in
1470-514: A civilian and I refused to do it again, only to help out of uniform with that type of problem. They didn't like that answer and threatened me, Monsignor Spraggon sorted that out: I have a lot to thank Monsignor for. Major Roberto Eduardo Berazay, the officer commanding the 181st Military Police Company, would claim that his unit would win the trust of the Port Stanley residents fleeing to the countryside: "In order to prevent break-in-and-enter crimes,
1617-616: A common topic for discussion. Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid , at which the two governments issued a joint statement. No change in either country's position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit. In 1994, Argentina adopted a new constitution , which declared the Falkland Islands as part of one of its provinces by law. However,
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#17330847174231764-583: A crisis meeting headed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff , Admiral Sir Henry Leach , advised that "Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded". On 1 April, Leach sent orders to a Royal Navy force carrying out exercises in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south. Following the invasion on 2 April, after an emergency meeting of
1911-545: A local from potential harm: On the same day, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson made up a radio from broken sets found under the floorboards, we listened to the World Service. We knew about the loss of Sea Harriers, but the sinking of HMS Sheffield came as a shock. Brian Hewitt was tasked to gather mutton sheep on a motorbike and he had a frightening experience in Goat Rincon. The FAA were ignorant of him having permission to be out of
2058-464: A mixture of surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems (Franco-German Roland and British Tigercat ) and light anti-aircraft guns, including Swiss-built Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannons and 30 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon and German Rheinmetall 20 mm twin anti-aircraft cannons . More of the anti-aircraft guns were deployed to the airstrip at Goose Green. Lockheed Hercules transport night flights brought supplies, weapons, vehicles, and fuel, and airlifted out
2205-745: A naval bombardment demonstration by two Royal Navy vessels ( Antrim and Plymouth ), the Argentine forces, a total of 190 men, surrendered without resistance to the Royal Marines. The message sent from the naval force at South Georgia to London was, "Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God Save the Queen." The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, broke
2352-469: A new UK Minister of State for Foreign Affairs , Nicholas Ridley , went to the Falklands trying to sell the islanders the benefits of a leaseback scheme, which met with strong opposition from the islanders. On his return to London in December 1980, he reported to parliament but was viciously attacked at what was seen as a sellout. (It was unlikely that leaseback idea would have progressed further anyway since
2499-412: A pre-condition of any talks. Returning to London on 11 April, he found the British cabinet in no mood for compromise. Haig flew back to Washington before returning to Buenos Aires for a final protracted round of talks. These made little progress, but just as Haig and his mission were leaving, they were told that Galtieri would meet them at the airport VIP lounge to make an important concession; however, this
2646-621: A serious threat, and she was escorted by two modern Type 42 guided-missile destroyers , armed with Exocet missiles. On 1 May, the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror (one of three patrolling the TEZ) located the Belgrano group and followed it until the following day, when it was about 12 hours away from the Task Force and just outside the Total Exclusion Zone. Admiral Woodward
2793-515: A signal to the Argentines that the UK was unwilling, and would soon be unable, to defend its territories and subjects in the Falklands. On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario, on the Falkland Islands. The invasion was met with a fierce but brief defence organised by the Falkland Islands' Governor Sir Rex Hunt , giving command to Major Mike Norman of
2940-416: A submarine alert was sounded and operations were halted, with Tidespring being withdrawn to deeper water to avoid interception. On 24 April, British forces regrouped and headed in to attack. On 25 April, after resupplying the Argentine garrison in South Georgia, the submarine ARA Santa Fe was spotted on the surface by a Westland Wessex HAS Mk 3 helicopter from HMS Antrim , which attacked
3087-588: A wanton act basically. And I think if I remember rightly there were 30 odd houses that happened to in Stanley ... And we made a big long list of the things that were stolen ... and we made another long list of things that we would like and then another long list of things we thought 'Why not, go for it' And we took this list down and the originals of that list are in the museum in Stanley ... We went down and said 'What are you going to do about this? My then father in law Ricky came with us, he could speak quite good Spanish so he
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#17330847174233234-574: Is taken from the former No. 520 Squadron , which was a meteorological flight in Gibraltar during the Second World War . The Mobile Meteorological Unit is a Sponsored Reserve Unit of the Royal Air Force . It is an Air Combat Service Support Unit (ACSSU) and comprises meteorologists and engineers who normally work for the civilian Met Office but when required can be actively deployed as part of
3381-484: The Argentine flag at South Georgia Island , an act that would later be seen as the first offensive action in the war. The Royal Navy ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was dispatched from Stanley to South Georgia on the 25th in response. The Argentine military junta, suspecting that the UK would reinforce its South Atlantic Forces, ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands to be brought forward to 2 April. The UK
3528-524: The Argentine military junta , they had been governed by the United Kingdom since it re-established control over them in 1833 . The invasion and subsequent occupation signalled the start of the Falklands War , which resulted in the islands' returning to British control on 14 June 1982. The Falkland Islands ( Spanish : Islas Malvinas ) had been under British administration since January 1833, when
3675-573: The Argentine occupation of Southern Thule , secretly sent a force of two frigates and a nuclear-powered submarine , HMS Dreadnought , to the South Atlantic, codenamed Operation Journeyman . It is unclear whether the Argentines were aware of their presence, but British sources state that they were advised of it through informal channels. Nevertheless, talks with Argentina on Falklands sovereignty and economic cooperation opened in December of that year, though they proved inconclusive. In 1980,
3822-795: The Battle of Goose Green , a number of houses were hit by small-arms fire or shrapnel. In the documentary The Islanders War (Mike Ford, 2007) Andrea Clausen recalls as a child having to hide under floorboards in the social hall during the terrifying softening-up bombardment on the part of the Royal Navy that took place during nine nights in a row. Argentine air force medical officer, First Lieutenant Fernando Miranda-Abós would be invited to join Surgeon-Commander Rick Jolly's “red and green life machine” medical hospital at San Carlos and would help save several Argentine and British lives with him recalling in
