The Falklands War

Discussion in 'Postwar' started by Drew5233, Nov 26, 2009.

  1. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    "The task force would be made up of ”a battalion of Marines distributed in two battleships, two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser, twelve torpedo boats, a tanker and nine tracking vessels“. To this would be added another 750 members from the Army which would have the main task, ”taking control of Port Stanley“"

    The two battleships would have been the Rivadavia and Moreno, the only South American dreadnaughts built in the US. Roughly on par with the USS Arkansas but faster.

    Rivadavia-class battleship - Wikipedia
     
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  2. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

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  3. Waddell

    Waddell Well-Known Member

    A good interview here-

     
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  4. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Kings College London's War Studies Depmt. have announced a forty years after online conference on 3rd May 2022. the website entry states:
    Bookings not an option yet, so if interested check the website in early 2022: Falklands 40: War Studies perspectives in the 21st century
     
  5. George Blake

    George Blake Member

    With Remembrance Day almost upon us I thought the following would be of interest. I was fortunate enough to visit the Islands some years ago and tour the many battlefields and memorials as well as the British and Argentinian cemeteries.
    HPIM6527.JPG HPIM6675.JPG HPIM6681.JPG HPIM6689.JPG HPIM6690.JPG HPIM6694.JPG HPIM6695.JPG HPIM6702.JPG HPIM6782.JPG HPIM6786.JPG HPIM6795.JPG
     
  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Looking Forward at Forty

    Looking Forward at Forty
    In 2022 we will mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands. Throughout the year we will hold a number of events in the Falkland Islands and the UK, to commemorate the sacrifices made in 1982, and to celebrate the progress made in the Islands over the past 40 years.

    We are calling this special commemorative year “Looking Forward at Forty” – making it a time to reflect on the achievements that have been made with our hard-won freedom, and to look forward to the next 40 years of life in the Falkland Islands.



    The 74-day war
    On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands. Three days later, on 5 April, a UK task force set sail to recapture the Islands and restore freedom for the Islanders.

    25,948 UK Armed Forces personnel, alongside around 3,000 civilian crew from the Merchant Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Chinese civilian crew, formed the Task Force involved in the liberation of the Falkland Islands, of whom 255 died during the campaign. In addition, three civilian Falkland Islanders were also lost their lives during the war.

    Following several weeks of intense fighting, Argentine forces surrendered on 14 June 1982, a date that has since been known in the Falkland Islands as ‘Liberation Day’ and is a national holiday.

    Falkland Islanders continue to be profoundly grateful for the strong support that the UK Government continues to provide, in acknowledging our right to self-determination and our choice to remain a UK Overseas Territory.

    Today, the Falkland Islands is a forward-looking community, with a strong sense of culture and heritage. To find out more about our home, the way we live and work today, and our plans to mark the 40th anniversary, please visit our website, or find us on social media.
     
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  7. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    A few items from the Falklands in the mid 90's

    upload_2022-2-7_14-24-16.jpeg
    upload_2022-2-7_14-24-31.jpeg upload_2022-2-7_14-24-52.jpeg
    upload_2022-2-7_14-25-5.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2022
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  8. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

  9. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Perhaps they will repeat the TV version...
    BBC Four - The Falklands Play

    They recently re-ran the audio one... (as a part of)

    I Played the Prime Minister - BBC Sounds

    "Patricia Hodge explains how she adapted her barnstorming performance as Margaret Thatcher between the radio and TV versions of 'The Falklands Play', which is among the dramas we will be hearing again."
     
  10. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

    I lifted this from the website Quora. It's a different side of the war not studied.

    Why was Stanley in the Falkland Isles so filthy at the end of the war in June 1982?
    Stanley was filthy because, quite simply, it had the infrastructure for a town of fifteen hundred people tops, then suddenly 14,000 Argies descended on the place.

    [​IMG]
    The water filtration plant broke down, mainly after Argentine soldiers went blasting away at anything and burst the pipework, leading to dirty water and dysentery. In turn, they found tanks of ionized water, which you can't drink, and drank it, which caused more than just a dose of the trots but internal bleeding. Then there was a lack of toilets and toilet paper, which seemed to end up everywhere, plus most meals were thin stews or soups which went in runny and came out runny.

    [​IMG]
    Many turned their talents to using Falkland Islanders’ homes as bathrooms, and I don't mean to use the toilet, but to cause damage. One of my friends found his baby girl's clothes had been used for toilet paper, and excrement smeared over his walls. Another found his beds sodden with urine and his deep freeze full of excrement.

    [​IMG]
    Added to this was the detritus of war and a mixture of shell casings, food wrappers, a sea of mud, bodies everywhere and a shanty town of barrels, tyres, tarpaulins and more, in which the Argentine soldiers had been living.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Also on June 14th and 15th the Argentines tried to deliberately wreck the place, burning down and ransacking houses and emptying truckloads of fuel into Stanley Harbour to make it unlivable.

    [​IMG]
    Here is Argentine soldier Carlos Bustos emptying fuel into the harbour, on a photo taken by Paul Haley. Carlos says he was “just following orders”.

    There was simply no sanitation, no care of their own immediate environment and a deliberate attempt to turn the place into a giant toilet. Then they wonder why the Falkland Islanders resent them and don't want them back.

    To their credit, a number of Argentine volunteers did offer to help clean up the mess they had left, although the clean up took years, and the smell lasted for months.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  11. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    A-58,

    Never seen such photos before, so thank you. The scale of the Argentine garrrison, 14k, reminded me of a thought after the 1982 war. How would the UK reacted if Argentina had removed all its troops, down to the size of the Royal Marines garrison (a reinforced platoon from memory) and see how diplomacy would then handle the situation?
     
