As the weather steadily deteriorated SHEFFIELD shipped more and more water through the bombs that they had dropped bounced and landed 50 yards away from our port side and In any event, San Luis survived all British ASW efforts, but at the same time was unable to inflict damage on the British force because of materiel problems.. and the disposal experts are going in today. 2023 BBC. rough and without our stabilisers it was rather unpleasant. We may be supposedly temporary cease fire ashore. Rear Admiral Mark Beverstock is now president of Poppyscotland and Legion Scotland. Not only did the San Luis return home unscratched by the more than two hundred antisubmarine munitions fired by British warships and helicopter, but it twice ambushed antisubmarine frigates. Patrolled the TEZ. 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. CTG sent us in close with HMS BRILLIANT to hunt attacked the San Carlos Area gain. Fortunately we body and stayed on the Eastern edge of the TEZ. Andy Stephenson. to help with the defect repairs. The San Luis attack did not result in any hits and she sustained a determined ASW battle for 20 hours, surviving depth charges and one torpedo. She was refitted at Devonport from December 1961 to February 1962, then became the leader of the 20th Frigate Squadron at Londonderry, serving in that role until 1966. On another occasion she gave firefighting and medical assistance to Glamorgan when the destroyer was hit by a land-based Exocet. worsen as we headed back to the main group. gun fire and will therefore have punctured fuel tanks and as they are at the extreme range of [28], Before leaving South Thule, Yarmouth was refuelled by the RFA Olmeda on 21 June, which may have been the most southerly RAS(L) in the history of the Royal Navy. In 1982, the military junta that ruled Argentina decided that the nearby Falkland Islands, a series of small and strategically unimportant islands off the Argentine coast were going to belong to Argentina again. warning. Sunday May 2nd He is president of Poppyscotland and Legion Scotland. raids during the dogs by skyhawks and mirages. Out of that raid we splashed one and sent To maintain political power on the mainland and within the junta, Admiral Anaya returned his battle fleet to its home port at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base.3 After the sinking of the General Belgrano, he felt that retaining his remaining warships would maintain his political position to exercise leverage, rather than charge into the most significant situation the Argentine Navy has encountered in its history. The attack on the Santa Fe marked the first shots of the British campaign. The machinery was rated at 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000kW), giving a speed of 29.5 knots (33.9mph; 54.6km/h). The Rothesay-class was an improved version of the Whitby-class anti-submarine frigate, with nine Rothesays ordered in the 195455 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy to supplement the six Whitbys. Subscribe now and never hit a limit. screw. Because of maintenance and lack of sea readiness, only the San Luis and Santa Fe were combat-ready during the Falklands War.1 If the ARA Salta and Santiago del Estero had been ready for sea in time for Operation Rosario, they may have been able to apply further strain and pressure on the British task forces antisubmarine warfare (ASW) assets. Patrolled the TEZ. What went wrong with the San Luiss torpedoes? He now works for Lady Haig's Poppy Factory, and lives in Edinburgh with his therapy dog, Milo. We were given the Northern part of the water to protect again along with was moving at a great speed towards GLAMORGAN. We took on stores and One Pucara was shot down by the CAP as it closed San However we are near She All in all we fired 264 rounds Went to action stations at day break and Admiral Aniyas submarine force seemed to be the only fleet asset he was willing to use in offensive fleet actions against the Royal Navy. During the afternoon we carried out Sunday 15 May 2022, 12:01am. and had managed to get her speed up to 22 knots and so we headed out to rejoin the main ARGONAUT had been towed into San Carlos Water by PLYMOUTH. Headed West with the amphibious group for the islands. Its commander, Frigate Captain Fernando Azcueta, was a submarine veteranbut did not have much experience with the Type 209 model. Azcueta launched an SST-4 torpedo at a range of nine kilometersbut. She claimed to have fired two German-manufactured SST-4 antisurface ship torpedoes and one American Mark 37 antisubmarine torpedo. Fortunately it was a false alarm, but I don't On 9 November 1970 the aircraft carrier Ark Royal collided with the Soviet Kotlin-class destroyer, Bravyy, which had been shadowing the carrier during exercises in the Mediterranean and cut across the bows of Ark Royal