How British Harriers beat the odds...

[Trooper117]

Worth a watch...

 

[Chief_Mouser]

I remember being glued to the news back in 82, waiting for that chap Ian MacDonald to tell us the latest.

Wish we still had the Harrier 😢.

🍻

[Trooper117]

19 minutes ago, Chief_Mouser said:

I remember being glued to the news back in 82, waiting for that chap Ian MacDonald to tell us the latest.

Wish we still had the Harrier 😢.

🍻

Yep, me too!... I was in West Germany then with the BAOR, waiting for the Warsaw Pact to come across the border. The threat of a nuclear war is nothing new... young people today don't realise that the older generation have lived through a nuclear sabre rattling opponent, just as we are going through it now.

[Boo]

I was 12 in 1982. I had all the newspaters giving the daily tallies, kept a scapbook and I think I even some Osprey type books about the opposing forces were published during the brief conflict. 

It was all very exciting until my friend got pulled out of class after the Sheffield was hit.  In the end it was a false alarm for him but that was the first time I figured war wasnt probably as much fun as Id imagined. 

Im thankful I grew up when I did. By the time the nuclear threat awareness had dawned on me it was diminishing quite rapidly (as was the novelty single which was arguably a bigger threat to Western culture) and mobile phones were largley confined the hands of Michael Rodd on Tomorrow's world. 

[DD_Arthur]

From something I posted in the private section of the Dangerdogz forum on the thirtieth anniversary of the invasion. 'Fraid you'll have to put up with the photobucket watermarks on my pictures these days...

For context, that morning an article about my old troop commander had appeared in The Daily Telegraph. There was also a picture of our troop on the deck of HMS Intrepid.  I was nineteen at the time.

 Full marks Pooka and Fruitbat! Standing on the far right is Mr. Dytor, all 6' 4" and a half of him and next to me on my right is my best mate Jonno who made a career out of the Marines, accepted a Corp Commission into the dark side and retired a Captain three years ago ( "the pension made me do it!"). In the middle, front row is Cpl. Dave Hunt, our section leader, who appears next to Mr. Dytor in the Telegraph picture. Judging by the white body warmer he's wearing I'd say that photo was taken on Telegraph Hill after the Argies surrendered. They left all sorts of stuff lying around including odd clothing which we wore! The commando spent what was generally agreed the coldest, most uncomfortable night of the war up there before marching into Stanley next day. Without me, lol. I was tucked up between sheets at Ajax Bay by then! Dave Hunt was awarded the MM for his part in the nights action.

I bought a small 110 camera in a chemist shop in Southampton before we sailed. Never had a camera before then so you'll have to excuse these few very poor efforts. Of course if I'd known before hand that we'd be making history, magnificent feat of British arms, thanks of a grateful nation, etc, etc I'd have equipped myself with Hassleblad and strobe!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_007.jpg About 3 hours out of Southampton and thats home receding behind us.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_005.jpg Shooting at Albatross from the rail of the Canberra with lmg ( a reconditioned WW2 bren gun chambered for 7.62) Captain Erwin in the centre right has his .357 magnum. During our yomp across East Falkland he liked to encourage stragglers with the advice "keep up or I'll give you a .357 enema!"

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_006.jpgOne of the STUFT ships (ships taken up from trade) that was our constant companion on the way south to Ascension Island. This was one loaded to the gunnels with ammo borrowed from BAOR in Germany.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_001.jpgSilly-buggery on the Canberra going south. An eating contest the pussers organised.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_004.jpg

Ascension Island. Myself and a lot of others were under the mis-apprehension that it would be some tropical paradise in mid-ocean where in fact it was 'nowt but a dusty, volcanic shit hole with a very long runway. One day, when the temperature felt like it was in the 'nineties we were put into landing craft and did a practice assault on the only beach suitable for it. Our efforts seemed to please those in command and we were awarded a picnic on the beach where we found the Plymouth RM band already drunk!