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  12. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    One thing that seems to get emphasised about the Falklands is that they are "small"... generally I imagine someone unthinkingly opening an old atlas and seeing them in the South Atlantic and thinking that they are about the same area as the Isles of Scilly (pop circa 2,224) or the Channel Islands.... ;-)

    20220211_132220.jpg

    falklandislands(2).jpg

    In terms of population there... vs. 14,000 Argentinians... at some point I guess someone would have suggested a plebiscite to "fairly determine what the people there wanted" and there would handily have been large Argentine settlement continuously as long as they were able to have any kind of control. Heavy new settlement too on South Georgia perhaps.

    Our people

    Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Demographics Profile *

    Falkland Islands Population (2022) - Worldometer

    * Edit... ;-)

    Sex ratio total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
    note: sex ratio is somewhat skewed by the high proportion of males at the Royal Air Force station, Mount Pleasant Airport (MPA); excluding MPA, the sex ratio of the total population would be 1.04

    Edit #2 - Falklands referendum: Voters choose to remain UK territory
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2022
  13. Little Friend

    Little Friend Senior Member

    I paid a visit here April 2010. This is near Pangbourne, close to Reading, Berkshire.
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  14. Little Friend

    Little Friend Senior Member

    These are my photographs.... Not really too-Good as I had no flashgun for my normal Film Camera. 921c77878efb52286ad5044d53848593.jpeg 01ea8e7baa326a2178d16163d025b4db.jpeg 284c3e1d4edf4f95f5bdfb964f3a560f.jpeg .jpeg 0c1c1a515f5ffc436f08a8b554b6345d.jpeg 7676bdc359da5c3c7b45eb80eff90a48.jpeg 7907ef13d1506317caf10a16b94cf0fa.jpeg 6b055e160018aea1ae289ee6f1543dc6.jpeg b99f0b2f0479269fee7fe38c5faa4bf1.jpeg 8de89ae18bfe11b14b111d259682d81b.jpeg 8b817c7e419ff4e14667ea1eca6157c9.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2022
  15. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Thanks Little Friend, didn't even know this chapel existed.

    The chapel's website: The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel | Pangbourne College | Berkshire

    The Chapel is located in the grounds of Pangbourne College, near Reading in Berkshire, RG8 8LA and visit information:
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2022
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  16. Little Friend

    Little Friend Senior Member

    As I used to do deliveries in-and-around Reading Every Monday for roughly 17 years I got to know the Whole Area Very Well. Seeing signs in Pangbourne for this Falklands War Memorial, I decided to take a look one Monday, Very impressed ! Well-Worth a visit ! Quite a Narrow road though from Pangbourne up to this Memorial Chapel.
     
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  17. Little Friend

    Little Friend Senior Member

    I also paid a visit to Pangbourne House (Coombe Park) which was a 'Flak' House (Rest Home) for War Weary airmen of the USAAF during the latter part of the war. This is actually in Whitchurch-on-Thames, that is more-or-less part of Pangbourne. I knocked the door explaining my interest, asking if I would be allowed to take a few photographs..? The Lady (?) told me she ''knew nothing about what took place here during the war, please leave, goodbye'' Though it's since changed hands, so maybe a better chance now ?

    https://whitchurchonthames.com/Coombe Park article 23.6.19 (2).pdf
     
  18. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Rivadavia under construction in Massachusetts

    upload_2022-3-20_21-5-54.png
     
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  19. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Watching a C4 documentary Falklands War: The Untold Story, with a variety of "talking heads", Navy, Marines, Air Force and Army. In total 90 minutes. Plus three Argentinian Army officers, a couple of civilians and Max Hastings. Sub-titled:
    LInk: Falklands War: The Untold Story - All 4
    Note it is shown as available for 29 days.

    For the SAS Commander, Michael Rose, later to be General Sir, speaks for the first time, he is very critical of the command structure - which led to confusion to say the least - and acknowledges the technical assistance from the US Delta Force - with eight satellite phones (the uplink being disabled upon victory). A RAF Wing Commander being dispatched to Chile, with direct contact with General Pinochet; he refers to access to Chilean radar which could cover several Argentinian airfields. Plus, a Nimrod ELINT plane being based not on the Chilean mainland. presumably Easter Island. With these two information sources they supplied advanced warning of Argentinian aircraft taking off to attack.

    General Rose is critical of the battle for Goose Green, by the Paras as a diversion from the attack, not yet started, for Port Stanley. "Going to Fitzroy & Bluff Cove was a silly things to do", which would enable 5th Infantry Brigade to move forward - as the Marines and Paras mainly walked or "yomped". An advance party of SAS, joined by Marines, held Mount Kent - watching Port Stanley ten miles away and would be able to direct artillery fire.

    Rose calls the official inquiry into this episode a "whitewash".

    There is an unexplained gap about the five hour wait in Bluff Cove, in full daylight, with an Argentinian OP post watching. Why were the landing craft and other small boats not used? Forty-eight dead and 150 wounded.

    Supplies to the Marines and Paras were disrupted, rations having to last 72hrs, not 24hrs; then the cold and the wet led to "trench foot".

    28% of those British servicemen engaged in direct combat suffered from mental health problems. PTSD was a high price to pay, said one Para.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2022
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  20. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    A very interesting documentary. Quite a lot that had not been fully covered before. Well worth a watch
     

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