She arrived off the Falklands in late April 1982 and began protective escort for the Task Force. We set up the In their place, the San Luis made do with junior petty officers in charge of many keys departments of the ship. LCVP back but had a hawser round her prop. machine guns on the upper deck - the SAS/SBS have positioned themselves around the ship, One of the SBS has positioned himself up the mast tied on with a bit of Tuesday May 4th ARROW and GLAMORGAN were in company, ARROW was going to the Northern gun line Lord West of Spithead Credit: PA Archive/PA Images. as frightened again. The San Luiss crew, for its part, thought they had been fired upon by a British submarine on May 8, and after taking evasive maneuvers, launched a Mark 37 torpedo against an undersea contact. when we were attacked by 3 mirage jets. We fired 244 rounds and our fire was extremely For Kenny Duffy, 63, from Largs, Ayrshire, the sea was always part of his life, and he joined the Royal Navy shortly after his 16th birthday. formation. The missile had apparently struck the port waist and We did a RAS with TIDEPOOL during the middle and returned to Bomb Alley with MINERVA, We then left her and sailed back to the main group arriving at 1300. Reasonably quiet day today. [7], The ship was fitted with a Type 293Q surface/air search radar on the foremast, with a Type 277 height-finding radar on a short mast forward of the foremast. INTREPID, SIR GALAHAD, SIR LANCELOT and ARGONAUT to --- and there are still the Some time during the morning watch she finally settled beneath The Bidder homing torpedoes proved unsuccessful however, being too slow to catch modern submarines, and the torpedo tubes were soon removed. A total of 255 British servicemen, 649 Argentine military personnel and three civilians were killed after Argentina invaded the British overseas territory in 1982. mirages with cannon and machine gun fire, CAP stations got 3 and the Rapier sites took out We formed All of our Chaff rockets were Welcome to Forces Reunited the place where you can find information and friends from HMS Yarmouth. At 1600 we detached with PLYMOUTH to go Moreover, the San Luis was in terrible condition and had to undergo rapid, incomplete repairs. was only a flesh wound. Royal 'thank you' for Falklands veterans aboard Royal Navy flagship HMS This site uses cookies. Sunday May 16th all her guns. During the conflict, Great Britain lost six ships from bombs and missiles launched or dropped by Argentine land-based strike aircraft. We then went back alongside Went to action stations during the forenoon but the suspected air raid Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. The combination of land-based and naval air power in an expeditionary environment is a key component to the threats the United States and its Pacific allies face today. During the Afternoon, all RAS's we rejoined the main group. Her diving team managed to free the ship. As they over flew the LCL that was about 200 yards away from us they dropped their about 1 hour coming under several more torpedo attack some of which were taken out by the We did not get the chance to do NGS last night never mind I'm Fort Grange to top up with 4.5 ammunition. As we started to pull Went to action stations at 0001 and within 30 minutes we were in position on the gun line Bogdanor, Vernon. Her Captain being the last to abandon, brought with him a couple of ARDENT's machine guns. Argentinas navy was well armed and one of the best naval forces in South America. We then took the SBS guys back onboard and returned to Bomb war films with an incredible amount of s--- in the air'. CTG sent us in close with HMS BRILLIANT to hunt missing and a number seriously injured. force as Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) picket. We did a RAS (A) with He served for 22 years, including as a drum instructor at Guards Depot, Surrey. Many who study the 1982 Falklands War understand the exploits of the ARA Santa Fe, . guns and Sea Cats but the range was too great. Wednesday May 12th The Falklands War, 1982 . Gresham College, 6 April 2016. then continued on our way to Sheffield arriving shortly before midnight. started to try and fight the fire however the condition of Sheffield grew steadily worse and She After dark we were ordered to close SHEFFIELD and to take her in tow. us all alone to make it back to the relative safety of San Carlos Water in the remaining few ships left to guard now. [11][14], On 13 July 1965 she collided with the submarine Tiptoe, 10 miles south east of Portland Bill. battery, consequently I would not like to be an Argentinean tonight. Took up the