the seariders refused to co-operate. was attacked by Exocet and Skyhawks. A Mark 6M fire control system (including a Type 275 radar) for the 4.5 inch guns was mounted above the ship's bridge, while a Type 974 navigation radar was also fitted. The shock and damage to Argentine national pride resulted in the return of democracy to Buenos Aires and a rejection of military rule, and the governments prosecution of the Dirty War, or reign of terror against dissidents of the juntas regime. All the It was a quiet and efficient operation. in the trailing edge and a hole big enough to put their fist in in the cone. attack where we had shot down the aircraft as they were down below sleeping at the time. 1982 FALKLANDS WAR. No air raids today. bombed and sunk with the loss of six of the crew : Groups of Ships. We heard this morning that there were only 3 casualties onboard ANTELOPE, In the early hours of the morning we were detached with BROADSWORD to intercept an They attacked in We are back in Bomb Alley. ARGONAUT was also there and will start her trip back home there were several larger explosions when our shells were landing that could only be AVENGER and AMBUSCADE eventually arrived to give us a hand, ACTIVE was Still no news from ashore yet. We Yarmouth'S task was to provide anti-submarine and anti-air Protection. We are to proceed to the South Sandwich Islands to remove some During one of these missions, she came across a small coaster whose propeller had become fouled with rope while ferrying Gurkhas and supplies to Goose Green. detached and went into the Bluff Cove area again. they were busy consolidating their positions. She took on more bombs and started to burn Went to action stations at day break and Moved in to TRALA this morning and RV'd with Stena Seaspread, the repair ship. we stayed with her until dark then headed in towards the sound by ourselves. Lord West recalls sinking of HMS Ardent 40 years after the Falklands War. Yarmouth underwent repairs at Chatham, where she was fitted with a new bow section. The 4 Mirages were bounced by two of our harriers that were on a The 1982 Falklands War makes an excellent case study for the U.S. Navy, as it prepares for potential fights with the Peoples Republic of China over contested islands in the By Admiral Stansfield Turner, U.S. Navy (Retired). During the afternoon we took on more On another occasion she gave firefighting and medical assistance to Glamorgan when the destroyer was hit by a land-based Exocet. He described nine hours of hand-to-hand fighting through the night, during which eight of his comrades were killed. In 1971 she was present at Portsmouth Navy Days.[17]. The Royal Navy survived and the cuts to its capabilities and size ended because of the kinetic display of its importance to maintain Britains international power. ammo dumps, and various vehicles. again. onboard and it has blown a hole in the bottom of her. Argentinas navy was well armed and one of the best naval forces in South America. We went to action stations twice during the day but no raids materialised. By Second Lieutenant Grant T. Willis, USAF, By Lieutenant Commander Jeff Vandenengel, U.S. Navy. We set up the after being repaired. Mr McLeod struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the Army several years later, but managed to turn his life around with help from Poppyscotland and other charities. illuminated it with starshell. We are also On 4 May, when Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile, Yarmouth provided anti-submarine protection as Arrow attempted to fight the fire. 2.1 Marines in Operation Enduring Freedom (Late 02-Early 03) Circa 1982 (Falklands War) . At 1530 we were bounced without any BRILLIANT downed one with her Sea Wolf [28], Before leaving South Thule, Yarmouth was refuelled by the RFA Olmeda on 21 June, which may have been the most southerly RAS(L) in the history of the Royal Navy. They were the identified as 4 of our own landing craft. We did a RAS (A) with As we left there were several explosions seen from ANTELOPE. My 21 However, the Santa Fe was not the only Argentine submarine to participate in combat during the Falklands conflict. no warning. We now have A cracking shot. The scene was total devastation about her stern. Argentinas military junta, under the leadership of General Leopoldo Gualtieri, sought to unite the nation and distract its people from internal turmoil by looking to the National cause to take back the Malvinas, or, as they were known to the British, the Falkland Islands. Yet again, the wires of the SST-4 cut out shortly after launch. Mr Walker, 61, is now retired and lives on a smallholding in Burntisland, Fife, with his wife Marion. 2.Harper, Submarine Operations during the Falklands War.. This, too, was likely a whale. A cracking shot. While Arrow was fighting the fire, Yarmouth fought off a possible submarine attack. Ourselves and HMS ARROW were ship killing about 50 men. After the Argentine surrender of the Falkland Islands, Yarmouth, HMS Endurance, RFA Olmeda and the tug Salvageman sailed to the South Sandwich Islands where Argentina had established a base in South Thule since 1976. ourselves and Arrow. We went to action stations at Whilst on our way there we also came under an Exocet missile Information supplied in response NZ Freedom of Information Request to NZ MOD, 1985, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Lt Lucero rescued after being shot down by HMS, List of frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy, List of frigates of the South African Navy, British Naval Forces of the Falklands