Thirty Years Ago Today...The Falklands War Started

[M2]

...the Falklands War started!

to the Brits!

Cheers! M2

[HercDude]

GET SOME!!!!!

[DEVIL]

nothing like a good ol' fashioned invasion force.

[TrainerModel]

British warships sunk by French Missiles, interesting times

[guineapigfury]

Holy ######. They showed up, ruined a sufficient amount of shit and the 3rd Worlders learned who not to ###### with. No dicking around with this COIN nonsense. I wish GWB had a brass pair like Maggie did. She probably did jumping jacks just to hear them clank.

[Spoo]

Vulcan 607 is a pretty good read about Operation Black Buck, the Brit long range bombing effort during the war. Spoiler: They used 15 Victor tankers and 2 Vulcan bombers to get one Vulcan over the field and planted one 1000lb bomb on the runway...which the Argentinians quickly repaired. Totally worth it.

https://www.amazon.co...k/dp/0593053915

For those of who aren't "readers", here's the gist:

https://en.wikipedia....tion_Black_Buck

I think HercDude's pic is that Vulcan that those crazy Brit bastards restored a couple years ago. Seems like a fairly inexpensive endeavor...

https://www.thunder-a...an/tothesky.php

Edited April 3, 2012 by Spoo

[DeHavilland]

I was a Freshman in college and followed this closely in the spring of 82. Amazing what the Brits managed to pull together in such a short time and fight over such long distances. Good job to them.

[M2]

I was actually stationed in the UK when this all went down, they were interesting times...

[SuperWSO]

I was actually stationed in the UK when this all went down, they were interesting times...

I was at Upper Heyford .... as a dependent. Very interesting to get the BBC and ITV take on events.

Where were you at the time? Alconbury?

[Royal]

I was actually stationed in the UK when this all went down, they were interesting times...

I read an article the other day that alluded to the fact that we were initially hesitant to support the Brits. Did you get that sentiment while you were over there at the time?

[Vertigo]

I read an article the other day that alluded to the fact that we were initially hesitant to support the Brits. Did you get that sentiment while you were over there at the time?

Have you seen the movie The Iron Lady? Good bio on Maggie...

[PapaJu]

Holy ######. They showed up, ruined a sufficient amount of shit and the 3rd Worlders learned who not to ###### with. No dicking around with this COIN nonsense. I wish GWB had a brass pair like Maggie did. She probably did jumping jacks just to hear them clank.

How would COIN have figured into getting a foreign invader off of your territory again?

[guineapigfury]

How would COIN have figured into getting a foreign invader off of your territory again?

I associate COIN with "hearts and minds", as opposed to a more killy philosophy of combat. I remember seeing a documentary about it, where some foolish old ###### asked PM Thatcher why they were killing so many people, and Thatcher had the good sense to mock her mercilessly. You are correct that the Falklands are properly British territory, so the Argentines were invaders and not insurgents.

[Dupe]

I read an article the other day that alluded to the fact that we were initially hesitant to support the Brits. Did you get that sentiment while you were over there at the time?

Well...we had some sort of doctrine that stated that European colonies are no longer allowed in the western hemisphere. Since 1823 even. We got them back, though....we invaded their little protectorate Grenada and saved our med school students (without really informing Buckingham prior to our invasion) a few years later. Seems that Regan-Thatcher relations weren't always as great as currently believed.

[Vertigo]

Seems that Regan-Thatcher relations weren't always as great as currently believed.

It wasn't that really. It was more that we were stuck between two allies. Argentina gave a lot of support in our anti-communism efforts in Central America training the Contras.

The State Dept was quite divided- some favored backing Britain so as not to undermine NATO and others thought backing Britain would undermine our Latin America efforts.

If you can find the audio of it there's a good BBC documentary called "The Falklands War and the White House" I recommend listening to it.

