MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Images of Falklands' war wrecks: HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent and HMS Antelope

Sister HMS Ardent sank in Grantham Sound after being hit by a succession of bombs on May 21, 1982.

Images showing the wrecks of three Royal Navy ships sunk in the Falklands War and which are the final resting places for 42 British servicemen. The remains of HMS Coventry, HMS Antelope and her sister ship HMS Ardent have been captured using sonar images taken by the survey vessel HMS Enterprise.

 The wrecks have been scanned to mark the 35th anniversary year of the conflict and the new images will be used to update charts used by fellow ships.

HMS Coventry sank 13 miles north of Pebble Island having been attacked by the Argentine Air Force on May 25, 1982. She sank in minutes having been hit by three bombs with the loss of 19 of her crews 

HMS Antelope split in two after it was struck by a 1,000lb bomb dropped by a jet on San Carlos Water in the Falklands

The 1,000lb bomb failed to detonate when it ripped through Antelope's deck. However the bomb finally exploded as bomb disposal expert attempted to defuse the weapon

One of the images captures HMS Coventry which lies with her port side buried on the sea bed 300ft down and 13 miles north of Pebble Island.

Three bombs tore the heart out of Coventry as they struck on the port side, causing her to sink in minutes with the loss of 19 men.

Another image shows the separated remains of HMS Antelope, which lies at a 45-degree angle on the bottom of San Carlos Water.

Antelope was struck by a 1,000lb bomb dropped by an Argentine aircraft on May 23, 1982. It failed to explode initially but was triggered as bomb disposal experts worked to defuse it.

Bomb disposal expert Sergeant James Prescott was killed instantly in the blast which tore the ship in two as her keel broke and her superstructure melted into a heap of twisted metal.

The explosion which ripped through HMS Antelope was captured by TV cameras which showed the savagery of the blast“.

”Antelope's sister ship HMS Ardent was sunk in Grantham Sound after being hit by several bombs during an air raid“.

Ardent burned overnight having been attacked on May 21 while it was bombarding a nearby airstrip. It sank killing 22 men” class.

TV and still pictures of Antelope's sinking became one of the iconic images of the Falklands War.

Her sister HMS Ardent sank in Grantham Sound after being hit by a succession of bombs on May 21, 1982.

Ardent was bombarding an Argentine airstrip from the nearby Falkland Sound when she was attacked by at least three waves of enemy aircraft.

The type 21 frigate burnt throughout the night and sank the next day, taking 22 men with her. She was engaged in shelling an Argentine-held runway from Falkland Sound on May 21, 1982.

The vessel, which was launched in 1975 was attacked by at least three waves of aircraft. The Type 21 Frigate burned overnight before it sank the following day. 

HMS Antelope, pictured, was destroyed after a bomb exploded during an attempt to defuse the weapon went wrong 

Antelope was attacked by four A-4B Skyhawks in two waves. The second jet was shot down after it managed to hit the frigate with a 1,000lb bomb - which failed to explode. However, one crewman was killed. 

The crew on Antelope managed to shoot down one of the aircraft in the second wave which slammed into the ship's mainmast. His bomb failed to detonate despite hitting the ship. 

Following the attack, Antelope was ordered to move to sheltered water where a pair of bomb disposal technicians from the Royal Engineers attempted to defuse the devices. 

HMS Coventry was on picket duty to engage Argentine aircraft seeking to engage the main Royal Navy fleet in San Carlos Sound when it was attacked repeatedly on May 25, 1982. 

Coventry and HMS Broadsword were operating north west of the Falklands Islands as an early warning against air attack. 

Argentine forces sent two flights of US-built A-4B Skyhawks against the pair of ships consisting of four aircraft. 

HMS Coventry, pictured after it was struck by three 250lb bombs delivered by a pair of Argentine A-4B Skyhawks on May 25, 1982

The remains of HMS Coventry, HMS Antelope and her sister ship HMS Ardent have been captured using sonar images taken by the survey vessel HMS Enterprise.

The wrecks have been scanned to mark the 35th anniversary year of the conflict.