Summary of
British Ships & Aircraft Departing
Royal Navy
Ambuscade,
Cmdr P J Mosse RN Courageous ?, Cmdr R T N Best RN Exeter, Capt H M Balfour MVO RN Valiant, Cmdr T M Le Marchand (awarded
MID)
RN
Merchant
Ships
Alvega,
Capt A Lazenby Baltic Ferry, Capt E Harrison and NP
1960, Lt Cmdr G B Webb RN Eburna, Capt J C Beaumont Lycaon, Capt H R Lawton and NP 1900, Lt
Cmdr D J Stiles RN Nordic Ferry, Capt R Jenkins and NP 1950,
Lt Cmdr M St J D A Thorburn RN Saxonia, Capt H Evans and NP 1910
RAF
Aircraft
9 (of
10) Harrier GR.3's of 1(F) Sqdn RAF
AIRCRAFT EMBARKED
Army Aircraft 3
Scouts of 656 Sqdn AAC on Baltic Ferry 6 Gazelles of 656 Sqdn AAC on Nordic
Ferry
At Ascension
No.845
D Flt - 2 Wessex HU.5's on Ascension
to
Intrepid No.845 E Flt - 2 Wessex HU.5's from
Intrepid to Tidepool No.846 - 9 Sea King HC.4's on Canberra
(1), Elk (3), Fearless (3), Intrepid (2) 8 Sea Harriers of No.809
NAS, 6 Wessex HU.5's of No.848 D Flt, 6
Harrier GR.3's of 1(F) Sqdn RAF, and 4
Chinooks of 18 Sqdn RAF on Atlantic
Conveyor
Task Force Departures
from Monday 3rd May - Monday saw the last nuclear submarines on their
way to the South Atlantic when "Valiant" left Faslane for
patrol off the Argentine coast. ("Courageous"
also possibly left around now). Two more warships also
sailed from other parts of the world for Ascension and on
to the Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) after carrying out
guardship duties - frigate "Ambuscade" from
Gibraltar on Monday and destroyer "Exeter"
from the
West Indies on Friday to replace the lost
"Sheffield". Two merchantmen left with much
needed supplies for the Task Force, but this time via
South Georgia. On Tuesday 4th cargo ship "Lycaon" sailed from
Southampton loaded with ammunition, and on Saturday refrigerated stores ship
"Saxonia" from Plymouth mainly with food.
Additional tankers also headed for the South Atlantic
during the week. "Alvega" from Portsmouth for
Ascension to serve out the war as a base storage tanker
supplying heavy fuel oil, diesel and aviation fuel, and
"Eburna" sailing from the West Indies having
earlier been converted for fleet refuelling at Plymouth.
Then on Sunday, part of 5th Inf Bde
headed out from Southampton on RO-RO ferries "Baltic
Ferry" and "Nordic Ferry".
Ascension -
Late on Monday 3rd,
two Vulcans and their Victor tankers (pictured below)
took off to get one of the bombers to Stanley
early next morning for "Black Buck
2". Meanwhile the
build-up of aircraft continued. Starting on Monday, nine Harrier GR.3's from RAF Wittering (a tenth returned)
reached Wideawake over the next three days after
making the nine hour flight from St Mawgan. Of these,
three stayed on to provide the first local air defence
for Ascension and the other six prepared to embark on
"Atlantic
Conveyor" later in the week. During this week the
two No.845 Wessex based on the island were joined in
their vertrep duties by one of her Chinooks and by a
flown-in Sea King HAR.3 which also provided
search-and-rescue. Now the bulk of
3 Cdo Bde followed in the wake of the slower
LSL's. On Thursday 6th, "Canberra" left with 40
and
42 Cdo RM and 3 Para, and with both her and "Elk"
carrying their own Sea King HC.4's. Accompanying them was
RFA "Tidepool" and two escorting frigates. As
they departed, the rest of the Amphibious Group
ships were arriving to join "Fearless" and RFA
"Stromness" (now with most of 45 Cdo RM on board), but only to stay for a
short time. Assault ship "Intrepid" and
transport "Atlantic Conveyor" reached the
island on Wednesday,
and the merchantman took on board the awaiting eight Sea
Harriers and six GR.3's to add to her already large
complement of helicopters. Finally, transports
"Europic Ferry" and "Norland" got in
with 2
Para after calling in
at Freetown on the way. Within a matter of hours on Friday, they and the last of the
amphibious ships were heading south.
