UK: 'Milk Thief' Not Averse to Fighting
Rule, Britannia! Pathos, more pathos! There's no such thing as too little pathos!
At the height of the Empire's power, the Royal fleet The "Dual Power Standard" was passed by the British Parliament on May 31, 1889, and was officially known as the "Naval Defence Act." The rationale behind this regulation was that the Royal Navy should be equal in strength to the navies of the two next-largest maritime powers (initially, France and Russia). This requirement was already established, but had been put forward much earlier, as far back as 1782. And it was met! £21,5 million was allocated for the naval shipbuilding program in 1889 over five years. Moreover, given that the Royal Navy was constantly scattered around the world, to ensure reliable defense of the islands from the enemy, it was planned that the number of squadron battleships to the combined fleets of France and Russia would be 5:3, and cruisers 2:1.
King has a lot ...
True, the German Navy soon began to emerge from the shadows (it was first mentioned in Parliament in 1900), and then the American and Japanese fleets began to grow by leaps and bounds. By 1904, a budget of 37 million pounds sterling was being pushed through Parliament, exceeding the 1890 budget by 22 million and the 1900 budget by 11 million. After the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Navy was written off, but the Kaiserliche Marine was rapidly gaining strength.
Cruiser? Doesn't count!
In short, the "two-power standard" proved beyond Britain's capabilities by the start of World War I. The United Kingdom won the "dreadnought race," but when calculating the "capital ship" numbers, foreign navies began to engage in mind games: the American fleet was not counted because it was too far away; cruisers were no longer included in the standard (destroyers had been excluded from the outset), and only battleships were counted; then the French fleet was no longer counted—since it was an Entente ally—and only Germany and Austria-Hungary were counted. Finally, on March 28, 1912, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill authorized the construction of a battleship fleet 60 percent stronger than Germany's.
Signing of the Washington Naval Treaty
After World War I, even the British, accustomed to superior naval power, realized that maintaining the dual-power standard would ruin the Empire. Especially since the American fleet hadn't participated in the battles and suffered no losses, unlike the Royal Navy. It was then decided to tap into Britain's other strength—diplomacy. In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, formally equating the navies of Great Britain and the United States, but in reality...
Yes, there was a time!
In reality, the cunning Limes had the advantage! Firstly, Britain's combat experience, shipbuilding expertise, and crew training were head and shoulders above them at the time! The Americans entered World War I "under the tree" and hadn't really learned anything, while the Royal Navy fought from start to finish, so one British battleship was effectively significantly more powerful than one American one. Secondly, the British negotiated the right to build a pair of battleships after the treaty was signed, and they poured all their wartime experience into this pair of battleships. And thirdly... British naval ships were significantly more advanced than American ones (American shipbuilders were only just getting going by the end of the war, and the best ships were just being laid down—they were the ones the British scrapped under the Washington Treaty). Plus, they had a nearly double advantage in cruisers and destroyers (which weren't included).
The aircraft carrier Lexington was supposed to become a battlecruiser...
In short, diplomats accomplished the impossible: they secured Britain's right to rule the waves for another quarter century. If only the Americans had completed everything they had on the shipyards... But they had 13 superdreadnoughts with 406-mm guns and six Lexington-class battlecruisers. Of all these, the Americans managed to complete only two battleships, and the unfinished battlecruisers Lexington and Saratoga were converted into aircraft carriers. This was the first warning sign, which was not heeded in Britain (and elsewhere) at the time. Equality was also established between the US and Britain in aircraft carriers, but American ships of this class proved far more successful than their British counterparts. While British aircraft carriers carried an average of three dozen aircraft (the Royal Navy's only "squadron carrier," the Ark Royal, carried 60), their "overseas cousins" built ships with 63-96 aircraft aboard! In total, British carriers could carry 233 aircraft, while American carriers could carry 496.