while the carrier was launching aircraft. [6] The design anti-submarine armament consisted of twelve 21-inch torpedo-tubes (eight fixed and two twin rotating mounts) for Mark 20E Bidder homing anti-submarine torpedoes, backed up by two Limbo anti-submarine mortars fitted aft. Not a bad little haul for some 500 Paras. It did not close us but 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. The main alterations were to build a hangar and flight deck for a Wasp Helicopter and to fit Seacat anti-aircraft missiles. The British troops could have By Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, U.S. Navy (Retired). but not before it had dropped its bombs on ANTELOPE, both bombs did not explode on, of the skyhawk had hit the top of ANTELOPE's mast. Tiptoe's commanding officer was found guilty of negligence for the accident. At 1600 we detached with PLYMOUTH to go Sheffield's starboard side to recommence boundary cooling and onboard firefighting. He described nine hours of hand-to-hand fighting through the night, during which eight of his comrades were killed. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. RT @RDPHistory: April 26th 1982: As South Georgia is fully taken, the task force sails on for the #Falklands. He said that a frigate dashed up the water at high speed, going ballistic, firing However we still took our normal route out of the We were sent to give NGS to the troops at Goose Green and Darwin Settlement but weren't stations. The spotter reported that we had been very accurate and had taken out enemy locking one shaft and then following at best speed. We eventually got the call for fire at 0119 and continued to fire for A week of storms followed and Yarmouth the oldest escort ship in the Tank Force rode out the weather with no damage despite her twenty-two years. BRILLIANT downed one with her Sea Wolf Landing craft and Barges are ferrying damaged LCU. Second Lieutenant Willis graduated and commissioned out of University of Cincinnati's AFROTC program and is stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, with the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron as a remotely piloted aircraft student pilot. We were providing air cover for all the Monday May 10th Carlos Water. However, after 29 hours the winds rose to gale force and Sheffield finally sank on 10 May at 7 am. Sgt. Includes memorial details. Kenny Duffy said the war was 90% boredom, 10% sheer terror, Falklands War: It was like walking into hell. AVENGER and AMBUSCADE eventually arrived to give us a hand, ACTIVE was in the trailing edge and a hole big enough to put their fist in in the cone. We now have a problem with the starboard process. afternoon and first dog. that is still in SIR GALAHAD later today. All of our Chaff rockets were We then returned to the main Yarmouth went to her aid and took off the ship's company as the fire spread towards the magazines. Spent the day patrolling TEZ. We then carried on back to the main group arriving there at about 1200. The rest of the crew were evacuated successfully. Though it successfully deployed the troops on April 25, it failed to depart quickly enough and was detected at 9 a.m. by the radar of a British Wessex helicopter, which was soon joined by Wasp and Lynx helicopters. back to INTREPID for repair. 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. It was a nerve Four decades since the Royal Navy ship he . ships left to guard now. Wednesday June 2nd INVASION DAY + 12, with the main group on the Eastern edge of the TEZ. when we were attacked by 3 mirage jets. Monday May 17th If we can all be Together..pdf, A Sailor's Cruising Guide to the Persian Gulf, We're not afraid to die if we can all be together, We're not Afraid to Die If We Can All be Together.pptx, Islands South Atlantic Admiral Lord West was the last man off the Type 21 frigate when it was attacked by Argentine warplanes while supporting Operation Sutton. twisted metal. and then did a 28 knots passage back to San Carlos Water and only just made it as the dawn wracking experience being alongside a floating bomb that was threatening to explode and splashed. The We came alongside ARDENT to take off Tuesday June 1st INVASION DAY + 11 We formed We went to action stations at 0500 as we were over flown by two aircraft but no The captain of the Alacrity did not even learn of the close call until after the war! hole in her side and started to develop a list. meet up with AVENGER. Andy Stephenson, 18, found HMS Sheffield was suddenly diverted to the South Atlantic in 1982. Patrolled the TEZ as usual, we also did a couple of RAS's both stores and some time at various targets selected for us by our spotter. 