3969-567: The Falkland Islands pound and stamps were overfranked with an "Islas Malvinas" postmark and an Argentine postcode , 9409. Bill Etheridge was the Postmaster and continued to operate with his staff under the supervision of Everto Hugo Caballero of the La Empresa Nacional de Correos y Telégrafos (ENCOTEL, National Post Office & Telecommunications Company). The Postmaster recalls: They moved their own postal people in – three of them, under
4116-466: The Falklands War when it set up a weather forecasting station on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. It later relocated to RAF Stanley in the Falkland Islands and remained there until 1985, when civilian forecasters took over at RAF Mount Pleasant . During the late 1990s it became apparent that the capacity of the MMU was becoming over-stretched as demands for the unit's services increased. To address
4263-603: The Foreign Office were removed from the islands by the Argentine forces and sent to Montevideo , Uruguay . Argentine troops took over control of the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Studio when Patrick Watts was live on air. Rodney Hutchings, a former school-teacher from Britain that had only recently settled in Teal Inlet with his wife and son, recalls the sudden influx of Stanley residents seeking refuge in
4410-617: The Official History of the Falklands Campaign that she did not ignore opposition or fail to consult others. However, once a decision was reached, she "did not look back". On 31 March 1982, the Argentine ambassador to the UN, Eduardo Roca , began attempting to garner support against a British military build-up designed to thwart earlier UN resolutions calling for both countries to resolve the Falklands dispute through discussion. On 2 April,
4557-504: The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Austin south from the Mediterranean to support HMS Endurance , and the nuclear-powered fleet submarine HMS Spartan from Gibraltar , with HMS Splendid ordered south from Scotland the following day. Lord Carrington had wished to send a third submarine, but the decision was deferred due to concerns about the impact on operational commitments. Coincidentally, on 26 March,
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4704-612: The Royal Marines . The garrison consisted of 68 marines and eleven naval hydrographers , assisted by 23 volunteers of the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF), who had few weapons and were used as lookouts. The invasion started with the landing of Lieutenant Commander Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots' Amphibious Commandos Group , who attacked the empty Moody Brook barracks and then moved on Government House in Stanley . When
4851-472: The United Kingdom re-established sovereignty over the islands which, at that time, housed an Argentine settlement. Argentina has claimed the Falklands as part of its territory ever since. The UK first claimed South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 1843, and incorporated them as Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1908. The Argentine Fishing Company had an operation on South Georgia in
4998-463: The military junta , which ruled Argentina, launched an invasion of the Falkland Islands . Faced with overwhelming Argentine force, Rex Hunt (British Governor of the Islands) surrendered to Admiral Carlos Büsser (the Argentine amphibious force commander) at 9.15am. The next day, Argentina sent troops to capture and occupy South Georgia and the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands. Argentina had claimed
5145-426: The 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion with Assault Amphibious Vehicles arrived, the governor ordered a ceasefire and surrendered. The governor, his family and the British military personnel were flown to Argentina that afternoon and later repatriated to the United Kingdom. The British had already taken action prior to the 2 April invasion. In response to events on South Georgia, on 29 March, Ministers decided to send
5292-527: The Argentine Army's 1st Corps that included the 10th Infantry dug around the Falklands capital: "We knew what sort of damage they could do, because during April whilst we were still in our homes, they'd bombed the Tussac Island in the harbour with napalm and it burned for a couple of days. This was like a warning of what they were capable of—that they could destroy the settlement if they wanted to. For them it
5439-459: The Argentine military. Bloomer-Reeve had previously lived on the islands between 1975 and 1976, when he ran the LADE operation in Stanley and had great affection for the islanders. Jim Fairfield recalls his first encounter with Bloomer-Reeve after he and other Port Stanley residents went to see him in order to obtain monetary compensation for damages and missing items in their homes: I went back to
5586-445: The Argentine occupation. Admiral Sandy Woodward 's carrier battle group of twelve warships and three supply ships entered the TEZ on 1 May, shortly before the first Black Buck raid, intending to degrade Argentine air and sea forces before the arrival of the amphibious group two weeks later. In anticipation, Admiral Anaya had deployed all his available warships into three task groups. The first
5733-540: The Argentine submarine with depth charges . HMS Plymouth launched a Westland Wasp HAS.Mk.1 helicopter, and HMS Brilliant launched a Westland Lynx HAS Mk 2. The Lynx launched a torpedo , and strafed the submarine with its pintle -mounted general purpose machine gun ; the Wessex also fired on Santa Fe with its GPMG . The Wasp from HMS Plymouth as well as two other Wasps launched from HMS Endurance fired AS-12 ASM antiship missiles at
5880-489: The B.B.C. World Service; the others made noise at the windows to cover the crackling of the broadcast and we were never discovered. According to Brook Hardcastle, the general manager of the Falkland Island Company (FIC) based at Goose Green: After the first week the Argentines let two women go out each day to the galley in the cookhouse, where all the men would normally eat together. They were allowed to cook up
6027-681: The British Task Force was shadowed by Boeing 707 aircraft of the Argentine Air Force during their travel to the south. Several of these flights were intercepted by Sea Harriers outside the British-imposed Total Exclusion Zone ; the unarmed 707s were not attacked because diplomatic moves were still in progress and the UK had not yet decided to commit itself to armed force. On 23 April, a Brazilian commercial Douglas DC-10 from VARIG Airlines en route to South Africa
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6174-569: The British had sought a long-term lease of 99 years, whereas Argentina was pressing for a much shorter period of only thirty years.) At a private committee meeting that evening, it was reported that Ridley said: "If we don't do something, they will invade. And there is nothing we could do." In the period leading up to the war—and, in particular, following the transfer of power between the military dictators General Jorge Rafael Videla and General Roberto Eduardo Viola late in March 1981—Argentina had been in
6321-658: The Falkland Islands The occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( Spanish : Gobernación Militar de las Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur y Sandwich del Sur "Military Administration of the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands") was the short-lived Argentine occupation of a group of British islands in the South Atlantic whose sovereignty has long been disputed by Argentina. Until their invasion on 2 April 1982 by
