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Montevideo, March 28th 2024 - 17:28 UTC

 

 

Falklands Warship attack recalled. HMS Sheffield loss “unnecessary”

Saturday, May 5th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
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Argentina's first fatal strike against the British Falklands Task Force in May1982, sinking the air defence destroyer HMS Sheffield, has been recalled in media reports and dramatic recollections of men involved in the action.

The verdict 25 years later is that the ship's loss was a serious blow which could have been avoided and "proved Argentina's professional fighting capabilities" two days after the loss of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano. Two Sea Harriers patrolling to protect the Task Force had flown away to try to detect Argentine warships. The Sheffield's crew failed to frustrate the attack through a series of failings, and delay and scepticism over warnings communicated by her sister ship HMS Glasgow.Glasgow's captain did take avoiding action and fired chaff to deflect the Exocet missile, fired from long range by a Super Etendard strike aircraft. It had taken off with another Super Etendard from Rio Grande to try to locate the British aircraft carriers. Not at battle stations Sheffieldfailed to react to Glasgow's warnings until too late and did not fire chaff or take any other action to engage the missile or the aircraft. The crew were not at battle stations. The ship's communication equipment was being used to transmit messages and the missile was not detected by radar. Radio equipment which would have received Glasgow's warnings earlier was not manned. The anti-air warfare officer had left his post twenty minutes earlier to check the cloud base and have a coffee and three of his team were also absent from the operations room. The officer of the watch has described how he spotted a speck in the far distance which he did not recognise and which did not seem to be moving. It was only when the two missiles got much nearer trailing puffs of smoke that he realised what they were. . One missile fell harmlessly into the sea. The other missile slammed into the destroyer a few second later. Extensive damage and casualtiesThough the warhead did not explode, the missile caused major damage setting off fires and toxic fumes which rapidly spread. Twenty of the 281 crew were killed and 26 wounded. The ship was abandoned and sank several days later. The Task Force Commander, Admiral Sir John "Sandy" Woodward, was angry at losing such a valuable warship when it should have been avoided. He was also concerned about further Exocet attacks from Argentine warships as well as Super Etendard aircraft. Sheffield's loss was regarded by the British High Command "as an expensive warning and a foretaste of real Argentine capability" The Official History of the War says "the Government and the country were shocked and realised for the first time the seriousness of the situation and the meaning of war".Harold Briley, London

Categories: Politics, Mercosur.

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