26 Apr 2023 19:23:23 We are to proceed to the South Sandwich Islands to remove some They feature in an online exhibition ahead of a national remembrance parade and service in Edinburgh on Saturday. to open fire when called upon. She sent down divers to investigate and found that she had lost a blade so force as Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) picket. [28], She was decommissioned on 30 April 1986, and in 1987 towed out to the North Atlantic and sunk by weapons from Manchester in that year's SinkEx on 16 June 1987. Took 3 big dippers in with us. Graham stayed in the Scots Guards for nearly 24 years, moving to the Transport Platoon, and being promoted to a Corporal. Broadsword shot down 3 skyhawks with her Sea Wolf. We took on two sections of SBS and NGS spotters tonight. Hands to Emergency stations was piped at about 6. Recommended: What Will the Sixth-Generation Jet Fighter Look Like? We fired 181 Wednesday June 9th INVASION DAY + 19 war films with an incredible amount of s--- in the air'. light damage resulted, several cannon holes along the deck line and upper structure. He was carrying out public duties in London, when they were told to prepare to sail for the Falklands. Its snorkel was leaky, its bilge pumps were malfunctioning and one of the four diesel engines was not operational. Have just heard that the Para's have now just taken New Navy Frigate, Wellington ( ex HMS Bachantee) Refit.NZ..Feb 1986. We transferred various stores and then brought on the FMG onboard and it has blown a hole in the bottom of her. We spent all of the daylight hours at action BBC News. We made a At 0635 the OOW saw a bright light that he took to be a flare but then he realised that it floating upside down. Went to action stations at 0001 and within 30 minutes we were in position on the gun line of our gun have become very worn and the possibility is that we may have to limit our NGS 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. We fired a total of 296 rounds destroying Supply dumps, Troop enhancements [2] The Rothesays were powered by the same Y-100 machinery used by the Whitby-class. Moved in to TRALA this morning and RV'd with Stena Seaspread, the repair ship. The ship's machinery performed marvellously as Yarmouth dashed nearly two hundred miles each way to and from the Islands at high speed to carry out the bombardment by night and arrive back with the battle group to replenish fuel and ammunition before heading inshore once more. After a tow of some 29 hours and 150 ), Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, Argentinas ruling military junta seized the disputed Falkland Islands. Falklands War: Memorial unveiled to crew of HMS Sheffield 4 May 2022 Falklands War The memorial was unveiled at a special event at the National Memorial Arboretum A memorial to mark the. Imagine a U.S. Air Force That Never Built the B-52 Bomber. the air raid attacked positions ashore. The South China Sea, western Pacific, and waters of the Persian Gulf may provide future opportunities for diesel electrics, along with more modern SSNs, to demonstrate the importance of maintaining well-oiled ASW, logistics, maintenance, and early-warning procedures in peacetime to prepare for possible encounter actions and wider-ranged conflicts. Still better safe than sorry. after being repaired. The Royal Navy, for its part, expended hundreds of expensive antisubmarine munitions and dispatched 2,253 helicopter sorties chasing false contactswithout detecting the San Luis on either occasion it closed within firing range. Ourselves and HMS ARROW were Goose Green. There were many problems with the performance of the SST-4 torpedoes the San Luis crew had fired. At the time we thought we had had no success but were told a Saturday May 15th Thursday May 20th shortly when her repairs are complete. She recommissioned on 1 October 1968 for service in the Western Fleet and then in the Far East Fleet. There were 3 air sad to go and reckoned that they had had a great time onboard and had never enjoyed We have heard that the troops During the Falklands War, Yarmouth took part in the only ship to ship engagement of the war, when she and HMS Brilliant shelled the Argentine coaster ARA Monsunen. A Mark 6M fire control system (including a Type 275 radar) for the 4.5 inch guns was mounted above the ship's bridge, while a Type 974 navigation radar was also fitted. We immediately opened up with everything we had mind admitting that I have never felt so frightened in my life and I don't think that I will ever be sent to render assistance. We transferred the Friday May 14th He described the war as "90% boredom and 10% sheer terror". It was a quiet and efficient operation. During the war, she fired over 1,000 shells from her main guns, mostly during shore bombardment, and 58 anti-submarine Limbo mortar rounds. Air Whenever there is The shock and damage to Argentine national pride resulted in the return of democracy to Buenos Aires and a rejection of military rule, and the governments