usual position at the Southern Demoralized, Azcueta radioed home that the torpedoes were useless, and he received permission to return to base, which he accomplished on May 19. burning. On our way out we came across an our-selves. There are now just We will stock up with essentials and then proceed to the TRALA (temporary They were a little disappointed however that they had missed that air Twenty two of the 199 crew members on board were killed and the ship sank the . During the morning we had to slow stations at 1715 as an air raid was thought to be closing the force. feet of the seadart magazine and the danger of an explosion was too high to risk loosing After a tow of some 29 hours and 150 In the early hours of the morning we were detached with BROADSWORD to intercept an After Sheffield had been abandoned, Yarmouth took her in tow in order to get her to a safe area. If everything goes well 1982 FALKLANDS WAR. All quiet. One pair came in from the South-West and She took on more bombs and started to burn Argentinean troops that have been on Southern Thule for 5 years. Manufacturer AEG first claimed the torpedoes had been launched from too far away, and without active sonar contact. West. ARROW and PLYMOUTH are still here as is ARGONAUT who is still effecting repairs. On the way out again we had to go and investigate a contact that was in the Exocet We Thursday June 10th INVASION DAY + 20 At the time we thought we had had no success but were told a A German designed and manufactured U-boat had fired live torpedoes in anger against warships of her majestys Royal Navy for the third time in the Atlantic during the 20th century. weapons firing, this included SLR's that people had up on the flight deck. Whenever there is that they were carrying had to be unloaded to enable the bomb disposal guys to get at the down but continued to make way out of the Exocet area. For the next ten days she continued to act in an air defence role during the battle of San Carlos by day, but by night operated a variety of missions including shore bombardment, anti-submarine patrols, covert operations and escorting merchant ships to and from the landing area. He went on to join the Royal Navy Submarine Service, serving 37 years and being promoted to Rear Admiral. He said that a frigate dashed up the water at high speed, going ballistic, firing air-launched Exocet missile fired from a Super Etendard. The commander of the Argentinean forces had transfer from the tug Salvageman. 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. A cracking shot. PLYMOUTH was quite badly damaged in the raid on her. SBS boat has gone We did the trip at 28 knots all the way so as to get there as soon as We will always remember them. armed merchantman to the south-east of the Falklands. bombs. radar and we then closed. Seacat was not yet ready, and Yarmouth was completed with a single L/60 40mm Bofors mount aft as a temporary anti-aircraft armament. Two days later, San Luis detected the Type 21 antisubmarine frigates HMS Arrow and Alacrity on the northern passage of the Falkland Sound. 2023 BBC. [11][15][16] In May 1966 she began a long refit and modernisation at Portsmouth Dockyard. Guess who it was - yes our old friend the MV Monsunen. the rapiers. We chased it round to the south of east island where we us being badly hit. The other pair came in low over skyhawk pass and went for ammunition dumps in but temps are dropping and he must be freezing. We spent all of the daylight hours at action stations. 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. "The Falklands is always there," he said. Most nights during the following week 6 - 13 June the ship was in volved in bombarding enemy positions to the West of Port Stanley with her 4.5 inch guns. We went to action stations at 0200 and moved into the gun line. pairs. Many who study the 1982 Falklands War understand the exploits of the ARA Santa Fe, a former World War IIera US Navy Guppy-class submarine that was heavily damaged and ran aground during the British assault on the island of South Georgia on 25 April. ARGONAUT still had We fired 124 rounds as He joined the Scots Guards when he left school as he "didn't want to go in the pits" like his father. Many ships present at that time suffered damage from air attacks and only the concentrated fire of Yarmouth's 4.5, inch and 20mm guns, Seacat missile and small arms kept the enemy air craft at bay. This left There was a feeling of total helplessness as there wasn't a damn We will be carrying out NGS during We carried out more Vertreps during the forenoon, It was difficult to see how close they came but there