Originally Posted by archimedes
5. Resupply of the fleet included airdrops from the Hercules fleet, including what was then (and may still be) the longest air transport sortie ever flown, weighing in at over 24 hours duration. The C-130s flew over 13,000 hours in support of the Task Force, while the rest of the AT fleet (or VC10s, as they were known) flew 4,000 hours.
(Also for
Brickhistory's benefit) Um, I can speak with some authority about that sortie - if you're talking about the one I'm thinking of and took part in! It doesn't really qualify as part of the argument at hand as it happened after the war was over. There were a couple of C130 fliights during the conflict which approached 24 hours, though they weren't necessarily in support of RN operations. There were several during June and July of 1982 which exceeded 24 hours, the longest being 28 hours and 4 minutes, which were resupply flights for the various units remaining on the islands while the Stanley runway was closed for repairs. That particular flight remains, I believe, the longest-ever C130 flight (the previous record having been 27:45, held by a Lockheed test crew) and holds a number if operational resupply records both in distance and time.
Despite the banter - some of it quite vindictive - being bandied about here, my overwhelming memory of the conflict was the way in which all three Services pulled together to achieve the objective of regaining the Islands. Many personnel worked out of role and service to play their part in the whole, and there was rarely any bitching about any other service not pulling their weight or being surplus to requirements. I am very proud to have been part of that team, albeit in a support role, and I remain convinced that the achievement was magnificent.
Unfortunately, the politics currently decimating the UK services (and, in part, causing the inter-service back-biting demonstrated in this thread) has convinced me to return my invitation to the Falklands 25 parade, and to make my remembrance of those dead and living elsewhere.