Morning Gents. I dredged this one up from hungover memory banks this morning. They weren't too clear so Google'd a couple of helpful sites for the facts. However, am I right in saying this is the only time British forces have used Napalm in anger? AND, did we really only get 75% of hits on target?!
"On 18 March, 1967 the 'Torrey Canyon' struck Pollard's Rock in the Seven Stones reef between the Scilly Isles and Land's End, England. She was the first of the big supertankers, carrying a cargo of 120,000 tons of oil.
On Tuesday 28th March 1967 the Fleet Air Arm sent Buccaneers from Lossiemouth to drop forty-two 1,000-pound bombs on the wreck. This was followed by the Royal Air Force in sending Hunter jets to drop cans of aviation fuel to make the oil blaze. Seventy five per cent of the bombs were on target and both sections of the wreck were on fire.
However, exceptionally high tides had put the blaze out and it took further attacks by Sea Vixens from the Naval Air Station at Yeovilton and Buccaneers from the Naval Air Station at Brawdy as well as more RAF Hunters with napalm to ignite the oil until the wreck was free from oil.
Crowds of holidaymakers were watching the spectacle from the shoreline at Lands End. Though the bombing was declared a success the Press made much of the twenty five per cent of misses on a stationary target."
Archimedes, thanks for the reply, getting my post WWII conflicts mixed up. "Indonesian Air Force had Mustangs". Is this an early example of the USA arming the rest of the world only to get bitten on the bum? Of course now it's down to us to supply the IAF with Hawks, n'est ce-pas?
Torrey Canyon Statistics 42 bombs dropped, 25% missed target, 270 sq mi of oil in sea, 73 mi oil on coastline, 540 kl crude oil spilled
From :"British Divers Website"
Torrey Canyon:-
Position
50 02.50N; 06 07.73W.
Diving
Very broken, spread over a mile of reef, bow in gulley north west of pollard rock, stern well to south
Additional : Beware of unexploded bombs and rockets.
Is this where the 25% "missed" bombs are. Did they fail to arm through being dropped too low or near the target a la Argentinian Air Force in San Carlos Sound, May 1982?