SAS Raid - Argentina 1982

[Music] the loss of the British destroyer hms sheffield on the 4th of May 1982 came as a great shock to the British people from the early stages of the Falklands War she was struck by a French manufactured exit am39 missile launched from an Argentine Navy Superettan dodge jet fighter 20 crew aboard the sheffield were killed in the attack the Argentine's were desperate to sink one of the two British aircraft carriers supporting the task force sent to liberate the islands that Argentina had invaded on the 2nd of April 1982 the sheffield was one of dozens of smaller warships that protected the big carriers Britain was at a disadvantage in attempting to recapture the Falkland Islands the Argentine Air Force and naval Air Force had between them around a hundred and eighty fast jets opposing just 21 Royal Navy sea Harriers aboard the two aircraft carriers Hermes and invincible without both carriers remaining intact the entire operation codenamed corporate would be doomed to failure as insufficient sea Harriers would be available to achieve air superiority over the landing beaches and naval Anchorage's around the Falklands Argentina knew this and the British carriers remained the priority target for its handful of sophisticated Superettan das and the handful of Exocet missiles Argentina possessed apart from these super add-on darts the bulk of Argentina's air strength was rather outdated 1960s and 70s aircraft mirages daggers and sky Hawks armed with conventional bombs they launched almost suicidal low-level attacks on British shipping to attempt to disrupt landing preparations [Applause] but only the super atone dads and their exercise missiles were capable of taking on the carriers and sinking the British knew that in 1981 France had shipped five Superettan darts to Argentina the second naval squadron was based 400 miles west of the Falklands had an airbase on the Rio Grande in Argentina to exer sets had been expended in the attack of the fourth of May 1982 with one hitting HMS Sheffield the British believed that three xsf missiles remained in storage at we are branding question was what to do about the aircraft and the missiles the government wanted action taken before Argentine managed to bag a British aircraft carrier and in its desperation the government turned to the special air service regiment the famed SAS they recalled an operation launched by Israeli Special Forces in 1976 to rescue hostages held at Uganda's Entebbe Airport in a Special Forces operation that stunned the world Israel had landed c-130 Hercules transport aircraft on Entebbe airports runway assault of the terminal and rescued nearly all of the hostages and also put out of action Ugandan Air Force MIG 17 and mig-21 jet fighters taking their cue from the Israeli operation the SAS hatched a plan to fly to raf hercules transport planes from Ascension Island in mid-atlantic another British colony refueling them air-to-air all the way to Argentina the c-130s would carry 55 heavily armed SAS the aircraft would come in under Argentine radar land on the main runway and the SAS would spill out to assault the super at andaaz their air and ground crews and destroy the Exocet missiles if the c-130s was still in flying condition after this the force would then mount up and fly to the Chilean air base at Punta Arenas Chile being Britain's closest South American ally at the time if the c-130s were wrecked the SAS and the air crews would grab whatever transport they could find and while key style would hell for leather the 50 miles to the Chilean border with half the Argentine army and air force their heels too many in the SAS this operation codenamed Mikado had all the hallmarks of a suicide mission and there was some resistance however before Mikado would be considered for activation the SAS needed eyes on the ground in Argentina they needed to insert a reconnaissance team to watch the super atoll nas airbase to allow proper planning to be conducted for the main raid but this would be no mean feat how could an eight-man SAS patrol be inserted 400 miles from the Falklands without the Argentinians finding out eventually this operation codenamed plum Duff would involve using a Royal Navy seeking hc4 helicopter from the aircraft carrier hms invincible stripped of all excess weight and equipment the Sea King carried enough fuel to make a one-way trip only the plan was simple the Sea King with a crew of three would lift off from the invincible carrying the eight SAS fly to Argentina dropped the SAS off close to Rio Grande then fly into Chile where the crew would dispose of the helicopter by sinking it just off the coast after which they would make their way to the British Embassy Operation plum Duff launched on the 18th of May 1982 at quarter past midnight four hours later the sea came flying low to avoid Argentine radar approached the coast in thick fog 12 miles from the landing zone the visibility was so poor that the raw Marines chief pilot landed unsure of their exact position the SAS commander was convinced that the chopper had been detected by Argentine forces he demanded that his team be dropped off close to the Chilean border they were then marched to Rio Grande airbase and set up their observation post after dropping off the SAS patrol the Sea King flew onto a beach near Punta Arenas in Chile landed and the crew punched holes in the aircraft preparatory to ditching it in deep water but the helicopter stubbornly refused to sink so it was flown back to the beach and destroyed using an explosive charge the three crewmen now made their way on foot over several nights trying to reach a British diplomat take post captain Andy leg the SAS patrol commander had decided that his team was compromised and aborted plum Duff marching into chilly the air crew in the SAS were picked up by Chilean troops and briefly detained before being released two British diplomats with the failure of plum Duff operation Mikado was also cancelled but just seven days later of the super 8 on dad struck again to exer set missiles were decoyed away from the carriers and struck the valuable cargo ship Atlantic conveyor which was loaded with helicopters and stores but ultimately the Argentine's never managed to get near one of the British aircraft carriers and the war finished before Argentine command another exercise attack with its remaining missile thanks for watching please subscribe and share and also support my channel at PayPal and patreon details in the description box below [Music]

Channel: Mark Felton Productions

Views: 1,454,426

Rating: 4.9019842 out of 5

Keywords: Operation Mikado, Operation Plum Duff, Exocet, Super Etendard, Argentine Navy, Mark Felton Productions, SAS, Falkland Islands, 1982

Id: tfmzTz8yjFc

Length: 7min 39sec (459 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 31 2019