Ministry of Defence
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Falklands conflict this week 1982: 21 - 27 may
Imagery is available from the Imperial War Museum website and from http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/defencenews
21 May
* Air operations in support of the landing force begins.
* Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships, Sir Tristram, Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad enter San Carlos Water in preparation for the landings.
* As the first troop ashore, 2 Para's mission was to protect the Task Force from Argentinean ground attacks by establishing itself on Sussex Mountain, protecting the south of the bridgehead. This was achieved without opposition.
* 3 Para land in the north near Port San Carlos.
* British Forces landed in San Carlos Water with troops from 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines going ashore at Ajax Bay.
* 45 Commando landed and occupied the old refrigeration plant at Ajax Bay.
* One pair of GR3s from HMS Hermes successfully attacked a helicopter park at Mount Kent destroying a Chinook and a Puma reducing the Argentine ability to move reinforcements to critical areas.
* At the same time two deception operations took place to focus Argentinean activity around Stanley (bombardment by HMS Glamorgan).
* Goose Green/Darwin (Special Forces raid and bombardment by HMS Ardent).
2 and 3 Para
Dave 'Charlie' Brown landed on the Falklands on 21 May on his 21 birthday with 2 Para. An event such as this naturally went in to the regimental history which states that: Charlie Brown celebrated his 21st birthday in Falklands the with a 21 gun salute by the Royal Navy, a flypast by the Argentinean Air Force and a few unwanted presents throughout the day. Later in the conflict, Dave also helped get wounded men ashore from Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Galahad. He is currently the South Atlantic Medal Association representative for the North and lives in West Yorkshire.
Laurie Ashbridge was the Regimental Sergeant Major with 3 Para at the Port San Carlos landing. On the morning of the landing, he was photographed having his first brew with the first civilians liberated - the Ford family. That image was the first wired image of the landings. Unbeknown to Laurie the image had a huge impact back home in the UK and when he reached Stanley there were bags of mail from supporters. In 2002 Laurie returned to the Falklands and had an emotional reunion with Coleen Ford, who presented him with the very mug he drank tea from in 1982. There are images available to support this. Laurie recently retired from the Army as a Major and lives with his wife in Bedfordshire.
* HMS Ardent commences bombardment of Goose Green and Darwin. While on Grantham Sound, a Grupo 5 A-4 Skyhawk and three Grupo 6 Daggers attack and seriously damage the ship destroying the Lynx helicopter; she was then evacuated under the protection of other warships off North West Island. However, within forty minutes there was a second wave of air attacks by two flights of Escuadrilla A-4Q Skyhawks and in those final attacks the Ardent was hit by two 500lb bombs which set the aft end ablaze causing her to list heavily. Harriers directed by HMS Brilliant intercepted the A4s and all three were destroyed. Ardent now in a bad way was indefensible. HMS Yarmouth came alongside and took the ships company who were later transferred to Canberra. Seven bombs had hit in all leaving 22 men dead and 37 wounded.
22 May
* Overnight HMS Ardent burned alone, sinking after
twelve hours.
Commander Ken Enticknapp, HMS Ardent was a Chief Petty Officer during the conflict. He was in charge of the Aft Damage Control Section Base when they were hit by a bomb from an Argentine aircraft. Whilst trying to control fires, Cdr Enticknapp and a colleague were badly injured when the ship was hit for a second time. He was later awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his outstanding efforts.
Public Facilities: Location: HMS Exeter alongside (next to HMS
Belfast)
The ship will be moored alongside HMS BELFAST and
will be open to members of the public on production of a valid HMS
BELFAST ticket or production of an RN ID card between 10am-5pm
Sunday 20th May .
* An Argentine Coastguard craft, Rio Iguazu, was spotted in Choiseul Sound and strafed. She was beached and abandoned, 12 miles from Darwin.
* Two Argentine Daggers and three A4Bs attacked ships in San Carlos after approaching from the south. One aircraft ditched its bomb load at the entrance.
* HMS Broadsword and HMS Coventry tasked to patrol 50 miles west of the northern entrance to the Falkland Sound to use their Sea Dart/Sea Wolf combination to intercept and destroy incoming aircraft.
23 May
* HMS Antelope together with together with Plymouth, Yarmouth and Broadsword, take up positions at the entrance to San Carlos Water.
* Four Argentine A4B Skyhawks are spotted by 2 Para as they crossed in to Grantham Sound. Splitting in to two pairs they concentrated their attack on HMS Antelope with one managing to release a bomb before colliding with Antelopes main mast, another released two 1000-lb bombs, but neither exploded. When work began to defuse the first bomb it exploded killing one man and wounding another. The ensuing fire spread quickly and the crew abandoned ship before it eventually sunk with a loss of two lives on 24 May.
John Phillips from the Royal Engineers was a Sergeant Major in bomb disposal when he served with Fleet in Falkland. While defusing a bomb on HMS Antelope he was blown up losing an arm in the explosion and his colleague killed. Serving for more than 31 years in Army, he retired a Captain. John was awarded Distinguished Service Cross and his colleague who was killed in the same explosion, Sergeant James Prescott, was posthumously awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, the last of these ever to be awarded and the only one awarded during the Falklands Conflict.
