https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0018c8n/our-falklands-war-a-frontline-story

Very moving and emotionally challenging, especially considering Ukraine, but definitely worth a watch.

I remember hearing a first hand conversation with a Falklands veteran on a radio program some years ago and it remained with me. To paraphrase from memory, the soldier was on the ground near to enemy soldiers.

“we were very close and our commander ordered us to fix bayonets and prepare for combat”

It brought home (if it ever needed to) the sheer horror and barbarism of war. Its not always fought from 30000ft or many miles away. I cant imagine the fear that must fill you receiving that order.

Yes. Watched it. I know it’s common but still surprised how many of the guys hadn’t talked about it to anyone in the last 40 years. And the para who went on to serve for years in the SAS but said nothing came close to the Falklands.

The reality of a bayonet charge. Breaking your bayonet in the arm of a guy lying face down in the Argie trench because you aren’t sure if he is dead. Then when he isn’t, using the broken bayonet to finish him off.

Never mind having to walk across the islands in winter carrying a crippling weight of kit before hard hand to hand fighting.

The NCO who’s coping strategy during the battles was just accepting he was going to die then just thinking about looking after the guys in his platoon.

Not easy viewing but an insight into an experience of frontline battle that fortunately almost all of us will never have to go through.

The most shocking thing to me about the Falkland’s war was that it happened at all really.

The most shocking thing to me about the Falkland’s war was that it happened at all really.

This, wholly unnecessary if UK government had been paying attention.

Headbutting somebody repeatedly until they were “no longer a threat” because there wasn’t enough room to shoot or bayonet them. I can’t imagine the horror for either of the two guys involved.

@Harry_the_Spider – that was my thoughts exactly. Harrowing to me that actually and difficult to listen to.

It was a pretty grim episode in our history. There’s a decent podcast running that covers the Falklands War in some detail, one of the presenters was with the task force and there’s a good amount of eyewitness testimony. It seems to have been a near disaster at a number of points, which was certainly not the narrative we were fed at the time.

Battleground: Falklands podcast

Dan Snow has been covering a fair bit of the conflict on his History Hit podcast.

This one where he interviews an Argentine veteran is an interesting / harrowing listen.

Tough but essential viewing and really well put together.

40 years later we don’t seem to have moved on much, still no direct flights to Argentina from the islands and they still claim them as theirs even though the actual occupants want to be part of the UK.

It seems to have been a near disaster at a number of points, which was certainly not the narrative we were fed at the time.

It was a war – all wars are disasters, even for the victors, but propaganda does what propaganda needs to do – look at the conflict in the Ukraine.

BBC Archive has thrown some interesting bits on FB feed recently about WW1 – an excellent interview with a German soldier describing hand to hand fighting in a French trench, using his bayonet, his platoon using rifle butts and shovels. He wondered how on earth ordinary young men could be reduced to that kind of action

An account by a company Commander from 45 Commando. On the front line by also in touch with the overall strategy as it unfolded.

Good reviews on Amazon including a few who served with the author in the Falklands. I presume the review from KeithB is Keith Brown MSP who was mentioned in the book as a young marine in the company.

If you’re interested in the conflict the book Vulcan 607 is a fascinating insight into the mission they flew to take out the runway early in the war, the aircraft itself, the insane logistics of getting the planes over the Falkland Is, the challenges of navigation and the very difficult decisions taken by the flight crews to get the job done. It also gives some basic insight into the background politics.

If you’re interested in the conflict the book Vulcan 607 is a fascinating insight into the mission they flew to take out the runway early in the war,

Thanks – just bought it from Amazon!

Watched last night very gripping. I remember the Scots Guards officer guy who got shot on Tumbledown, there was a BBC drama about the aftermath YEARS ago and I’m sure there is a book as well…

Edit the Tumbledown drama / movie is available on IPlayer. 1988. No idea if it has aged well but I remember enjoying it at the time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074mwj

My mate was with 45 Commando, his claim to fame was that he shot an Argentinian A4 Skyhawks down with a .50 machine gun. He was adamant that it was his shots that downed it as he was using tracer & the rounds were hitting the plane.
He did mention the fact that every other armed person was blasting away at it at the same time though.
Sadly he passed away last year.

Exocet Falklands by Ewan Southby-Tailyour is a great read on an often forget aspect of the conflict with troops being landed on a one way mission to Tierra del Fuego. It somewhat tarnishes the SAS’ image.

Haven’t read his book (yet) but I recognised the name. Mentioned in a few books as he had luckily charted the coast of the islands while posted there shortly before the invasion. Very useful in 1982.

