Sink Argentina's Carrier 1982 - The Secret British Falklands War Mission 

I'm Sixty years old next month. I served on HMS Antrim in South Georgia and also in the Falklands in San Carlos during the British landings. We fought hard and ultimately prevailed. The Argentine Air Force were extremely brave and skilled. They were warriors and fought well. Last year I had the honour, for the first time since the war, to return. Unexpectedly I met an Argentine soldier. We were visiting the Argentine cemetery at Darwin. He walked straight up to us, looked into our eyes and held out his hand. I took it and I shook it. We understood each other. There is an understanding over the years. A respect and a resolution. We are all human. Please don't seek to re fight old wars over key boards. There is no point. We are all brothers and sisters.

Hi Mark it was a very interesting and accurate chronology of the events. I was part of the crew of one of the aircraft carrier's escort. I was a conscript aboard the destroyer ARA Hercules one of the two type 42 destroyers in service in the Argentinian Navy. I served at the Operation Room as a 965 and 992 aerial and surface radar operator and , as I was sitting next to the sonar operator, I could see the entire process of search for the two British nuclear subs.. For your records, the ARA Hercules was the only type 42 destroyer (both Argentinian and Royal Navy) fitted with 4 MM38 Exocet which gave us an additional surface defense & attack capability we have to remember that Type 42 destroyer were mainly designed to give the fleet a sort of an anti aircraft umbrella, which I think those serving in the RN did successfully even though getting the full brunt of the Argentinian air force attacks (Sheffield , Coventry Glasgow) ... The full Task Force escorting the ARA 25 de Mayo were: another type 42 destroyer ARA Santisima Trinidad, 2 french manufactured corvettes (ARA Drummond & ARA Granville) equipped both with MM38 Exocet missiles and the WWII era Gearing-class destroyer ARA PY also equipped with MM38 Exocet missiles and was famous to have the best Sonar in the entire Argentine Navy at that time. If the attack (Code named by the Argentine Navy as "The night of Banzai) planned for 1st of May would have gone ahead, it would have been the major naval battle since Midway in WW2 (I'm glad we didn't enter in the history book for that ...otherwise I wouldn't probably be here writing this :) ). I'm a regular visitor to your channel and, like I said, I really enjoying doing it .. Keep up the good work. Cheers ..!

I was a submariner on HMS Conqueror ("Conx") - we had a great crew who completed a tough assignment in an exemplary manner. Before that, I was on a frigate, HMS Juno tracking Soviet carrier Kiev in the Arctic circle Xmas Day 1981 - exciting times for a teenager. NB: I can confirm the footage of the officer on the periscope was indeed the newly promoted TAS office, Captain Brown.

Thanks for this, Mark. I'm British and remember the Falklands war as a civilian of 19. I recall thinking that 'our boys will give the Argies a bloody nose'. What a damned fool I was. It never occurred to me then to thank my lucky stars that I wasn't one of 'our boys' who would be asked to die in this conflict, or indeed one of the Argentine 'boys' who would die there. Hopefully I've grown up enough now to realize that every single life lost, on both sides, was somebodies son, husband, father, brother and that people not very different from me in both countries still mourn to this day their loved ones lost in the war. I remember a TV show in the 90's with a Royal Navy Harrier pilot who described meeting an Argentine pilot after the war. He said they chatted about their experiences and apparently neither had much regard for the politicians that had created this problem for them to solve. He also said that he had great respect for the Argentine pilots, who were extremely skilled and pressed home their attacks with enormous courage. Seems to me that if the politicians had to fight we'd have the brotherhood of man tomorrow.

Mark: "Due to the British breaking Argentine naval codes, they knew roughly where the 25th of May was" Me: "probably somewhere between the 24th and 26th"

Everyone keep Mark safe, this man doesn’t deserve hate, he keeps everyone busy with these great video’s.