South Atlantic - Later in the week, escorting warships
"Antelope" and "Antrim" met and
exchanged roles. "Antelope" carried on north
with "Tidespring" and her POW's bound for
Ascension, while "Antrim" took over the task of
escorting the LSL Group south, in which she was joined by
"Plymouth" from the CVBG. Further south, but
back on Tuesday 4th, the Carrier Battle Group suffered its
first, shocking casualty, when destroyer "Sheffield" was hit by an air-launched Exocet,
the missile which exercised such an influence on Task
Force operations throughout the war. Meanwhile
"Endurance" on her own
at South Georgia
saw the start of the
build-up there when two tugs arrived. RMAS
"Typhoon" stayed through May, while
"Salvageman" soon sailed to assist
"Sheffield" but without success, and moved on
to what was later known as the Tug, Repair and
Logistic Area (TRALA) to
the east of the Falklands. On Sunday, RFA "Blue Rover"
followed them in to Cumberland Bay to take up her duties as station tanker.
RAF
Victor tanker refuelling Jaguars.
Note: these fighter types were not
employed in the Falklands War.
(Courtesy - MOD, RAF)
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Disposition
of British Ships, Aircraft & Land
Forces, including those Departing
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UK
Departures
Transports Baltic Ferry,
Nordic Ferry, Lycaon, Saxonia
Tanker Alvega
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Ships
on Passage - Central/South Atlantic
DD Exeter
SS Onyx
SSN Valiant
FR Ambuscade
SSN Courageous?
LSL Sir Bedivere
Ships
and Aircraft in Ascension Area
RAF Aircraft
Sea
King of 202 and Chinook of 18 Sqdn
RAF, Vulcans, Nimrods, Victors,
Hercules, VC.10's
Harriers on Way
South
Sea Harriers of No.809 NAS
Arriving Harrier GR.3's of 1(F) Sqdn
RAF
Other Ships at
Ascension or Reaching the Area on the
Way South
Ambulance
ships Herald, Hydra
Tankers RFA Bayleaf, Anco Charger,
British Avon, British Dart, British
Wye
Support
Tankers in South Atlantic or in
Tanker Holding Areas
RFA Appleleaf, Plumleaf
British Esk, British Tamar (leaves
for Gibraltar), British Tay, British
Test, British Trent
Water tanker Fort Toronto
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3 Commando
Brigade and Amphibious Group Ships
Assault ships Fearless,
Intrepid
RFA Stromness, Tidepool
Transports Atlantic Conveyor, Canberra,
Elk, Europic Ferry, Norland
FR Ardent, Argonaut
LSL Group
Sir Galahad, Sir Geraint,
Sir Lancelot, Sir Percivale, Sir
Tristram, RFA Pearleaf
FR Plymouth DD Antrim
In South
Atlantic
RFA Tidespring, FR Antelope
RFA Regent
Carrier
Battle Group
CV Hermes, Invincible
DD Glamorgan, Coventry, Glasgow,
(SHEFFIELD lost)
FR Alacrity, Arrow, Brilliant,
Broadsword, Yarmouth
RFA Fort Austin, Olmeda, Resource
with SBS and
SAS
Submarine
Force
SSN Conqueror, Spartan,
Splendid
South
Georgia
IPV Endurance
RFA Blue Rover
Tugs Salvageman, RMAS Typhoon
M Coy 42 Cdo RM
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