6468-607: The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Calls on the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to seek a diplomatic solution to their differences and to respect fully the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. This was a significant win for the UK, giving it the upper hand diplomatically. The draft resolution Parsons submitted had avoided any reference to the sovereignty dispute (which might have worked against
6615-527: The Falkland Islands Company, were kept busy throughout the occupation, with little rest. She was involved in arranging the Argentine surrender on 14 June and discovered that her baby was of great help in getting past the sentries guarding Government House. "I found that I could negotiate with angry Argie soldiers much more effectively when breastfeeding Emma! I always took her with me in a sling on my front when I wished to speak with senior officials, as
6762-584: The Falkland Islands was considered extremely difficult. The chances of a British counter-invasion succeeding were assessed by the US Navy , according to historian Arthur L. Herman , as "a military impossibility". Firstly, the British were significantly constrained by the disparity in deployable air cover. The British had 42 aircraft (28 Sea Harriers and 14 Harrier GR.3s ) available for air combat operations, against approximately 122 serviceable jet fighters, of which about 50 were used as air superiority fighters and
6909-572: The Falklands capital and turned the playground of the school into a compound for drilling troops . The Argentine Air Force took over the Stanley Schoolhouse Building with one room serving as the Centro de Información y Control (Command & Control Centre) under Comodoro (Wing-Commander) Alberto Américo Catalá and another becoming the joints headquarters of the air force, army and marine anti-aircraft batteries. The Argentine peso replaced
7056-507: The Falklands; however the Canberras had reached Belize when the operation was abandoned after part of the plan had been reported in the British press. Operation Acme was the deployment of a single Nimrod R.1 surveillance aircraft of No. 51 Squadron RAF to the Chilean base at Isla San Félix to gather signals intelligence from Argentinian forces in the Falklands; three sorties were conducted,
7203-458: The MMU can quickly establish a 'temporary Met Office', using portable weather displays mirroring those used by forecasters 'back at home'. The unit has previously deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan . Personnel are also expected to deploy on exercises throughout the year; in 2006, 24 exercises were supported, a typical year for the MMU. NATO Met Information System The MMU contributes to
7350-743: The MMU moved from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire . A Report by the Defence Select Committee in July 2006 recommended that the "importance of the Mobile Met Unit to the United Kingdom's Armed Forces should not be understated" and that "its role and work be more fully reported in the Met Office's Annual Report and Accounts". The unit's motto of Tomorrow's weather today ,
7497-454: The Moody Brook depot were found to have foodstuff missing according to Private Alan Craig from the 7th Regiment, and troops garrisoning Port Howard were starved, and according to Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins in their book The Battle for the Falklands (Norton, 1984), "Attempts to go absent without leave were punished by beatings or forcing the offender to sit for hours with his naked feet in
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#17330847174237644-467: The Pucara ground-attack aircraft had been withdrawn elsewhere, should form a military police unit to protect the local houses from vandalism after complaints had reached Monsignor Daniel Spraggon in the Falklands capital that the soldiers had started to smash furniture in order to apparently keep warm at night. According to David Colville from Port Stanley, the Argentine military expelled 52 schoolchildren from
7791-483: The Regimental Medical Officer, Senior Lieutenant Juan Carlos Adjigogovich, visited the social hall to ensure the confined senior citizens (Mr and Mrs Anderson and Mr and Mrs Fynleyson) were managing under the circumstances. The Regimental Medical Officer along with an air force medical officer, First Lieutenant Fernando Miranda-Abós would regularly visit the social hall with Adjigogovich reporting, "We set up
7938-645: The Task Force by means of Operation Shutter, a US supplied SATCOM system installed at the Chilean Air Force headquarters in Santiago and operated by two soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals . On 30 April, the British government had brought into force a 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres; 230 miles) Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) to replace the previous Maritime Exclusion Zone; aircraft as well as ships of any nation were liable to be attacked inside it, if they were aiding
8085-617: The UK ambassador to the UN, Sir Anthony Parsons , that an invasion was imminent and he should call an urgent meeting of the Security Council to get a favourable resolution against Argentina. Parsons had to get nine affirmative votes from the 15 Council members (not a simple majority) and to avoid a blocking vote from any of the other four permanent members. The meeting took place at 11:00 am on 3 April, New York time (4:00 pm in London). United Nations Security Council Resolution 502
8232-501: The UK): instead it focused on Argentina's breach of Chapter VII of the UN Charter which forbids the threat or use of force to settle disputes. The resolution called for the removal only of Argentine forces: this freed Britain to retake the islands militarily, if Argentina did not leave, by exercising its right to self-defence allowed under the UN Charter. The Argentine Army unit earmarked for
8379-520: The attacking 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) forced the surrender of some 1,000 of the Argentine defenders and released the local inhabitants unharmed. Robert Fox, a BBC correspondent with 2 PARA, reported: For nearly a month, 114 people had been shut up by the Argentines in a community hall. Their houses had been raided, with furniture smashed and excrement left on the floor. Their storeroom had been looted. The Argentine troops were underfed, and in one house, used by Argentine pilots, it seemed
8526-628: The cabinet, approval was given to form a task force to retake the islands. This was backed in an emergency sitting of the House of Commons the next day. Word of the invasion first reached the UK from Argentine sources. A Ministry of Defence operative in London had a short telex conversation with Governor Hunt's telex operator, who confirmed that Argentines were on the island and in control. Later that day, BBC journalist Laurie Margolis spoke with an islander at Goose Green via amateur radio , who confirmed
8673-545: The campaign. This was the critical instrument of crisis management for the British with its remit being to "keep under review political and military developments relating to the South Atlantic, and to report as necessary to the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee". The War Cabinet met at least daily until it was dissolved on 12 August. Although Margaret Thatcher is described as dominating the War Cabinet, Lawrence Freedman notes in
8820-594: The capital. Latest Argentine sources confirm that the Vulcan raids did not influence Argentina's decision to move some of its Mirage IIIs from southern Argentina to the Buenos Aires Defence Zone. This dissuasive effect was watered down when British officials made clear that there would not be strikes on air bases in Argentina. The raids were later dismissed as propaganda by Falklands veteran Commander Nigel Ward. Of