3 Para also had to do the same assault and their efforts were judged a failure so they were all ordered back into the LCP's and had to do it all again. We were amused!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_009.jpgWe spent days and days sailing round and round Ascension whilst ships came and went and everything chucked on board in haste was transferred to the correct ships. One day on our meanderings HMS Hermes turned up to provide choppers so we could practice helicopter assaults. This involved sitting out on the heli deck built on Canberras aft for two hours in full kit chain smoking whilst helicopters flew to and fro without coming near us. Finally a Sea King approached in a meaningful way and landed. We got in as per training and then were ordered out as per training. The Sea King flew off. Total elapsed time approx. 45 seconds. C/Sgt Dawson's comment "The navy are trying to make us look like a bunch of cunts."

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_011.jpgAfter the Belgrano and Sheffield were sunk it all stopped being quite so funny and at last we headed south for the landings and the problem of transferring us all from the ships we'd gone down on to the landing ships themselves had to be faced. With the carrier group and it's escorts well south of us it would have taken the available choppers about three days to crossdeck the brigade so we did it in the LCT's of HMS Fearless and HMS Rustbucketjustrescuedintimefromthescrapyard Intrepid. We were apparently "lucky" that the sea was calm this day. The only way off the Canberra at sea was via the large cargo door in the ships side next to the galley doors. This was a real brown trouser moment. Once under the cargo door the swell was lifting the LCT some 10' up and down and we had to jump, with a rifle, full kit and bergen - about the weight of a medium sized teenager - into the LCT. Bloody hell!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_010.jpgLCT arrives to collect 3 Commando Brigade from the great white whale and deposit us on the assault ships. Slowly.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_002.jpgA company from 42 Commando on their way over to Fearless. Taken from the rail above the galley door on Canberra. Our turn next for the leap followed by exposure and seasickness on the journey over to Intrepid and ending with being poisoned by diesel fumes inside her dock on arrival. A great day.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_003.jpg Red beach one, Ajax Bay morning of May 22nd. Red sky in morning, shepherds warning. The start of another cold wet and windy Falklands day. First Sea King of the day clears off after dumping a pallet of mortar rounds on us. The Commando Logistics guys are establishing the brigade maintenance area here - thats ammo dump in plain english - and the hospital is also arriving. We are told this is considered the safest area from air attack tucked below the hills surrounding San Carlos water as they'll come in from the west.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture-012.jpgAs indeed they do. Air raid for breakfast, looking north up San Carlos water. Sorry there's not much to see but believe me they were there! They came in low and fast over the headland, over the Canberra and went for the frigates in the sound. At one point we thought they were strafing us but it was spent ships bofor rounds coming down around our positions. After the first raid two marines had managed to dig themselves a funk hole halfway to New Zealand. Another raid in the early afternoon. Briefly everyone was blazing away with LMG and SLR - even a .357 magnum! - RSM Fraser notices two marines cowering in their hole. "Why aren't ye fuggin firin'!?" he screams. Then incredulously, "Where are ye fuggin weapons?" "We're bandies sarg" comes the plaintive reply. RSM Fraser bends down and pats him on the head "There there son, you carry on ".

Four days later, after the Atlantic Conveyor was sunk taking all the luxury items like tents and Chinook helicopters down with it. The upshot; "We're going to have to fucking walk." 2 Para were sent off to meet their destiny at Goose Green and we were taken back up San Carlos water by LCT to the settlement to start our yomp east and just in time to avoid an air raid which blew up lots of the brigade maintenance area, put a UXB into the roof of the hospital and flung a lot of our kit about, including my camera. About three weeks later I was reunited with my kit when I fetched up at Ajax Bay thanks to a big bang on the head and via a Scout helicopter. To cut a long story short, a very nice colour sgt took pity on me and my throbbing head and I was co-opted into the escort for Argie officer pow's going back to Argentina on the Canberra. A company of para's took care of the rabble below decks whilst we looked after all the Argentinian junta's junior torturers and murderers officers upstairs.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh112/arthursmedley/Picture_008.jpgThis is my final picture. My camera stopped here. Coming into Puerto Madryn in southern Argentina aboard the Canberra with their pow's. I'll never, ever forget this. I think there was some awkwardness as the rail went down as they had a band and a series of Limos and cars to collect the officers. We sent their casualties down first which the bastards weren't expecting. Then the officers came off to be greeted with some back slapping and handing out cigars! Cunts.

