Bluff Cove Air Attacks

The Bluff Cove air attacks occurred 8 June 1982, during the Falklands War. British troop transport ships were bombed by the Argentine Air Force (FAA) while unloading at Bluff Cove, with significant damage and casualties.

Background

By 1 June, British forces on the Falkland Islands were bolstered by the arrival of 5,000 new troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade. Major General Jeremy Moore now had sufficient force to start planning a full-scale assault on Port Stanley.

Advance parties of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment moved forward and occupied Fitzroy and Bluff Cove, when it was discovered to be clear of Argentine forces. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards and 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards were to be sent in to support them. After the sinking of the transport '' Atlantic Conveyor'' there was only one British heavy-lift helicopter available, an RAF CH-47 Chinook, ''Bravo November''. Therefore, supplies and reinforcements would have to be transported by ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary,Bolia, p. 68 which were manned by civilian sailors.

Air strikes

While unloading on 8 June, the British ships were attacked by two waves of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft from the Argentine Air Force's 5th Air Brigade, each of them loaded with three 500 lb retarded-tail bombs of Spanish design. The airstrikes had been called in by Argentine commandos of 602 Commando Company after they spotted the ships from their position on Mount Harriet. The fighters departed from Río Gallegos airbase, which at the time was monitored by the British nuclear submarine HMS ''Splendid''. The first wave of attack, originally made of eight aircraft, was reduced to five when three Skyhawks returned to base due to refuelling problems. On their way to Bluff Cove, the formation overflew a Scout helicopter from 656 Squadron AAC; the Scout, XR628, was forced to make a hard landing on McPhee Pond after experiencing mechanical failure while taking evasive action. The aircraft was eventually written off. The helicopter was identified as a Lynx by the package leader, First Lieutenant Carlos Cachón.

Six Argentine IAI Dagger fighters simultaneously took off from the airbase at Río Grande for a complementary mission, led by a Learjet which provided navigation information. One of the Daggers subsequently returned to base due to refueling issues. The attacking aircraft were preceded by four IAI Dagger fighters which took off from Río Grande airbase to carry out a decoy mission over the north of the islands in order to draw away the British Sea Harrier fighters and allow the Skyhawks and Daggers to carry out their attacks unmolested, while the Argentine destroyer ARA ''Santísima Trinidad'' broadcast interference signals to jam the frequencies used by the Royal Navy's air controllers directing Sea Harrier operations. The nuclear submarine HMS ''Valiant'', on picket duty off Río Grande, was able to track the six Dagger fighters that took off from the airbase there, but the report from the submarine failed to reach the British forces at Bluff Cove.West, p. 39

First strike

At approximately 14:00 local time the ships RFA ''Sir Tristram'' and RFA ''Sir Galahad'' were badly damaged by five A-4Bs of ''Grupo 5''. Three A-4s targeted ''Sir Galahad'', which was hit by three bombs released from the Skyhawk flown by First Lieutenant Carlos Cachón. The second Skyhawk was unable to drop its bombs, and the third overshot the British ship. The remaining two aircraft attacked ''Sir Tristram'', which was struck by two bombs released by package leader Lieutenant Daniel Gálvez; the bombs of the last A-4 fell short. The explosions and subsequent fires killed 48 men aboard ''Sir Galahad'', of whom 32 were soldiers from the Welsh Guards, 11 were other army personnel, and five were crewmen of the ''Sir Galahad'', among them two Hong Kong Chinese sailors. The attack on ''Sir Tristram'' killed two crewmen, both of them also Hong Kong Chinese sailors.

Second strike

At 16:50 a second wave, composed by four A-4Bs of ''Grupo 5'' hit and sank the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Foxtrot-4 from HMS ''Fearless'' in Choiseul Sound. The landing craft was transporting the vehicles and communications equipment and nine soldiers, of 5 Brigade's headquarters, from Darwin to Bluff Cove. Six crew on board were killed, Colour Sergeant Brian Johnston, Sergeant R. J. Rotherham, Marine R. D. Griffin, Marine A. J. Rundle, Royal Navy MEA A. S. James and LMEM D. Miller. However, this time the Sea Harrier combat air patrol was already on scene and responded; three Skyhawks were shot down and their pilots, First Lieutenant Danilo Bolzan, Lieutenant Juan Arrarás, and Ensign Alfredo Vazquez were killed.

Bolzan and Vazquez were shot down by Flight Lieutenant David Morgan while Arrarás was shot down by Morgan's wingman, Lieutenant David Smith. The fourth aircraft, which was flown by First Lieutenant Héctor Sánchez, suffered combat damage and lost a large amount of fuel, but returned to the mainland assisted by a KC-130 tanker. A third wave, by A-4Cs of ''Grupo 4'', arrived minutes later and struck ground targets without visible success.Moro, p. 465

Attack on HMS ''Plymouth''

In a separate incident, the frigate HMS ''Plymouth'' on her own passing through Falkland Sound was attacked by the Daggers from Rio Grande, which struck her with four 1,000-pound bombs. The warship sustained severe damage, and five crewmen were injured. Although all the bombs were duds, the attack caused the explosion of at least one depth charge on her flight deck.

Aftermath

A total of 56 British servicemen were killed, and 150 wounded. The incident marked the greatest loss of life among British forces in a single incident since World War II, and accounted for one-fifth of British fatalities in the entire conflict. ''Sir Galahad'' was damaged beyond repair and scuttled with torpedoes by submarine HMS ''Onyx'' on 21 June; but her sister ship survived to be re-built post-war. American author Robert Bolia blames the disaster on the use of large LST ships instead of LCUs and other small vessels.

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