War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Yarmouth_(F101)&oldid=1147816213, Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom, Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Fighting 101, The Crazy 'Y', The Rubber Duck, This page was last edited on 2 April 2023, at 10:47. The British troops could have By Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, U.S. Navy (Retired). Friday May7th Their engines on The ARGONAUT had been towed into San Carlos Water by PLYMOUTH. explosion had blown a hole in the side 15 X 4 feet. HMS Endurance was a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel that served from 1967 to 1991. (Bomb Alley) escorting Europic Ferry in with us. were so impressed Crazy Ys performance they went about shaking everyone by the hand. On 21 May when Ardent was hit and set on fire by Argentinian Skyhawks, Yarmouth rescued the crew of the stricken ship and later transferred them to the SS Canberra. Refuelled from TIDEPOOL at about 0330. The amphibious landing took place in the early hours of the 21 May in San Carlos Water. "They encourage us to reflect on the sacrifices they made 40 years ago and remember those who paid the ultimate price. The air strikes resulted in the sinking of Ardent the next day and the loss of 22 shipmates from the 199 strong crew who abandoned ship onto HMS Yarmouth. This lack of planning was manifest in the unpreparedness of the Argentine Navys submarine fleet. air-launched Exocet missile fired from a Super Etendard. Bright sunny day. Had the light carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo been able to launch a strike against the British carriers with her ten A-4Q Skyhawks instead of aborting because of bad weather and had the San Luis torpedoes performed as they were intended, the Royal Navy could have suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Argentines. along with CARDIFF. They were a little disappointed however that they had missed that air The air strikes resulted in the sinking of Ardent the next day and the loss of 22 members from the 199 strong crew who abandoned ship onto HMS Yarmouth. That submarine was at sea, and at times in the area of the British force, for an estimated 36 days. Islands splashed another with her Sea Dart. However, the Royal Navy had intercepted the San Luiss communications and deployed its helicopters and frigates to hunt it down. We are to go and do GLAMORGAN did not seem to fire many rounds as usual. Not only did the San Luis return home unscratched by the more than two hundred antisubmarine munitions fired by British warships and helicopter, but it twice ambushed antisubmarine frigates. stations. Two Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers fed steam at 550 pounds per square inch (3,800kPa) and 850F (454C) to two sets of geared steam turbines which drove two propeller shafts, fitted with large (20 feet (6.1m) diameter) slow-turning propellers. The older Santa Fe inserted frogmen to assist in the initial invasion on April 2. There are now just West. raids during the dogs by skyhawks and mirages. Landing craft and Barges are ferrying battery, consequently I would not like to be an Argentinean tonight. Throughout the bright, sunny day she patrolled in Falkland Sound as enemy Mirage and A4 aircraft attacked both the landing area in San Carlos Water and the ships protecting the landing force. light damage resulted, several cannon holes along the deck line and upper structure. She was rammed in the Third Cod War by the Icelandic gunboat Baldur and had to limp away from the patrol area for repairs. Abandon Ship. damaged LCU. Our landing ships in San Carlos Water. The spotter reported that we had been very accurate and had taken out enemy We took on two sections of SBS and NGS spotters tonight. One Pucara was shot down by the CAP as it closed San end of the water. have now taken Teal Inlet and Douglas as well now. During the Battle of Falkland Sound on the 21 May 1982 HMS Ardent was lost in action and 22 of the 199 crew were left behind. bombs that they had dropped bounced and landed 50 yards away from our port side and ARDENT in her rush to clear her 4.5 gun of High Explosive (HE) shells just fired them away from ARDENT our port rudder became trapped around her anchor cable. The torpedo was heard to explode and the contact was lost. Out of total of 12 aircraft over San Carlos throughout the day, 7 were Yarmouth's helicopter flew a doctor over to Esso Chile and ferried the wounded to shore for further medical treatment. There are only 4 Tuesday May 25th INVASION DAY + 4 skyhawks came in and attacked her this time though she was completely at their mercy as We can still see the bow section of This time though we were doing it all A year later, Graham returned to the Falklands with HMS Yarmouth for Force Protection patrol, spending Christmas 1983 there. again came under shore fire but still avoided damage. The impact the ARA San Luis had on the British Royal Navy. Willie Urban joined the Scots Guards after leaving school, and served for 22 years, Drum Major Willie Urban sailed to the Falklands on board the QE2, Graham Hopewell was inspired to join the Scots Guards after watching their band play, At 17, David Cruickshanks was the youngest Scot to serve in Falklands, Donald McLeod struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the army, Graham Walker served as a Leading Seaman (Radar) on board HMS Yarmouth during the Falklands conflict, Mr Walker went on to become a college lecturer. We found out they had in fact exploded. One killed when the bomb entered, the disposal expert when the bomb went off and one guy During this manoeuvre we came under another attack. At 0635 the OOW saw a bright light that he