8967-429: The chief of police. He frequently overstepped his authority, ignoring instructions to treat the islanders with respect, and quickly became known throughout the islands for his tendency to resort to violence. Dowling imposed a regime of arbitrary house searches, arrests and questioning. His actions came to the attention of Comodoro Carlos Bloomer-Reeve who recommended to Brigadier-General Menéndez that he be removed and he
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#17330847174239114-440: The children's education in the school room. Argentina used Spanish while on the islands, including the use of Puerto Argentino , the Argentine name for Port Stanley . Vehicles were told to drive on the right , with painted arrows on the road indicating the direction of traffic. Street signs and traffic signs were changed accordingly, including the use of the metric system. The Argentinian captain Barry Melbourne Hussey , who
9261-463: The civilians go to their homes. I explained that all the eggs were effectively in one basket and that if we were to spread around the settlement then, if the worst happened, some of us would have a chance of survival. In the following days a number of civilians - my family included - were able to move back home." During the meeting with Vicecomodoro Wilson Rosier Pedrozo in attendance, it was agreed that air force personnel, that were largely inactive after
9408-486: The clinic in one of the local houses. We tried to have a good relationship with them but they looked at us with suspicion. There was a daily medical review and every time they needed a doctor they were attended. I don't know how they managed before we arrived, because they called us quite often, practically every day, for whatever reason." The medical officer in the book Partes de Guerra (Graciela Speranza, Fernando Cittadini, p. 42, Editorial Norma, 1997) also describes how
9555-506: The detention of the civilian population, although they severely punished any conscripts that did the same. On 22 April, the British task force arrived in Falklands waters; three days later British troops recaptured South Georgia. Following over a month of fierce naval and air battles, the British landed on 21 May, and a land campaign followed until Governor Mario Menéndez surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore on 14 June in Stanley. On 28 May, Darwin and Goose Green were liberated, and
9702-458: The developments around us. We heard of the extraordinary walk they had completed across dreadful countryside from San Carlos to reach us, and for two days they had neither eaten nor had any clean water to drink. On the night of 8–9 June, a number of soldiers from the 7th Regiment's A Company deserted their positions on Wireless Ridge and after crossing a river broke into the house of Claude and Judy Molkenbuhr in Murrell Farm and completely vandalized
9849-421: The early 20th century, and Argentina had claimed sovereignty over South Georgia since 1927 and the South Sandwich Islands since 1938. In November 1976, Argentina landed and occupied the uninhabited island of Southern Thule in the South Sandwich group, which had been in a British possession since the 18th century. In the early hours of 2 April 1982, in the wake of violent anti-government riots in Buenos Aires ,
9996-415: The edge of Argentina's 12-nautical-mile (22 km; 14 mi) territorial limit to provide early warning of bombing raids on the British task force. Operation Folklore was a plan to deploy two Canberra PR.9 aircraft of No. 39 Squadron RAF , disguised in Chilean Air Force markings, to the Chilean air base at Punta Arenas , with the intention of undertaking high-level photo-reconnaissance flights over
10143-409: The efforts of his men. Captain Miguel Ángel Romano, a reservist, had been sent to Port Stanley to help take charge of the 181st Military Police Company during the Argentine occupation. According to local resident Patrick Watts: "He took appropriate action against conscripts caught stealing from unoccupied dwellings and tried to help the civilian community as far as his rank would allow." Les Harris,
10290-614: The exclusion zone, and that he had orders to sink any British ship he could find. In a separate incident later that night, British forces engaged an Argentine patrol gunboat, the ARA Alferez Sobral , that was searching for the crew of an Argentine Air Force Canberra light bomber shot down on 1 May. Two Royal Navy Lynx helicopters, from HMS Coventry and HMS Glasgow , fired four Sea Skua missiles at her. Badly damaged and with eight crew dead, Alferez Sobral managed to return to Puerto Deseado two days later. The Canberra's crew were never found. Occupation of
10437-409: The fighting. This had the secondary effect of allowing the British to redeploy their nuclear submarines to the coast of Argentina, where they were able to provide early warning of outgoing air attacks leaving mainland bases. However, settling the controversy in 2003, the ship's captain, Hector Bonzo, stated to a documentary crew that General Belgrano had actually been manoeuvring, not sailing away from
10584-499: The five Black Buck raids, three were against Stanley Airfield, with the other two being anti-radar missions using Shrike anti-radiation missiles . The Falklands had only three airfields. The longest and only paved runway was at the capital, Stanley , and even that was too short to support fast jets. Therefore, the Argentines were forced to launch their major strikes from the mainland, severely hampering their efforts at forward staging, combat air patrols , and close air support over
10731-549: The freezing water on the mountainside." Private Rito Portillo from the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Battalion and Private Remigio Fernández from the 5th Regiment were reported to have been executed or died because of mistreatment by their own officers. Soldiers were made to sign non-disclosure documents on their return from the Islands. On 8 April, Alexander Haig , the United States Secretary of State , arrived in London on
10878-558: The full-wrath of military law. In an interview with Michael Bilton and Peter Kosminsky for their documentary The Falklands War: The Untold Story (1987), retired Brigadier-General Mario Benjamin Menéndez would tell both British journalists, "There was intense patrolling by our military police and a very strict discipline to ensure that soldiers could not move individually around Puerto Argentino. There were courts martial that sentenced officers and soldiers who had violated these norms. Compensation
11025-438: The hall was grim. We ran out of water on the third day, the toilets were blocked and there was some dysentery. We persuaded the Argentinians to bring sea water in barrels for the toilets; an old chap, Mike Robson, did sterling work keeping them going. Two young men, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson, both radio hams, found an old broken radio, part of the club equipment, in a junk cupboard. They made this work and we listened each evening to
11172-605: The hall, and they sent a Puma helicopter out and fired .50 rounds at his bike. His dogs were scattered and he fell off. The Argentines landed, arrested him, bundled him into the Puma, and transported him back to the Galley. He sat on a chair outside for an hour, in a very shaken state, before I rescued him. On 6 May, Major Alberto Frontera (second-in-command 12th Regiment) in the presence of the civil affairs officer Captain Arnaldo Sanchez and
11319-499: The hen-house in some bushes. I speak Spanish and I gave them five minutes to get off our property. They said they were from the hills and that they were starving. I still gave them five minutes and told them I would fetch the military police. I waited exactly five minutes and then went to the Argentinian marines who were in the social club. The man in charge asked me whether they were army or marines. I said army. He told his men to get their weapons and then set off to catch them. Half-way up