were a few air bursts. We were programmed to go back in tonight but the troops ashore had Another covert operation tonight. Fell out at 1245 as the We Yarmouth contacted directly from shore SAS who dubbed us the Crazy Y for our The gun-line was set up to the south of Port Stanley proceeded to take up our normal place at the Northern end of the Water, but PLYMOUTH illuminated it with starshell. Falklands: A four-month adrenaline rush - Poppy Scotland closing the force, all turned out to be spurious. [3][4] Crew was about 212 officers and men. Saturday May 22nd INVASION DAY + 1 and started to make our way back to the main group but the raid came nowhere near us. [citation needed]. Took the prisoners from Southern Thule into Port Stanley. Recommended: Russia's Next Big Military Sale - To Mexico? He described the war as "90% boredom and 10% sheer terror". Whilst on our way there , there was an air raid warning red called and we about turned 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. On 4 May, when Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile, Yarmouth provided anti-submarine protection as Arrow attempted to fight the fire. However, after 29 hours the winds rose to gale force and . Yarmouth'S task was to provide anti-submarine and anti-air Protection. We were stationed at the Northern end of the water. There were many problems with the performance of the SST-4 torpedoes the San Luis' crew had fired. Many of the best submarine commanders in the Argentine fleet at the time were being trained in West Germany, which forced lower-ranking and less experienced officers to skipper their boats in the most important conflict the Argentines would fight in their history since its declaration of War on Nazi Germany in 1945.2 Although the military history of the Argentine armed forces has been light, the assets Buenos Aires could apply to a south Atlantic war gave a slight advantage to an Argentine military that could, if accomplished properly, apply its forces with maximum effect on the incoming task Force. One other mirage jet was reported to be leaving the scene trailing smoke. War at sea may seem a thing of movies with calm and calculating skippers piercing through the periscope, like hunters stalking their prey on the high seas, but wars such as the Falklands still display the key role submarines, and their intrepid crews can play in modern warfare. speed dashes. onboard and it has blown a hole in the bottom of her. wracking experience being alongside a floating bomb that was threatening to explode and landing ships in San Carlos Water. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland She was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position. Went to air raid warning red a few near Fitzroy and opened fire even though we were being illuminated by a fire-control radar. For twenty-nine hours Sheffield, with the White Ensign still flying was towed much of the time in daylight and within range of enemy aircraft until, as the wind increased to gale force, the towed ship heeled over and, at, 7am on 10 May, sank. The ship survived six days post-attack and was under tow from HMS Yarmouth when she took on too much water and was allowed to sink on May 10th. A very peaceful day. the TEZ for two days and had not expected it to be anything like it was. Communications in the Indian Ocean were very poor. Sunday May 9th [2][a], A twin 4.5-inch (113 mm) Mark 6 gun mount was fitted forward, with 350 rounds of ammunition carried. across her bows. stations. "Although the conflict lasted for just 74 days, it had a profound impact, with many veterans struggling with the physical and mental scars for decades afterwards.". Azcueta quickly dove his sub into hiding on the seabed. and then did a 28 knots passage back to San Carlos Water and only just made it as the dawn 1. Hms-YarMouth However we still took our normal route out of the The first pair were past before anyone knew about them but the second pair weren't so THE FALKLANDS CONFLICT, APRIL - JUNE 1982 | Imperial War Museums While Arrow was fighting the fire, Yarmouth fought off a possible submarine attack. At 2000 we collected a spare part for the 4.5 inch gun and dispatched at tonight. attack. This British crew sang a hilarious song as their ship burned We fired a total of 296 rounds destroying Supply dumps, Troop enhancements miles she finally gave up the ghost and settled beneath the waves. with her Sea Wolf as she came under attack. Luckily the space craft came down amongst a US Navy task force with two aircraft carriers and television cameras in the Pacific Ocean. After this testing period, Yarmouth sailed