eject! eject! argentine air losses falklands 1982

7/26/2019 Eject! Eject! Argentine Air Losses Falklands 1982

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EJECT! EJECT!Falklands: 1982

98 www.britainatwar.com

A

s we saw in last issuesfeature covering BritishHarrier losses during

the Falklands War, the RAFs 1Squadron had already lost oneaircraft (XZ988) in the openingphase of the Battle for Goose Greenon 27 May 1982. The British hadseen the large Argentine garrisonand grass airstrip there as a threatto the right flank of their advanceout of a beachhead at San Carlos

and had decided that the settlementwould have to be neutralised first.As the battle there reached itsclimax in the mid-afternoon ofthe following day, Friday 28 May,it was the Argentines turn to losea fast-jet to ground fire as theyattempted to give air support to thebeleaguered garrison from theirmain base at Stanley.

Two Aermacchi MB-339 jets of 1Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque

were ordered away on a sortie, justas the poor flying weather liftedslightly at 1500 hrs local time. Capitande Corbetta Carlos Molteni (flyingaircraft A-117) and Teniente deFragata Daniel Miguel (in A-114) tookoff from Stanley and headed west forGoose Green. After an uneventfulflight to the target, Carlos Moltenilater recalled:

Close to the target we talked tothe Air Force ground controller; the

EJECT! EJECT!ARGENTINE AIR LOSSES IN THE FALKLANDS

ABOVE:

An abandoned

Pucara ground

attack fighter

after the

Falklands War.


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99www.britainatwar.com

Following up his feature on British air

losses in the Falklands conflict, Gordon

Ramsey takes a look at a selection of

Argentine losses during the 1982 war.

As with the British losses, tangible

evidence of these aircraft still survive

today at many of the crash sites.

weather was a little bit better withmore horizontal visibility. He gaveus a reference point and an area toattack. I climbed a little to begin theattack run and updated Tte Miguel.I opened fire over hills where I sawBritish forces close to our lines. I firedmore than half my ammunition.On my escape I saw something likean orange balloon on the ground.I thought it might be a missile, soI reduced power and turned back

towards it, then turned again gettingcloser to the ground. As I completedmy turn I heard the controller saying:Escape! Escape! Your wingmanwas hit! Desperately, I asked if theyhad seen an ejection and he saidthey hadnt. I felt very depressed.Returning to base, I remembered allthe times we had shared together, hishumour and courage. After landing atsunset, I went to HQ and was told thatGoose Green was to be surrendered.

A FLAMING METEORMoltenis wingman, Daniel Miguel,had been targeted on his attackrun by a Royal Marines Blowpipemissile operator Rick Strange of 3Commando Brigades Air DefenceTroop which was attached to 2 Parain order to beef up their air defencesin the assault. Able to line up themissiles acquisition system as theAermacchi flew north-westwardacross the schoolhouse and the


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settlement itself, Rick got the warheadaway in a textbook launch. Trackingit onto the starboard wing root, theresulting explosion reduced the jetto a flaming meteor which bouncedon the ground several times at theedge of the airstrip, just like a stone

skipping across a pond. Severalmembers of 2 Paras B Companys 4Platoon, assaulting across the area,were lucky to be unscathed as theblazing wreckage tore through theair between them. Daniel Miguel waskilled instantly.

The crash site was cleared in thepost war period as the grazing sheepwould get pieces of aluminium trappedin their fleeces, leading to someinteresting near-misses as electricshearing clippers exploded duringthe following shearing season. In the

immediate aftermath of the battle,however, some relics were saved byvarious British servicemen visitingthe battlefield including an impressivepanel from the port side of the fuselagebearing part of the Argentine NavalARMADA insignia, collected bySurgeon Commander Rick Jolly ofAjax Bay Field Hospital fame. Otherrelics traced included some cockpitcomponents including the Sperry GyroArtificial Horizon control panel, foundby Lieutenant Geoff Rayner of HMSHydrawhen he walked over the site

the following month. Rick Strangereturned to the Falklands on his ownpersonal pilgrimage in 2002: ...tolay some ghosts to rest and pay myrespects.'