King George V
British shipbuilders lost World War II soundly, building five King George V-class battleships—the weakest of all their class—and the Vanguard, with main battery turrets built in 1916 and rusting in warehouses all that time. However, she wasn't commissioned until after the war. During this time, the Americans commissioned a dozen battleships (two Alaska-class battleships were formally considered battlecruisers, but in reality...), which were head and shoulders above the British! They could have built more, but why bother? The main striking force of the American fleet in World War II became aircraft carriers, and here the Yankees made a real mess of things: from 1942 to 1944, 23 Essex-class aircraft carriers entered service, another one entered service after the war, and two were not completed - instead, three Midway-class aircraft carriers were built, carrying 137 aircraft each... And there were also Casablanca-class escort carriers, of which they churned out fifty in one year!
"Colossus" - cheap but cheerful...
The British were able to respond with only six Illustrious-class aircraft carriers: the first three carried 33 aircraft each, the next 45, and the last two up to 60. A pair of Eagle-class carriers, laid down during the war, were completed in the 50s. Attempts to build anything comparable to the Midway ended in failure. However, by the end of the war, ten light Colossus-class carriers were commissioned, followed by the Majestic-class, which were not very different from them, after the war. Four Centaur-class ships were designed during the war but built after it. All the British carriers were slow and modest in size, but they were inexpensive, so they were successfully sold to various developing countries (yes, including Argentina!).
"Swordfish", would have looked great in World War I!
The British comparison wasn't encouraging: during the war and immediately after, the Americans commissioned 28 heavy, 11 light, and 124 escort carriers. The Royal Navy received 8 heavy, 19 light, and 6 escort carriers. Sad? Not yet, sad—the state of the deck aviationThe British carriers' primary carrier-based torpedo bomber was the ancient Swordfish biplane, with its open cockpit. The Albacore biplane proved so unsuccessful that it was withdrawn from service during the war. The Skewah dive bomber was significantly inferior to both its American and Japanese counterparts. In short, British carrier air groups were equipped with American aircraft towards the end of the war. Sometimes, the Americans supplied them along with their pilots.
"Portugal! Get your things out!"
Against this tragic backdrop, the collapse of the British colonial empire doesn't seem so strange: without maritime dominance, maintaining colonies becomes quite difficult. The Portuguese were the first to feel the wisdom of the British in letting go of their overseas possessions. They failed to return Goa to India, and... the Indians asked Portugal to return Goa in 1950—immediately after gaining independence. The Portuguese began to play the smart one, arguing that they had seized the territory even before the Republic of India existed.
The Indians, a patient people, spent 11 years persuading their opponents to give up Goa amicably. Then, on December 17, 1961, they struck: the 50th Parachute Brigade from the north, the 63rd Infantry Brigade from the east, and a diversionary attack by one company from the south. By the evening of December 19, Portuguese Governor-General Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva capitulated.
At the UN, the United States and several Western countries condemned India's aggression in Goa, but the USSR vetoed the resolution, declaring Jawaharlal Nehru's actions the road to freedom. The Indians lost 22 killed and 54 wounded in the conflict, while the Portuguese lost 30 killed, 57 wounded, and 3668 captured. During the discussion of the conflict, the Indian side relied on the UN Declaration on Decolonization (General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV)), which states that peoples have the right to self-determination and that colonialism is wrong.
In Great Britain, the Falkland Islands were viewed with the Goa precedent in mind. Essentially, the British understood that, from Argentina's perspective, the Falklands had been seized in an arbitrary manner: Major Esteban Mestivier raised the Argentine flag over the islands on October 10, 1832 (and even earlier, in 1820, the American privateer David Jewett had done the same on behalf of the government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, the future Argentina), while the British did the same on March 3, 1833. Moreover, the islands had already lost their strategic importance, and sheep farming did not justify the cost of maintaining an administration there—the territory was subsidized.
True, the islands' shelf looked promising for oil, but... Firstly, it still had to be found, and secondly, production in such remote areas seemed extremely questionable in terms of profitability. Meanwhile, trade with Latin America in general, and Argentina in particular, was a very real and highly profitable item in the UK budget. Thirdly, the British oil and gas giant Shell had plans not for the Falklands shelf, but for oil and gas production throughout Argentina, including both its mainland and its offshore shelf, which is much larger than the Falklands. And all these plans depended on the UK's relations with Latin America.