Here's what I found:

https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/downloadtrial/worldservice/documentaryarchive/documentaryarchive_20070425-1000_40_st.mp3

edit:added mp3

Edited April 6, 2012 by Vertigo

[Guest]

British warships sunk by French Missiles, interesting times

[Royal]

Have you seen the movie The Iron Lady? Good bio on Maggie...

Nah, man, I haven't. Sounds intriguing, though; I'll check it out. All I know about Mags is that I had a buddy from the northern part of England and he hated her with a vicious passion, but he was 100% in agreeance with her move on the Falklands.

[matmacwc]

Where's Davies on all this?

[bucky60k]

Gotta admit those Argentinean Pilots had some serious balls flying single engine jets hundreds of miles over open ocean and attacking the Task Force with no escorts, ECM, etc. Wings of Fame had a great article series on A-4, Mirage/Dagger, and Super Etendard pilots if you can still find a copy

.

[pintail21]

I liked the part of the T-34C's flying combat missions. Who needs the AT-6 or the A-29 Super Tucano when you have combat proven AT-34C Turbo Mentors?

[HercDude]

I've always found it facinating that as they watched their ship sink waiting to be resuced, the sailors joined to gether and sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of LIfe" from The Life of Brian.

[Steve Davies]

The State Dept was quite divided- some favored backing Britain so as not to undermine NATO and others thought backing Britain would undermine our Latin America efforts.

Not a lot different from today, then. Clinton likes to call the islands "the Malvinas" when speaking on behalf of your nation, so there's no doubting where the current Administration's loyalties lie.

Where's Davies on all this?

I think most of us are a) too bemused by Argentina's recent round of sabre rattling and political/economic attacks on the United Kingdom, and b) too stunned at the idiotic rants of pop stars and Hollywood actors, to revel in past victories.

[Royal]

...and b) too stunned at the idiotic rants of pop stars and Hollywood actors, to revel in past victories.

I lament the fact that Hollywood tripe is our most identifiable export.

I didn't know a thing about the Falklands situation until 48 hours ago, when I actually did some research and also watched those videos that M2 posted. It's a fascinating case study. You guys sailed 8000 miles across the globe to reclaim land, got your job done, and then moved on with your lives. Solid work.

Additionaly, Airpower was showcased as an integral part of the modern military equation. It couldn't be considered in isolation as a "supporting" role.

[MKopack]

I was a fourteen year old high school student with a National Geographic map full of stick pins on my wall and the shortwave radio tuned to the BBC long after I was supposed to be in bed...

It was a year later when I met the crew of one of the Black Buck missions along with their Vulcan at an airshow up in Canada. When I asked about the mission, I was told, "We didn't hit much of anything, but it was worth it just to see those bastards running and diving into any hole they could find."

How do you say, "What the @#$% was that and where did it come from", in Spanish?

Prior to the training for the mission, as I recall, the Vulcans hadn't air-to-air refueled in years, and many no longer even had probes installed. I do know that an RAF crew "acquired" a refueling probe during the deployment from a Vulcan on static display at Castle AFB museum in California. The Nimrod ASW / sea surveillance aircraft had never been air-to-air refueling capable until an emergency mod mounted a probe above the cockpit - which was "plumbed" straight through the sealed cockpit escape hatch, down to the floor, and the pipe ran straight down the cabin walkway to the wing. Early in the deployment the normally land-based RAF Harrier GR.3's that were onboard carriers for the first time, found the hard way that the INS's wouldn't align on a moving boat.

Victor tankers, Nimrod patrol aircraft and a pair of Harrier GR.3's at Ascension Island during the conflict.

The war would have been considerably different had the British not retired the last of their conventional aircraft carriers (HMS Ark Royal in 1979). While the Harriers proved their worth, Phantoms and Buccaneers would have been an entirely different ballgame.

[Steve Davies]

An Argentinian olympic athlete uses the British War Memorial for a workout during a commericial for the Olympics.

I'm sure he'll enjoy his stay here during the Olympics.