DANGLING FROM THE

PARACHUTE

As the British landings at San Carlosbegan at daybreak on 21 May,1982,Argentine troops in Port San Carlossettlement itself, under the commandof Premier Teniente Carlos Esteban ofRegimiento de Infanteria 25, managed

to raise the alarm by radio beforeretreating as 3 Para landed on thebeach in front of them. Accordingly,Grupo 3 Pucaras were prepared atStanley airport to procure moreaccurate reports of precisely how manyships and troops were involved andto press home attacks on them wherepossible. In the event, the first pair tobe ordered off had to be reduced to asingle aircraft, A-531, due to technicaldelays with the other (A-509). CapitanJorge Benitez, the pilot on this mission,takes up the story:

ABOVE:

Teniente

de Fragata

Daniel

Miguel.

BELOW:

Fuselage

panel from

Tte. Miguels

Aermachi

which

crashed at

Goose Green

and marked

with the word

Armada

or Navy, in

Spanish.


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On the first flight over the zone Ididnt find any British forces. I started

a second reconnaissance, extendingmy turn and climbing a little - to 150feet - so I could cover more groundwith my observations. Then, overthe hills, I saw a British frigate in SanCarlos Strait/Falkland Sound. Herpresence was unknown when I tookoff, so I ceased the turn and stayed verylow to the side of Alberdi Hill (MountUsborne), using it to protect me fromradar detection. At the same time Iclimbed, improving my view of theiractivity.

Absorbed by this unexpecteddevelopment in my mission andincreasingly regretting being armedonly with cannon and machine guns,I continued my approach, when Isuddenly felt a powerful vibration inthe aircrafts structure. Controlling theplane, I saw the trail left by a Britishmissile in its climb and this showedme the position occupied by troopswho were probably with the enemy

forces that I was trying to find, havingmoved during the night to this place,

some 5 kilometres distant from theirlast reported location. The missile hadbeen fired from the front and belowat a distance of about 150 metres andbeing so close, I had no opportunity touse my weapons against them. I didntknow the extent of the damage either,so decided to get into the valley thatopened to my right and away from theenemy to prevent them shooting meagain when they saw that I was stillflying. After about a minute, I reachedthe valley between the mountainslocated to the north and south ofSan Carlos, about 15 kilometresfrom where the missile had hit. I wasconducting a more thorough checkof my plane when the right enginestopped. Almost simultaneously theflight controls loosened and there wasno response to my inputs. The noserose to 40 degrees and the aircraftbanked 30 degrees to the left in theclassic position before a corkscrew.

From that point, I must have stayedwith the plane another 5-6 seconds,

time spent feathering the workingpropeller, pushing the rudder to theright and setting the trim tab. Thesebrought the planes nose towards thehorizon. With this achieved, I pulledthe ejection handle with my left hand,leaving the plane when I was far fromhome and with enemies close by. Iimmediately felt the force of the seatsexplosive cartridges and impact of theair in my face. I watched the blackopening of the cockpit of the planethat I had just abandoned as it was lostbeneath me. I saw pieces of Plexiglassfloating around me for some time. Ifelt the explosion that occurs when theseat separates and had the sensation offloating in the air, dangling from theparachute. It was 09.30 hours.

Benitez had been shot down bya Stinger surface-to-air shoulder-launched missile fired by an SAS troopreturning from a night diversionaryraid on Goose Green, further to the

TOP LEFT:

Wreckage of

Pucara A-531at Flats Shanty

today.

TOP RIGHT: A

sub-contractors

airframe label

bearing the

construction

number 031,

the build

number of

Pucara A-531

ABOVE: Former

Royal Marine,

Rick Strange,re-visits the

scene of

Miguels crash.

Strange was

the Blowpipe

missile

operator

who was

responsible for

downing the

Aermacchi.


