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Falklands War: April - June
1982
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Argentine forces invaded the Falkland
Islands in April 1982 claiming the
islands belonged to Argentina, as they
were situated in Argentine waters. The
Falklands had been fought over by the
British, French, Spanish and Argentines
since their discovery in the 15th
Century. The British eventually took
control of the islands in 1842, declaring
them a British Colony.
The reason for the Argentine invasion
was: Argentina was in the midst of a
devastating economic crisis. Their
governing military junta, led by General
Galtieri, saw the capture of the
Falklands as a way to regain popularity
with the people. The Argentine plan
seemed to work at first with the
Argentine people celebrating the success
of the invasion. This however was not to
last as they had not taken into account
the Prime Minister of Britain (Margaret
Thatcher) was also in a position of being
so disliked, she was almost certain to be
voted out of office at the following
election. Few people at that time thought
Britain would send forces to the other
side of the world, to fight a war, that
in no way they were sure to win.
The surrender of the Argentines 14
June 1982 resulted in Margaret Thatcher
winning the 1983 general election by a
vast margin. Also, her reputation amongst
world leaders improved dramatically with
her earning the title (The Iron
Lady).
Within days of the Argentine
surrender, General Galtieri of Argentina
was removed from power. He was sentenced
to prison in May 1986 after being found
guilty of mishandling the war.
The war cost 258 British and 649
Argentine deaths.
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A-4 Skyhawk
1956, US/ Argentine, 673 mph
Argentine Air Force Skyhawks sank HMS
Coventry (D118) and HMS Antelope (F170)
as well as producing heavy damage to
several others. About 22 of Argentina's
A-4s were lost during the war including
eight shot down by Sea Harriers, mostly
by AIM-9L Sidewinder short-range
heat-seeking air-to-air missiles.
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Dassault Mirage
III 1961, French/ Argentine, 1,460
mph
Europe's first fighter capable of Mach 2
speeds, the Mirage III was simple,
relatively robust, cheap and available to
anyone who wanted to buy it. Though
designed as a multi-role aircraft, the
Argentines mainly used their Mirage IIIE
fighters for air defense or escort.
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Dagger 1972,
Israel/ Argentine, 1,460 mph
These aircraft were actually French
Mirage 5s that were crated to Israel to
be built, as to avoid arms embargos
concerning Israel. 11 Daggers were lost
during the Falklands War with at least 4
being shot down by Harriers with their
AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles.
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Super
Étendard 1978, French/
Argentine, 733 mph
Between August and November 1981, five
Super Étendards and five Exocet
missiles were shipped to Argentina. All
five of the missiles were used during the
conflict, with one missile destroying the
British Destroyer HMS
Sheffield and one the merchant
aircraft transporter Atlantic
Conveyor.
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BAE Sea
Harrier 1980, British, 734 mph
Flying from the aircraft carriers HMS
Invincible and HMS Hermes, 28 Sea
Harriers were to operate in their primary
air defence role with a secondary role of
ground attack. The Sea Harrier squadrons
shot down 21 Argentine aircraft in
air-to-air combat with no air-to-air
losses, although two Sea Harriers were
lost to ground fire and four to
accidents. Greater maneuverability, pilot
training and modern AIM-9L Sidewinder
short-range heat-seeking missiles with
the ability to attack from all
directions, including head-on, are said
to have contributed to the success of
these sub sonic, vertical take off
jets.
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