"Mog" Morgan talks Harriers, Sea Harriers and the Falklands
 

A fascinating recollection. I read his book some years ago.....highly recommended too.

I started watching and had to stop. The interviewer’s nodding head was driving me crazy. Why on earth do he choose a split-screen format?

I’ll listen to it later without viewing screen.

I’ve also read Mogwi’s book. Very interesting and completely different from Sharkey’s book.

I’ve also read DM’s book and it was a very good read. I also made a 1/24 Airfix Sea Harrier as his cab on the first raid but with all the BDR patches applied.

You can get the podcast version here:

https://10percenttrue.buzzsprout.com/

Anniversary of the First Combat Mission
 

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I’ve also read Mogwi’s book. Very interesting and completely different from Sharkey’s book.

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Very different personalities. And I know which one I would prefer to have a beer with!

Great stuff! It sounds as though there’ll be another one after this.

Yeah, one more detailing Mog's kills and the PTSD he suffered for many years after.

PTSD Mog.........

We shared a cabin on/in HERMES and I was unaware of that - plus we met several times after 82 and I was also unaware.

Sorry to have missed it, and hope all is now well for you.

Just watched Dave's part #3, have to ask what's the story behind the RAF wanting to court marshal one of the Falkland pilots? Surely not the old WWII LMF attitude raising its head? I thought we had grown beyond that.

The other Falklands thread has a link to various diaries of crew members of HMS Brilliant. The 26th May entry by Laon says
If that had happened would the Harriers be expected to attack these surface ships or would that be left to the RN ships and submarines?
Just started listening to these tapes so don't whether this is covered....

Moggie - just listened to a bit of your videos..........

For historical accuracy - Gordon Batt was on VX-4 at Pt Mugu when I was on VX-5 at China Lake 78-81.

Gordy flew the F-14 on VX-4 - not the A-6.

We (Gordy and I) used to meet occasionally before we finally got together again on HERMES.

Thanks Bomber, mists of time! He was a great character and sorely missed.

Mog

Hi Sir, I would like to know if there was the moment of the A-.4s interception any Argentine CAP in the area. I have read about a Mirage IIIEA CAP at 35000 ft or higher over the Bluff Cove area.
For the Argentine Radar Control was not easy either, the A-4s at so low altitude were invisible for them too. On the 13th the A-4s received an alert of SH CAP from the Ground Radar Controller at Puerto Argentino/Port Stanley but the respond from the A-4s leader was "you can´t see me...so they can´t either" and press the attack. That was the last A-4s attack over the islands and all of the A-4s could return safe back to the continent some of them with a lot of holes...

I had just turned 18 and was sat safely in college in Cheshire when the Falklands fighting was at its peak. I recall we were like giddy schoolgirls watching the preparations as the Task Force sailed south, none of us imagined for one second that we could have been there ourselves, we were just “kids” after all. When we heard that there were British servicemen who were younger than us who had been killed in the fighting it came as a real shock. The laughing stopped.

I remain forever grateful to Mogwi and all the others who served.

All three episodes were well worth listening to. And again, ‘Hostile Skies’ is a great read.

Mog, I’m not so sure that it was your vortices that took the Puma out. I can well imagine that the pilot was pretty scared to see you homing in on him and at such low level may have simply struck the ground trying to evade. There was always much debate in helo crewrooms about the effect of jet wake but I don’t recall there ever being a definitive answer. Have you ever heard anything by way of confirmation?

I do recall an incident in Germany in the late 70's when a low pass over a transport helicopter had fatal consequencies.

Instructions given us, Trackers/H-34, was never fly over a "dipping" helo, as the downwash could be enough for the power limited helo to get wet.

My only experience of being overflown was by a CH53 on SPTA. He went right over my CH47 by about 50’ when we were both at low level. I certainly knew all about it but I’ve had much worse in the mountains.

Dan Winterland wrote: Well, I enjoyed several beers with Mog at Wildenrath in 1975 - and with Sharkey at Deci ACMI not long after the South Atlantic war. Both very brave and whatever people might think about Sharkey's behaviour in later years, don't forget that fighting the SHAR in that wretched part of the world was no picnic!

