Originally Posted by
Bagheera S
The encyclopaedic book* “Falklands The air war” by R Burden/M Draper/D Rough/C Smith records on page 65;- AE505 “ the destroyer brought the puma down from extreme range with a Sea Dart.”
The important information in this account is that an exterme range for Sea Dart was 35-40 miles, as opposed to the 13 miles mentioned above. I believe that a range of 35-40 miles could only have achieved, in a near costal location, if the engagement took place over Lively Island.
* This book was written before the publication of Coventry’s BOI and was based on numerous interviews with those who took part on both sides. Unsurprisingly it’s accounts correlate well with subsequently published information.
Also remember that a number of those on HMS Coventry who actually witnessed this action on their radar screen, sadly didn’t survive the conflict.
So where have the various conflicting accounts originated from?
Hello,
According to Coventry´s report of the time, the engagement was also at a range of 13 nm.
(DEFE 67-126)
If I recall correct, Woodward´s book mentions the same distance.
13 nm is the correct range, if the helo was engaged over Port Pleasant AND north of Lively:
Thoughts?