24 May
* RFA ships, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad bombed in San Carlos Water. Sir Galahad was hit by a 1000-lb bomb which failed to explode and was later lifted overboard.
Bernie Bruen was a Lieutenant working as part of a Royal Navy team defusing unexploded bombs during the Falkland Campaign. A 1000-lb bomb entered the St Galahad through the bulkhead, finally lodging itself firmly in the hold with metal from the ship wrapped tightly around its top half. It took eight and a half hours to remove the bomb most of which was achieved whilst Bernie had the bomb resting on his legs and while he was sitting in battery acid. When it was safely over the side he immediately went to another ship to help get rid of another bomb. Bernie was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
25 May
* HMS Coventry caught on port side with canon fire and three bombs from Argentinean A4 Skyhawk aircraft, at least two exploded and soon there were fires, smoke and flooding. HMS Coventry capsized and sunk with a loss of eighteen lives.
* Two Exocet missiles both locked on to the Atlantic Conveyor she was caught in the starboard quarter. With major fires and dense black smoke there was little choice but to abandon ship which later sunk. Nine crew died in total; all of them in the water, including the ship's captain, Captain Ian North.
* UN Security Council debate ends.
* Three Argentine aircraft shot down.
* HMS Broadsword is tasked to operate in 'missile trap' to the North of Pebble Island and is bombed while still engaged on those operations when one bomb bounces off the sea entering through the hull and exiting up through the flight deck taking the nose off a Lynx helicopter before landing in the sea on the other side without exploding.
26 May
* 2 Para start advance on Goose Green.
27 May
* 45 Commando and 3 Para start yomp from San Carlos.
* QE2 and Canberra and Norland rendezvous in South Georgia.
Roll of Honour:
ROYAL NAVY AND ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY
HMS ANTELOPE
STWD Mark Royston STEPHENS
HMS ARDENT
AB Derek ARMSTRONG
LT CDR Richard
BANFIELD
AB(S) Andrew Robert BARR
POAEM (M) Peter Ian
Herbert BRUARD
CK1 Richard John DUNKERLEY
STWD Shaun
HANSON
AB(EW) Stephen HAYES
AB(S) Sean Keith
HAYWARD
WEM(R)1 Simon John LAWSON
MEM(M)2 Alistair Roy
LEIGHTON
L/Ck Michael Paul FOOTE
MEM(M)2 Stephen Nicholas
FORD
AEM(M)1 Alan MCAULAY
LT Brian MURPHY
LS(Radar)
Michael Stephen MULLEN
L/PTI Gary Thomas NELSON
POWEM(R)
Andrew Keith PALMER
CK1 John Raymond ROBERTS
LT CDR John
Murray SEPHTON, DSC
MEM(M)1 Gilbert Stephen
WILLIAMS
L/MEM(L) Gary WHITFORD
LMEM(M) Stephen James WHITE
ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY
Chan Chi SHING
ATLANTIC CONVEYOR
ROYAL NAVY
AEM(R)1 Adrian John
ANSLOW
POW Edmund FLANAGAN
LAEM(L) Electrical Donald
Leonard PRYCE
ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY
R HOOLE
NG POR
CHAN CHI SING
MERCHANT NAVY
JB DOBSON
F FOULKES
DRS HAWKINS
J
HUGHES
CAPTAIN IH NORTH DSC
EN VICKERS
HMS ARGONAUT
AB Ian McDonald BOLDY
S(M) Matthew James STUART
HMS COVENTRY
MEM(M)1 Frank Owen ARMES
CCWEA John David
Law CADDY
POCA Stephen Roy DAWSON
WEM(R)1 John Keith
DOBSON
PO(S) Michael George FOWLER
WEM(O)1 Ian Peter
HALL
LT Rodney Ritchie HEAT
WEM1 David John Arden
OZBIRN
LT CDR Glen Stuart ROBINSON-MOLTKE
LS(EW) Bernard
James STILL
POMEA Geoffrey Leslie STOCKWELL
POWE Artificer
David Anthony STRICKLAND
AB(EW) Adrian Derek
SUNDERLAND
MEM(M)2 Stephen TONKIN
CMEA(M) Paul Brian
CALLUS
CK2 Ian Edward TURNBULL
POWEA Philip WHITE
WEA
APP Ian Robert WILLIAMS
HMS HERMES
LTCDR Gordon Walter BATT, DSC
ROYAL MARINES
SGT Andrew Peter EVANS, 3 Commando Brigade Air
LT Kennith
David FRANCIS, 3 Commando Brigade Air
L/CPL Brett Patrick
GIFFIN, 3 Commando Brigade Air
MNE 1 Stephen Graham MCANDREWS,
40 Commando
L/CPL Peter Burke MCKAY, 45 Commando
MNE 1
David WILSON, 45 Commando
CPL Kenneth EVANS, 45
Commando
SGT Roger ENEFER, 45 Commando
LCPL Colin DAVISON,
CDO LOG Regiment
ARMY
SGT James Prescott Royal Engineers, 49 EOD Squadron on HMS
Antelope
SPR Pradeep Kumar GANDHI, Royal Engineers, 59 Ind CDO
Further information on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict is available from the online Falklands 25 Media Centre, http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Falklands25MediaCentre.htm.