The destroyer HMS Broadsword visited Charleston Naval Base on her way home from the Falkland's War. She took a well-placed bomb mid-ship, but it did not explode. Had it exploded, it probably would have sunk the ship. Killing and wounding about 18 men. Touchy business removing it - LOTS of welding. Very high morale among the crew. I'll never forget it.

Wow! I never knew there was an active submarine battle playing out near the waters that we cruised through in that time frame. I would have been alarmed had I known. I was on the American fast attack submarine USS Groton, SSN-694. We were cruising home around the south tip of Africa after a six-month tour in the Indian Ocean when I looked at the compass and noticed we had turned westward. We knew the war was going on, but we were told that we wouldn't be playing any part in it. So when I saw the westward turn I wondered if things had changed. But I was told that no, we had to turn to avoid entering an active war zone, which I think was some unrelated British island further east. Anyway, we made it home to Groton CT without incident. Though we were shaken to get the news while we were still nearby that the British ship HMS Sheffield was hit by an Argentine exocet missile and sank a week later. Many in our crew had toured the Sheffield while we were both tied up alongside the same support ship at Diego Garcia.

Me: *sees Marks Notification* "welp forget whatever i was doing"

I didn’t even know they had a carrier

As an uruguayan I can tell you that Argentina didn’t want to fight this war,but the military coupe that rule the country back then are the ones to blame,they tortured and kill their own people for political reasons,as a consecuence of this many of them were brought to justice and sentenced years later.Bastards!! My respect to the brave British and Argentinians soldiers.

As a war history interested meteorologist I took a close look some years ago at the weather that caused the Skyhawks not being able to launch. This failure seems to be caused by poor meteorological forecasts on the Argentine side since they could have launched the Skyhawks by positioning the carrier slightly differently in space or time. Weather knowledge is critical for naval operations and can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Interesting how this war was the only time since WW2 a Carrier vs. Carrier-Battle could have happened.

Whenever I see any Falklands War coverage I can't help thinking about Surgeon Rick Jolly R,N who ran the field hospital. Treating both Argentinian and British wounded. Even having to endure 2 unexploded bombs lodged in the roof. He had the distinction of being the only man to be decorated by both sides for his humanitarian actions. RIP. Rick. Any chance of honouring this man with a video Mark ?

I remember well this tragic senseless war, I was serving with the Brazilian Army at that time. Our Condolences to all the families from both sides who lost do many loved ones. Great article!

I remember this war vividly. I caught wind of it on the morning news and told everyone in my high school geography class about it. All I got in return were blank stares. Not even my teacher knew where the Falklands were. She did apologize near the end of class when she went to the teacher's lounge and caught the news. The class ended up having to do a project about the history of the Falklands. Blank stares turned to angry stares.

Just a minor point I suppose - it was not the "rules of war" that prevented the 25 de Mayo being attacked in territorial waters, it was the rules of engagement set by the British govt.

This channel should be mandatory viewing for ALL students!! The detail you go into is amazing, and I appreciate the fact that you don't choose sides and report facts, not opinions! Excellent work again Mr Felton!!

My grandfather worked on her modernization at Wilton-Fijenoord in the Netherlands when she was still in the dutch fleet as Hrms Karel Doorman, it was more a completly new ship than a modernization when compared to HMS Venerable he used to say to me. He told me a story that he checked out her old Bofors blueprints and that the blueprint was so large it stretched from one side of the room to the other. Only if we knew what Argentina had planned with her maybe we wouldn't have sold our upgraded ship to them.

As a Dutchman, I'd like to compliment you on your near-flawless pronunciation of Karel Doorman.