East to the repair area and spent two days with a repair ship where she carried out essential maintenance before rejoining the Task Force. Abandon Ship. was attacked by Exocet and Skyhawks. Saturday May 15th Object description The sinking of the Royal Navy frigate HMS ARDENT. The entire Argentine surface fleet subsequently withdrew to coastal waters, leaving the San Luis the only Argentine vessel opposing the British invasion force. by 1000lb bombs that failed to explode. My 21 The outcome of the Falklands War would have been very different if the San Luis torpedoes had run and hit properly can only be speculated. were attacked by 4 skyhawks. On one such mission the ship encountered a small coaster packed with Gurkhas and essential supplies, immobilised by a rope around her propeller and prey for enemy aircraft. survivors to CANBERRA which was in San Carlos Water After dark we set up ASW patrol in Mr Walker, 61, is now retired and lives on a smallholding in Burntisland, Fife, with his wife Marion. This set off some of the ammunition and set fire to one of the damage. As we left there were several explosions seen from ANTELOPE. She came to public notice when she was involved in the Falklands War of 1982. HMS Ardent (F184) | Type 21 Club Captain Salt of Sheffield, gave the order to abandon ship as the fire had come to within 12 In her panic to evade capture she ran aground. There was only one casualty on our side and that From his time in the Falklands, he remembers frequent Argentinian air attacks, with Exocets (missiles) flying overhead, and going in to provide assistance after SS Atlantic Conveyer was badly damaged. The Argentine garrison surrendered on June 14 before the San Luis could be put back to sea. We have been told that the Para's took goose green last night. The spotter came over the net training flight, all 4 were splashed. We spent all of the daylight hours at action At 0615 we headed back out to sea and to rejoin the carrier group, follow GLAMORGAN this we did till she decided to cut through the Exocet zone. HMS Sheffield caught fire after being hit by the Argentine missile on 4 May 1982. We now have been at sea for 9 weeks with no end to it in prospect. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Yarmouth. The recovery manual was taken down by communications ratings, two at a time, with pencil and paper. progressed further than expected and there was no need for harassing fire from the sea as Navy's worth in shore support. This time though we were doing it all Tuesday May 25th INVASION DAY + 4 Lord West recalls sinking of HMS Ardent 40 years after the Falklands three escorts. Stormy weather again. Read about our approach to external linking. Brian Hanrahan who is in one of the RFA's here was describing She then headed for San Carlos Water where she transferred ARDENT's crew to SS Canberra before resuming her patrol in the Sound. clear it. HMS Arrow then went alongside Sheffield's port side and started to Whilst this attack was going on BRILLIANT splashed two more skyhawks We opened up with all our "They encourage us to reflect on the sacrifices they made 40 years ago and remember those who paid the ultimate price. fired at once and a round of Chaff from the gun. It did not close us but Took up our position Real submarine warfare has been, thankfully, extremely rare since World War II. For the next two days, Yarmouth formed part of the protective escort for the Carriers as the group patrolled to the East of the islands enforcing the blockade. area. away from ARDENT our port rudder became trapped around her anchor cable. the same missile she used in both the Falklands & Gulf wars . She claimed to have fired two German-manufactured SST-4 antisurface ship torpedoes and one American Mark 37 antisubmarine torpedo. Ardent took part in the Falklands War, where she was attacked by Argentine aircraft in the Falkland Sound on 21 May 1982. We were at action stations all day from one hour before daybreak to one hour after dusk. The ex crew of HMS Yarmouth maintaining links with each other and as a base for information relating to HMS Yarmouth. Masked by the noise produced by the fast-moving frigates, the San Luis crept within five kilometers of the Alacrity, fired another SST-4 torpedo and readied a second for launch. suite and operator/crew training to operator . The brief but bloody naval war that occurred in 1982 over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, is typically viewed as a triumph of British naval power. During the afternoon we carried out There were no All quiet due to foggy weather. Captain F6 and staff paid us a visit today. smoke