Falklands 40
Thread Starter
Gun-pod jammer named with true British humour, the Blue Eric!
We SHAR guys were extremely grateful that the GR3s had taken over the mud-moving rôle from us and acutely aware that they were not only taking massive flak from the enemy, they were also being poorly served by the Senior Service. This was to some extent due to bigotry in high places but mostly due to the loss of knowledge of how to effectively task ground attack missions. Something that was extremely frustrating for those used to the well-practised NATO tasking and reporting system in Germany.
Mog
We SHAR guys were extremely grateful that the GR3s had taken over the mud-moving rôle from us and acutely aware that they were not only taking massive flak from the enemy, they were also being poorly served by the Senior Service. This was to some extent due to bigotry in high places but mostly due to the loss of knowledge of how to effectively task ground attack missions. Something that was extremely frustrating for those used to the well-practised NATO tasking and reporting system in Germany.
Mog
There is a related thread running on ARRSE that followed the Channel Four documentary in late March:
Falklands War - The Untold Story
It is about the conflict in general but aviation aspects are given the attention they deserve - the Sea Harrier vs Argentine aircraft, The Super Eterndard/Exocet attacks, Bomb Ally, Ground Attack, helicopter operations including ASW from the carriers, putting SF ashore, and the Nimrod and Black Buck missions
Mog - I wish we had someone like you on there to shoot down some of the nonsense spouted about the Sea Harrier (not just down South, but in its NATO role - such as claiming that it could not intercept of shadow Bears and the like) and carrier aviation in general - and not just on that thread.
This seems like a good place to post these videos:
From IWM:
An old BBC Horizon programme:
Falklands War - The Untold Story
It is about the conflict in general but aviation aspects are given the attention they deserve - the Sea Harrier vs Argentine aircraft, The Super Eterndard/Exocet attacks, Bomb Ally, Ground Attack, helicopter operations including ASW from the carriers, putting SF ashore, and the Nimrod and Black Buck missions
Mog - I wish we had someone like you on there to shoot down some of the nonsense spouted about the Sea Harrier (not just down South, but in its NATO role - such as claiming that it could not intercept of shadow Bears and the like) and carrier aviation in general - and not just on that thread.
This seems like a good place to post these videos:
From IWM:
An old BBC Horizon programme:
Thread Starter
Forgot to mention a little episode on the 1st June. I was about to taxy onto the centreline for launch, when the ship turned hard to stbd, rather like Invincible had done earlier and I found myself sliding rapidly towards the edge of the flight deck with the wheels locked. I took the braking stop and heaved on a bunch of power and just managed to avoid going for an early bath, even though I lost sight of the deck under the nose. When the heart-rate had calmed a bit, I lined up and did my bottom -end accel check before dropping the nozzles to 20 degrees to check the duct pressure. To my alarm, I discovered that they would not move!
After much head-shaking and thumbs down indications, I was martialled into Fly3 and shut down. The Air Motor Servo Unit driveshaft had snapped and had I not used the nozzles to stop my slide, I would have got airborne and found that I could no longer lower the nozzles. A 130 kt conventional landing on the carrier without any wires would have not been fun. Another Phew!!
2nd and 3rd were foggy - Hooray!!
Lovely fog!
After much head-shaking and thumbs down indications, I was martialled into Fly3 and shut down. The Air Motor Servo Unit driveshaft had snapped and had I not used the nozzles to stop my slide, I would have got airborne and found that I could no longer lower the nozzles. A 130 kt conventional landing on the carrier without any wires would have not been fun. Another Phew!!
2nd and 3rd were foggy - Hooray!!
Lovely fog!
Thread Starter
Mogwi, what's with the ships aggressive maneuvering when flight operations are in progress?
Peter Squire was told of the Captain's priorities of conflict by one of the naval staff officers on his arrival on the Carrier. Captain's enemy priorities were 1/. The Admiral 2/. The crew 3/. The Argies. As recorded by some one that was a lot less diplomatic than Sir Peter was!
So, after Goose Green, a relatively quiet period for a few days - for some!
While MOG was enjoying the fog at sea - and, no doubt, relaxing in the wardroom and drinking from the necks of horses............
I was ashore at San Carlos as part of the Advance Party activating the Harrier Strip that the Royal Engineers were building - and I was also bravely defending San Carlos with my trusty 9mm pistol.
Looking at my logbook, tomorrow (5 Jun) I must have been back on board HERMES, and for the next several days we seem to have spent our time softening up the high ground to the west of Stanley ready for the ground forces' attacks.
I did several attacks on targets on Two Sisters, Sapper Hill and Mt Longdon, and a few others to the north of Stanley. Plus a couple of out and back flights to the now established Harrier Strip at San Carlos.
Nothing of any significance to offer you - my final contribution will come in about a week.
While MOG was enjoying the fog at sea - and, no doubt, relaxing in the wardroom and drinking from the necks of horses............