Hi Mark, I'm from Argentina. I want to thank you for doing such a thorough research for this video and for being impartial. A couple of years ago with some friends of a NGO I took part in we met Carlos Varela who was a captain in the Argentine Air Force at that time. He talk with us for about 4 hours about the war and told us about his whole experience. He used to fly a Skyhawk and took part in the last (argentine) aerial mission of the war (one day before the end of the war) which was to bomb an english camp near mount "Dos Hermanas" in the "Soledad Island" (idk the name in English) where Jeremy Moore was (chief of the British troops). At that time the AAF was in a clear technological inferiority and that's why they would have to fly at a maximum 15 metres above the sea to avoid being detected by the radars. He also told us about the process of fitting the Exocet missiles in the Skyhawks which was difficult because those were french missiles and were not prepared to be used, etc. I was an interesting history and me and friends left amazed about the history of the war which is kind of tabu here. Again thank you and I can't wait for new videos about that war

I was in school on Ascension Island when this happened , I lived in two boats village . I remember coming home from school and finding soldiers having taken over our playing area and pitching tents everywhere, there was 1 swimming pool in the whole village and it was packed out because Ascension is a very hot little island. I live in nyc now and am watching this in lockdown because of the virus ,it would be a good time to be back on that little island or even better on my home island of St Helene which is 700 miles further south...

I was in the U.S. Navy when this conflict was going down. My P-3 squadron happened to be in the Azores Islands and a British Antisubmarine Warfare Aircraft stopped to refuel. We got a chance to talk to them for a short period of time and wish them good luck.

The subs are now in "long term storage". What a nice euphemism for "we have no idea what to do with the nuclear reactors in it".

Just an interesting note the failed Torpedo attacks from the Argentine Submarine was due to the relatively new torpedoes it used that were faulty. The HMS conquer (although not knowing that the Argentine submarines torpedo were failing at all) fearing that the new torpedoes it had could have problems, decided to use it's mark 8 torpedo as mentioned of ww2 vintage. A great example of a properly proven and tested device being more useful than something new and relatively untested.

The number of first hand stories here is unreal! Thanks so much for sharing all-and sorry for any loss or trauma.

You do FANTASTIC work Mr. Felton!!! I've only watched maybe 15-20 of your video productions so far and I have a deep appreciation for what you do. Bringing back to life the Greatest War of Our Time. The Big War. Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing AND learning so much more.

As a young student in Britain in 1982,I remember the Falkands conflict from day one,to the day of the victorious armada's triumphant return to Portsmouth Harbour.I remember the daily casualty report on t.v.and the daily updates,the losses,and my own amazement that life went on so... normally back in Britain, despite the war..Just as I recall vividly all names of people and places in your narration.Thank you for filling in some of the blanks,38 years later, with this upload...

Hey Mark, great video as always! I was born in Rosario just after the war in 1983. Argentine and British people have more in common than we think because, after all, we are all people. British people are welcome in Argentina. Peace :)

Thatcher got alot of flak for sinking the Belgrano but she was exactly right: doing so effectively prevented sea borne attacks on British ships from the carrier.

There's never any Bumpf with Mr. FELTON, even if you're familiar with the story, there is a fresh look and new details. Nice One 🙏🍻👍

The UK has 20 nuclear powered subs in retirement, but not scrapped. That's called, "just in case"! Cheers from the US.

"Almost forgotten" is your bread and butter sir.

Your channel is brilliant. I was going to say I wish stuff like this was still made for TV, but then, who needs TV when we have channels like this!

So little is told aout this war. Thank you. Great research and story telling.

My dad served on hms conqueror during the falklands war, and untill i moved away i could see all the decommissioned subs from my bedroom window!

RiP to all those that lost their lives in the Falklands conflict.

I've watched a few of your videos. The details is what I respect. From dates, people's names, location, all the way to the artillery they used. You have yourself a new subscriber

Thank you for making these videos - I know they take time and a lot of research!

I missed the old documentaries from the 1990's History Channel, and later the Military channel...Mark Felton's docs are just as good as those (if not better!), and regularly includes content I've never heard about...Thanks again sir, and keep up the good work!

11:43 imagine being some Soviet, Chilean or American submariner just chilling out and then out of nowhere somebody starts dropping depth charges and firing torpedoes at you.

Remember don't drive around Argentina while being British with the license plate H982 FKL.

Thank you very much for the close captions on this program.

You don't have to say "north of Antarctica." Everything is north of Antarctica.