11466-454: The hostilities. The conflict was a major episode in the protracted dispute over the territories' sovereignty . Argentina asserted (and maintains) that the islands are Argentine territory, and the Argentine government thus described its military action as the reclamation of its own territory. The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited
11613-564: The house one day and the tin had been ripped off the door. It wasn't the first one and it wasn't to be the last. Any empty house the Argies found they would get in. They would steal anything they wanted and when they would finish they would defecate, I think that's the polite word, and pee everywhere ... What they didn't destroy they would burn in the rayburn ... They had gone through the house and wrecked everything ... And rather than be done with that defecated and peed everywhere, smeared it on walls. So,
11760-418: The houses they broke into, and they seemed to do an awful lot of it, too. I think they were using a lot of bad meat and vegetables in their rations. The marines arrested the two soldiers without any trouble and there were our five ducks-all-dead and some vegetables. We all went down to the gymnasium where the military police were based. An officer came out and said, 'What, you two!' Not again!' and gave them quite
11907-518: The infrastructures of Goose Geen broke under the strain of accommodating nearly 1,000 soldiers and local civilians and the British air attacks and naval bombardments that followed. On 21 May, the Argentine command in Port Stanley sent out a civil affairs team, under Colonel Horacio Chimeno and Captain Esteban Eduardo Rallo to discuss the safety of civilians and to build shelters. Eric Goss again: "I told them to begin this process they should let
12054-442: The islands and by using a late pop up profile. Meanwhile, other Argentine aircraft were intercepted by BAE Sea Harriers operating from HMS Invincible . A Dagger and a Canberra were shot down. Combat broke out between Sea Harrier FRS Mk 1 fighters of No. 801 Naval Air Squadron and Mirage III fighters of Grupo 8. Both sides refused to fight at the other's best altitude, until two Mirages finally descended to engage. One
12201-573: The islands continue to operate as a self-governing British Overseas Territory . In 1965, the United Nations called upon Argentina and the United Kingdom to reach a settlement of the sovereignty dispute. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regarded the islands as a nuisance and barrier to UK trade in South America. Therefore, while confident of British sovereignty, the FCO was prepared to cede
12348-413: The islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty . Neither state officially declared war , although both governments declared the islands a war zone. The conflict had a strong effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs . Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but
12495-426: The islands to Argentina. When news of a proposed transfer broke in 1968, elements sympathetic with the plight of the islanders were able to organise an effective parliamentary lobby to frustrate the FCO plans. Negotiations continued, but in general failed to make meaningful progress; the islanders steadfastly refused to consider Argentine sovereignty on one side, whilst Argentina would not compromise over sovereignty on
12642-422: The islands were part of the then federal territory of Tierra del Fuego and South Atlantic islands. On 3 April 1982, the junta issued a decree which separated the islands from the jurisdiction of Tierra del Fuego and named Brigadier General Mario Menéndez as the 'Military Governor of the Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands'. On the first day of the occupation, Governor Hunt and officials from
12789-450: The islands with detailed files on many islanders. One of their first actions was to arrest and deport noted critics of links to Argentina including David Colville, as well as Bill Luxton and his family. Such deportations proved internationally embarrassing, as Bill Luxton gave numerous interviews on his deportation, and subsequently detainees were imprisoned at Fox Bay . Major Patricio Dowling , an Argentine of Irish origin , became
12936-619: The islands. For almost a month, the civilian population of Goose Green was detained in the village hall in "unpleasant conditions". Less well known are similar detentions in other outlying settlements, including one islander who died after being denied access to his medication. As the war's end approached, some troops began to place booby traps in civilian homes, defiled homes with excrement, destroyed civilian property and committed arson against civilian properties. Argentine officers and NCOs have been accused of handing out rough Field punishment to their conscript soldiers. Ration packs from
13083-415: The islands. The effective loiter time of incoming Argentine aircraft was low, limiting the ability of fighters to protect attack aircraft, which were often compelled to attack the first target of opportunity, rather than selecting the most lucrative target. The first major Argentine strike force comprised 36 aircraft ( A-4 Skyhawks , IAI Daggers , English Electric Canberras , and Mirage III escorts), and
13230-528: The islands. The total Argentine garrison numbered some 13,000 troops by the beginning of May. The conscripts born in 1963 had only recently been called-up, so they were supplemented by the recall of the previous year's intake. Brigadier General Mario Benjamín Menéndez was appointed Military Governor of the Malvinas. Argentine military police arrived with detailed files on many islanders, allowing intelligence officer Major Patricio Dowling to arrest and interrogate islanders who he suspected might lead opposition to
13377-518: The issue a major recruitment campaign was implemented over a five-year period and in August 2000 the MMU became the first ever Sponsored Reserve Unit in the British Armed Forces . The move was part of a policy of making greater use of skills in the civilian sector, whereby personnel provide specialist support to the military on operations, as a continuation of their regular peacetime work. In 2005,
13524-415: The junta's dwindling legitimacy. The newspaper La Prensa speculated on a step-by-step plan beginning with cutting off supplies to the islands, ending in direct actions late in 1982, if the UN talks were fruitless. The ongoing tension between the two countries over the islands increased on 19 March, when a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants (which had been infiltrated by Argentine Marines ) raised
13671-503: The last day of battle, Private Santiago Carrizo of the 3rd Regiment described how a platoon commander ordered them to take up positions in the houses and "if a Kelper resists, shoot him", though the entire company did nothing of the kind. There was also no wholesale confiscation of private property during the occupation, but had the islanders refused to sell, the goods in question would have been taken anyway. However, Argentine officers did steal civilian property at Goose Green following
13818-552: The last on 17 May narrowly avoided being shot down by the Chileans, leading to the cancellation of the operation. More successful was Operation Fingent, the placement of a Marconi S259 radar on high ground in Tierra del Fuego from where it could monitor movements at southern Argentinian air bases; the RAF crew wore civilian clothes in the guise of a sales team. Information was passed to Northwood and
