Battle for superiority of the water as conflict intensified
Historian Malcolm Goode looks at events from the first weeks of May 1982 when actions intensified during the Falklands conflict
THE date of Saturday, May 1, 1982 was the opening day of Britain’s first strike against the Argentine forces occupying the Falkland Islands, and the very nature of it came as a complete surprise to the vast majority of people in the UK, if not the whole world.
We all learned that two Vulcan Bombers had flown all the way to the Falkland Islands from the Ascension Island, carried out a strategic bombing attack, and flown back again, an 8,000 mile round trip from Ascension Island.
This mission proved to be a logistical nightmare as several tanker aircraft had to meet each of the Vulcan’s set locations in order to refuel them in mid-air.
The objective of the mission was to bomb and destroy Stanley airport runway in order to deny the Argentinian air force the use of this vital facility.
Although only one bomb hit the runway, it forced the Argentine commanders to abandon Stanley airport as a means to attack British ships, their air force planes were ordered to fly from the Argentine mainland with the consequent disadvantage of operating at maximum range.
This was to prove a significant advantage to the British in spite of the losses they were about to suffer in the coming days.
Also on this day the British Government, using their emergency powers, requisitioned RMS Queen Elizabeth II in order to transport a military task force to the Falklands.
On Sunday, May 2, HM Submarine Conqueror which was the first Royal Navy warship to leave Britain for the Falklands in early April, spotted the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano together with its escorting warships, sailing towards East Falkland, after a exchange of messages with London it was decided the Belgrano posed a significant risk to British surface ships in the area and might make the landing of British troops on the Island difficult if not impossible.
Orders were passed on from London to the Conqueror to attack the Belgrano. She subsequently fired three torpedoes, and sank the Argentinian battle cruiser.
A total of 323 Argentines were killed in this action, and 772 survived. This was a powerful message to President Galtieri that the United Kingdom was deadly serious about bringing the Falkland Territories back under British rule.
The news of the sinking of Belgrano came as quite a shock to the task force and not the least to the British public. Things were indeed getting serious.
As a result of the sinking, Galtieri ordered all Argentine warships back to their home port where they remained for the rest of the conflict. This order was to have a serious detrimental effect on the Argentinian forces in the coming weeks ahead.
On Tuesday, May 4, the destroyer HMS. Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile, starting a fire in the control room.
The crew were forced to abandon the ship, although 20 of the crew killed in this attack had to be left on board. The Sheffield was to be the first British warship to be sunk in this conflict. She was to remain afloat as a burning smouldering wreck until she finally sank on May 10.
Between May 5 and 11, Ascension Island became the main focus as the British task force began to assemble in readiness for the attack on the Falklands.
Eight RAF Harrier’s arrived, so did 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. On Wednesday, May 12, the Queen Elizabeth II departed from Southampton with most of 5 Infantry Brigade on board. At the Falklands, HMS Glasgow was damaged by Argentine aircraft. 3 Commando Brigade HQ issued operational orders for the landing in San Carlos Water.
On May 14 and 15, the SAS carried out a successful raid against the hastily constructed airstrip on a farm at Pebble Island which was occupied by the Argentine forces. The air strip was used to fly in supplies of ammunition, fuel and troops. More importantly, the Argentinians had installed a radar base at the farm, and would quite easily detect any British force approaching by sea.
If the British invasion of the Falklands was to go ahead, that radar base had to be destroyed. The SAS detachment not only destroyed the radar but also the supply dumps and more especially eleven Argentine air craft before successfully being removed from the area by a British helicopter. Only two SAS soldiers received minor injuries in this action.
The senior British commanders could now go ahead and plan the landing of troops on the Island.
On May 18 the Argentine junta rejected British peace proposals, leaving prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet no other option than to give approval for amphibious landings on the Falkland Islands to take place as soon as possible.
On May 20 United Nations peace talks failed, ending any hope of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.