-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Sweet pic of two Argentine A-4's on the attack
- Thread starter bunk22
- Start date
And when pressed home by determined, capable drivers .... it's gonna' be a long, BAD day for the Black Shoes ...
Believe it.
When I did my UN mission in the Western Sahara, we had a Brit Harrier pilot, a Brit shoe, a Brit grunt, an Argentine grunt and an Argentine A4 pilot that had all fought in the Falklands War. I spent a couple of nights in Las Palmas, Canary Islands drinking with all 5 at once. The other 4 all agreed that the A4 pilot was the bravest guy there and that all the Argentine A4 pilots had huge balls. They launched with just enough fuel to get to their targets, make 1 run and fly a bingo profile home immediately after dropping. No gas to fight and no reserve.
They all had nothing but mutual respect for the others saying it was a "good fight" by both sides. They said both as part of the group drunken mutual admiration society and when alone without the other side present.
(The Argentine grunt was an Army LTC who had been on the UN mission for 4 years instead of the normal 6 months to 1 year. Seems he was part of a failed coup attempt and the Argentine Army was hiding him there until the civilian authorities forgave him. I've always wondered what ever happened with him.)
They all had nothing but mutual respect for the others saying it was a "good fight" by both sides. They said both as part of the group drunken mutual admiration society and when alone without the other side present.
(The Argentine grunt was an Army LTC who had been on the UN mission for 4 years instead of the normal 6 months to 1 year. Seems he was part of a failed coup attempt and the Argentine Army was hiding him there until the civilian authorities forgave him. I've always wondered what ever happened with him.)
I've always wondered how the Argie Scooter guys managed to get into those tiny cockpits, what with the giant brass balls and all.
The Argie pilots did their bit, I'll give them that. Pressed home attacks on modern warships with iron bombs and Exocets of questionable reliability and got some kills. The runs on the landing forces at San Carlos Water were even more impressive; because of the high hills around the anchorage, the Scooter guys had all of about 30 seconds to pick out their targets before release.
In all, for both sides, the Falklands was a lesson in the folly of trying to go to war with the military you have, instead of the military you need. The Brits needed AEW, long-stick AAMs, and good point defense for the ships. The Argies suffered from no OTH targeting to speak of, a weak supply chain, no AAR aircraft, not to mention an over-politicized military that was too busy bickering with themselves and throwing dissidents out of planes (really) to plan a war effectively.
The Argie pilots did their bit, I'll give them that. Pressed home attacks on modern warships with iron bombs and Exocets of questionable reliability and got some kills. The runs on the landing forces at San Carlos Water were even more impressive; because of the high hills around the anchorage, the Scooter guys had all of about 30 seconds to pick out their targets before release.
In all, for both sides, the Falklands was a lesson in the folly of trying to go to war with the military you have, instead of the military you need. The Brits needed AEW, long-stick AAMs, and good point defense for the ships. The Argies suffered from no OTH targeting to speak of, a weak supply chain, no AAR aircraft, not to mention an over-politicized military that was too busy bickering with themselves and throwing dissidents out of planes (really) to plan a war effectively.
Thank God they didn't match their delivery tactics to the fuze settings...
Actually, the Argies had some OTH capability, but it was minimal. In addition to the 707's and Learjet 35A's they used to look for the battlegroup, they had some SP-2H's but they were grounded shortly after the start of the war due to a lack of spare parts. Not before one P-2 provided critical targeting info to the two Super Etendards that condcted the HMS Sheffield strike.
They also had some AAR, they had two KC-130's that flew quite often, refuelling A-4's and the Super Etendards for the duration of the war. Often, the A-4's would RTB before reaching the Falklands if they could not hook up with the KC-130's.
Ballsy guys as well and they lost a C-130 to a winder
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj02/fal02/corum.html
I read the book written by Sharky Ward, the CO of one of the Sea Harrier squadrons in the Falklands War. He shot down that C-130, had use a combination of AIM-9 and his gun to finish it off.
You're right, I'd forgotten about the Herks. But as it was, the Argies could barely reach the Falklands, with no time for re-attacks or mixing it up with the Harriers. Some proper long-range AAR would have made a big difference in the war.
Of course, the lack of AAR was a problem for the Brits, too, until the beachead was established and they were flying closer to shore.
The OTH targeting they had only helped out so much. Essentially it was "the Limeys are here-ish". Which is better than nothing, but really not what you need when you have a very limited number of ASCMs. They hit Sheffield, but it's not what they were aiming for - they wanted the carriers. All they had to go on was what they picked up during their pop-ups, and the frigates were the first thing they saw. Same with Atlantic Conveyor - all they knew was it was a big-ass target roughly where they thought the carriers were. 'Course, they lucked out and managed to destroy a big chunk of the landing forces' Chinooks...better to be lucky than good.