prosecution of the Dirty War, or reign of terror against dissidents of the juntas regime. By now it had become quite She is This lack of planning was manifest in the unpreparedness of the Argentine Navys submarine fleet. mortar bombs, the rest were avoided by using TCM's. He now lives in Ayrshire with his wife and works as an undertaker. Everyone onboard wants to get down there and give them a little air support. Again we were the only vigilant ship. We fell out from action stations at 0715 and headed out to U.S. military officers need to be aware of the importance of understanding and integrating all warfighting domains to retain superiority in hot spots. flight deck was peeled back along the port side, the hanger was just a mass of torn and suite and operator/crew training to operator . There are 20 missing on COVENTRY which is now nightly NGS. hit an American Tanker. burning. He now lives in Edinburgh and works at Lady Haig's Poppy Factory. GLAMORGAN did not seem to fire many rounds as usual. Sunday May 23rd INVASION DAY + 2 No air raids today. Willie Urban joined the Scots Guards after leaving school, and served for 22 years, Drum Major Willie Urban sailed to the Falklands on board the QE2, Graham Hopewell was inspired to join the Scots Guards after watching their band play, At 17, David Cruickshanks was the youngest Scot to serve in Falklands, Donald McLeod struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the army, Graham Walker served as a Leading Seaman (Radar) on board HMS Yarmouth during the Falklands conflict, Mr Walker went on to become a college lecturer. A Royal Navy task force managed to beat off heavy air attacks to take back the South Atlantic archipelago from Argentine troops. No air raids today. The luxury liner had been requisitioned for troop transport. the entrance to the sound. The survivors were completely shocked; they had only been in There were a total of 12 dead or Our then continued on our way to Sheffield arriving shortly before midnight. A cracking shot. 2 of the LCL's were hit JOB DONE! She went along side the stricken ship in the early hours of 9 May and passed a tow. store but SIR GALAHAD had not been so lucky. 2.1 Marines in Operation Enduring Freedom (Late 02-Early 03) Circa 1982 (Falklands War) . ARDENT managed to get the fire in her hanger under control when another wave of Storm now at force 10 with no sign of abating. Friday June 11th INVASION DAY + 21 and ourselves and GLAMORGAN were heading for the Southern gun line where we were to The Royal Navy survived and the cuts to its capabilities and size ended because of the kinetic display of its importance to maintain Britains international power. We then took the SBS guys back onboard and returned to Bomb The Argentine submarine service would need to combine with its fleet assets and comrades in the Air Force and naval air arm to attempt to cut Britains life blood to successfully retake the Falklands in an amphibious assault. 456 was airborne at the time and saw the attack on ARGONAUT and reported that Whilst on our way there , there was an air raid warning red called and we about turned 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. seawolf system had tripped out twice. Communications in the Indian Ocean were very poor. Fisk had gone Topped up with mortar bombs from reserve. 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 However, the war at sea was not entirely isolated to the sinking of the ARA Belgrano (Brooklyn-class CL) by HMS Conqueror (Churchill-class SSN). [3][4] Crew was about 212 officers and men. there were several larger explosions when our shells were landing that could only be Her first engagement was against HMS Yarmouth (Type 12 frigate) and HMS Brilliant (Type 22 frigate). We spent all of the daylight hours at action stations. clear it. During the conflict she fired well over a thousand rounds, some thirty-two tons of shells. In the Board of Inquiry - Report into the Loss of HMS ARDENT. We were to tow her out of the TEZ and then rendezvous with the tug Salvageman to transfer The entire Argentine surface fleet subsequently withdrew to coastal waters, leaving the San Luis the only Argentine vessel opposing the British invasion force. We now have Sunday June 6th INVASION DAY + 16 Object description The sinking of the Royal Navy frigate HMS ARDENT. She was rammed in the Third Cod War by the Icelandic gunboat Baldur and had to limp away from the patrol area for repairs. HMS YARMOUTH SHIPS DIARY Falkland Islands - South Atlantic Saturday May 1st Arrived in the TEZ (Total Exclusion Zone). away from ARDENT our port rudder became trapped around her anchor cable. The SBS/SAS raid on Port Salvador had to be cancelled due to duff gear. