0000 Action stations, to night is the Army’s big push, GLAMORGAN and us are in place, AVENGER will join us at 0100 ARROW is to the North of Stanley
0037 4.5 stood to
0100 Helo transfer with AVENGER
0118 20 salvos
0127 10 salvos
0130 10 salvos
0135 10 salvos
0138 Hit ammo dump
0155 Troops ready for assault
0201 10 salvos (Not fired)
0232 10 salvos
0233 2 salvos
0234 2 salvos
0236 2 salvos
0237 2 salvos
0237½ 2 salvos
0238 2 salvos
0240 2 salvos, troops reach first objective, prisoners taken, many dead
0241 2 salvos
0242 2 salvos
0243 2 salvos
0250 From shore good shooting by YARMOUTH, enemy ridge on fire, ship has come under fire from guns ashore
0304 10 salvos
0307 10 salvos
0308 10 salvos
0310 Air burst 050°
0344 10 salvos
0351 2 salvos
0355 2 salvos
0406 20 salvos
0409 10 salvos
0412 10 salvos
0435 Radar 270°
0454 20 salvos
0455 AVENGER gun U.S. she has not done much yet except make silly statements about going into the Exocet area. We take over AVENGER’s targets. 2 CAP airborne 10 miles to the South, total rounds fired; 170
0500 Tired - 9½ hours on watch - 20 salvos
0530 54 Commando have taken all there objectives, Paras just about to take theirs
0547 2 salvos
0552 2 salvos
0555 2 salvos
0559 43 salvos
0612 NGS completed 261 rounds fired, it has been a long hard night. GLAMORGAN wants to be bloody minded and take a short cut across the Exocet range. Ted Sykes is talking PWO to PWO advising them against this move, it turns out they want to race back to the main group. The Captain is now advising them against going across the range, our ops room is very quite as we all lisen to the daftness, I don’t think any of us believe what is happening.
0632 Possible Exocet attack, GLAMORGAN hit by missile, she fires a Sea Slug at it and missed
0640 GLAMORGAM hit port side hanger and main galley, us and AVENGER going to help. GLAMORGAN is making 15 knots; all three ships returning to the main group. Admiral has put up extra CAP aircraft for our protection just in case we get bounced by their aircraft.
0641 Me and A/B Campbell put our nets down, L/S Quate and A/B Cable get the sea boat ready.
0645 From GDP Alarm Exocet
I was on the upper deck port side when we fired 3 inch rockets, there were flashing lights bangs and a lot of noise; bits of ash from the rockets were drifting around, then the 4.5 fired chaff ‘C’. The ship turned to starboard which felt as if we were rolling over to port, thought we'd been hit by a missile in the Sea Cat magazine which I was standing on top of. I said to myself "This is it - goodbye world" and I looked at the stars and thought "How long will it take to get up there?" Funny what goes through one's mind, it was all so fast.
GLAMORGAN has 13 killed and 20 wounded.
This need not have happened but for the vanity of one man who could not take advice from an officer junior to him. When we get home he should be tried for murder. The story will come out one day then all will know.
0800 Fall out and return to main group
RAS (L). Tried to RAS (A) - helo pilot would not play
Remain with the group over night
A Wessex 3 attacked Port Stanley and put an AS 12 missile into the police station, the Argentinians shoot at the Wessex and missed but shot one of their own helos down.
3 Para lost 23 killed and 47 wounded
45 Commando lost 4 killed and 8 wounded
42 Commando lost 1 killed and 13 wounded
No comments:
Post a Comment