Operation Motorman
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Operation Motorman was an operation carried out by British Army forces in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. The operation started at 4:00 31 July 1972 to retake the No-go areas (i.e., areas controlled by the Provisional Irish Republican Army) established in Belfast and Derry in the aftermath of internment the previous year. The operation used almost 22,000 soldiers, 27 infantry and two armoured battalions aided by 5,300 UDR men.[1] Included amongst the vehicles were several Centurion AVRE demolition vehicles derived from the Centurion tank. These were the only heavy tanks to be deployed operationally by the British Army in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. The tanks had been transported to Ulster on board the landing craft HMS Fearless, and were operated with their demolition guns pointed to the rear, covered with tarpaulins.[2]
The Provisional IRA did not attempt to hold their ground, as they lacked the necessary armaments and numbers for a direct confrontation with the army. The British Army employed an overwhelming force of troops (roughly 4% of the whole British Army). By the end of the day there were no more no-go urban areas in Northern Ireland, but the British Army remained cautious when operating in areas such as west Belfast (which they nicknamed the Wild West), the Bogside in Derry and the New Lodge in Belfast.
It was during Operation Motorman that 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty was shot dead by the British Army in Creggan, along with his two cousins who were also shot and wounded. 35 years later in August 2007, the MoD were to withdraw and apologise for a document that described Daniel Hegarty as a terrorist. The document released in June of that year also claimed that the 15-year-old was armed. The MoD accepted that "Daniel was innocent and that the reference to him as a terrorist was inaccurate."[3]
Known IRA member Seamus Bradley, 15, was also shot shortly after this incident on the same estate.[4] He was shot in the leg and bled to death whilst in the custody of British soldiers.[5]
A few hours after the success of Operation Motorman, the Claudy bombings occurred, a massive coordinated car bomb attack on the centre of the village of Claudy, County Londonderry, which killed nine people. Five of the victims were Catholic, and four were Protestant.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ AN ANALYSIS OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND Prepared under the direction of the Chief of the General Staff. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ Osprey Publishing: Centurion Universal Tank 1943-2003 ISBN 1-84176-387-X
- ^ MoD apology to shot teen's family BBC News Online, 31 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ Operation Motorman - Seamus Bradley The Pat Finucane Centre. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ HISTORY – OPERATION MOTORMAN Museum of Free Derry. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
