These two men have lived a Lie for over 30 years, its about time they came clean and admitted that they were wrong as all the evidence is against their claims! Admiral Sandy Woodward describes the events of the 30th of May 1982 thus: On the 30th of May the Argentinian High Command decided to fire what was their last remaining Exocet and again they made a firm decision to try and aim it at HERMES or INVINCIBLE. At their present Exocet strike rate they had an even money chance of hitting something, but longish odds against hitting a Carrier. In our favour, apart from the lessons of the last two Exocet attacks, we now had the very latest version of the Sea Dart system in the Royal Navy - the one in Exeter, the Type 42 commanded by Hugh Balfour. He was sharp, professional warfare specialist and a master of the brand new Sea Dart system in Exeter. It actually saved about 15 vital seconds in engagement time compared with the best that GLASGOW and COVENTRY could due to brilliant new software. Anyway, the Args elected to send up two Etendards, one with the missile, another for additional radar assistance. They would be accompanied by four Skyhawks of the 4th Air Brigade, each armed with two 500 pound bombs. Their brief was to use the Exocet as their guide to the Carrier while the Etendards turned away for home. They took off and made for their refuelling rendezvous and then headed on in towards the British Battle Group, in which CARDIFF and EXETER were out on the Westerly picket line, with Captain Hugo Whites Type 21 Frigate AVENGER, largely by chance, steaming 12 miles South-South East of them. 20 miles further back to the East were ranged the Fleet Auxiliaries and 3 1/2 miles behind them were the two Carriers, HERMES 7 miles due North of INVINCIBLE. The Argentinians flew as usual below the radar, until they popped up at 1631Z for the Etendards to scan the sea with their radars, looking for the British Fleet. As they did so, the most attention-getting Ops Room call in the South Atlantic was broadcast from EXETER, Handbrake! Two-Two-Five. Within Seconds Exeter had a warning on the networks and CARDIFF, AVENGER and EXETER all swung around to face the attack from the South West. The two Etendards popped Up once more 3 minutes later. All three British Ships saw them on their radar screens and they all knew that an Exocet missile fired at 21 miles range (From AVENGER), was on its way-and that there were four aircraft coming in right behind it. Captain Balfour ordered his first Sea Dart away. The missile travelled close past Avenger and, 5 miles later, obliterated the lead Skyhawk, killing the pilot, Primer Teniente Vazquez. The other three pilots pressed on, but either EXETERs second Sea Dart or AVENGERs 4.5 inch gun blew another of them away, killing that pilot too. Meanwhile the Exocet, either poorly aimed or unserviceable, passed harmlessly mid way between EXETER and AVENGER, with several Miles to spare on either side (its fuel spent, it fell harmlessly into the sea). With immense Gallantry, the other two Argentinian pilots continued to race forward, determined to press home their attack. They went for AVENGER, now surrounded by smoke from the gun which was still blazing away at the Skyhawks. Their bombs however missed as they overflew the Frigate and they shot through the smoke at over 400 knots, banking away for home, as they imagined Sea Harriers lancing down from the rear, Sidewinders ready.As it was they made it home safely, to regale their commanders with about the least accurate story of the whole war: that they had bombed INVINCIBLE, which had already been struck and set on fire by the Exocet, that they had seen the smoke, witnessed the damage. Still, young men as brave as that deserve their fantasies and in the coming days I did not begrudge them the Front Page picture, deftly dressed up by an artist, in the Arg newspapers which showed INVINCIBLE burning fiercely in the South Atlantic. Actually she (INVINCIBLE) was a good 20 miles from the action.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 16:06:43 +0000
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