polecat paul Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Keep going Paul, I'm still checking in daily. Its bringing back all the knotted gut feelings & memories...."Hope they've got all the kit they need....hope they make it ashore ok.....hope the politicians don't foul it up....etc etc" Do I recall correctly that at the time we were having trouble getting small arms ammo ?....something to do with it being made in Belgium & they refused to supply ??? anyone else recall such a report at the time ?? H There is stuff that i,m finding out doing this that i didnt realise had happened , so learning curve for me to!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morris c8 fat Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 All those years ago sitting in the block waiting for the call but 12regt got in first (the Irish and Italians were pied off with Mrs T for blocking an EU move and well we know how the EU works funny F and B still sent stuff south but not to EU countrys this will be removed) the same as our couragious BBC telling every one what was going on and when Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 16th April-Al Haig makes final trip to Buenos Aires but talks end without an acceptable conclusion after 3 days. Peruvian initiative follows after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 April 18th: Task Force sails from Ascension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
private mw Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 this would have been my 13th birthday , :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sorry havent updated this since the 18th , we got broken into on friday and so have been sorting out the mess from that!! 20th April: British Government War Cabinet orders repossession of Falklands April 21st/22nd: men from the SAS are inserted and then extracted from South Georgia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecyMech Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sorry to hear about the break in....been there had that. Hopefully the scum will get theirs in a head on with a truck. The pause was actually quite in keeping with the time though....I recall there was a very very quiet 5-10 days while the TF sailed south & not much was reported. I'm still in, daily. H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Yeah wish i caught them at it!, yeah looking at timeline it will soon be hotting up with events........so watch this space........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 April 21st/22nd: men from the SAS are inserted and then extracted from South Georgia. What was their mission, recon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 South Georgia South Georgia IslandsOperation Paraquet was the code name for the first land to be liberated in the conflict. South Georgia an island to the south east of the Falkland Islands and one of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. In atrocious weather the SAS, SBS and Royal Marines forced the Argentinian garrison to surrender. On the 22 April Westland Wessex helicopters landed a SAS unit on the Fortuna Glacier. This resulted in the loss of two of the helicopters, one on take off and one crashed into the glacier in almost zero visibility.[73] The SAS unit were defeated by the weather and terrain and had to be evacuated after only managing to cover 500 metres (1,600 ft) in five hours.[74] The following night a SBS section succeeded in landing by helicopter and Boat Troop, D Squadron, SAS set out in five Gemini inflatable boats for the island. Two boats suffered engine failure with one crew being picked up by helicopter and the other crew got to shore. The next day 24 April a force of 75 SAS, SBS and Royal Marines advancing with naval gunfire support, reached Grytviken and the forced the occupying Argentinians to surrender. The following day the garrison at Leith also surrendered. (courtesy of Wikipedia) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 May 24th: ‘Sir Lancelot’ and ‘Sir Galahad’ hit but the bombs failed to explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecyMech Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 This is a great thread......all the little bits of detail that I'd forgotten about being re-freshed. Looking back on it now we can see what a close call it was to pull it all off. Two enemies...Argentina & the weather, but at least the Argentines would give up...not so the weather ! H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) April 25th: Royal Marines and SAS retake South Georgia. With regard to the langings on South Georgia, 'D' Squadron 22 SAS were landed and aborted on Fortuna [glacier] as a result of the helicopter crashes on the Glacier. However 17 troop of D sqdn landed in force at Grass Island in the Sound, leading to Port Leith. Reconnisance took them into Gritvyken and troops from Mobility Troop joined them. The rest of the sqdn were on HMS Antrim [who], with a few RMs [Royal Marines] belonging to Antrim, landed at South Georgia and stormed the garrison there, going through a minefield to do so and taking the garrison by surprise by their speed of advance. The Union Flag was hoisted by the D Sqdn SSM Lawrence GALLAGHER (who later died in heli accident with 21 others). The South Georgia Islands were not recaptured by Royal Marines - that was a press filibuster by HM government to draw attention off the SAS involvement. I know - I was there. It was the factor that the Royal Navy yet again had the right Captains, both brilliant and brave, in command on HMS Endurance and Antrim with the combination of 22 SAS Commander Major