Imagine disliking a Mark Felton video. Shame!!!

Another SUPERB production from Professor Felton and the Mark Felton Production crew .

Love this! I’m a disabled submarine service veteran who was on a diesel electric US sub when this all went down.

There was a joke that during the conflict the 25 de Mayo was docked in the province of Mendoza, deep in land near the Andes.

You're going ham with the content lately Mark. I love it.

The long-term storage of these ancient submarines is another story in itself.

WOW I was a kid when this happens, I remember it so well. Thank you for bringing it to RU-vid.

Thank you Mr. Mark Felton. I'm a very advent student of military history. I never knew about this secret mission during the Falklands War. You got yourself a new subscriber.

5:53 In war the Brits always seem to have good luck with the weather. Just like with the Armada in 1588. But not in everyday life, when they want to go to the beach then it pours endlessly,

I love history,especially the world at war stories from your videos on WW2 to this historic moment in our time. Thank you Dr Felton on your tireless work on our history in our time and the past…

Dr Felton, thanks for sharing your tremendous grip on military history with us again and again. No jingoism ever, nor judgments about the rights and wrongs of the political objectives that are the causes of wars. Just the facts of the military conflict explained on both sides.

Wife: feed the children. It's lunch time. Me: right after I watch a video on how the Falklands war. Did you know the British almost sank the Argentine carrier? Wife: .........

I think it was my uncle that told me that he saw the belgrano one time in some exchange as he was part of the Colombian navy. When he boarded, the one thing he remembers is that they had blocked some bulkheads doors in the open position because they were inconvenient. He believes the boat sank so fast because of this attitude, by not isolating the compartments it would allow the water to flood all compartments instead of remaining afloat due to the compartment design.

Great video. my father also had a small intervention in the war he was sent to try to do an aerial reconnaissance of the fleet when it approached the area... they didn't even get close to the fleet when 4 harriers appeared luckily they didn't shoot it down but the planes very kindly They showed him their missiles asking him to leave the area... I have some very nice original and unique photos of some harriers flying next to an Argentine plane back in 1982.

Another brilliant video by Mr. Felton.

When the 25th of May was in service with the Dutch navy she proved herself an often defective ship. She was built in WWII when good steel was unavailable. I saw Rear-admiral Vinke kick through her boiler walls with his shoes in the sixties. When she was ordered to head for New Guinea in 1962 against the Indonesian navy the crew had serious doubts about whether she would ever get there. The Dutch navy leadership was quite happy when the ship was sold to the Argentinian navy...Thnx for this interesting post!

Amazing video Mark, thank you. Very well presented and organized. I love history and the Falklands war is one of my favorite topics, yet some of the footage were completely new to me. Keep them coming !

A very nice informative story of the Falkland War. Thank you!

If you think there's an event in history you know pretty much everything about, wait for what Dr. Felton comes up with ! his was once again filled with inside information I haven't come across elsewhere - thanks a lot for all your work !

I have the option to do school works or watch a great Mark Felton. Not to hard to figure that one out

Good, I was a young greenie on Hermes down south, we all knew the 25th of Mayo was the ultimate target. Bitter sweet times as we all had heard how Thatcher had told Endurance Capt being told to stop reporting what the Argentinians were up too. This allowed the situation to escalate to the war. Looks like the Mayo had much better early warning abilities then us. The exocets nearly got us but, very luckily the Antlantic Conveyer a huge supply ship was being used as a radar shadow 10 miles away from us & she got hit, we could see her burning. For me that was very lucky as my action station was just a deck below the loxplant ( pilots air production) which if hit would have vaporized the Ford section. Good video , lots more stories on the conflict out there.

Excellent presentation thank you Mark felton sir

That low flight combat films of argentine pilots always gives me goose bumps

I was in the Canadian forces while this was going on. We were in daily contact with British troops on the ground there. Some of their stories, priceless!