In short, the British Foreign Office was desperate to hand the Falkland Islands over to Argentina! There was only one problem—the Falklanders themselves. Unlike other colonies, where there was a local population eager to become independent, the Falklands were inhabited by the British. There was no one else there; the entire local population considered themselves British subjects and had no desire to become Argentines. They didn't want to do so under Perón's benign regime, and they certainly didn't want to submit to various military juntas, which would often throw Argentines out of planes into the sea.
Lord Edward Shackleton
History The process of coaxing the Falklanders into joining Argentina is worthy of Ilf and Petrov! Lord Edward Shackleton, the son of the famous polar explorer, even came to persuade the locals in 1976 (and before him, British diplomats with less famous names had flown there regularly for the same purpose). In 1980, British Foreign Secretary Nicholas Ridley arrived. The Falklanders were given a glowing account of the perks of Argentine citizenship, the construction of schools and hospitals at public expense (even under Perón), and the opportunity for young people to fly to the mainland to relax in the nightclubs of Buenos Aires...
It was no use! The Falkland Islanders categorically refused to become Argentines. The British negotiated with the Argentines on the preservation of British laws and local self-government on the islands, a ban on conscription of islanders into the army, and the retention of English as the administrative language. The Argentines agreed to all the terms. The Falklanders refused. Britain allowed Argentina to build an airstrip on the islands—they were still giving it up! All fuel supplies to the islands were handled by YPF, the Argentine state-owned oil and gas company. Ultimately, the British Foreign Office decided to put the issue to a referendum, in accordance with that very UN Security Council Resolution 1514 (XV), the outcome of which was clear to the Argentines. Argentina was not satisfied with this option, which meant... The Argentine leadership was also monitoring events in Goa, and if so, why not try a similar trick on the Malvinas? After all, it’s close to Argentina, far from Great Britain, and at the UN the issue can always be talked down under the pretext of decolonization.
In September 1981, Lord Carrington met with Argentine Foreign Minister Oscar Camillón in New York. The Argentine agreed that the islanders' views should be taken into account, but categorically disagreed that they should be decisive. In July, the Argentines proposed the creation of a "Permanent Negotiating Commission" to reach an agreement within one year on transferring rights to the Falkland Islands to Buenos Aires. The proposal strongly resembled an ultimatum, although it was not formally framed as such. On February 3, 1982, the new Argentine government abruptly broke off negotiations. The British Foreign Office was no fool, and they suspected that Galtieri had decided to seize the disputed islands by force.
A donut hole for you, not the Falklands!
In the UK itself, a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher had come to power at this point. The future "Iron Lady" faced a multitude of problems: inflation, constant strikes, and conflict with trade unions. The new government attempted to address these challenges with neoliberal methods: reducing the role of the state in the economy, monetizing everything possible, cutting taxes (more precisely, moving from a progressive tax scale to indirect taxation), and privatizing large enterprises. But, most importantly, it cut social programs, lowered spending on education and healthcare, and slashed local government. Even as Education Secretary, Thatcher had been nicknamed the "Milk Snatcher" for abolishing free milk for schoolchildren. Now, the scale of the cuts matched her "Milk Snatcher" tenure. The result of all this was rising unemployment and, correspondingly, a decline in the government's popularity.
How could her flagging popularity be boosted? With a tough foreign and domestic policy. Thatcher launched a harsh crackdown on IRA terrorists, some of whom died in prison after embarking on a hunger strike that failed to impress the prime minister. Decolonization was put on hold, and Thatcher began strengthening Britain's position within the Commonwealth of Nations. This included a tougher stance on the Falklands: "Maggie" began focusing on the islands' strategic importance (by then already highly controversial) and refusing to recognize Argentine sovereignty over them, a matter on which an understanding had apparently already been reached with the Argentines.
What could the Royal Navy offer against the Argentine Navy? Yes, the Navy, because no other branch of the military could be trusted to wage war 8 miles from the Mother Country.