I was ashore at San Carlos as part of the Advance Party activating the Harrier Strip that the Royal Engineers were building - and I was also bravely defending San Carlos with my trusty 9mm pistol.
Looking at my logbook, tomorrow (5 Jun) I must have been back on board HERMES, and for the next several days we seem to have spent our time softening up the high ground to the west of Stanley ready for the ground forces' attacks.
I did several attacks on targets on Two Sisters, Sapper Hill and Mt Longdon, and a few others to the north of Stanley. Plus a couple of out and back flights to the now established Harrier Strip at San Carlos.
Nothing of any significance to offer you - my final contribution will come in about a week.
So, after Goose Green, a relatively quiet period for a few days - for some!
While MOG was enjoying the fog at sea - and, no doubt, relaxing in the wardroom and drinking from the necks of horses............
I was ashore at San Carlos as part of the Advance Party activating the Harrier Strip that the Royal Engineers were building - and I was also bravely defending San Carlos with my trusty 9mm pistol.
Looking at my logbook, tomorrow (5 Jun) I must have been back on board HERMES, and for the next several days we seem to have spent our time softening up the high ground to the west of Stanley ready for the ground forces' attacks.
I did several attacks on targets on Two Sisters, Sapper Hill and Mt Longdon, and a few others to the north of Stanley. Plus a couple of out and back flights to the now established Harrier Strip at San Carlos.
Nothing of any significance to offer you - my final contribution will come in about a week.
While MOG was enjoying the fog at sea - and, no doubt, relaxing in the wardroom and drinking from the necks of horses............
I was ashore at San Carlos as part of the Advance Party activating the Harrier Strip that the Royal Engineers were building - and I was also bravely defending San Carlos with my trusty 9mm pistol.
Looking at my logbook, tomorrow (5 Jun) I must have been back on board HERMES, and for the next several days we seem to have spent our time softening up the high ground to the west of Stanley ready for the ground forces' attacks.
I did several attacks on targets on Two Sisters, Sapper Hill and Mt Longdon, and a few others to the north of Stanley. Plus a couple of out and back flights to the now established Harrier Strip at San Carlos.
Nothing of any significance to offer you - my final contribution will come in about a week.
Thread Starter
Yes, I will admit to downing a few 2/3 HNs during the foggy days! On 3rd June we were passed an intercept of an Argentine signal saying that a Harrier strip was being built in San Carlos. This confused us, as we thought that all the PSA1 planking had gone down with Atlantic Conveyor - but imagine our surprise when we were told the following day, that the strip was ready for use! I gave the SHAR pilots a quick brief on strip ops and launched on the 5th to try it out.
We flew 1hr 40mins on CAP during the afternoon, for less than one hour transit time - a huge improvement over our normal ratio of 80mins transit for 10mins on CAP. We didn't have any trade but we did RTB with 2 upland geese in the back hatch. These (together with many more) became the main course for our victory dinner - Goose Galtieri!
The 850' strip allowed us to launch with full internal fuel (5000lbs), which gave us one hour endurance and the CAP stations were only a couple of minutes away. We landed on the pad at the start of the strip and then taxied round to the pillow tanks to refuel/rearm. The turnround, without weapons, took about 5 minutes - amazing how quickly it can be done when there is an incentive!
The geese were a very real hazard, as they loved the warmth of the tin strip and paid no attention to arm-waving or even kicking. 7.62 worked though.
HMS Sheathbill
We flew 1hr 40mins on CAP during the afternoon, for less than one hour transit time - a huge improvement over our normal ratio of 80mins transit for 10mins on CAP. We didn't have any trade but we did RTB with 2 upland geese in the back hatch. These (together with many more) became the main course for our victory dinner - Goose Galtieri!
The 850' strip allowed us to launch with full internal fuel (5000lbs), which gave us one hour endurance and the CAP stations were only a couple of minutes away. We landed on the pad at the start of the strip and then taxied round to the pillow tanks to refuel/rearm. The turnround, without weapons, took about 5 minutes - amazing how quickly it can be done when there is an incentive!
The geese were a very real hazard, as they loved the warmth of the tin strip and paid no attention to arm-waving or even kicking. 7.62 worked though.
HMS Sheathbill
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The Geese also liked Stanley's metallic perches. My BCU had a hell of a job getting the bu66ers to ... GO AWAY. I found two pistols with bird-scaring cartridges quite effective. Round 1 = general fluttering, and a few airborne. Round 2 into the crowd. They didn't like Round 2 ... for a while, until they came back to warm their feet again!
The point of departure is irrelevant, it's landing in the oggin that counts; for instance members of the crew of XW666 were invited to join following their close encounter with the Moray Firth, membership also includes civilians who have had to ditch. Regarding Op Corporate, I am not going to conjecture whether Messrs Glover, Broadwater, Mortimer et al, were happy to be members of a club for which a certain former CO 809 (and veteran of the SA Army and SAAF) qualified for membership of three times between 7 July and 12 October 1956 while serving with 897 NAS.
