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Falklands war timeline


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14th May Britain's ambassadors to the US and the UN summoned back to London;

Thatcher warns Britain that a peaceful settlement may not be possible;

SAS attack the Argentine base on Pebble Island and destroy supplies and 11 pucara aircraft;

3 Argentine skyhawk aircraft are shot down by sea harriers

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Here's one of the FMA Pucara's captured at the end of the Falklands War. It is now on display at the North East Aircraft Museum, and the bullet holes are still there to see.

 

pucara2.jpg

 

pucara3.jpg

 

pucara4.jpg

 

It looks in very good condition, is it permanantly kept outside?, will have to come up for a look around

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Here's another Falklands survivor, a Westland Wessex which I think is still at the Fleet Air Arm, located at Yeovilton, Somerset. The small orange circles mark bullet holes. I was 12 during the war and remember the daily news reports, particularly Brian Hanrahan describing the Harriers leaving and returning to the carrier.

 

wessex2.jpg

 

Another aircraft indirectly connected to the Falklands war is Avro Vulcan XL319. The North East Aircraft Museum had applied to the RAF for a Vulcan which I believe was due to be delivered sometime in 1982. Once the war began, the Vulcan's retirement was delayed, and the delivery of the aircraft they were meant to receive was postponed. It wasn't until January 1983 that a Vulcan was finally released, and XL319 was the aircraft chosen, and it became the first Vulcan to be released into a private collection.

 

vulcan10.jpg

 

Because the Government and RAF were a little paranoid about the aircraft being stolen and flown out of Usworth, the RAF maintenance crew removed, damaged or disabled much of the equipment on board to render the aircraft non-airworthy. The next three pictures were taken soon after the RAF had finished stripping the aircraft.

 

vulcan_cockpit2.jpg

 

vulcan_cockpit3.jpg

 

vulcan_cockpit1.jpg

 

These were taken a couple of years ago after much of the missing equipment was located by the museum staff and re-fitted.

 

Vulcan25.jpg

 

Vulcan26.jpg

 

Vulcan28.jpg

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19th May War cabinet gives Admiral Woodward the go ahead for landing plan;

British sea king helicopter crashes with the loss of its crew and 19 Special Forces personnel

 

20th May de Cuellar admits failure of UN peace talks;

Thatcher accuses Argentina of 'obduracy and delay, deception and bad faith', tells Commons of collapse of peace process, and orders task force into battle;

RMS St. Helena requisitioned by the Task Force - 19 Saint Helenian sailors volunteer to serve aboard alongside naval personnel, and after the end of the War she stays in the Islands as a minesweeper

 

21st May San Carlos landings begin, codenamed Operation Sutton;

British frigate Ardent sunk in San Carlos Water by air attack - 22 die;

Argonaut and Antrim hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode - 2 die;

2 British helicopters and 15 Argentine aircraft are shot down;

Open debate commences at UN Security Council

 

Sorry for delay was waiting for my pc to come back after repair!!

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24th May Antelope explodes and sinks when a bomb disposal officer attempts to defuse the bomb;

Landing craft Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode while Sir Bedivere is damaged by a bomb exploding in water nearby;

7 Argentine aircraft are shot down

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Why did so many Argentine bombs fail to explode?

 

It was all down to the guys arming the aircraft back in Argentina setting the bomb fuses to arm within 100/120 metres once released from the aircraft, as you can see on the footage at SanCarlos bay (check out youtube) the Argentine pilots were getting carried away and coming in and releasing the bombs to late hence the bobmbs were'nt being fused!!

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26th May War cabinet questions lack of movement out of bridgehead at San Carlos;

London makes the retaking of Goose Green a priority;

2 Para set out for Goose Green;

UN Security Council Resolution 505 instructs de Cuellar to seek negotiated settlement

 

27th May 45 Commando and 3 Para set out for Douglas and Teal Inlet;

SAS land in strength on Mount Kent;

Sea harriers attack Goose Green - one plane is shot down;

British forces furious when BBC World Service report 2 Para are advancing on Darwin but Argentine commander believes this is deliberate misinformation

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28th May 2 Para launch attack early in the morning, and by evening surround Goose Green - 17 British and 250 Argentines die;

Colonel H Jones is killed during the attack and subsequently awarded Victoria Cross;

5 Infantry Brigade trans-ship from QE2 to Norland and Canberra at South Georgia;

British shelling by air and sea of Stanley recommences and continues for the next 16 days

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29th May Argentines surrender Goose Green, British take 1,400 prisoners, and the Islanders imprisoned at Goose Green by the Argentines are released;

Organisation of American States condemns Britain's military action and calls on the US to stop helping Britain - only the US, Chile, Columbia and Trinidad & Tobago abstain

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31st May 42 Commando take Mount Kent and Mount Challenger;

19 men from the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre capture Top Malo House after a firefight;

Reagan asks Thatcher not to inflict too serious a defeat on the Argentines

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"Reagan asks Thatcher not to inflict too serious a defeat on the Argentines"

 

Amusing in so many ways.:-D:-D I wonder if that line was made public?...it would have done wonders for Argentine morale.

 

"Dear Pedro,

Have asked Margaret not to have her boys kick the crap out of you too badly. British soldiers have agreed only to shoot Argentines gently"

 

Yours sincerely, Ron."

 

Good job they did`nt make the Paras & Marines angry...it could have turned nasty otherwise.

 

H

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