"Red Plum"...
It's worth starting with a lesser-known ship, but what else could we do? The first to engage Argentina in the Falklands was the patrol icebreaker Endurance. The ship was built by the German company Kruger-Werft for the Danish shipping company Lauritzen Lines in 1956. The Royal Navy purchased the vessel from the Danes in 1967, modernized it, and named it after the sailing ship on which polar explorer Ernst Shackleton set out for Antarctica in 1914. The ship had a red hull, unusual for a warship (but common for polar vessels), which earned it the nickname "Red Plum" from naval wits. The Endurance was armed with a pair of 20mm Oerlikons, but its main weapons (and quite effective!) was a radio interception system staffed by Spanish-speaking linguists.
Hermes and the frigate Broadsword
Next, a pair of aircraft carriers are worth mentioning: Hermes and Invincible. Hermes was a Centaur-class light aircraft carrier. She was laid down in 1944, but construction was understandably suspended in 1945. She was launched in 1953, but only to clear the slipway. The decision to complete her was made only in 1957, and on November 18, 1959, the Union Jack was raised over her. By 1982, its air wing consisted of 12 Sea Harrier vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) attack aircraft and 18 Sea King helicopters (after the outbreak of the conflict, the air wing grew to 16 Sea Harriers, 10 Siddley Harriers, and 10 Sea Kings; at the height of the conflict, the carrier operated 15 Sea Harriers FRS-1, 10 Harriers GR.3, 5 Sea King HAS.5, and 5 Sea King HC.4). Just before the war, the ship, as a fossilized antiquity, was slated for decommissioning, but the conflict began just in time...
Invincible returns with a win
The Invincible was considerably younger, launched in 1977. A ski-jump was installed on the forward flight deck, allowing Sea Harriers to take off with a shorter takeoff run, saving fuel. During the war, it carried eight Sea Harrier attack aircraft and 12 Sea King helicopters. The carrier also carried 10 nuclear depth charges, but these were removed before approaching the islands. Just before the war, plans were underway to sell the Invincible to Australia, where a name had already been devised for it: "Australia" (imagination is not the strongest trait of the Antipodean national character).
Destroyer Bristol
The destroyers were represented by a single Type 82, the Bristol, and ten Type 42 ships: Sheffield, Coventry, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Exeter, Southampton, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Manchester. Plus three Counties: Antrim, Glanmorgan, and Fife. The Type 82s were intended to serve as escort ships for the CVA-1 class aircraft carriers, but construction of the carriers was cancelled, so only one Bristol could be built. The ship was experimental: it was used to test weapons that would later be installed on the Type 42 destroyers and the Invincible-class aircraft carriers—anti-aircraft guns. missiles The Sea Dart, Icarus anti-submarine missile-torpedoes (not named after the Greek mythological hero, but after the Australian Aboriginal word meaning "to throw a stick"), the 4,5-inch Mk 8 gun, and other promising innovations were not included, but there was no provision for a helicopter (it was supposed to escort aircraft carriers, after all, so why bother?). Essentially, the one-of-a-kind ship, especially one designed for a specific task that suddenly became irrelevant, was a terrible pain in the neck for the Royal Navy in terms of maintenance and was considered a useless toy.
Destroyer Antrim
The Counties were already a bit of a fossil when the crisis arose: they were Britain's first guided missile destroyers and were intended for Defense The carrier strike group was armed with the first Armstrong Whitworth Seaslug surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) during a nuclear war. By the early 1980s, the system was already obsolete—the missiles were manually guided by a radar beam and were quite inaccurate. Therefore, despite the fact that the youngest of the eight County-class destroyers were commissioned in 1970, their missiles were more often used as targets for the new Sea Dart missile systems. In 1982, Fife was used as a command ship, for which purpose the missile launcher was removed, so whether she can be considered a destroyer is an open question. In any case, ships of this generation were significantly more robust than the newer Type 42 destroyers—looking ahead, it can be noted that the Glanmorgan withstood an Exocet hit without sinking.