I found it very interesting listening to ex-fast-jets' former CO, the late ACM Sir Peter Squire, talking about 1(F) in the Falklands on reels 6 and 7 of his contribution to the IWM oral history https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80025717
(Including comments on said ex-CO 809's distorted views of the RAF)
For those interested, a bit of light reading for after the conclusion of this thread https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documen...s-Campaign.pdf
Now back to those who were actually there...
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I knew Jimmy the author on the web and would recommend his book
Born in Bootle, Merseyside, where he still lives, James O'Connell enlisted in the Parachute Regiment in 1979.
In April 1982, after a posting in Cold War Germany and a tour of Northern Ireland, the call came to take part in the British Task Force to re-capture the Falklands. During the attack on Mount Longdon, James was shot in the face. A bullet passed through his nose, destroying his right eye, cheekbone and front teeth. Though he survived, five years of reconstructive surgery followed, and James left the army in 1985 as a result of his injuries.
Following the conflict, transition to civilian life was a difficult and James suffered from what was likely undiagnosed PTSD. He eventually married his long-term girlfriend Maureen, who he met in 1981, and they have two sons.
Since 2014, James has helped with the campaign to get a posthumous gallantry medal for Cpl Stewart McLaughlin and was instrumental in getting a memorial erected on Mount Longdon on the exact location where Sgt Ian McKay was killed winning a posthumous Victoria Cross, and he has travelled to the Falklands several times in order to write this book.
In April 1982, after a posting in Cold War Germany and a tour of Northern Ireland, the call came to take part in the British Task Force to re-capture the Falklands. During the attack on Mount Longdon, James was shot in the face. A bullet passed through his nose, destroying his right eye, cheekbone and front teeth. Though he survived, five years of reconstructive surgery followed, and James left the army in 1985 as a result of his injuries.
Following the conflict, transition to civilian life was a difficult and James suffered from what was likely undiagnosed PTSD. He eventually married his long-term girlfriend Maureen, who he met in 1981, and they have two sons.
Since 2014, James has helped with the campaign to get a posthumous gallantry medal for Cpl Stewart McLaughlin and was instrumental in getting a memorial erected on Mount Longdon on the exact location where Sgt Ian McKay was killed winning a posthumous Victoria Cross, and he has travelled to the Falklands several times in order to write this book.
Yes, I will admit to downing a few 2/3 HNs during the foggy days! On 3rd June we were passed an intercept of an Argentine signal saying that a Harrier strip was being built in San Carlos. This confused us, as we thought that all the PSA1 planking had gone down with Atlantic Conveyor - but imagine our surprise when we were told the following day, that the strip was ready for use! I gave the SHAR pilots a quick brief on strip ops and launched on the 5th to try it out.
We flew 1hr 40mins on CAP during the afternoon, for less than one hour transit time - a huge improvement over our normal ratio of 80mins transit for 10mins on CAP. We didn't have any trade but we did RTB with 2 upland geese in the back hatch. These (together with many more) became the main course for our victory dinner - Goose Galtieri!
The 850' strip allowed us to launch with full internal fuel (5000lbs), which gave us one hour endurance and the CAP stations were only a couple of minutes away. We landed on the pad at the start of the strip and then taxied round to the pillow tanks to refuel/rearm. The turnround, without weapons, took about 5 minutes - amazing how quickly it can be done when there is an incentive!
The geese were a very real hazard, as they loved the warmth of the tin strip and paid no attention to arm-waving or even kicking. 7.62 worked though.
HMS Sheathbill
We flew 1hr 40mins on CAP during the afternoon, for less than one hour transit time - a huge improvement over our normal ratio of 80mins transit for 10mins on CAP. We didn't have any trade but we did RTB with 2 upland geese in the back hatch. These (together with many more) became the main course for our victory dinner - Goose Galtieri!
The 850' strip allowed us to launch with full internal fuel (5000lbs), which gave us one hour endurance and the CAP stations were only a couple of minutes away. We landed on the pad at the start of the strip and then taxied round to the pillow tanks to refuel/rearm. The turnround, without weapons, took about 5 minutes - amazing how quickly it can be done when there is an incentive!
The geese were a very real hazard, as they loved the warmth of the tin strip and paid no attention to arm-waving or even kicking. 7.62 worked though.
HMS Sheathbill
On Wiki today there's a account of a Friendly Fire incident where HMS Cardiff fired on a Army Gazelle
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982..._fire_incident
Do we have any though or opinions from those that were down there ?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982..._fire_incident
Do we have any though or opinions from those that were down there ?
Thanks so much for the recommendation to read Goose Green by Nigel Ely. I am staggered by the bravery and good fortune of 2 Para and those that supported them. So many stories, some of which made me laugh out load alongside some utter tragedy. The Gazelle incident is described in the book and was a night recce that was supposed to be flown by Sgt Kilinski of 656 Sqn AAC in a Scout.