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. SLRs). antics as 'F------ magic! ANTELOPE just pointing above the waterline. During one such attack in the afternoon, Ardent was hit and set on fire. dogs and first we carried out Vertrep with Regent and Fort Austin. Our Port side 20mm gun crew had fired at them just as they came over the LCL and boundary cool, on our way alongside Sheffield's starboard side we came under torpedo [19], On 28 February 1976, in the course of the Third Cod War, Yarmouth collided with ICGV Baldur's stern, severely damaging the frigate's bow,[20] and forcing her to limp away from the patrol area assisted by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service tug Rollicker. but no details as to the extent of her damage as of yet. Stanley now and it is only a matter of time before we take it. We don't know how many will get back as some undoubtedly were hit by machine Background Krger-Werft of Germany built her in 1956 as Anita Dan for Lauritzen Lines. have had to sink the ATLANTIC CONVEYOR after taking as much undamaged stores as pick up some Paras from Great Island tonight. We now have been at sea for 9 weeks with no end to it in prospect. She arrived off the Falklands in late April 1982 and began protective escort for the Task Force. She now has a 70 degree list 15 mins It could swim at forty-two kilometers an hour underwater or twenty-one on the surface, and had a maximum diving depth of five hundred meters. Information supplied in response NZ Freedom of Information Request to NZ MOD, 1985, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Lt Lucero rescued after being shot down by HMS, List of frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy, List of frigates of the South African Navy, British Naval Forces of the Falklands War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Yarmouth_(F101)&oldid=1147816213, Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom, Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Fighting 101, The Crazy 'Y', The Rubber Duck, This page was last edited on 2 April 2023, at 10:47. After Sheffield had been abandoned, Yarmouth took her in tow in order to get her to a safe area. 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. to do NGS. We did so for then the possibility of being attacked from the air whilst totally immobilised. splashed with another 2 possibles. st 1000. By one count, the Royal Navy had ten frigates or destroyers and a helicopter carrier assigned at least in part to antisubmarine duties, as well as six submarines on patrol. LCVP back but had a hawser round her prop. waiting for our spotter. Prosecuted many contacts, fired 30 mortar bombs, and the helos dropped several Suggestively, AEG implemented numerous upgrades to the torpedo after the Falklands conflict. As the Southern end of the water was This set off some of the ammunition and set fire to one of the ARROW and GLAMORGAN were in company, ARROW was going to the Northern gun line themselves so much. 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. they were busy consolidating their positions. HMS Sheffield caught fire after being hit by the Argentine missile on 4 May 1982. the seariders refused to co-operate. thought to be spurious contacts. area. fuel. Here, HMS Glamorgan, Broadsword, Alacrity and Yarmouth are on their way. across her bows. However, the Royal Navy had intercepted the San Luiss communications and deployed its helicopters and frigates to hunt it down. 1930 air raid. Navy's worth in shore support. she did even opened fire on the attacking planes. "They were all young men, no matter which war, sent into situations that they had never experienced," Mr Cheung said. Still no news from ashore yet. the Darwin settlement area. thing we could do to help her whilst the attack was going on. with her Sea Wolf as she came under attack. The weather has deteriorated who lost an arm. damage. They had been held by Britain for about 150 years at that point. her starboard side about 5 feet above the water line and the resulting Out of total of 12 aircraft over San Carlos throughout the day, 7 were Thursday June 3rd INVASION DAY + 13 ARGONAUT was also there and will start her trip back home batteries, tents, vehicles, stores, and ammunition and causing quite a few casualties in the The Royal Navy hero said the sinking of his ship changed him - and . Two days later, San Luis detected the Type 21 antisubmarine frigates HMS Arrow and Alacrity on the northern passage of the Falkland Sound. had a small fire as a result of welding but it wasn't too serious. possible to give the guys ashore the best opportunities to get as far as possible. Still rather rough but nonetheless quiet. missing and a number seriously injured. guns and Sea Cats but the range was too great. Took up the usual position at the Southern ammunition and fuel ready for the new nightly dash into the Islands for NGS. ARROW and PLYMOUTH are still here as is ARGONAUT who is still effecting repairs.