Dauntless, shield of the Falklands
ALMOST 30 years to the day that a task force headed for the Falkland Islands, the Royal Navy’s newest warship sets sail for the South Atlantic.
HMS Dauntless’s maiden mission is a show of strength as Buenos Aires ratchets up tensions over sovereignty of the disputed territory.
In an echo of the emotional scenes from 1982, scores of well-wishers lined the harbour walls in Portsmouth yesterday to wave off the £1billion Type 45 destroyer on its sixmonth deployment. The hi-tech vessel, which bristles with anti-aircraft weapons, will patrol the coastline during celebrations to mark the liberation of the islands.
Dauntless, which has a crew of 190, will also carry out maritime security operations off West Africa and the wider South Atlantic.
Ministry of Defence officials insist Dauntless is on a ‘routine’ mission to take over from HMS Montrose, a Type 23 frigate. But Naval chiefs admit sending the warship to the region will deliver a strong signal that Britain has no intention of relinquishing the Falklands.
The ship’s Sampson radar, more advanced than Heathrow air traffic control, can monitor air space up to 250 miles away.
One Navy officer said: ‘A Type 45 is capable of wiping out the Argentine air force in a day if they were foolish enough to take us on.’
On April 5 in 1982, thousands saw aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible lead a task force to war. Tensions have become strained around the anniversary of the conflict, which cost the lives of 255 British and 649 Argentine servicemen.
A warship once commanded by Prince Charles is set to be scrapped. The Prince of Wales spent ten months in charge of minesweeper HMS Bronington after becoming a Royal Navy officer in 1976.
But the vessel has languished in a Merseyside dock since the trust which owned her went into liquidation six years ago.