13965-622: The local residents would repeatedly go to the Police Station to request that personnel from 181 MP Coy enter and occupy their homes during their period of absence, for which they would hand over the keys to their properties, which shows the level of trust won among the local population. Berazay would also claim in Compañía Policía Militar 181: Síntesis de su participación en Malvinas (La Gaceta Malvinense, 2003) that no more than 10 civilian houses were broken into in Port Stanley thanks to
14112-497: The mid- Atlantic British overseas territory of Ascension Island . They included a sizeable force of Avro Vulcan B Mk 2 bombers, Handley Page Victor K Mk 2 refuelling aircraft , and McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR Mk 2 fighters to protect them. Meanwhile, the main British naval task force arrived at Ascension to prepare for active service. A small force had already been sent south to recapture South Georgia. Encounters began in April;
14259-507: The midst of devastating economic stagnation and large-scale civil unrest against the National Reorganization Process , the military junta that had been governing the country since 1976. In December 1981, there was a further change in the Argentine military regime, bringing to office a new junta headed by General Leopoldo Galtieri (acting president), Air Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo and Admiral Jorge Anaya . Anaya
14406-587: The military in times of war, crisis, peace-keeping operations and exercises in the UK or overseas. Located at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the MMU HQ is staffed by 13 full-time personnel, with the other 55 staff based at various Met Offices across the UK and Europe. These part-time members of the MMU are Met Office personnel with jobs as forecasters, observers and engineers, and deploy as RAF Reserve personnel on operations and exercises whenever tasked. When deployed,
14553-482: The nearby airfield on the night of 14/15 May: I recall there were many frightened and hungry conscripts. The officers had taken over grandmother's house, and after the surrender it was discovered that the officers had lived in relative comfort with any amount of stores and food, whilst the conscripts had spent six weeks in trenches, cold and starving. They were so hungry they would beg for scraps of food. We were lucky, we had plenty of stores, fresh meat and vegetables, and
14700-525: The new rule and continued to drive on the left. Other acts of civil disobedience included Reg Silvey ( lighthouse keeper and ham radio enthusiast) broadcasting clandestine radio messages throughout the occupation. The restrictions imposed by the military government became steadily worse – identification papers, curfews, compulsory blackouts, confiscation of radios and cameras, requisitioning of Land-Rover 4x4 vehicles and soldiers breaking into abandoned houses to steal furniture to use as firewood. Throughout
14847-640: The news to the media, telling them to "Just rejoice at that news, and congratulate our forces and the Marines!" On 1 May, British operations on the Falklands opened with the "Black Buck 1" attack (of a series of five) on the airfield at Stanley. A Vulcan bomber from Ascension flew an 8,000-nautical-mile (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) round trip, dropping conventional bombs across the runway at Stanley. The mission required repeated aerial refuelling using several Victor K2 tanker aircraft operating in concert, including tanker-to-tanker refuelling. The overall effect of
14994-510: The next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during
15141-551: The night of the invasion, a banquet was held at Roca's official residence for the US ambassador to the UN, Jeane Kirkpatrick , and several high-ranking officials of the United States Department of State and the United States Department of Defense . This led British diplomats to view Kirkpatrick, who had earlier called for closer relationships with South American dictatorships, with considerable suspicion. On 1 April, London told
15288-540: The night, and Mirage IIIs (without air refuelling capability or any capable AAM) as decoys to lure away the British Sea Harriers. The decoying would be later extended with the formation of the Escuadrón Fénix , a squadron of civilian jets flying 24 hours a day, simulating strike aircraft preparing to attack the fleet. On one of these flights on 7 June, an Air Force Learjet 35 A was shot down by HMS Exeter, killing
15435-420: The occupation was the 25th Infantry Regiment , a unit of about 681 men specially trained from all the regions of Argentina ; it was flown into Port Stanley Airport as soon as the runway had been cleared. Once it became clear that the British were sending an amphibious task force, there was a general recall of reservists and two brigades of eight infantry regiments and their supporting units were dispatched to
15582-436: The occupation, Phil Middleton and Steve Whitley would visit the abandoned houses to make sure they were not being vandalized but would also use these inspections as a cover to photograph Argentine positions. According to Port Stanley resident John Pole Evans, Argentine Air Force Pucarás conducted napalm bombings on 21 April near Stanley as a show of force that coincided with General Cristino Nicolaides's visit as commander of
15729-628: The occupation. Initially, Islanders suspected of holding anti-Argentine views were expelled, including the Luxton family (who had lived in the islands since the 1840s) and David Colville, editor of the Falklands Times . This proved to be counter-productive, as those expelled gave interviews to the press. Subsequently, fourteen other community leaders, including the senior medical officer, were interned at Fox Bay on West Falkland. Concerned by Dowling's actions, senior Argentine officers had him removed from
15876-416: The ocean liner SS Canberra was requisitioned and set sail two days later with the 3 Commando Brigade aboard. The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was also requisitioned, and left Southampton on 12 May, with the 5th Infantry Brigade on board. The whole task force eventually comprised 127 ships: 43 Royal Navy vessels, 22 Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, and 62 merchant ships . The retaking of
16023-461: The officers were hoarding canned food. The Argentines committed acts of petty meanness, smashing and stealing radios and shooting at a shepherd from a helicopter as he tended his sheep. Now the prisoners are being made to clear up the mess they made in the settlement. By the time they surrendered, the Argentine soldiers were already suffering from malnutrition, exposure, trench foot and diarrhea, brought on by lack of proper food and clean water. During
16170-404: The other. The FCO then sought to make the islands dependent on Argentina, hoping this would make the islanders more amenable to Argentine sovereignty. A Communications Agreement signed in 1971 created an airlink and later YPF, the Argentine oil company, was given a monopoly in the islands. In 1977, the British prime minister, James Callaghan , in response to heightened tensions in the region and
16317-542: The presence of a large Argentine fleet and that Argentine forces had taken control of the island. British military operations in the Falklands War were given the codename Operation Corporate , and the commander of the task force was Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse . Operations lasted from 1 April 1982 to 20 June 1982. On 6 April, the British Government set up a War Cabinet to provide day-to-day political oversight of
16464-456: The raids on the war is difficult to determine. The runway was cratered by only one of the twenty one bombs, but as a result, the Argentines realised that their mainland was vulnerable and fighter aircraft were redeployed from the theatre to bases further north. Historian Lawrence Freedman , who was given access to official sources, comments that the significance of the Vulcan raids remains a subject of controversy. Although they took pressure off
