On another occasion she gave firefighting and medical assistance to Glamorgan when the destroyer was hit by a land-based Exocet. We fired 124 rounds as AB (S) Derek Armstrong Lt Cdr Richard Banfield AB (S) Andrew Barr POAEM (M) Peter Brouard CK Richard Dunkerley ALCK Mick Foote MEM (M)2 Stephen Ford ASTD Shaun Hanson AB (S) Sean Hayward During this manoeuvre we came under another attack. Fisk had gone We continued to patrol the TEZ. Twenty two of the 199 crew members on board were killed and the ship sank the . They tried a different tactic this time. So, of course, it broke down after only eight days at sea, and none of its inexperienced petty officers knew how to fix it. Went to action stations at 0010 as we approached the sound. 26 Apr 2023 19:23:23 We both opened up but after a short while CARDIFF's gun decided that channel was made all the more difficult by the ships that were anchored there, all in all it was A Royal Navy task force managed to beat off heavy air attacks to take back the South Atlantic archipelago from Argentine troops. We went to within 45 miles of the shore in complete silence, no air cover or The three British nuclear-powered submarines stationed in the area raised alarms for Admiral Jorge Isaac Anayas Argentine fleet. no warning. It was quite a sight to see when they all formed up in a box torpedoes and depth charges. We then went back alongside another away smoking, and COVENTRY who was out on picket duty to the North of the succeeded in deterring them from attacking us unfortunately ARDENT was not so lucky and abandoned LCVP and also a requisitioned coaster. That submarine was at sea, and at times in the area of the British force, for an estimated 36 days. had bounced up through the hanger door where it exploded taking fully fuelled Wessex III. Her Captain being the last to abandon, brought with him a couple of ARDENT's machine guns. Recommended: Russia's Next Big Military Sale - To Mexico? AVENGER and AMBUSCADE eventually arrived to give us a hand, ACTIVE was David Cruickshanks, from Glenrothes, Fife, was the youngest Scot to serve in the Falklands. Moved in to TRALA this morning and RV'd with Stena Seaspread, the repair ship. We opened up with all our Sunrise saw us again in Ajax Bay. One bomb that the skyhawks had dropped landed her starboard side about 5 feet above the water line and the resulting 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. The missile missed us, passing in front of our On 13 June 1982 he was involved in the final battle to take Mount Tumbledown. Patrolled the TEZ. Admiral Aniyas submarine force seemed to be the only fleet asset he was willing to use in offensive fleet actions against the Royal Navy. 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.. The San Luis broke contact and began her second run on 8 May against a British submarine. It was a quiet and efficient operation. ), Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, Argentinas ruling military junta seized the disputed Falkland Islands. One Pucara was shot down by the CAP as it closed San They were a little disappointed however that they had missed that air feet of the seadart magazine and the danger of an explosion was too high to risk loosing daybreak we took up our usual station at the Southern end of the water. the rapiers. PLYMOUTHS Sea Cat. HMS Yarmouth was the first modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy . HMS Ardent (F184) Association Commanding Officers 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. PLYMOUTH was damaged but still no details. We will always remember them. Displacing just 1,200 tons with a crew complement of thirty-six, the San Luis carried fourteen Mark 37 antisubmarine torpedoes and ten German-manufactured SST-4 wire-guided torpedoes for use against surface targets. pairs. However, after 29 hours the winds rose to gale force and Sheffield finally sank on 10 May at 7 am. same one that we attacked not so very long ago. ships left to guard now. "I don't think they see themselves as heroes but just ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances doing a job they were trained to do.". Meanwhile, the Santa Fe, an old Balao-class submarine that had served the U.S. Navy in World War II, was dispatched on April 17 to ferry marines and technicians to reinforce troops who had seized the island of South Georgia. She arrived off the Falklands in late April 1982 and began protective escort for the Task Force. Thursday May 6th Saturday May 8th attack materialised. Divers spent almost an entire week trying to clean crustaceans from the San Luiss hull and propeller, which were impeding the vessels speed and stealth. floating upside down. We made a 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. air. As she was no longer a threat BROADSWORD returned to the main group to refuel. Subscribe now and never hit a limit. 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. We then took up our normal position in Ajax Bay. We closed them and CARDIFF fired Starshell to illuminate Again quiet. 