When A-4 Skyhawks Sank the British

It's the 25th of May, 1982, and two pairs of Argentinian jets roar low over the Falkland Islands on their way to what could be a one-way mission. They're led by Captain Pablo Carballo, and he and his men are flying old and poorly equipped A-4 Skyhawk jets loaded with bombs. Their mission is to destroy the British ships HMS Coventry and HMS Broadsword. The Argentinians have captured the Falkland Islands, or the Malvinas as they call them, and they need to destroy the ships if they're to hold onto them. The Argentinians know that two ships have moved closer to the islands to cover ground troops. Islands that give them the chance to approach undetected by British radar. The Skyhawks fly as low as they dare, hugging the contours of the island as they reach the enemy's radar range. The two ships are equipped with advanced anti-air missiles and powerful radars which have been devastating to the Argentinian planes. The only way to evade detection is to stay low. On board HMS Coventry, Captain David Hart Dyke has his men on high alert. British special forces have warned him that the Argentinians have recently launched on a mission, but he's unaware that this time his ship is the target. Four detections on the radar screen confirms his worst fears. Captain Hart Dyke immediately orders a crew to action stations and alarms blare on both ships, and swiftly the mighty Sea Dart's surface-to-air missiles turn to bear. The Skyhawks at the same time approach Pebble Island and hug its contours. With expert flying the Argentinians become invisible to the British radar, and on the Coventry, the contacts disappear. It's precisely what Captain Hart Dyke feared. Pebble Island is too close, the Sea Darts have a minimum range, so now they'll only be able to fire once if they're lucky. Hart Dyke gets on the radio to Broadsword. HMS Broadsword is equipped with shorter-range Seawolf missiles better suited for a close-range fight. On the Skyhawks, Carbeo brings his men as close to the ships as he can under cover of the land. His planes have no radar and no warning systems, but at 10 nautical miles distance, they can see… the British ships! He and his wingman, Lieutenant Carlos Rinquet, make the charge and accelerate to maximum speed while skimming the waves. Aboard Coventry, the two Skyhawks immediately light up their radar. To add to the confusion, a British Harrier jump jet reports in. It's in the firing zone. A British plane and enemies in the same airspace. Should he fire? In a split-second decision, he chooses the missiles. But the operators still can't get a lock. The Argentinians are flying extremely low, mere feet from the sea. Carbeo's canopy is covered in sea salt as he soars through the spray, so low that the radars struggle to track them. Aboard the Coventry, the men's hearts race as they see the enemy getting ever closer. The Sea Dart missiles are failing to lock. Captain Hart Dyke feels the dread of a wrong decision. Praying for Broadsword's Seawolf missiles to do the job. Aboard Broadsword, the men can see the targets. The Skyhawks are flying so close, the Seawolf's radar detects them as a single aircraft. They lock the target as the Argentinians bow down towards them. But then, the single contact splits into two and the two sets of coordinates crash the missile guidance system. The missiles are not responding. Restart them. There's no time. Look out aboard Coventry, see the Skyhawks with the naked eye and shout with alarm. In a last-ditch effort, HMS Coventry's deck guns turn to bear an open fire. Soon joined by the roar of personal machine guns and rifles, sailors firing from all across the deck. Carbeo sees the splashes of the shells striking the sea and the tracers of the British bullets drawing closer, refining their aim. The enemy ship is right there. He can taste victory. But the shells are getting closer. He can feel it. They're not going to make it. He orders to swap targets, setting his sights on Broadsword. The two planes pull to the side and away from Coventry's guns, roaring by her deck as they line up their pass. The two Skyhawks pull the triggers and their 1,000-pound bombs are released. They fall down into the sea and splash onto the ocean's surface. It redirects them upwards as they bounce, skipping like stones. Broadsword's sailors see the two massive bombs bounce twice as they head down towards them. One bomb hits the sea and sinks short of the Broadsword, but the other doesn't. It punches straight into the side of Broadsword. It's deflected upwards and it bursts out of the deck. It flies on, tumbling as it falls into the sea. Without exploding. Carbeo is dismayed, but they're not done yet. Coming in behind them is the second flight of 1st Lieutenant Mariano Angel Velasco and Ensign Jorge Nelson Barranuevo. They are equipped with less powerful, but more reliable 250-kilogram bombs. Aboard the British ship, they now see all four contacts on the radar and Captain Hart Dyke orders an immediate turn to starboard to allow the missiles to fire at all contacts. Coventry's missile operators get a