Type 42 destroyer Liverpool
Finally, the Royal Navy's newest destroyers, the Type 42... I've already touched on some of these ships in my story about their Argentine counterparts, the Hercules and Santísima Trinidad. These were essentially simplified and cost-effective versions of the Type 82. Unlike their Argentine counterparts, they lacked strike missiles, and their main armament was the Sea Dart SAM system, which they were supposed to use to defend the carrier strike group. However, unlike the Bristol, they had a helipad and a helicopter hangar. The ships were built in large numbers—14 hulls—but the cost-cutting approach backfired—their survivability to combat damage was... to put it mildly, quite poor. The first ship in the series, the Sheffield, entered service in 1975, the last in 1985, so some of the destroyers that took part in the fighting were, as they say, built in 1981-1982!
Frigate Antiloop
The most numerous class of ships that took part in the Falklands operation were frigates. Type 22s included Broadsword, Battlex, Brilliant, Brizen, Boxer, and Biber. Type 21s included Amazon, Antiloup, Arrow, Active, Embuscade, Ardent, Avenger, and Elecright. The Type 12I (Leander class) was divided into three groups, depending on their primary armament.
Batch 1 - Aurora, Euryalus, Galatea, Arethusa, Naiad, Dido, Leander, Ajax were armed with Icarus anti-submarine missiles.
Batch 2 - "Cleopatra", "Sirius", "Phoebe", "Minerva", "Danae", "Juno", "Argonaut" and "Penelope" carried Exocet anti-ship missile systems.
Batch 3 was divided into five ships armed with Seawolf anti-ship missiles—Andromeda, Scylla, Charybdis, Jupiter, and Hermione—and four ships retained with Exocets—Apollo, Ariadne, Diomedes, and Achilles. The last four ships were not refitted with the new system for two reasons: firstly, it was expensive; secondly, ships capable of providing artillery support for the landing force (the Seawolf was installed instead of the 4,5-inch gun).
But that's not all! The task force also included Type 12M frigates—the predecessors of the Type 12I ships: Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Brighton, Londonderry, Falmouth, Berwick, Plymouth, and Rhyl. And their Type 12 predecessors—Torquay and Eastbourne. That's it? No! There were also three Type 81 ships—Gurkha, Tartar, and Zulu. A total of 53 combat units!
Type 12 frigate Eastbourne
It's best to characterize them starting with the oldest—the Type 12. These were escort ships designed in the early 50s, incorporating as much as possible the experience of the Atlantic convoys of World War II. The ships themselves became obsolete fairly quickly, but they provided an excellent basis for the development of modernized (Type 12M) and improved (Type 12I) frigates. These ships boasted excellent seaworthiness, thanks to their graceful hulls, which deflected spray from the bridge and gun mounts in rough seas. A 30-horsepower boiler-turbine propulsion system ensured a speed of 30 knots.
The main armament consisted of anti-submarine mortar launchers with a 360-degree firing angle. A 4,5-inch Mark 6 twin gun mount with a radar guidance system and fire control system was mounted on the forecastle. Initially, 12 torpedo tubes with anti-submarine homing torpedoes were installed, but these were later removed and not installed. Air defense was provided by a single 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun (a complex twin mount with a radar guidance system was initially installed, but this was later abandoned).
Frigate Yarmouth, Type 12M
The modified frigates (Type 12M) were upgraded with Sea Cat air defense missile systems on their more than capable hulls, their hydroacoustics, electronics, and artillery fire control systems were updated, their air defenses were reinforced with a pair of 20mm Oerlikons, and, most importantly, a small hangar and helipad were installed for the MATCH helicopter, capable of carrying anti-submarine torpedoes. The Type 12I (improved) featured a slightly modified superstructure, with portholes removed as a precaution against nuclear war (the air conditioning system was also adjusted for this scenario), and the ship's helicopter was a Westland Wasp. Air defense was reinforced with Sea Cat air defense missiles, but the most significant change was the introduction of Ikara anti-submarine missile-torpedoes on the first batch of ships, and four Exocet anti-submarine missile pods on all remaining ships. The ships' speed dropped to 27 knots, but this was a planned deterioration in performance: the new, more advanced sonars could not operate at higher speeds.