Cedric Delves (Oi/C D Sqdn 22 SAS). (Agree about the weather, i went over there for the 25th anniversary and we had all 4 seasons every day we were there!, very nice place though, in fact my wife and myself contemplated moving there we got to the stage of negotiations to buy a property on pebble island!) Edited April 25, 2012 by polecat paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 April 30th - President Reagan terminates Haig’s peace mission, declares US support for Britain and imposes economic sanctions on Argentina. The ‘maritime exclusion zone’ becomes a ‘total exclusion zone’ with the approach of the task group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 May 1st: Task Force entered the Exclusion Zone. Vulcan bomber ‘Black Buck’ attacked the runway at Port Stanley. First air attacks by Harriers on Argentinean positions on the Falklands. SAS and SBS landed on the islands. (Sorry Late in Posting) 2 May 2012-General Belgrano is sunk by HMS Conqueror without knowledge of cancellation of Argentine pincer attack. Peruvian President renews the peace initiative; new British Foreign Secretary Francis Pym holds talks with General Haig in Washington. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecyMech Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 And so it begins......we`re in for good days to be proud of.... & bad days we remember for other reasons. I remember it being an emotional roller coaster. Just could'nt get enough news. Speaking of air strikes....did'nt we also strike the runway with Buccaneers at some point ? Maybe thats to come in a few days. Still riveted. H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 3rd May-Two Lynxes from HMS Coventry and HMS Glasgow attack 2 patrol craft. The Coventry flight sinks one of the craft. The Glagsow's flight targets the Alferez Sobral and launched her two Sea Skua missiles. One of the missiles hits the bridge structure of the Alfrez Sobral, killing the commanding officer and several ratings. Fog descends over the Carrier Battle Group's operating area. The Argentine warships pull back to operate in shallower water, where submarines could not follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 para Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 so many memories . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 4th May British destroyer Sheffield hit by an exocet missile, and subsequently sinks - 20 die; First British sea harrier piloted by Lt Nick Taylor is shot down over Goose Green; British forces begin bombarding Argentine positions around Stanley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 5th May-HMS Exeter, a Type 42 destroyer, is ordered to proceed to join the Task Group. HMS Cardiff, another Type 42, is ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for maintenance and storage. Emergency meeting of full British cabinet debates Peruvian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
private mw Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 remember the sheffield getting hit one of the crew members was from our village who got killed ! r.i.p . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 7th May Britain extends total exclusion zone to 12 miles off Argentine coast; de Cuellar discusses peace proposals in New York with British and Argentine delegations Something very interesting i found as well! 3.30pm: French President, François Mitterrand, talks to his doctor; “ I had a difference of opinion to settle with the Iron Lady. What an impossible woman, that Thatcher! With her four nuclear submarines on mission in the southern Atlantic, she threatens to launch the atomic weapon against Argentina — unless I supply her with the secret codes that render deaf and blind the missiles we have sold to the Argentinians. Margaret has given me very precise instructions on the telephone …. I have been forced to yield. She has them now, the codes. If our customers find out that the French wreck the weapons they sell, it’s not going to reflect well on our exports.“ Courtesy of "The Falkland Islands – History & Timeline" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecyMech Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 3.30pm: French President, François Mitterrand, talks to his doctor; “ I had a difference of opinion to settle with the Iron Lady. What an impossible woman, that Thatcher! With her four nuclear submarines on mission in the southern Atlantic, she threatens to launch the atomic weapon against Argentina — unless I supply her with the secret codes that render deaf and blind the missiles we have sold to the Argentinians. Margaret has given me very precise instructions on the telephone …. I have been forced to yield. She has them now, the codes. If our customers find out that the French wreck the weapons they sell, it’s not going to reflect well on our exports.“ Oh I do love that last insertion.......that works for me on SO many levels. I can just hear Maggie talking down to the frogs.. "YOU WILL" etc etc :cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2: H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 8th May War cabinet dispatches landing force south from Ascension Island; Argentina rejects Peru's peace proposals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 4th May British destroyer Sheffield hit by an exocet missile, and subsequently sinks - 20 die The Board of Inquiry makes interesting reading: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/BoardsOfInquiry/LossOfHmsSheffieldBoardOfInquiry.htm Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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