When the cars and Limos and the band had left the rest of the Argentine army were let off and put onto lorries and driven away without ceremony, the poor bastards. It took over an hour to get them all off and it was very eerie. Completely, embarrasingly silent. At the time we and a few of them, thought they'd be shot. I'm not kidding.

I do have a few more pics around of my oppos larking around on the Canberra but yes it was the early eighties and everyone is wearing short shorts and looking like Freddy Mercurey so I think I'll leave 'em be. A few weeks later when we got back I took my film into Boots in Dundee for processing. The bloke behind the counter asked if there was anything "nasty" on my film as they'd developed a few which had given the staff the horrors so I replied truthfully that there was nothing dodgy on it. Wrong!! Some comedian had found my camera at Ajax Bay during the clear up and taken a few piccies of the inside of the shit pits and dead Argentianian troops who hadn't survived the chopper trip to the hospital at Ajax Bay. Nice.

Thirty years ago? Blimey.

Not sure if you can access the links to the pictures?

Edited June 1 by DD_Arthur

[javelina]

great post and video.  I was also glued to getting any updates that I could during the action.  I knew the Brits were going to retake the Islands, it was just a matter of time.

While I was researching for info (for DCS Falklands scenario I was planning), I came across this:  https://news.usni.org/2012/06/27/reagan-readied-us-warship-82-falklands-war-0

[javelina]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:59 AM, Trooper117 said:

Yep, me too!... I was in West Germany then with the BAOR, waiting for the Warsaw Pact to come across the border. The threat of a nuclear war is nothing new... young people today don't realise that the older generation have lived through a nuclear sabre rattling opponent, just as we are going through it now.

Indeed, in my elementary school years (late 60's and early 70's) we had emergency drills for tornado's, fire, and for a bombing attack (nuclear, from the commies).

[Chief_Mouser]

50 minutes ago, javelina said:

Indeed, in my elementary school years (late 60's and early 70's) we had emergency drills for tornado's, fire, and for a bombing attack (nuclear, from the commies).

Same era, but we never had any of that. In fact, never heard of any school in Britain that was prepared for a bombing attack in any shape or form. We still had the WW2 shelters in the school playground but they were (supposedly - never underestimate schoolboys' ingenuity) sealed up, and we were right below the flightpath and two miles from the end of runway at RAF Manston so there probably wasn't much point. Most likely would never have known it had happened.

[javelina]

21 minutes ago, Chief_Mouser said:

Same era, but we never had any of that. In fact, never heard of any school in Britain that was prepared for a bombing attack in any shape or form. We still had the WW2 shelters in the school playground but they were (supposedly - never underestimate schoolboys' ingenuity) sealed up, and we were right below the flightpath and two miles from the end of runway at RAF Manston so there probably wasn't much point. Most likely would never have known it had happened.

it was practically the same for tornado's and bombing, hunker under your desk and ride it out.  of course as a kid, we had no idea of the latter.  But for the former, plenty of tornado's to be worried about.... 

Back on topic, loved flying the Harrier in DCS.  Haven't flown her as much in a while.  She's a cool bird, and a great concept/design from the Brits...

 

Edited June 1 by javelina
spelling

[Boo]

1 hour ago, Chief_Mouser said:

Same era, but we never had any of that. In fact, never heard of any school in Britain that was prepared for a bombing attack in any shape or form. 

My school wasnt even prepared for its students