HMS Glamorgan (D19) - Falklands Campaign

Falklands Campaign

At the start of the Falklands campaign, on 2 April 1982, Glamorgan was already at sea off Gibraltar about to take part in exercises; she was immediately diverted to join the main Royal Navy task force, and served as flagship for Admiral Sandy Woodward during the voyage south until 15 April, when he transferred his flag to HMS Hermes. Her most useful armament proved to be her remaining twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns, which were used primarily to shell enemy positions on shore.

Glamorgan was first in action on the evening and night of 1 May when she joined forces with HMS Arrow and HMS Alacrity to bombard Argentine positions around Stanley. The three British ships soon came under attack by three IAI Dagger jets; two 500 lb bombs fell close alongside Glamorgan, causing minor underwater damage.

Two weeks later on 14 May she was again in action, this time supporting British special forces during the Raid on Pebble Island in the west of the Falklands. For the next two weeks until the end of May she was almost continuously engaged bombarding various shore positions on the east of the islands mainly as part of a plan to distract attention from the landings at San Carlos Water, but also against the airfield at Stanley and in support of British forces ashore. She also fired a Sea slug missile at the airstrip.

At the beginning of June, the task force having been reinforced with other ships, Glamorgan was detached to protect shipping in the Towing, Repair and Logistics Area (TRALA), some 200 miles (320 km) away from the islands, but as the campaign reached a climax she was recalled in the evening of 11 June to support the Royal Marines fighting the Battle of Two Sisters.

At 06:37 the following morning, Saturday 12 June 1982, Glamorgan was attacked with an MM38 Exocet missile which was fired from an improvised shore-based launcher. The launcher was dubbed ITB (Instalación de Tiro Berreta) by the Argentine personnel, which approximately means in Argentine slang "trashy firing platform". Two MM38 Exocet missiles, their launcher, transporter, and the associated electronics trailer were assembled by the Argentine navy at Puerto Belgrano and flown by a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to the Falkland Islands. A RASIT radar supplied by the Argentinian Army tracked Glamorgan's movements. The two MM38 Exocet missiles had been removed from the destroyer ARA Seguí and secured on the launcher, a technically difficult task requiring reprogamming.

Glamorgan was steaming at about 20 knots (37 km/h) some 18 nautical miles (33 km) off shore. The first attempt to fire a missile failed. A second attempt was successful and a missile was launched, but it failed to find the target. The third attempt was more successful. The incoming Exocet missile was being tracked on both the bridge and operations room radar by the Principal Warfare Officer and Navigation Officer.

Before the missile impact, the ship was moving at high speed. After the ship executed a rapid turn away from the missile in the limited time available, a few seconds, the Exocet struck the port side adjacent to the hangar near the stern. The turn had prevented the missile from striking the ship's side perpendicularly and penetrating; instead it hit the deck coaming at an angle, near the port Seacat launcher, skidded on the deck, and exploded. This made a 10 ft by 15 ft hole in the hangar deck and a 5 ft by 4 ft hole in the galley area below, where a fire started.

The blast travelled forwards and down, and the missile body, still travelling forwards, penetrated the hangar door, causing a fully fuelled and armed Wessex helicopter to explode and start a severe fire in the hangar. Fourteen crew members were killed and more wounded. The ship was under way again with all fires extinguished by 10:00.

On the following day, repairs were made at sea and, after the Argentinian surrender on 14 June, more extensive repairs were undertaken in the sheltered bay of San Carlos Water. She sailed for home on 21 June, and re-entered Portsmouth on 10 July 1982 after 104 days at sea.