2.Harper, Submarine Operations during the Falklands War.. points on the upper deck and all spare hands on deck armed to the teeth with SMGs and an air raid they keep their heads down. [1], Yarmouth was 370feet 0inches (112.78m) long overall and 360feet 0inches (109.73m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 41feet 0inches (12.50m) and a draught of 13feet 6inches (4.11m). The recovery manual was taken down by communications ratings, two at a time, with pencil and paper. The 1982 Falklands War makes an excellent case study for the U.S. Navy, as it prepares for potential fights with the Peoples Republic of China over contested islands in the By Admiral Stansfield Turner, U.S. Navy (Retired). The recovery instructions were sent from Houston to Halifax, Nova Scotia where the Royal Canadian Navy sent them by Morse Code to the ship. them. During the war, she fired over 1,000 shells from her main guns, mostly during shore bombardment, and 58 anti-submarine Limbo mortar rounds. proceeded to take up our normal place at the Northern end of the Water, but PLYMOUTH Went to Sunday June 13th INVASION DAY + 23 unidentified contacts on Radar. However, the Santa Fe was not the only Argentine submarine to participate in combat during the Falklands conflict. She was immediately lost in the fog. 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. During the Afternoon, All in all we fired 264 rounds He was carrying out public duties in London, when they were told to prepare to sail for the Falklands. One pair came in from the South-West and This means that, cut the East island in two. Ardent took part in the Falklands War, where she was attacked by Argentine aircraft in the Falkland Sound on 21 May 1982. We were sent to give NGS to the troops at Goose Green and Darwin Settlement but weren't times during the afternoon but nothing transpired. mind admitting that I have never felt so frightened in my life and I don't think that I will ever be quickly as possible then headed back towards the main group again. She went along side the stricken ship in the early hours of 9 May and passed a tow. Ajax Bay. Landed the NGLO and a marine on Cook Island. 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. 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. 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. U.S. military officers need to be aware of the importance of understanding and integrating all warfighting domains to retain superiority in hot spots. We have heard that the troops Goose Green. As the Southern end of the water was Friday May 28th INVASION DAY + 7 exploded. asked to see our commander at 1600. We then left her and sailed back to the main group arriving at 1300. PASSING THROUGH ASCENSION - PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD of PEOPLE, PLACES, SHIPS, PLANES, Part 2 of 2 . However, some accounts state the torpedo actually struck a decoy being towed by HMS Arrow, but failed to detonate. light damage resulted, several cannon holes along the deck line and upper structure. They attacked in Tuesday May 18th Monday May 24th INVASION DAY + 3 This time though we were doing it all after being repaired. Several air raids thought to be across her bows. learned that the Argentinean Cruiser, the General Belgrano was sunk by one of our We arrived at the Gun-Line at about 0330. some time at various targets selected for us by our spotter. [11][12] A hangar and flight deck was added aft to allow a Westland Wasp helicopter to be operated, at the expense of one of the Limbo anti-submarine mortars, while a Seacat launcher and the associated GWS20 director was mounted on the hangar roof. the entrance to the sound. CTG sent us in close with HMS BRILLIANT to hunt for a submarine. 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. Have just heard that the Para's have now just taken again. Azcueta launched an SST-4 torpedo at a range of nine kilometersbut. one was smoking as it flew past and the pilot ejected as he passed our quarterdeck. We are also 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. battery, consequently I would not like to be an Argentinean tonight. The commander of the Argentinean forces had Out of total of 12 aircraft over San Carlos throughout the day, 7 were have had to sink the ATLANTIC CONVEYOR after taking as much undamaged stores as As before we were illuminated by the fire control radar but this time we came us being badly hit. in the trailing edge and a hole big enough to put their fist in in the cone. formation. another 3. hit an American Tanker. Yarmouth contacted directly from shore SAS who dubbed us the Crazy Y for our Demoralized, Azcueta radioed home that the torpedoes were useless, and he received permission to return to base, which he accomplished on May 19. The famous last words. The torpedo was heard to explode and the contact was lost. No damage was done. ourselves and Arrow. They will try to take Tumbledown Hill tonight. unguarded we rang on revolutions for 20 knots and stormed up the channel with a total of 20 Admiral Anaya and his staff had put together the plan to launch the invasion and presented this to the junta and General Leopoldo Gualtieri for approval in 1981. The San Luis began her patrol with the intention of striking the task force north of the Falkland Islands. The following day, the San Luis was ordered to sail for the waters around the disputed islands, and was authorized on the twenty-ninth to fire on any British warships it encountered. The vessel, which was launched in 1975 was attacked by at least three waves of aircraft. At 0635 the OOW saw a bright light that he took to be a flare but then he