lock on Velasco and the Sea Darts turn directly towards them. Shoot! There's a bright flash on Coventry's deck and the missile rockets out in a plume of smoke. Just as it does, Velasco and his wingman fly lower and lower over the water. They disappear from the British radar and the missile goes straight. Sailors are aghast as the missile loses track and flies away. Velasco sees the missile fly off 500 meters to his right but his eyes are locked on HMS Coventry as he fast approaches. Broadsword, meanwhile, is restarting the missile systems as the Skyhawks fly in towards them. Sailors nervously stare at blank screens as they're on a race between the Skyhawk and the rebooting computers. Come on! The screens come to life and the sailors get to work. The Skyhawks are detected and appear on the Seawolf radar. The launchers turn and the target is locked but then on their screens. They see HMS Coventry sail directly in front of the launcher. The Coventry is in the way! In their rush to cover all targets they've blocked the only missiles that could actually fire. The Broadsword's captain tries to maneuver to get a clear shot but it's just too late. In the Skyhawks, Velasco and Baranuevo are approaching their target. On the Coventry, Captain Hartdike orders all turrets fire at will. Cannons and machine guns join in firing with everything they've got at the incoming planes. The main 4.5-inch gun is sending its shells towards the sea. The men realize the sights are misaligned but that's not the only malfunction. At the same time, the 20mm anti-air gun jams. The men desperately try to fix it as the Argentinian planes close. In a desperate attempt, sailors all across the ship open fire with their rifles. The sea churns and splashes as everything the British have is directed towards the advancing Skyhawks but it's all too late. Echo over the intercom and commanding officers order everyone to hit the deck. Men jump for cover and hold on waiting for the inevitable. Velasco sees the enemy ship for his view and pulls the trigger. His A-4's 20mm cannons are unleashed spraying a volley of lead across the ship's deck and superstructure. He holds the trigger down as long as he can. Then he releases his payload. The bombs fall away, arcing lazily across the air before slamming into HMS Coventry with force. They punch through the hull, the impact echoing through the ship as two almost hollow thunks. But there's no explosion. The second A-4 roars overhead without dropping its bombs, the payload failing to release. Seconds drag on. The men start to get back up, looking around with fear and confusion. A voice comes through the intercom reporting damage but they never get to finish their sentence. The bombs detonate. Two huge explosions rock HMS Coventry. In the air, the Argentinian pilots are elated to see smoke pouring from the Coventry. They've done it! One explosion right under the bridge breaks a massive hole in the side of the ship and destroys the computer room. The fire moves up through corridors and blasts through the operations room where all the operators and Captain Hart Dyke were working. The second one explodes in the forward engine room starting a massive fire and taking out electrical and propulsion power from the ship. Captain Hart Dyke comes back to his senses. He's surrounded by smoke and destruction. Screams fill the air. He tries to see who's making them but they appear to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He staggers to his feet and realizes the ship is listing. He attempts to use his intercom but is completely dead. It's no use. He needs to get out. Captain Hart Dyke slowly works his way through the smoke and corridors as he listens to the ship groaning and cracking underneath him. He manages somehow to find an exit and emerges into the cool air of the South Atlantic. Now on deck he's filled with concern for his men but instead of chaos he's met by an extremely professional evacuation. His team of sailors practice this and are now springing into action. Men rescue their fellow sailors from the smoke-filled cabins and provide medical attention on deck as others prepare the survival rafts and help more sailors put on their survival gear. Hart Dyke feels the deck shift beneath his feet as the hull lists. He's dazed and wounded and amidst the chaos he has to sit down on the rapidly listing hull while others abandon the ship. All but Captain Hart Dyke. After all the men have gone Hart Dyke is alone on the upturned hull of the Coventry. He casts one last look around the smoking ship. He's done his duty. And finally as a last man aboard he enters the last survival raft and drifts away from his command. Due to the professionalism of the British 170 survivors would be picked up from the water by HMS Broadsword and the British rescue helicopters but tragically 19 lost their lives in the battle. All of the Argentinian pilots make it back to base and land successfully. They'd done it but their victory did not turn the tide of the war. For another great modern air battle check out this film on when MiG-29s ambushed eagles in Iraq.