1982 Argentinian Marines occupied Stanley in the Falklands
On 2nd April 1982 Argentinian Marines occupied Stanley in the Falklands, in Argentina news of the invasion was met with celebrations. To General Leopaldo Galtieri all information seemed to indicate that London would not go to war over these islands. But by the 5th April, a British Task Force was already on its way. It had taken just days to fully load and equip both aircraft carriers, HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes and their escorts. They were on their way south ahead of other ships to enforce the total exclusion zone. But with the Royal Navy more prepared for cutbacks and the Cold War than a conflict 8,000 miles away, what kind of force had they been able to pull together? In fact, the Argentine Navy would be forced to withdraw just a few weeks after the arrival of the British Task force, following the sinking of the major surface combatant the General Belgrano. The Argentine focus switched to their Air Force – and with this, posed a great threat to the Royal Navy. IWM Curator Alan Jeffreys tells us more about this topic, looks at an Exocet Missile on display at IWM London and some objects that belonged to commander of a naval bomb disposal team, Nigel ‘Bernie’ Bruen including a scorched alarm bell from RFA Sir Tristram.
Credit to : Imperial War Museum