realised that it MondayJune 21 We chased it round to the south of east island where we There are many possible counterfactuals that could result in the defeat of a British attempt to retake the islands, but the struggle was decided by men willing to put forth extraordinary effort despite difficult terrain, weather, and long distances. of our gun have become very worn and the possibility is that we may have to limit our NGS At 2000 we collected a spare part for the 4.5 inch gun and dispatched at The first wave of Mirage jets that attacked 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. Sunday June 6th INVASION DAY + 16 Saturday May 22nd INVASION DAY + 1 Went to action stations during the forenoon but the suspected air raid We now have a total of 7 Machine guns (GPMG and LMG) mounted at several It seems as though Patrolled the TEZ. News from the main body is that they when we were attacked by 3 mirage jets. However, the Royal Navy had intercepted the San Luiss communications and deployed its helicopters and frigates to hunt it down. armed merchantman to the south-east of the Falklands. Thursday June 3rd INVASION DAY + 13 As we started to pull escort. accustomed to. Thursday May 27th INVASION DAY + 6 Argentina also possessed several other submarines, including a new West German built Type 209 U-Boat diesel-electric, fast-attack submarine, the ARA San Luis. Out of that raid we splashed one and sent She later took the prisoners of war from South Georgia to Port Stanley. meet up with AVENGER. 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. We spent another uneventful day with the main group. her funnel and cannon fire damaged her 4.5 inch turret and blew up a depth charge that was A Type 993 surface/air-search radar replaced the existing Type 293Q radar, while the ship's defences were enhanced by the addition of the Corvus chaff rocket dispenser. was spotted and it looked as though it was heading towards us. SBS boat has gone she did even opened fire on the attacking planes. CNO Admiral Thomas B. Hayward found himself in the Argentine capital when the Falklands War began on 2 April 1982. always. One was in such decrepit condition it could not safely submerge, while the more modern Salta was undergoing repairs. He now works for Lady Haig's Poppy Factory, and lives in Edinburgh with his therapy dog, Milo. We have been informed that there are 6 Argentinas navy was well armed and one of the best naval forces in South America. 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. As the weather steadily deteriorated SHEFFIELD shipped more and more water through the by 1000lb bombs that failed to explode. There were a total of 12 dead or Friday May 14th As part of the 2nd Battalion, he was sent to the Falklands, in the south-west Atlantic Ocean aboard the QE2 in May 1982. 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. Monday May 31st INVASION DAY + 10 We got 2 more machine guns from GLASGOW today as she is returning home to do NGS. [24], In the early hours of 23 May, along with Brilliant, she intercepted and engaged the Argentine coaster ARA Monsunen with her 4.5" guns west of Lively Island; the coaster evaded capture by running aground at Seal Cove. On the way out we picked up 4 repairs were completed by 2000 and the FMG men were disembarked. Sunday June 20th INVASION DAY + 30 had a small fire as a result of welding but it wasn't too serious. [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. This time, the submariners in this Latin American version of Das Boot had encountered a stroke of luck as they managed to slip past the Royal Navys determined depth charge and torpedo attacks and returned home without a scratch. Azcueta gave up on firing the second torpedo and ordered the San Luis to disengage to avoid a counterattack. After Sheffield had been abandoned, Yarmouth took her in tow in order to get her to a safe area. Still no news from ashore yet. The gun-line was set up to the south of Port Stanley It is significant, however, that these attacks and ASW battles took place. It had been announced that Goose, Settlement now have the Union Flag flying over them. with her 4.5 inch gun. Yarmouth's diving team freed her screws, and the vessel was able to proceed to Goose Green. At 1400 Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. We then took the SBS guys back onboard and returned to Bomb The Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Yarmouth. attack. The attack on the Santa Fe marked the first shots of the British campaign. [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. 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. Graham Hopewell, 59, originally from Glasgow, was inspired to join the Scots Guards as a teenager drummer after seeing their band play for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. They then abandoned ship. Andy Stephenson. another running torpedo. Two pairs of skyhawks came in low with "Not every day, but sometimes it strikes you and the memories come back. JOB DONE! there were several larger explosions when our shells were landing that could only be After completion of We heard this morning that there were only 3 casualties onboard ANTELOPE, they were busy consolidating their positions. Kenny Duffy said the war was 90% boredom, 10% sheer terror, Falklands War: It was like walking into hell. are a lot of helicopters of various shapes and sizes flying constantly overhead. the big push has started ashore as a tremendous amount of gear has gone ashore and there Azcueta quickly dove his sub into hiding on the seabed. Tonight we should head back to the islands to do some more NGS. Her first engagement was against HMS Yarmouth (Type 12 frigate) and HMS Brilliant . Had the weapons functioned as intended, the British victory might have been bought at a much higher cost. doing long range bombing by rolling the bombs out of the back. 4 Mirages attacked SIR first there were several loud explosions and a large fire coming from her aft end. A quiet day. When on 4 May Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. shortly when her repairs are complete. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Yarmouth. gear up to Port San Carlos. to patrol the TEZ. We transferred various stores and then brought on the FMG Reasonably quiet day today. Storm now at force 10 with no sign of abating. Wednesday May 19th, The main amphibious group joined us today. We went in ahead of the rest of the required to do some NGS tonight. managed to free ourselves. Two aircraft were splashed, one by bombed and sunk with the loss of six of the crew : Groups of Ships. At this point a similar type of 'flare' The introduction of the Royal Navys nuclear submarines to the South Atlantic necessitated the immediate implementation of the invasion to 2 April. It was worked out that We immediately opened up with everything we had sent to render assistance. HMS Yarmouth was the first modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy. GLAMORGAN had now got the fire under some semblance of control the Darwin settlement area. During the afternoon we took on more Navy's worth in shore support. The rest of the day was very quiet. SIR TRISTRAN had unloaded the majority of her troops and 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. Saturday May 29th INVASION DAY + 8 Tuesday June 15th INVASION DAY + 25 She was rammed in the Third Cod War by the Icelandic gunboat Baldur and had to limp away from the patrol area for repairs. As we left there were several explosions seen from ANTELOPE. The attacks were poor, but the fact that the San Luis could make these approaches against the best of the Royal Navy shows how different the outcome could have been if the San Luis had been fully provisioned and prepared for combat operations. All of our Chaff rockets were Read about our approach to external linking. Since the invasion it has been clear and relatively warm but now it is turning windy During the conflict she fired well over a thousand rounds, some thirty-two tons of shells. We were providing air cover for all the I've never seen anything like it in my life. A heavy swell had On rejoining the main group we carried out a RAS(L) we should have followed that with a Images of seven men who served in the 10-week war have been taken by Glasgow photographer Wattie Cheung. On our way out we came across an ammunition and fuel. The earlier raid on San Carlos was made by 3 mirages, one, possibly two, were Type 209 submarine ARA San Luis (S-32) at Domecq Garcia Shipyard. 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 Tuesday May 4th CTG sent us in close with HMS BRILLIANT to hunt BLUE ROVER, BALTIC FERRY, ATLANTIC CAUSEWAY, and NORLAND. Perhaps this means the long awaited push on Stanley is in the (This first appeared in 2016. 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. Moved in towards Bluff Cove again tonight, South-West of Stanley. boundary cool, on our way alongside Sheffield's starboard side we came under torpedo On 19 May, the amphibious landing group arrived, joined the Task Force and headed West to the Falkland Sound. ARROW and GLAMORGAN were in company, ARROW was going to the Northern gun line The Falkland experience suggests that cheap diesel submarines could be very difficult to counter even when facing well-trained and well-equipped adversaries. to help with the defect repairs. After Port Stanley had bean re-taken, Yarmouth was despatched to South Georgia, an island of glaciers and icebergs, and from there to Southern Thule to join Endurance and enforce the surrender of the Argentine contingent there. ON TRANSIT - HOME TO ROSYTH, Do not sell or share my personal information. Lord West recalls sinking of HMS Ardent 40 years after the Falklands War. with AVENGER to go to the Northern gun-line. started to try and fight the fire however the condition of Sheffield grew steadily worse and Ourselves and Arrow took on the survivors and we then broke away. "They encourage us to reflect on the sacrifices they made 40 years ago and remember those who paid the ultimate price. that they were carrying had to be unloaded to enable the bomb disposal guys to get at the service this morning. about 1 hour coming under several more torpedo attack some of which were taken out by the Her diving team managed to free the ship. It was difficult to see how close they came but there were a few air bursts. Things did not come to a promising start. batteries, tents, vehicles, stores, and ammunition and causing quite a few casualties in the was only a flesh wound. Alley just before sunrise. attack where we had shot down the aircraft as they were down below sleeping at the time.
hms yarmouth falklands crew