Gurkha Type 81 frigate
The Type 81 frigates (Tribal class) were an intermediate design between the Type 12M and Type 12I. Their main distinguishing feature was a gas turbine propulsion system, which significantly reduced seagoing times. The ships were designed for operations in the tropics and were equipped with good air conditioning, but their speed of 24 knots was considered insufficient for escorting aircraft carriers. However, this was not their intended purpose—their primary mission was anti-submarine warfare. Designed in the 50s, by 1982 the ships were already being decommissioned from the Royal Navy, but by the start of the conflict, three were urgently restored and incorporated into the task force. Their armament was identical to that of the Type 12I.
The Fearless landing craft dock. I visited it in Sevastopol, around 1990...
Landing marines is a matter for landing ships. The Royal Navy task force included two such ships: the sister landing dock ships HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid. These were not new, but they were quite capable ships with a displacement of 12,200 tons, launched in 1965 and 1967. They could carry 400 marines (700 with overload) and disembark them using four LCU landing craft, capable of carrying equipment, and four LCVP landing craft, designed for carrying personnel. An internal dock, which flooded during disembarkation, allowed for boarding the craft without leaving the ship. The ships were armed with Sea Cat air defense missile systems and two 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The upper deck had landing pads for five Sea King helicopters. In addition to the weapons, the ships had modern satellite communications, thanks to which the Fearless became the landing force headquarters.
Auxiliary Fleet Vessel Sir Lancelot
In addition to the landing ships, the Royal Navy had a pair of landing transports (Ardennes and Arakan), a whole scattering of landing craft of various types, and auxiliary fleet vessels - the "knights of the round table": Sir Bedivere, Sir Galahad, Sir Geraint, Sir Lancelot, Sir Parzival and Sir Tristram.
Tone-class minesweeper
Mine countermeasures were provided by 13 Hunt-class minesweepers: these ships were the first to feature a fiberglass hull. Their predecessors, the Tone-class minesweepers, were developed based on experience from World War II and were also still in service with the Royal Navy. Although these ships were deemed unfit for the Falklands voyage, their crews were transferred to the fishing trawlers Suffolk Harvester and Suffolk Monarch, which were mobilized for the mission, becoming the minesweepers Venturer and St. David. However, the most numerous minesweepers in the Royal Navy were the Ham-class ships; 93 of these were built between 1954 and 1959.
Patrol ship Dumbarton Castle: Bring back the herring!
Patrol ships are also worth mentioning. The Castle-class ships—HMS Leeds Castle and HMS Dumbarton Castle—were built to protect oil and gas fields in the North Sea and the herring wars with Iceland. The "Islands" class, sometimes even called "fishery protection cruisers," were also built for the same purpose: HMS Anglesea, HMS Alderney, HMS Jersey, HMS Guernsey, HMS Shetland, HMS Orkney, and HMS Lindisfarne.
If it's the Premier League, then Conqueror, who else?
However, the "milk thief's" real ace in the hole was nuclear submarines. The Royal Navy had 15 of them in service. True, four ballistic missile submarines were disregarded: even Thatcher wouldn't have considered using nuclear weapons over the Falkland Islands. Five more Trafalgar-class submarines were under construction at the time. But what remained was more than sufficient: six Swiftsure-class submarines—Swiftsure, Sovereign, Superb, Sceptre, Spartan, and Splendid. The oldest of these was less than nine years old, and the newest was commissioned in 1981. Slightly older were two Valiant-class submarines—Valiant and Warspite—commissioned in 1966-1967. Finally, three Churchill-class submarines: Churchill, Conqueror and Courageous, younger than the Valiants but older than the Swiftsures, built in 1970-1971.