The pilot reported that he lost control of the aircraft after I passed overhead. He thought that he had had a tail rotor failure and tried to throw it onto the side of the hill. From my inspection of the wreckage, he most certainly did have a tail rotor failure - caused by the tail hitting the ground hard! There was a classic "barley twist' in the t/r drive shaft. I first saw this type of damage at the court martial of a Puma pilot at Odiham in the early 70s. (He got off).

mog

I can well understand his thoughts. I’ve no doubt your vortices would have made handling the aircraft quite tricky! I’ve always thought that tail rotors are dangerous things!

I second that.

For those of you who have watched part 3 and had a flickering BS caption, I should explain. I said that I entered the final engagement at 760 kts - what I meant was 670 kts. 760 would have been nice but 670 was still 60 kts above VNE!!

Blame the lockdown!

Mog

I still prefer your low fuel story - if only because I actually remember the BBC reporting it from the carrier back in ‘82.

you must have been pretty much transonic. Were there any changes in handling characteristics that you noticed? (If you weren’t too busy with other priorities!)

The SHAR seemed to handle pretty well at that speed. The big thing both Mog and I noticed was the vicious snap roll when we fired the AIM9L. As Mog mentioned, quite attention grabbing at that height and speed!

Wasn’t there a stores separation speed limit on the Lima, my foggy memory recalls some type of altitude/speed envelope for firing ?

Mogwi , maybe this photos rings a bell (or two), taken from Hermes (near Canary Islands) and mentioned the encounter in Hostile Skies.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3d8bafa00b.jpg
Ka-25 (NATO reporting name Hormone)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8caa853570.jpg
Soviet cruiser Marshal Timoshenko (Kresta II class)

Regards!

Just finished watching the three videos. Incredible stuff. My cousin was down South on one of the civilian ships and told of seeing the A-4s at close range. A very good friend is an old 1F boy and the names Mr Morgan related are familiar to me from my friend's stories. Thank you for the excellent videos.

I wish someone would make a Falklands film.
So many great stories.
I know Hollywood wouldn't touch it... too controversial...

They already did. Several VHS vids from the 80s whilst based at Stanley were made; maybe some from MPA as well......

Things may be changing; Hostile Skies is about to be published in Argentina!

Mog

Too boring. Sheep...farming...fishing...a wee war....sheep...fishing...farming...

Surely the UK has a film industry of some sort that could make a film about the islands.

I'm sure Hollywood would make it so that the Americans won it...

Hopefully Mog.
To be clear - when I said film - I meant a full dramatic production.
It was the first air sea war - very significant.
CGI is now good enough to portray Sea Harriers, Skyhawks and Etendards mixing it up, other battle scenes and how intimidating the South Atlantic weather was.
The script would virtually write itself.
The invasion.
A lash up convoy sent south.
Black Buck.
Air war heats up - Harriers and Mirages - showing the split second decision making and fear of fast jet combat.
The Belgrano - and then the centrepiece - second act - would be the Sheffield sinking.
We cut to Special Forces planning Mikado - see how it might have played out - sequence ends with chopper crew surrendering to Chilean police.
Meanwhile the spooks are buying up all the Exocets, and in Washington, the Americans and Brits are arguing over SIGINT access to US satellites.
Cut back to hot war - Coventry, Argonaut, Antelope.
Third act, San Carlos, the yomp to Goose Green, a horrible overnight fight with no cover and death of H. Jones, Mount Kent, Bluff Cove and the Fall of Stanley.
Black screen - 907 died over 74 days of fighting etc.
We then roll credits with the faces of real veterans - and maybe last of all - Simon Weston - an inspiration.
Bish bash bosh - done.
Maybe we could even sneak in a scene of a young Harrier pilot spotting a Puma - and knocking it out of the sky with jet wash...
BTW - no unintentional offence to anyone intended.
I genuinely think it would make a cracking and highly educational feature film...
Righto - casting call.
Who would play Sharkey Ward... ;)

We bought the F4 VHS's from one Fairford show - mostly set to music by Queen.

Have a read of the list of sorties on 21 May alone in this entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle...n_Carlos_(1982)
Far from boring... as I'm sure many of those who were actually there would attest.
If it's too sensitive for the British film industry to do alone - maybe they can get some kiwi help.
They've told quintessentially British stories before:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_Days_(2017_film)
I'd be asking these guys to do the CGI: https://www.wetafx.co.nz/
My friend Peter Jackson is a complete aviation nerd - WW1 admittedly, but there you go.