British air services in the Falklands War

This is a list of the units, aircraft and casualties of the British air services in the Falklands War. The numbers in bold are the number of aircraft used in the war, the numbers in brackets are the number of lost aircraft. For a list of air forces from Argentina, see Argentine air forces in the Falklands War.

Contents

Units

Army Air Corps

Royal Marines

Fleet Air Arm

Squadron Aircraft[1] Number Lost Notes
737 NAS Wessex HAS.3 2 1 HMS Antrim & HMS Glamorgan
800 NAS Sea Harrier FRS.1 12 2 HMS Hermes. RAF personnel attached[2].
801 NAS Sea Harrier FRS.1 8 4 HMS Invincible. RAF personnel attached[3].
809 NAS Sea Harrier FRS.1 8 HMS Hermes & Invincible
815 NAS Lynx HAS.2 and HAS.3 14 3 Type 42 destroyers, Type 21 and Type 22 frigates
820 NAS Sea King HAS.5 9 HMS Invincible
824 NAS Sea King HAS.2 5 RFA Fort Rosalie & Olmeda
825 NAS Sea King HAS.2 10 Atlantic Causeway & RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
826 NAS Sea King HAS.5 9 2 HMS Hermes
829 NAS (Wasp HAS.1) 9 (HMS Endurance, HMS Bristol, Leander class & Type 12 frigates)
845 NAS Wessex HU.5 15 2 RFA Tidespring, Tidepool, Fort Austin & Port San Carlos
846 NAS Sea King HC.4 15 3 HMS Hermes, Fearless class, SS Canberra, Elk & Norland
847 NAS Wessex HU.5 24 Atlantic Causeway, RFA Engadine & Port San Carlos
848 NAS Wessex HU.5 15 6 (HMS Endurance, RFA Olna, Atlantic Conveyor & Astronomer)

Royal Air Force

All four engined heavies operated from Wideawake Airfield, Ascension Island, but flew in the war zone.

Armament

Air Campaign

Sea Harrier FRS.1 1,435 sorties[8], 20 (+3) kills, 6 lost.
Harrier GR.3 126 sorties, 4 lost.
Vulcan B.2 5 sorties: 1, 3 May and 12 June; 21x1,000 lbs bombs - 31 May and 3 June; 4[9] xAGM-45 Shrike.
Victor K.2 375 sorties; 14 sorties per Vulcan raid, 12 sorties per extended Nimrod patrol, 6 sorties per Hercules long-range drop, 6 sorties per Harrier GR.3 staging (4), 3 radar reconnaissance sorties to South Georgia.
Nimrod MR.2 111 sorties: maritime patrols, coordinate air refueling, SAR links.
Hercules C.1 50+ airdrop sorties at Falklands Island, 600+ airbridge sorties UK-Ascension Island

Casualties and aircraft losses

References

  1. ^ Nott, John "The Falklands Campaign" United States Naval Institute Proceedings May 1983 p.122
  2. ^ e.g. Flight Lieutenant David Morgan
  3. ^ e.g. Flight Lieutenant Ian Mortimer
  4. ^ http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/aircraft.html#canberra
  5. ^ http://www.raf.mod.uk/falklands/rafau.html
  6. ^ AIM-9L Sidewinder air kills
  7. ^ "Battle for the Falklands (3): Air Forces - Google Books". books.google.co.uk. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZUjMYkfr-pwC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=gazelle+sneb&source=bl&ots=MCopeM2epk&sig=EZdrjTULU-68K144evK2VEFz3Rw&hl=en&ei=JsLFSobAMuO6jAf6yoFN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=sneb&f=false. Retrieved 2009-10-02. 
  8. ^ Falklands Air War
  9. ^ "armed with four Shrikes for another attack against the Falklands." page 67 in Peter R. March: The Vulcan Story, 2006, Sutton Publishing/'Vulcan to the Sky' trust, ISBN 0-7509-4399-8
  10. ^ a b c 1982 British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident: Gazelle shot down by friendly Sea Dart missile from HMS Cardiff on 6 June. All four onboard killed, two from 656 Squadron, Army Air Corps and two from 205 Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals
  11. ^ a b c d [1] Probable bird strike to transport helicopter operating between Intrepid and Hermes on 20 May
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ethell, Jeffrey and Price, Alfred Air War South Atlantic Macmillan Publishing Company (1983) pp.248-251 ISBN 0-02-536300-X
  13. ^ [2] (2 Gazelles shot down by Argentine army forces small arms leaving San Carlos area on 21 May)
  14. ^ a b 25 May aboard Atlantic Conveyor

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