Falklands War, 1982, Thread

[FORBIN]

Sea Harriers with three 1000 lbs bombs

I have take a look for see the Sea Harriers CAP range i find CVBG stationed to 60 mn ot Pt Stanley, 110 km maybe up to 150 km without AEW.

A-4 can' t attack to these distances so far only up over Falklands Ilands so CVBG can't be attacked by 50 % of the Argentinans fighter-bombers considering Pucara is not a jet less capable other category.

And also to be more secure and " rebuild " CVBG stationed in general to 200 mn limit of the TEZ

But i don' t find CVBG locations during San Carlos landing the most important moment, 60 mn ? seems not S-E but South ?
If someone can say me please or better a map with location ? i love map for it

Some points interesting for understand the tactic :

Saturday 1 May:
00:00:00: The CVBG (Carrier Battle Group) sails towards the Falklands and takes up position 70nm to the south east of Stanley. HMS Brilliant and HMS Broadsword stays close in with the carriers. Near them is a screen of RFAs, further out is four frigates and, twenty miles up-threat, three Type 42s as a picket line. Four Sea Harriers provide a continuous CAP (Combat Air Patrol) cover for the CVBG and Sea Kings search for enemy submarines.

Saturday 8 May:
00:00:00: The TEZ is widened from 200nm around the Falklands to within 12nm of Argentina's coast. The CVBG sails to a new patrol area 60nm due east of Stanley

Friday 14 May:
00:00:00: The CVBG takes up a new position 60nm to the north east of Stanley

Monday 17 May:
00:00:00: Today is Argentina's Navy Day and major offensive actions are expected. The CVBG moves south to a new patrol station 60nm south east of Stanley

Tuesday 18 May:
On Tuesday 18 May the Amphibious Task Group joins up with the carriers 200nm north east of the Falklands

Tuesday 25 May:
00:00:00: Today is the Argentine National Day, and fierce attacks are expected. The CVBG starts moving to within 60nm of the islands to cover Atlantic Conveyor's passage to San Carlos the coming night and allowing Sea Harriers to stay longer on CAP (Combat Air Patrol) over the beachhead.

Wednesday 26 May
00:00:00: The CVBG withdraws to its original station 200nm north of the Falklands Islands.

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[FORBIN]

For range

I don' t put Pucaras for reason i have mentionned, seems 60 in service, 24 to Falklands, 8 ? to santa Cruz no sure and the rest in others bases to north.

I see in more 11 A-4Q for Navy but in fact only 7 operationnals, 50 A-4B/C for Air Force so about 15 for the 3 bases but normaly Rio Gallegos have the more big numbers.

Important also to Espora AB/Bahia Bianca, 3 B-707 for long range recc missions and 4 Tracker from 25 de Mayo.

Navy ports :
Main port close Bahia Bianca to Punta Alta town, Puerto Belgrano Naval Base
38°53'33.20"S 62° 6'14.49"O

In 1982 no sure but now the Submarine Sqn with 3 Corvettes A--69 is based to Mar del Plata
38° 2'9.55"S 57°32'2.03"O

 

[b787]

Two enemy helicopters out of combat
The FMA6 IA-58 Pucará ("Fortress" in Quechua), are planes of Argentine creation, on May 28, those of Group 3 of Attack flew, which were sent to support the Argentine troops of RI 127 who were fighting against the 2nd Parachute Battalion in the Darwin area and Goose Meadow.



The Pucarás piloted by Giménez and Cimbaro
They observed two enemy helicopters.
Two of these Pucará planes, manned by Lieutenants Miguel Ángel "Sombra" Giménez (leader, Nº 1) and CR «Chino» Cimbaro (point, number, wingman, Nº 2) took off from the airport of Puerto Argentino at 10:30 am And, after a flight with bad climate under a thick layer of clouds and with bad visibility, reached the zone of Camilla Creek at 10:55 hours. Then they spotted two British helicopters heading toward a landing zone where other similar aircraft were unloading supplies or evacuating wounded near Darwin.


Lieutenant "Sombra" Giménez with his
Pucará shot down Scout XT 629.
Lieutenant "Sombra" Giménez arrives with his Pucará and sees the situation, assigned one of the targets to Lieutenant C. R. «Chino» Cimbaro. Making a low flight, Giménez flew over the English lines near Goose Meadow or Goose Green, and fired with his rockets in the first helicopter, a Westland Scout, exploding the same in the air.

The second helicopter was hit by the Cymbar rockets, collapsing to the ground.


Remains of Westland Scout Helicopter

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Shot down by Lieutenant Miguel Angel Giménez.
The victory of Miguel Ángel Giménez, who was flying the IA-58 Pucará license plate A-537, is the only one confirmed by the British: his victim was the Scout XT629 / DR of the 3 CBAS (3rd Command Brigade Air Squadron) of the British Army Air Corp , Whose pilot Lieutenant Nunn passed away but co-pilot Sergeant Belcher was able to survive.

The helicopter shot down by Lieutenant Cimbaro was a Scout MK.1 of the 3rd CBAS / B FLIGHT of the Royal Marines with rockets for air-to-ground attack, but although the story of "Chino" leaves no doubt that this was totally destroyed, The British deny having suffered additional losses that day.

