The Falklands Naval Campaign 1982

The Falklands Conflict was remarkable for many reasons: it was a hard fought, bloody and short conflict between a leading NATO power and one of the most capable armed forces in South America; it demonstrated the capabilities of a range of cutting-edge technologies including nuclear-powered attack submarines, Exocet missiles and Sea Harrier VSTOL aircraft; and it was fought many thousands of miles away from the Royal Navy's home bases. In this illustrated study, renowned naval historian Dr Edward Hampshire draws upon the latest available sources to offer a comprehensive examination of the Falklands naval campaign. Blow-by-blow accounts of key engagements, such as the sinking of the General Belgrano, the loss of HMS Sheffield, and the landings at San Carlos Bay, are presented alongside lesser known but equally important naval operations that helped shape the outcome of the conflict.

The Falklands Conflict was remarkable for many reasons: it was a hard fought, bloody and short conflict between a leading NATO power and one of the most capable armed forces in South America; it demonstrated the capabilities of a range of cutting-edge technologies including nuclear-powered attack submarines, Exocet missiles and Sea Harrier VSTOL aircraft; and it was fought many thousands of miles away from the Royal Navy's home bases. In this illustrated study, renowned naval historian Dr Edward Hampshire draws upon the latest available sources to offer a comprehensive examination of the Falklands naval campaign. Blow-by-blow accounts of key engagements, such as the sinking of the General Belgrano, the loss of HMS Sheffield, and the landings at San Carlos Bay, are presented alongside lesser known but equally important naval operations that helped shape the outcome of the conflict.

This battle atlas details the occupation of South Georgia and the Falklands Islands/Malvinas by the Argentines, the assembly and dispatch of the British Task Force, and the reconquest of the islands. Appendices list British ships and aircraft, and Argentine aircraft losses and British gallantry awards.

The war fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982, for the possession of the Falkland Islands was probably the last 'colonial' war that will ever be undertaken by the British. This book shows how the key to British success was the speed with which the British gained and then maintained air superiority over the islands and the waters around then with their small force of Sea Harrier STOVL warplanes, which operated from two aircraft carriers. Though subsonic, the Sea Harrier and its Sidewinder AAM were a combination altogether superior to Argentina's mix of supersonic and subsonic warplanes with older weapons, and this advantage was emphasised by the significantly greater tactical acuity of the British pilots. The Argentine pilots fought with considerable piloting skill and enormous courage, and scored a number of stunning successes against British warships, but ultimately they could not prevent the British landing and the following land campaign that resulted in complete Argentine defeat.

Covering the origins of the 1982 war, this book describes the long history of the dispute between Argentina and Britain over the sovereignty of the islands, and the difficulties faced by governments in finding a way to reconcile the dispute.

On 3 April 1982 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced that Argentine armed forces had landed on British sovereign territory; had captured the men of Royal Marine detachment NP8901; had run up the Argentine flag; and had declared the islands and their population to be Argentine. An immediate response was required and a task force was rapidly assembled to retake the islands. From this point until the Argentine surrender on 14 June, the British forces fought what was in many ways a 19th-century style colonial campaign at the end of extended supply lines some 8,000 miles from home. This volume will detail the major stages of the land campaign to retake the islands, focusing on the San Carlos landings, the battle for Darwin and Goose Green, and the final battles for Mt Longdon, Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge, the mountains that surrounded the island's capital, Stanley.

When the Task Force of the Royal Navy started its southbound voyage, as the second major act during the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982, its commanders assessed the Argentine submarines as the biggest threat. Even if limited in total size and scope, this threat was so conditioning that the conclusion was that it had to be neutralized at the earliest possible moment in time, otherwise no victory would have been possible. The British believed that the Argentines would wait for them in the waters of the war zone with two modern and dangerous German-made Type-209 submarines, and a modified US-made submarine from the times of the Second World War. To their good luck, this threat was quickly reduced to two, because during the first naval combat of the conflict, the old ARA Santa Fe was knocked out and captured by the Royal Navy at South Georgia. Further anti-submarine operations followed on 1 May 1982, when ARA San Luis attacked Royal Navy warships, and, in turn, was counterattacked, resulting in scenes reminiscent of those from the movie Das Boot. Avoiding its pursuers, the boat distanced before re-attacking a few days later – when multiple factors conspired to prevent it from becoming successful. Despite systematic pursuit by warships and helicopters of the Royal Navy, the submarine eventually returned to its home port in one piece. Because the other Argentinean Type-209, ARA Salta, was non-operational, the withdrawal of the ARA San Luis also prompted the withdrawal of all the major units of the Argentine Navy into shallow waters off the coast of South America. Although the undersea battlefield was thus actually empty of Argentine submarines, elements of the Royal Navy’s task force continued detecting and tracking multiple sonar contacts over the following days and weeks. Indeed, they ultimately fired no fewer than 31 torpedoes, 49 depth-charges and 21 mortar salvoes at these. "Go Find Him and Bring Me Back His Hat" is the story of the crews of 22 warships, submarines, anti-submarine-warfare helicopters, and Nimrod submarine-hunter aircraft, their intensive and advanced training, and combat experiences – a richly illustrated story that has never been told before.

The bestselling, highly-acclaimed and most famous account of the Falklands War, written by the commander of the British Task Force.

While many books have been written on the Falklands War, this is the first to focus on the vital aspect of logistics. The challenges were huge; the lack of preparation time; the urgency; the huge distances involved; the need to requisition ships from trade to name but four.??After a brief discussion of events leading to Argentina's invasion the book describes in detail the rush to re-organise and deploy forces, despatch a large task force, the innovative solutions needed to sustain the Task Force, the vital staging base at Ascension Island, the in-theatre resupply, the set-backs and finally the restoring of order after victory.??Had the logistics plan failed, victory would have been impossible and humiliation inevitable, with no food for the troops, no ammunition for the guns, no medical support for casualties etc.??The lessons learnt have never been more important with increasing numbers of out-of-area operations required in remote trouble spots at short notice. The Falklands experience is crucial for the education of new generations of military planners and fascinating for military buffs and this book fills an important gap.

Follows the task force to the South Atlantic, through the battles of early May that saw the loss of the Belgrano and the Sheffield, and on to the landings at San Carlos and the eventual surrender of the Argentine garrison.