I’m Chilean, and im aware that we spy for the British, and that the chilean military leaders(specially Fernando Matthei) were very keen on doing so...i think the british could have dealt with that war just fine without our little help, and im not denying the Argentinians bravery(which was very much displayed) i think playing the snitch was a shame because it destroyed our friendship, even accepting the fact that it was a decision taken by a dictatorship (Sorry for my improper english)

I don’t remember anyone else saying in their documentary or reporting that the 25th of May couldn’t launch her Skyhawks due to still air. Mark Felton always has details I missed or didn’t get anywhere else. Thanks Mark!

Love Marks content, especially the story about Switzerland’s role during WWII he put up the other day!! Brilliantly scripted & love the accent to. Keep up the good work Mark. 👍🏼

I GOT HERE AS FAST AS I COULD

This was bloody well exciting viewing. Thank you Mark.

I love the intro music. really appreciate your in depth research on all of your videos.

Wow! amazing footage and narration, I was a kid (10 yrs) in Central America when this was news, this is the first time I see how it unfolded !. Thanks...

That footage of the argentine fighters is just amazing and scary at the same time! They were flying so low and fast I never seen anything like that whoever shot that got some perfect war footage

A Great Documentary. Thank You.

Thank You for so many excellent vids Mark. Kia Kaha.

Seems the Brits have a habit of breaking everyone's codes.

This is a very fine treat Mark! Thank you very much! I do wish more of the 'ordinary' enlisted people would write down their accounts of their experiences and people of both sides of a conflict. I think it would be good to help us civilians and who knows? Perhaps help to slow occurrences of wars.

Thank You So Much For This Mr. Felton, Greetings From La Pampa, Argentina.

Not a guitarist my self but quality vid mate, keep making them and the people will come 🙏🏻

I was only 14 when the Falklands war kicked off. I can still remember rushing home from school every day, to see how our task force was getting on. All gave some, some gave all. LWF.

I would love to see a video about Argentina air force in this conflict. True balls of steel

Just subscribed love your channel!!

Watching your contents is like watching history documentary in a nutshell

I would describe the Argentine pilots as determined and heroic professional soldiers. I would not call them suicidal. Utmost respect to these pilots. They had a job to do and they performed their duty.

An extraordinary story, not sufficiently considered in the histories of the Falklands conflict. Thank you!

Thanks for this. I knew very little of the submarine and ASW war in the Falklands. Very interesting!

Well done documentary. Only thing missing was any mention of the Total Exclusion Zone controversy. At that time, in Argentina especially, it was often debated whether the sinking of the Belgrano was a violation or a justifiable action. In the end even the Argentine Admiralty admitted that the entire South Atlantic was an operational theater. I believe that most of the chase of 25 de Mayo was outside of the Zone.

I was onboard the Karel Doorman when she was still Dutch, for a visit when I was 18. Very impressive, even for a small carrier!

i love the fact that argentina used american, french, german and even british weapons/ships/aircrafts to fight the british navy. Such irony

All of Mark Felton's videos are outstanding. Straight to the point, factual and very well paced. I salute you sir.

My understanding was that the United States provided location data from satellite reconnaissance, but kept that classified as most of the Argentine pilots trained at the United States Air Force base in Columbus, Mississippi. Also a scandal of the war was that the BBC covered the war & cost many British lives. Argentine pilots were scoring hits on British ships, but much of the munitions had not exploded, because they were dropped too close and the propeller fuses did not have time to properly fuse. The BBC reported this and the Argentines backed off and had better success in getting detonations.

I remember like yesterday the newspaper with the Jolly Roger Flag with crossed torpedoes on the HMS conquerer. I can't imagine that's 38 yrs ago ....

Fabulous Mark!

The British found much to their chagrin that replacing steel superstructure with Aluminum was a death knell for those ships when they were hit with Argentine French Exocet anti-ship missiles. Once Aluminum catches fire it is nearly impossible to put it out.

Well, even if Splendid couldn't sink the 25 de Mayo, she chased her away putting her effectively out of combat.

Falklands Naval Campaign played out like a WWII movie.

As usual, great story thanks.