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The Pucará, was a plane really Argentine,
Had his baptism of fire in the Malvinas.
After successfully completing their mission, both pilots returned to Puerto Argentino through different flight routes with the intention of making it difficult to intercept any Sea Harrier present in the area.

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[b787]

Monograph IA-58A Pucará. Argentine Air Force Series.
Authors: V. Cettolo - J. Mosquera - J. F. Núñez Pudín.

At the beginning of 1982, group 3 of attack was conformed by two squadrons with a total of 34 operative IA-58, the Aerial Group 9 in Comodoro Rivadavia, was in process of formation and enlistment of the newly created squadron IV of Attack to which it was They initially assigned 7 aircraft.
The operation of the Pucará in Malvinas was notably conditioned by the primitive conditions in which they operated. The lack of adequate tools, spare parts and other means of support, forced the departure of many aircraft due to damages and minor breakdowns. The continued naval harassment prevented night repairs. It should be remembered that only four of the total aircraft lost in the Malvinas were destroyed in combat. The total absence of natural or artificial protection was an insoluble problem and caused the greatest number of casualties. In an environment as hostile as B.A.M. Cóndor, the Aeromóvil Pucará Squadron operated during 46 days, fulfilling a total of 186 operative exits (including those made in Puerto Argentino). In this way the proven Operational Fortress honored the name of Pucará.

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[FORBIN]

Lookind for map and i see A-4 with a CR of 550 km can' t reach Falklands thinking with 2 t of weapons IIRC in general armed with less 4 x 500 lbs dépends also mission altitude hi-lo-hi, lo-lo-lo etc...

I add Super-Etendard to consider
It has limited air-to-air capabilities at a range of 15 nautical miles (approximately 30 km) and a highly optimized air-sea mode, with the detection of large frigates more than 100 km and small vessels more than 50 km, To make it a platform for launching the anti-ship missile AM-39 Exocet. Once the target is identified, the radar switches to automatic tracking mode and delivers its data to the VTH screen and the Exocet missile

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Sea Harrier with three bombs but i have a doubt 500 or 1000lbs IIRC BL 755

 

[FORBIN]

Yes but the photos I posted were taken in 1981, before the war when trials first took place. These trials highlighted the limitations of the catapult due to it's age and condition, hence the need for replacement parts. Her catapult was a 145ft BS4A, which could launch a fully laden Buccaneer when in proper working order. It was however 24 years old by 1982 and in dire need of deep maintenance, for which the Argentine Navy had budgeted and ordered the necessary parts from the original manufacturer... McTaggart Scott in the UK! The parts were finished but had not left the UK by April 82.

Had the original invasion plan gone ahead to the timetable set out (late 1982), the parts would have been delivered, installed, the sqn would have received it's full complement of aircraft (14) and Missiles (14), and both ship and aircraft would have had a few months to work up to readiness. Invading early in April instead of December screwed the plan up big time, but the Argentines didn't believe the British would fight, so it was an acceptable risk... at the time!View attachment 35719 View attachment 35720 View attachment 35721 View attachment 35722

For the weather better but really not a nice place...

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In may sea to 2°C !

But in this case Invincible sold to Australia but Illustrious which was arrived 28/08 in reinforcement in 1983, january, february... ? ofc more fast ready but not completely for left UK in december, i don't think

For compensate with only Hermes ! i see he host during war max 22 fighters and 10 helos possible less helos and saying about 28 fighters, 3 Sqns for get a single but more robust Air Wing... what max capacity he have, I see it seems much ?
After 1980: up to 28

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and 9

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Possible some others combattants a 3th Type 22, a Type 42 an idea...

But Argentinians can launch 3 x more Exocet/AM-39 attacks ! from 25 de Mayo possible as you have mentioned and eventualy 10 formers Peruvians Mirage V in addition, similar to Dagger no radar.

 

[FORBIN]

Not only Sea Harrier many aircrafts also SAMs, guns nice.

 

[Obi Wan Russell]

As far as I can tell, during the war The Sea Harriers only dropped 1000lb bombs, as that was the only size carried aboard the task force. A sensible move, as 500lb bombs take up almost as much space aboard ship but pack less of a punch. Also when the initial attacks were launched, all the Sea Harriers were armed as in the above photo with three bombs and two drop tanks (the latter were virtually permanent fixtures throughout the Sea Harrier's life, range always being an issue) so only three hardpoints were generally available for stores. After the first attack the SHARs returned to their carriers and were quickly rearmed with Sidewinders ready to meet the expected Argentine response. Many missions flown after that had a mixed armament, with two sidewinders for CAP duties and a single 1000lb'er on the centreline pylon, to drop on Argentine positions before proceeding to the CAP station.

 

[b787]

More photos of Harriers (la Muerte Negra) Shot down by the AAA and SAM of Argentina in 1982

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Argentine Puma Puma Helicopter downed by the British in 1982 over the Falklands

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Royal Marines helicopter downed by light weapons of the Argentine soldiers in 1982

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[b787]

Jeff Glover Harrier pilot captured and rescued by Argentine forces after being have been Shot down in 1982 over the Falklands

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