16611-478: The remainder as strike aircraft , in Argentina's air forces during the war . Crucially, the British lacked airborne early warning and control (AEW) aircraft. Planning also considered the Argentine surface fleet and the threat posed by Exocet -equipped vessels or the two Type 209 submarines . By mid-April, the Royal Air Force had set up an airbase on RAF Ascension Island , co-located with Wideawake Airfield, on
16758-473: The reply came: 'We are indeed, sir, men of the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.' We rushed downstairs and opened the door to five weary and dirty men in camouflaged uniforms, whom we were astonished but delighted to see. We welcomed Graham Heaton, John Ross, Ian McKay, Stewart McLaughlin and Mack Cox into our home, and as my wife, Jan, prepared the starving Paras a meal, they brought us up to date with
16905-432: The safety and effectiveness of air and aviation operations in deployed theatres, particularly in areas experiencing extreme environmental conditions. For this reason, the small but vital air combat support role filled by the MMU will continue to underpin the expeditionary capability of the UK’s air and aviation components. Falklands War Operation Corporate The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de Malvinas )
17052-399: The sentries' guns would be lowered when they spotted her". There was no widespread abuse of the population. After the war it was found that even the islanders' personal food supplies and stocks of alcohol were untouched, and Brigadier-General Menéndez, the Argentine governor of the Islands, had made it clear from the start that he would not engage in any combat in Stanley itself. However, in
17199-492: The settlement: Within days of the invasion, families had left Stanley for the safety of the settlements, but they soon returned when they learnt that Argentines were occupying their houses. Many schoolchildren were evacuated to camp and we received children aged from five to fifteen years. With soldiers patrolling our settlement and children wandering around, we felt it would be better if they were safely occupied. I approached our manager who grudgingly gave me permission to continue
17346-612: The ship, died in the incident. More than 700 men were eventually rescued from the open ocean despite cold seas and stormy weather, enduring up to 30 hours in overcrowded life rafts. The loss of General Belgrano drew heavy criticism from Latin American countries and from opponents of the war in Britain; support for the British cause wavered amongst some European allies, but the United States remained supportive. Regardless of controversies over
17493-418: The sinking — including disagreement about the exact nature of the exclusion zone and whether General Belgrano had been returning to port at the time of the sinking — it had a crucial strategic effect: the elimination of the Argentine naval threat. After her loss, the entire Argentine fleet, with the exception of the diesel-powered submarine ARA San Luis , returned to port and did not leave again during
17640-538: The small Sea Harrier force, the raids were costly and used a great deal of resources. The single hit to the edge of the runway was probably the best that could have been expected. Contrary to some reports, this reduced the capability of the runway to operate Mirage III fast jets but not other, smaller jet fighters, the Pucara , and the Hercules C-130 . Nor did it cause the Argentine air force to deploy Mirage IIIs to defend
17787-526: The social hall until released by the British following the Battle of Goose Green . Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Piaggi , the Commanding Officer of the Argentine 12th Infantry Regiment, claimed that the lockdown in Goose Green was to protect the locals from attack by enraged Argentine Air Force personnel following the 1 May Sea Harrier strike. According to local farm manager Eric Goss: Sanitation in
17934-460: The squadron commander, Vice Commodore Rodolfo de la Colina, the highest-ranking Argentine officer to die in the war. Stanley was used as an Argentine strongpoint throughout the conflict. Despite the Black Buck and Harrier raids on Stanley airfield (no fast jets were stationed there for air defence) and overnight shelling by detached ships, it was never out of action entirely. Stanley was defended by
18081-454: The street, they cocked their weapons. They looked very efficient; their marines were always clean and smart. My wife, meanwhile, had found the two children watching over the soldiers; the weren't going to let them get away. My wife was very frightened. The two soldiers had been round the back of the hen-house in the meantime and left the inevitable Argentinian 'visiting card'- they had relieved themselves. They did that wherever they went, specially
18228-488: The submarine HMS Superb left Gibraltar and it was assumed in the press she was heading south. There has since been speculation that the effect of those reports was to panic the Argentine junta into invading the Falklands before submarines could be deployed; however, post-war research has established that the final decision to proceed was made at a junta meeting in Buenos Aires on 23 March. The following day, during
18375-419: The submarine, scoring hits. Santa Fe was damaged badly enough to prevent her from diving. The crew abandoned the submarine at the jetty at King Edward Point on South Georgia. With Tidespring now far out to sea and the Argentine forces augmented by the submarine's crew, Major Sheridan decided to gather the 76 men he had and make a direct assault that day. After a short forced march by the British troops and
18522-479: The unfavourable outcome prompted large protests against the ruling military government , hastening its downfall and the democratisation of the country . In the United Kingdom, the Conservative government, bolstered by the successful outcome, was re-elected with an increased majority the following year . The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in the UK than in Argentina, where it has remained
18669-570: The windows of the house and people would rush from one room to another to watch incoming Argentine aircraft being pursued by missiles and shot down, especially prior to the SAS attack. Comodoro Carlos Bloomer-Reeve, chief of the Secretariat of the new occupation forces, in conjunction with Navy Captain Barry Melbourne Hussey and Monsignor Daniel Spraggon were instrumental in avoiding conflict with
18816-425: The women took turns at baking cakes. We had a routine after we were locked up. A couple of us, escorted by an armed guard, would go and milk the cows. The conscripts would queue up outside the cowshed door in the hope of a mug of milk, straight from the cow, to warm themselves up. Sadly this routine was curtailed with our milk supply, when the Argentines eventually shot all the cows for fresh meat. We had good views from
18963-597: The wounded up until the end of the conflict. The only Argentine Hercules shot down by the British was lost on 1 June when TC-63 was intercepted by a Sea Harrier in daylight as it was searching for the British fleet north-east of the islands, after the Argentine Navy retired its last SP-2H Neptune due to unreliability. Various options to attack the home base of the five Argentine Étendards at Río Grande were examined and discounted ( Operation Mikado ); subsequently five Royal Navy submarines were lined up, submerged, on
19110-451: Was a cold, damp day, with sleet driving across as dusk fell. At 11 p.m., we went to bed by candlelights after marking school homework. We were soon startled by a banging on the house door. We were concerned that it was the Argentines and so didn't answer the door. But the knocking persisted. I opened our bedroom window to hear the words: 'Well, chaps, obviously no one here, we must try the next house.' I called out, 'Are you British troops?', and
