Operation Sutton was the code name for the British landings on the shores of

San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San Carlos" refers to ...

, at

Ajax Bay Ajax Bay is a settlement on East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It is on the north west coast, on the shore of San Carlos Water, a few miles from Port San Carlos. It was mainly a refrigeration plant, and was developed by the Colonial Develo ...

and

Port San Carlos Port San Carlos is located on the northern bank of the inlet known as Port San Carlos, off San Carlos Water on the Western coast of East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It is sometimes nicknamed "KC" after former owner Keith Cameron. The po ...

, near San Carlos on

East Falkland East Falkland ( es, Isla Soledad) is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as La ...

Landings

During the night,

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

along with attached units of the Parachute Regiment were landed from the liner and the LPD . There was very limited enemy resistance on the ground. The

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

force on site was a section from the 25th Infantry Regiment named Combat Team Güemes (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Equipo de Combate Güemes''), or EC ''Güemes'', located at Fanning Head. After the British fleet was spotted at 02:50, EC ''Güemes'' opened fire with 81mm mortars and two 105mm recoilless rifles. The British warships replied with naval gunfire, and a 25-man SBS team also returned fire. During the firefight, two British helicopters, a Sea King and a

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third f ...

, passed overhead, and the Argentine troops fired at them with machine guns. The Gazelle's pilot
Sergeant Andrew Evans - RM
was hit and fatally injured, but he managed to crash-land the aircraft into the sea. Evans and the other crewman, Sergeant Edward Candlish, were thrown out of the aircraft. Argentine troops shot at them for about 15 minutes as they struggled in the water, ignoring orders from their commanding officer to ceasefire. When the firing ceased, Candlish managed to drag Evans to shore, where he died. Minutes later, a second British Gazelle helicopter, following the same route as the first, was hit by

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

fire from the Argentine platoon and shot down, killing the crew, Lt. Ken Francis and L/Cpl. Pat Giffin. The Argentinians eventually retreated from Fanning Head, abandoning their communications equipment. At least eight members of another Argentinian platoon who fled the scene were left behind and captured by the British. Argentine commandos of the

601 Commando Company The 601 Commando Company ( es, Compañía de Comandos 601) is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army. History Created on 2 April 1982, it was based on the original ''Equipo Especial de Lucha contra la Subversión Halcón 8'' created b ...

shot down a GR.3 Harrier on a reconnaissance mission on

Port Howard Port Howard (Spanish/Argentine name: ''Puerto Mitre''; sometimes ''Puerto Howard'' in Spanish) is the largest settlement on West Falkland (unless Fox Bay is taken as one settlement, instead of two). It is in the east of the island, on an inlet o ...

with a

Blowpipe missile The Shorts Blowpipe is a man-portable (MANPADS) surface-to-air missile that was in use with the British Army and Royal Marines from 1975. It also saw service in other military forces around the world. Most examples were retired by the mid-1990 ...

. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Glover, bailed out, breaking his arm and collar bone in the process. He was taken prisoner by Argentine soldiers shortly afterward, and flown to a military hospital in

Comodoro Rivadavia Comodoro Rivadavia () is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San ...

, Argentina. Six Argentine pilots were killed during the operation. The invasion, part of the overall

Operation Corporate The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland I ...

, sparked a strong reply from the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...

and

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

and led to the Battle of San Carlos.The falkland Islands San Carlos landings at Think defence.co.uk
/ref>

References

Sources

* {{Falklands War, style=wide

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

British Army in the Falklands War Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)

May 1982 events in South America