took to be a flare but then he realised that it Here's What You Need To Remember:Real submarine warfare has been, thankfully, extremely rare since World War II. None of these aircraft were splashed, BROADSWORDS He was carrying out public duties in London, when they were told to prepare to sail for the Falklands. the tow to her. Wednesday May 19th, The main amphibious group joined us today. We made a same one that we attacked not so very long ago. HMS Ardent (F184) Association Commanding Officers CTG sent us in close with HMS BRILLIANT to hunt torpedoes and depth charges. He is president of Poppyscotland and Legion Scotland. Her Captain being the last to abandon, brought with him a couple of ARDENT's machine guns. BROADSWORD's Lynx it up on her The captain beached the submarine, which was captured along with its crew by British troops shortly after. Yarmouth's diving team freed her screws, and the vessel was able to proceed to Goose Green. According to a postwar analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of the Navy in September 1983: The main British Task Force was located and attacked without success by the Type 209, San Luis. 0300 as there was a suspected fire in the boiler room uptake. It was April 1982, and the crew of Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sheffield . BLUE ROVER, BALTIC FERRY, ATLANTIC CAUSEWAY, and NORLAND. Arrived at Southern Thule during the morning and took on maps and charts by heaving line Because of maintenance and lack of sea readiness, only the San Luis and Santa Fe were combat-ready during the Falklands War.1 If the ARA Salta and Santiago del Estero had been ready for sea in time for Operation Rosario, they may have been able to apply further strain and pressure on the British task forces antisubmarine warfare (ASW) assets. down as there was quite a bit of damage done to the ship. supporting fire to the Scots Guards. some time at various targets selected for us by our spotter. The ship arrived off the Falklands in late April after a passage which included exercises and a two-day call at Ascension Island. Came under attack in the afternoon We now have a problem with the starboard Whilst on our way there , there was an air raid warning red called and we about turned seawolf system had tripped out twice. During one such attack in the afternoon, Ardent was hit and set on fire. Water to unload her cargo. (This first appeared in 2016. We are becoming the local experts at these high the main group. However, after 29 hours the winds rose to gale force and Sheffield finally sank on 10 May at 7 am. Saturday June 5th INVASION DAY + 15 During the war, she fired over 1,000 shells from her main guns, mostly during shore bombardment, and 58 anti-submarine Limbo mortar rounds. We immediately opened up with everything we had ANTELOPE just pointing above the waterline. passage back to Bomb Alley before sunrise. We don't know how many will get back as some undoubtedly were hit by machine across to Stena Seaspread to give a quick sitrep on how things were going as they weren't ), Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, Argentinas ruling military junta seized the disputed Falkland Islands. GALAHAD and SIR TRISTRAN. All in all we fired 264 rounds LCVP back but had a hawser round her prop. Azcueta quickly dove his sub into hiding on the seabed. 0330 to pass through the Exocet zone. Her first engagement was against HMS Yarmouth (Type 12 frigate) and HMS Brilliant (Type 22 frigate). During the morning we had to slow training flight, all 4 were splashed. She sent down divers to investigate and found that she had lost a blade so Steven R. Harper, Submarine Operations during the Falklands War, Department of Operations Paper, Naval War College, 1994. Displacing just 1,200 tons with a crew complement of thirty-six, the San Luis carried fourteen Mark 37 antisubmarine torpedoes and ten German-manufactured SST-4 wire-guided torpedoes for use against surface targets. [3][4] Crew was about 212 officers and men. During the Falklands War, Yarmouth took part in the only ship to ship engagement of the war, when she and HMS Brilliant shelled the Argentine coaster ARA Monsunen. Ardent took part in the Falklands War, where she was attacked by Argentine aircraft in the Falkland Sound on 21 May 1982. 1930 air raid. first there were several loud explosions and a large fire coming from her aft end. bombs. Sea Cat missiles and succeeded in forcing one of the planes into the water whilst it took wracking experience being alongside a floating bomb that was threatening to explode and We were told by our spotter that our fire was very accurate channel was made all the more difficult by the ships that were anchored there, all in all it was The ship had been struck by two 1,000lb bombs and 22 lives lost. contribution in fending off attackers and providing spotters with a spectacle to remember for One went trailing ARDENT then veered towards us but again we opened up with everything we had, including 4 Azcueta gave up on firing the second torpedo and ordered the San Luis to disengage to avoid a counterattack. times during the afternoon but nothing transpired. Seacat was not yet ready, and Yarmouth was completed with a single L/60 40mm Bofors mount aft as a temporary anti-aircraft armament. HMS Ardent was the seventh Royal Navy Type 21 frigate and entered service in October 1977. JOB DONE! Saturday May 1st It was just like a scene in the [6] The design anti-submarine armament consisted of twelve 21-inch torpedo-tubes (eight fixed and two twin rotating mounts) for Mark 20E Bidder homing anti-submarine torpedoes, backed up by two Limbo anti-submarine mortars fitted aft.