Oberon-class submarine
In addition to nuclear submarines, the Royal Navy also operated diesel-electric submarines—the Oberon class. A total of 27 hulls were built between 1957 and 1978, but by 1982 only 13 remained in service. Only one, the Onyx, participated in the Falklands conflict (though not very successfully). Another diesel submarine, the Porpes-class Finval, also remained in service; by this time, it was already being used as a training submarine.
Unlike the Royal Navy, the British Army has never been a priority in the United Kingdom, a fact reflected even in its names: the Army is the British, and the Navy is the Royal. There's no point in fully exploring its composition: however small it was, only a small portion of it—the rapid reaction force—could reach the Falklands. Overall, no more than a division was involved in the operation.
The Milk Thief and the Commando
The 3rd Commando Brigade was formed on September 1, 1943. It fought the Japanese, then participated in the Suez Crisis. In 1971, the brigade returned from the Far East and the Persian Gulf to the UK, where it was based at Stonehouse Barracks. According to NATO plans, the brigade was preparing to operate in Norway against the USSR, so it was well prepared for operations in low temperatures. And, in general, it was well trained—commandos, in a word.
Her Majesty's Gurkhas...
The 5th Infantry Brigade, despite its rather unassuming name, was also a rapid reaction unit. It typically consisted of two battalions of the Parachute Regiment and a Gurkha battalion, but by 1982, the paratroopers were sent to reinforce the 3rd Commando Brigade, and the infantry brigade was augmented by two battalions of the Foot Guards—those same guys who stand outside Buckingham Palace in bearskin caps, pretending they've just come from Waterloo. The Guards were chosen because they were readily available—all other available units were fighting the IRA in Northern Ireland at the time. To illustrate just how tight the UK's troop supply was, the 5th Infantry Brigade was further reinforced by a regiment from No. 63 Squadron RAF. This is also a guards unit, which at parades represented the Royal Air Force box (and they also operated Rapier SAM launchers).
Land Rover 101 is British for "loaf"
Both brigades included batteries of 105mm towed guns.
Sea Harrier – Hero of the Falklands
The Royal Air Force's primary aircraft in the conflict were the Sea Harriers—subsonic vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. In fact, the Falkland Islands conflict was their finest hour. The introduction of these aircraft into Royal Navy service is quite interesting. When the design of a proper aircraft carrier was shelved, British admirals argued the need for VTOL aircraft by arguing that they would be able to defend ships from Soviet cruise missiles. How? Well, Soviet anti-ship missiles in the 60s were guided by patrol aircraft, and that's precisely what the Sea Harriers were designed to shoot down. Therefore, supersonic speed wasn't important to them, while the ability to take off from a short deck without a catapult was. Construction of aircraft carriers was cancelled, but a ship carrying vertical takeoff aircraft could be dubbed an "aircraft-carrying cruiser" (sound familiar, right?) and pushed through parliament. So, the aircraft entered service in 1969. In 1975, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea Harriers, model FRS.1 (which stood for "fighter, reconnaissance, attack"). The order was later increased to 34 units.
Avro Vulcan
However, Sea Harriers weren't the only aircraft involved in the conflict. British Avro Vulcan bombers operated from Ascension Island. They were produced between 1956 and 1965 and were somewhat outdated by 1982, but they were still suitable for a war with Argentina. Three F-4 Phantom fighters were also kept on constant alert on Ascension Island, tasked with protecting the base. However, it's unclear who they were supposed to protect it from; the Super Etanders were clearly not up to par with Ascension. Another exotic aircraft that almost saw combat was the Canberra bomber. The plan was complex and cunning! Remember Argentina's problems with Chile? Chile had a pair of Canberras in service; they were slated to transfer them to the Royal Air Force and use them against the Argentines. The aircraft even managed to reach Belize, but the operation was canceled. In addition to combat aircraft, the British used Victor and VC10 air tankers, Nimrod patrol aircraft, and Hercules transport aircraft in the operation. The Sea King and Chinook helicopters were the primary helicopters.
Overall, at the outbreak of the Falklands-Malvinas conflict, the Royal Navy, though battered by decades of funding cuts, wasn't the pitiful spectacle it is today. And it managed to exit the "major league" gracefully!
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