Falklands War
The only example of a conflict where a SCS-type ship played a large part was the Falklands War in 1982. Unable to acquire full-size carriers due to political opposition, Britain had procured Invincible class "through-deck cruisers" to keep sea lanes clear of Soviet submarines and patrol aircraft. In this mission they typically carried four to five Sea Harriers and nine Sea Kings for anti-submarine warfare. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes were filled to capacity with Harrier and Sea Harrier fighter aircraft to recover the islands. The Sea Harriers shot down 21 Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat with no air-to-air losses, although two Sea Harriers were lost to ground fire and four to accidents.
Read more about this topic: Sea Control Ship
Famous quotes containing the words falklands and/or war:
“If we were doing this in the Falklands they would love it. It’s part of our heritage. The British have always been fighting wars.”
—British soccer fan. quoted in Independent (London, Dec. 23, 1988)
“Newspaperman: That was a magnificent work. There were these mass columns of Apaches in their war paint and feather bonnets. And here was Thursday leading his men in that heroic charge.
Capt. York: Correct in every detail.
Newspaperman: He’s become almost a legend already. He’s the hero of every schoolboy in America.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)