With regards specifically to the Black Buck (Vulcan and Victor) missions the 1984 USMC report into the Air War makes for interesting reading

Offensive Air Operations of the Falklands War

The most critical passages are below, but the whole report is worth a read if you’re at all interested in military aviation history.

 However, the success of BLACK BUCK can be at best
described as minimal.  The seven attempted missions
included three aborts, three of undetermined results and one
of minimal success (the first).  The runway was continually
used by Argentine C-130's until the end of the war.  The
Argentines would leave the runway covered with piles of dirt
during the day causing British intelligence to surmise that
repairs were still in progress.  This deception mislead the
British as to the condition of the airfield and the success
of their raids.
     The most critical judgment of the use of the Vulcan
centers on the argument that their use was "...largely to
prove [the air force] had some role to play and not to help
the battle in the least."8  This illustrates the practice
of armed services to actively seek a "piece of the action"
when a conflict arises, even if their capabilities or
mission are not compatible with the circumstances of the
conflict.  Using BLACK BUCK as an example shows the effects
of this practice can be trivial and the results not worth
the effort involved.

There are a few examples of the thousand yard stares in those guys.
That bit about the Argentinian carrying his brother’s body got me.
A friends Dad was over there. He never spoke about what went on.
Brutal

Watched last night very gripping. I remember the Scots Guards officer guy who got shot on Tumbledown, there was a BBC drama about the aftermath YEARS ago and I’m sure there is a book as well…

Edit the Tumbledown drama / movie is available on IPlayer. 1988. No idea if it has aged well but I remember enjoying it at the time.

He was the chap with the ‘tache and the damaged left arm in the documentary.

He was the chap with the ‘tache and the damaged left arm in the documentary.

This bloke. Lost 42% of his brain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lawrence_(British_Army_officer)

@nickc

Interesting link. The Vulcans never put the Port Stanley runway out of order but it appears that the demonstration of the ability of the Vulcans to bomb the Falklands and hence that they were capable of bombing Argentina was partly responsible for some fighters being withdrawn for air defence of the mainland.

The Argentines attempted to use Mirage III’s in the
escort role, but this proved to be unsuccessful. This
aircraft is best suited for maneuvering at high altitude
while the Harrier is more efficient below 10,000 feet.
Tactics in the Falklands saw Mirage III’s operating at
20,000 feet or more while attempting to provide cover for
attack aircraft proceeding to the target at much lower
levels. With the attack aircraft they were supposed to
cover flying low, the Mirage pilots were forced to descend
into the lower regime most favorable to the Harrier to carry
out their fleet defense mission. When they did so, the
British took full advantage of the situation. A description
of an engagement on May 1 illustrates this:

Captain Gustavo Cuerva and his wingman,
ler Ten. Carlos Perona received information
from Falklands/Malvinas radar that there were
Sea Harriers at twelve o’clock. Cuerva spotted
two Sea Harriers and fired two missiles which
missed. The Harriers then curved around and
fired their Sidewinders – one exploded near
Cuerva causing sever damage…. Perona’s Mirage
was hit by the missile from the second Harrier
and the aircraft exploded into a ball of
flames…. On the sixth mission of the day
Jose Ardiles was killed in his Mirage by a
Sidewinder from another Sea Harrier. As a
result of these heavy losses…it was decided
to pull the Mirage III’s back to the mainland
to stand alert for a possible Vulcan attack..

I think it also helped that Maggie persuaded Ronnie to let us have the latest generation of sidewinder missiles, putting our Harriers in an advantageous position against the Mirages.

Wife’s uncle was 2 Para through the falklands war, after 16-17 tours of Northern Ireland (as far back as alot of his friends were blown up on the bus that was revenge for bloody sunday), after the falklands he was done and bought himself out, still suffers from PTSD as a result.

@irc isn’t it?

I think overall, the strategic effect on the Argentinian Junta of the black buck missions probably outweighs their tactical usefulness. David “Sharkie” Ward (899Sqn Boss) was particularity scathing, but I think he’s probably as guilty of the same inter-service rivalry he accuses the RAF of.

Anyway, excellent documentary, and as other’s have said, very effecting. I’d imagine the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are storing up many of the post-war difficulties for scores of young men and women now that those poor men have suffered.

I thought the Argentines were planning on extending the Stanley runway so that they could operate fast jets from the Falklands rather than operating from the mainland, so limited time on station due to fuel. The Black Buck raids prevented the extension of the runway.

Argentine Mirages and A4s constantly in the air over the battlefield would have likely changed the course of the war.

The runway extension options were covered jn Nick,s link.

