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RN took Nukes to the Falklands???

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RN took Nukes to the Falklands???

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Old 29th Jun 2005, 15:35
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West Coast,

Difference in approach. The USAF would send a complete package at medium level. We would have sent a singleton or a pair low level at night. Mirage 3s would have had virtually no hope of finding them.
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Old 29th Jun 2005, 15:44
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You know more of your capabilities than I do. However what your saying better make a helluva psychological impact as the amount of real damage would be limited playing only a pair.

Don't know squat about the Singleton. Where in theory would it come from?
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 05:15
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Memory fading due to too much Shiraz, but I vaguely remember the A model as having a 15kt yield.
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 14:27
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This might be of interest - from the MoD's FOI pages. If you have time, looking at the pages dealing with the requests for info about UFOs is, in certain respects, ah... entertaining...

FOI response 1


FOI response 2
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 14:41
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Having been on board one of her Majesty's grey funnel line during the conflict in 82' i can confirm without doubt that our "nukes" were off-loaded en route. I know because i was involved in the off-load to one of the RFA's. Supposedly to be returned to UK.
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 16:00
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can you have "inert surveillance" nuclear depth charges??!!
One wired up to see how many times you dropped it during loading drills perhaps ?

Stuart (just a civvie).
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 16:07
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"inert surveillance" nuclear depth charges??!!

More commonly referred to as a "shape"

YS
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Old 30th Jun 2005, 19:43
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Send Clowns,

Fair point, I was, at the time of post, limiting myself to the Dark Blue surface/air point of view and fully accept the point you raise ref Polaris and the ability to domb BA into the ground, humble pie now eaten and suck back complete!!
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Old 1st Jul 2005, 09:50
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Not mentioned above, but some of the press reports have alleged that teams of RN Divers revisited the wreck of Sheffield to remove 'sensitive' materials.

There was also an IAEC(?) report on lost nuclear weapons that listed the Sheffield. That said, the same report also listed an AIM-54 Phoenix lost from an F-14 in the North Atlantic (JFK) as a lost nuke.
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Old 1st Jul 2005, 12:08
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Wasn´t lost. We knew exactly where it was all the time...

Economical with the verituality is I believe the phrase.
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Old 1st Jul 2005, 13:25
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...or perhaps 'temporarily uncertain of its position'.
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Old 2nd Jul 2005, 21:43
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Hmmm, would politicians tell porkies???
Do ursine bowel movements take place in arboreal areas?
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Old 6th Aug 2005, 01:14
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I'm told that WE177 surveillance rounds were not 'shapes' in the generally accepted sense, since though they had no nuclear warhead and no Tritium, nor were they inert.

Fitted with all the usual HE these were 'real' bombs, with all a real bomb's electrics and systems. They were used for loading and were flown, and were transported back and forth - taking more of a 'battering' in service than any 'warshot' ever would. They acted as 'fleet leaders' and were regularly returned to Burghfield where they were stripped and examined in detail.

They could be identified by having a single yellow band around the nose, where the warshots had one yellow and one orange.
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Old 6th Aug 2005, 19:06
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The wreck of HMS Sheffield has nuclear depth charges on board at the bottom of the atlantic.
Fact... statement... opinion... supposition...the storyline to your next novel? C'mon out with it?
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Old 6th Aug 2005, 19:29
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Somebody should clarify if there are WMD's bobbin in the oggin around the Falklands, if only to prevent somebody wanting to introduce democracy and a regime change down there as well - I'm sure Howard Pierce (the current Governor) would object.
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Old 6th Aug 2005, 20:56
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Jacko
I'm told that WE177 surveillance rounds were not 'shapes' in the generally accepted sense, since though they had no nuclear warhead and no Tritium, nor were they inert.
See FOI Reply

which specifically refers to

an inert surveillance variant
Inert means it can't be made to go bang. It is possible however that the marking you referred to in fact related to a non-warhead component of the "shape" or "inert surveillance variant". I really don't think anyone is trying to hide anything here, the in depth textual analysis will not reveal a conspiracy of any type or any attempt at smoke and mirrors. Any way, if you think it through, there are much better ways of simulating operational use under controlled conditions in a properly constructed trial, and much more secure!

YS
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Old 17th Aug 2005, 18:11
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YS,

I'm assured that WE177 surveillance rounds are exactly as I described them. Interestingly the RN had them and chopped them around the fleet regularly, long before the RAF did. The RAF had a small batch manufactured after a Minister asked about the inert training rounds he'd just seen loaded onto a jet at Bruggen during a loading demonstration. He was, apparently, amazed to be told that it had been a 'war shot'.

I HATE to rain on anyone's parade by casting doubt on the Coventry/Sheffield stories, but I'd quietly ask what 177s would have been doing on Type 42s? I understand that they were more usually on Leanders, Rothesays, Type 22s and carriers. As you'd expect for an ASW weapon.....
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Old 18th Aug 2005, 11:28
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I HATE to rain on anyone's parade by casting doubt on the Coventry/Sheffield stories, but I'd quietly ask what 177s would have been doing on Type 42s? I understand that they were more usually on Leanders, Rothesays, Type 22s and carriers. As you'd expect for an ASW weapon.....
Jacko the T42s were just as capable sub hunters as T22s, Leanders or T12s. One half of the ops room was completely dedicated to it and rest assured that they carried the same ASW weapons as the other surface combatants.
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Old 18th Aug 2005, 12:06
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Thanks navaleye. I thought I'd been given 'gen' but when it comes to grey funnel lines floaty things I am very, very easy to mislead.
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Old 21st Aug 2005, 07:23
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Why the focus on Sheffield/Coventry. How bout the two type 21s lost, Ardent and Antelope would they not also be NDC capable?

As for towing the Sheffield for 6 days I thought she drifted for the first 4 days.
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