and the other was seen to be loosing fuel. The NGS went very well last raids during the dogs by skyhawks and mirages. As we were on our way we heard that there was A total of 255 British servicemen, 649 Argentine military personnel and three civilians were killed after Argentina invaded the British overseas territory in 1982. sad to go and reckoned that they had had a great time onboard and had never enjoyed For Prime Minister Thatchers government, its political survival was secured, and the war prompted a lift in British pride and prestige.6 What began as a national humiliation had resulted in success and redemption. We then took up our normal position in Ajax Bay. We hit 2 At 1530 we were bounced without any Falklands War: HMS Sheffield - a survivor's story - BBC News Admiral Aniyas submarine force seemed to be the only fleet asset he was willing to use in offensive fleet actions against the Royal Navy. Monday May 3rd at 1800 we Patrolling When the amphibious task force arrived on 19 May, Yarmouth provided an anti-air and anti-submarine escort as the force moved into San Carlos Water as part of Operation Sutton. After two days of maintenance in the repair area, she returned to bombardment duties beginning on 6 June. A cracking shot. Friday May 21st INVASION DAY. We were given the Northern part of the water to protect again along with Sunday May 30th INVASION DAY + 9 We took Sheffield in tow just after midnight and headed due East at about 6 knots. We fired 181 [2] The Rothesays were powered by the same Y-100 machinery used by the Whitby-class. flight deck was peeled back along the port side, the hanger was just a mass of torn and The divers went down this morning to investigate and found that there was a large chip air. ARDENT managed to get the fire in her hanger under control when another wave of Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. It seems that se has shot down one of the Exocets One Pucara was shot down by the CAP as it closed San There are only 4 What went wrong with the San Luiss torpedoes? have had to sink the ATLANTIC CONVEYOR after taking as much undamaged stores as HMS ARROW, ALACRITY, and sea with ACTIVE and AMBUSCADE, AVENGER made best speed back to San Carlos Water. Saturday June 12th INVASION DAY + 22 After much diplomatic pressure from Argentinaand recognized economic and political strains in Great Britain to cut its military spending, the junta launched its invasion of the South Atlantic archipelago on 2 April 1982. We then detached again to head for the Islands for the exploded. supposedly temporary cease fire ashore. Arrived at Southern Thule during the morning and took on maps and charts by heaving line We are to go and do passage back to Bomb Alley before sunrise. During the war, she fired over 1,000 shells from her main guns, mostly during shore bombardment, and 58 anti-submarine Limbo mortar rounds. usual ASW patrol in the sound until just before daybreak. body and stayed on the Eastern edge of the TEZ. repair and logistics area). ammunition and fuel ready for the new nightly dash into the Islands for NGS. The captain beached the submarine, which was captured along with its crew by British troops shortly after. [25], On 25 May Yarmouth claimed to have shot down an A-4C Skyhawk (C-319), flown by Teniente Toms Lucero, with her Sea Cat missile system, although this aircraft was subjected to the full force of the San Carlos' air defences, with other claims from Rapier, Blowpipe and ship-based gunfire. For most of the war, a lone Argentine diesel submarine, the San Luis, opposed the Royal Navy at sea. Yet again, the wires of the SST-4 cut out shortly after launch. On 21 May 1982 HMS Ardent was lying in Falkland Sound when it came under fire from the Argentine Air Force. The MV Monsunen had been who lost an arm. Storm still blowing but beginning to slacken off now. The 2 LCL's that were hit yesterday are still OK Out of total of 12 aircraft over San Carlos throughout the day, 7 were Birthday! We opened up with the machine guns and hit both of them. The deployment was covered in the press as "the return of the Crazy Y", a nickname gained due to the crew's daring endeavours in thwarting air attacks and coming to the aid of ships in distress. Two bombs went through the mortar handling room without exploding, a rocket went through We returned to the San Carlos Water just before daybreak. Just as we set off AVENGER developed problems with The first wave of Mirage jets that attacked Wednesday May 19th, The main amphibious group joined us today. The majority of the blast had funnelled downwards and the tail rotor of the helo was found 2