19257-401: Was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic : the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands . The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands , followed by the invasion of South Georgia
19404-528: Was adopted by 10 to 1 (with Panama voting against) and 4 abstentions. Significantly, the Soviet Union and China both abstained. The resolution stated: Deeply disturbed at reports of an invasion on 2 April 1982 by armed forces of Argentina; Determining that there exists a breach of the peace in the region of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Demands an immediate cessation of hostilities; Demands an immediate withdrawal of all Argentine forces from
19551-693: Was aware of the Argentine carrier group approaching from the other direction and ordered the cruiser to be attacked to avoid being caught in a pincer movement ; he was unaware that the Veinticinco de Mayo had failed to gain enough headwind to launch her aircraft. The order to sink the cruiser was confirmed by the War Cabinet in London and the General Belgrano was hit by two torpedoes at 4 pm local time on 2 May, sinking an hour later. 321 members of General Belgrano ' s crew, along with two civilians on board
19698-469: Was cancelled at the last minute. On 30 April, the Reagan administration announced that they would be publicly supporting the United Kingdom. The nuclear-powered submarine Conqueror set sail from Faslane, Scotland on 4 April. The two aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes and their escort vessels left Portsmouth , England only a day later. On its return to Southampton from a world cruise on 7 April,
19845-425: Was centred around the aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo with two old but missile-armed destroyers, and a second comprised three modern frigates. Both these groups were intended to approach the TEZ from the north. A third group approaching from the south was led by the Second World War -vintage Argentine light cruiser ARA General Belgrano ; although old, her large guns and heavy armour made her
19992-526: Was chosen for a position in the administration due to his knowledge and experience of English, asserted safety as a major concern, during discussions with the Falkland Islanders : "Which would you prefer, that our eighteen-year-old conscripts, with their big lorries, should try to drive on the left, or that you, with your little vehicles, change to the right?". However, outside Stanley, most roads were single track anyway and some islanders refused to observe
20139-570: Was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, despite repeated warnings by Royal Navy captain Nicholas Barker (Commanding Officer of the Endurance ) and others. Barker believed that Defence Secretary John Nott 's 1981 Defence White Paper (in which Nott described plans to withdraw the Endurance , the UK's only naval presence in the South Atlantic) had sent
20286-531: Was intercepted by British Harriers who visually identified the civilian plane. The South Georgia force, Operation Paraquet , under the command of Major Guy Sheridan RM, consisted of Marines from 42 Commando , a troop of the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) troops who were intended to land as reconnaissance forces for an invasion by the Royal Marines, a total of 240 men. All were embarked on RFA Tidespring . First to arrive
20433-436: Was interpreting the words that Bloomer Reeve missed and things and we actually came away from there with a stack of pesos ... He actually did give us money for things that had been stolen, what was on our wish list, what we wished had been stolen and everything else. Under Bloomer-Reeve's influence, warning signs soon appeared at the entrance of all abandoned civilian houses that warned unauthorized personnel to not enter or face
20580-492: Was no systematic censorship or curtailment of the mail. I sent trial letters to a friend in the U.K. and it was acknowledged by a code message in the B.B.C. World Service. Caballeros was no fan of the military junta, did not approve of the occupation and respected his new colleague Bill. "When all this is over," he told the Islander, "you must come and visit me and we'll have happier times." The Argentine military police arrived on
20727-409: Was paid for anything lost or stolen. I remember that we even paid compensation for a cat which was run over by a military truck. The houses , jeeps and tractors that we used were not requisitioned , they were rented." Official posters also appeared in the main buildings of Port Stanley, ordering the soldiers to keep the Falklands clean with the slogan MALIMA – short for Mantenga Limpia Malvinas and
20874-590: Was probably just some sort of target practice." Residents considered critical of the Argentines were expelled from the islands. This included Bill Luxton whose family had been resident in the Falklands since the 1840s and the editor of the Falkland Islands Times David Colville. This proved embarrassing in the international press and so 14 residents of Stanley considered to be potential troublemakers were imprisoned and were sent to Fox Bay East and placed under house arrest . On 1 May,
21021-456: Was sent on 1 May, in the belief that the British invasion was imminent or landings had already taken place. Only a section of Grupo 6 (flying IAI Dagger aircraft) found ships, which were firing at Argentine defences near the islands. The Daggers managed to attack the ships and return safely. This greatly boosted the morale of the Argentine pilots, who now knew they could survive an attack against modern warships, protected by radar ground clutter from
21168-414: Was shot down by an AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile (AAM), while the other escaped but was damaged and without enough fuel to return to its mainland airbase. The plane made for Stanley, where it fell victim to friendly fire from the Argentine defenders. As a result of this experience, Argentine Air Force staff decided to employ A-4 Skyhawks and Daggers only as strike units, the Canberras only during
21315-518: Was subsequently sent back to Argentina in disgrace. According to police sergeant Anton Livermore: The Argentinian military police moved into the station and I got on fairly well with them, professionally all the time and personally when their officers were not present. They were very good really and kept strict discipline among their own army people but Major Dowling was a problem and eventually there came an incident which led to my finishing working in uniform. They sent me, under armed threat, to arrest
21462-585: Was the Churchill -class submarine HMS Conqueror on 19 April, and the island was over-flown by a Handley Page Victor aircraft with radar-mapping equipment on 20 April, to establish that no Argentine ships were in the vicinity. The first landings of SAS and SBS troops took place on 21 April, but an ill-advised mission to establish an SAS observation post on the Fortuna Glacier had to be withdrawn after two helicopters crashed in fog and high winds. On 23 April,
21609-507: Was the main architect and supporter of a military solution for the long-standing claim over the islands, expecting that the United Kingdom would never respond militarily. By opting for military action, the Galtieri government hoped to mobilise the long-standing patriotic feelings of Argentines towards the islands, diverting public attention from the chronic economic problems and the ongoing human rights violations of its Dirty War , bolstering
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