The Port Stanley airfield could have solved Argentina’s
problem. The field, only 2,000 feet long, was not suited to
heavy jet operations. Had it been longer, however, it could
have accommodated Argentine attack aircraft.
The Argentines considered attempting to enlarge the
field with expeditionary materials10 but gave up on the
idea for several reasons. The portable metallic planking
was available but was an extremely large load to transport
either by air or sea. In April, they moved one load by ship
but began to feel pressure from the quick reaction of the
British which compelled them to concentrate on the transport
of other war supplies. They also decided that the time
required to install the matting, considering the rugged
terrain surrounding the airport, would be greater than that
available. They also had to improve fuel storage and
refuel capabilities to support jet aircraft, but again time
constraints caused them to reject such an endeavor.
Finally, the Argentines felt they would not be able to
defend the airfield and their valuable jet assets would be
victimized by Harrier or Vulcan attacks.

However, aircraft operating from the islands would have
been a great cause of concern for the closing British
fleet. If the occupation had not been impromptu, they might
have considered, planned and prepared for the enlargement of
the strip, moved aircraft and defense equipment there and
been prepared to carry the fight to the British further out
at sea. Their spontaneous attack of the islands left the
Agentines without this viable alternative.

Vulcan 607 is an amazing book. Don’t know what happened to my copy but I want to read it again.
I remember one page where they were talking about the in air refuelling kit, the bombers that were left (they were going out of service) had their refuelling apparatus filled with concrete IIRC and the engineers had to traipse round airbases and plane graveyards to try and find the parts they needed to fix the refuelling kit and do the mission.

I was 21 at the time so remember it well. As it was before widespread sat coms and very remote there was no live news reporting. Much of the breaking news was delivered throughout by one MOD spokesman who had a very deliberate delivery.

It was a strange time. Unlike now when UK armed forces have been frequently involved in various medium sized conflicts it was the first big conflict I could remember UK forces in.

I’ve not seen the documentary yet, but my ex colleague and I were getting shelled at a location I was only just 18 and he had fought in the falklands at 18 and had a bayonet scar in the face for his troubles.
As we sat getting fired upon he got to telling me what his parents had gone through while he was away and how it had affected them and let me know how my family would be feeling it was all rather surreal. He never mentioned his time in the falklands but it made me think on my return a bit more about what loved ones go through when we were overseas and understand a little more, and how we change after traumatic events and how that can change our relationships with them
We also had Tracy Chapman on the cassette deck at the time lol funny the little things that stick with you
Will have a watch of it

engineers had to traipse round airbases and plane graveyards to try and find the parts

One part was used as an ashtray in the mess.

The maintenance director at an aviation company i worked for served in the RAF working on Vulcans. By the time of the Falklands he and several other engineers had left as the jets were going out of service. They all got chased down to come and work on the jets

They all got chased down to come and work on the jets

One of my father’s friends in the RAF at the time had his retirement postponed. He was a recently retired Harrier pilot working at Strike Command nr High Wycombe as a last posting, and while he didn’t go the SA, he was asked/told to go to Wittering and re-qualify. His wife wasn’t chuffed by all accounts.

Off topic.
Remember at the beginning of Vulcan 607 when the story about Vulcan XM610 crashing in Wingate in Co Durham was told?
I saw that from our school playing field.

Re the 607 book- was it in there that they referenced a Navy “research” vessel was on permanent station there costing £xm & Thatcher thought it was a water of money so had it recalled with the war and subsequent military posting costing £xxxxxxm?

Good article on the impact of the brand new Sidewinders at https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36949/her-majestys-death-ray-how-the-aim-9l-sidewinder-vanquished-argentine-air-force

@FB-ATB

It wasn’t Thatcher. A patrol ship HMS Endurance was withdrawn as part of defence cuts. Lord Carrington the Foreign Secretary argued against it but the defence sec John Knott overruled him.

Post invasion Carrington resigned. Back when politicians did.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/10/peter-carrington-lord-carrington-obituary

And of course David Cameron cut the Harriers in 2010. They continued to be used by the US Marines. One of the few foreign aircraft ever bought by the USA.

https://www.blogbeforeflight.net/2022/03/us-marine-corps-harriers-norway-cold-response-22.html?m=1

Initially imported then under licence and further developed by MacDonnell Douglas

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/harrier-us-marine-corps-loves-plane-1-big-reason-49762

The Falklands “war” was called a conflict at the time, the withdrawal of HMS Endurance was designed as a green light to Argentina to have a go. It was the dead cat of its time for Thatcher. Unfortunately it cost a lot of lives.