Operation Journeyman was a Royal Navy operation in which a naval taskforce was sent to the Falkland Islands in November 1977 to prevent an Argentine invasion.
The operation was ordered by James Callaghan after fifty Argentine "scientists" landed on Southern Thule prompting fears of an Argentine invasion of the Falklands. The Argentinians set up a military base on Thule. It is likely the prompt action prevented a more serious attack. The force planned under heavy security was led by the nuclear submarine Dreadnought and also consisted of two frigates, Alacrity and Phoebe, and the auxiliaries Resource and Olwen as support vessels. The Argentines rapidly became aware of the taskforce's presence but their forces remained on Thule and Callaghan decided against the use of force to evict them.
The foreign secretary at the time David Owen later claimed that if Margaret Thatcher's government had taken similarly quick action five years later, the Argentinians would not have invaded in 1982 leading to the Falklands War.
Read more about Operation Journeyman: Rules of Engagement
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