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south. Evading capture by the BritishSpecial Forces, Benitez managed tomake contact some ten hours laterwith Argentine troops sent out from

the settlement and was rescued. PucaraA-531dived into the ground at FlatsShanty, where the broken remains lieto this day. Post-war, the wreck proveda popular respite from duty for Britishsoldiers using the live-firing ranges setup at Mount Usborne, as the wreckagerested beside the track created to getto the ranges from Port San Carlos.One RAF Sergeant from 29 Squadron,Norman Hood, could not resist oneof the wing roundels, which he posedwith at the crash site for the camera although he had to trim it down

somewhat to later fit in into his kitbag!

DECIMATED BY HMS

BRILLIANT

The Douglas A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo5 de Caza, based at Rio Gallegos, were

mainly used in the anti-shipping role,especially in the early part of the warand their first combat with Britishships took place on 12 May, 1982. TheRoyal Navy Type 22 frigate, HMSBrilliantand Type 42 destroyer, HMSGlasgow, had been sent to the coastoff Stanley to bombard Argentinepositions ashore and to attempt toshoot down any Hercules cargo planesbringing supplies to the garrison.

Accordingly, Grupo 5 was tasked withthe destruction of the two ships butthe first flight of four aircraft sent inat mid-day were decimated by HMSBrilliantusing her new Sea Wolfmissile system in its first action - onlyone A-4 escaped unscathed, the otherthree pilots and aircraft being lost.Undeterred, the squadron tried againwith another four-plane flight, OroEscadrille, comprising Capitan AntonioTOP LEFT: Sgt

Norman Hood

poses with the

Argentinian

wing roundelfrom Pucara

A-531.

RIGHTT: A

blurry image

showing an

A-4 Skyhawk

about to

attack HMS

Glasgow taken

from the

flight deck of

HMS Brilliant

and with a

Sea King

helicopter in

foreground.

BELOW:

A wrecked

Aermacchi

left behind

by Argentine

forces.


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Zelaya flying C-225 as No.1 and flightleader; Teniente Juan Arraras in C-244(No.2); Premier Teniente FaustoGavazzi in C-248 (No. 3) and Alfrerez(or Ensign) Guillermo Dellipiane inC-239 as No. 4.

Antonio Zelaya later recalled:During the flight to the war zonemy navigation equipment went outof service and I had to navigate bytime and heading. I continued leadingthe Escadrille despite this. Halfwaybetween way-points 1 (West Falkland)and 2 (Fitzroy) I saw Goose Green onmy right, when in fact it should havebeen about seven miles to my left. I

corrected course and when I reachedway-point 2, I began the final approachto the target. We were in radio silence.To my sides, wingmen Arraras andGavazzi were flying lower than me,since I had to fly higher to check mynavigation charts. After leaving theisland and flying out to sea, headingsouth-east, I descended a little moreand searched for the target. It wassupposed to be 25km from the coast.

I had planned to fly three minutesat that speed and heading, since theplane was travelling at 150 metresper second. If I couldnt see the targetthen, I would return. But it wasntnecessary. I saw two ships in front ofme. I think they were sailing to thesouth-east and very fast, because Icould see spray from their bows. Thelead section would attack the ship tothe north and the other two jets that

to the south, which was closer to me.Some kilometres before reaching thetarget, the ships opened fire. I didntsee missiles but I heard the noise ofthe explosions of the AA fire. At themoment I attacked, I saw only the sightand the target. I didnt see the crew orhelicopters; the only thing I rememberwas the big radar antenna turningconstantly. After passing over the ships,my wingmen said the sea seemed to beboiling, with the bullets falling on itssurface. I found myself at 1,000 feet andturning towards the ships to see whatwas happening. On the ship ahead,there was a lot of movement and circleson the water, as if something had falleninto the sea. We started on our returnflight, whilst my wingmen shoutedhappily. Then we evaluated our attack.Arraras said he believed he hit his ship;Gavazzi was completely certain, but I

ABOVE:

Premier

Teniente

Fausto

Gavazzi of

Grupo 5 de

Caza.

BELOW

LEFT:

Today, that

same wing

roundel

is in a

UK-based

private

collection.


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BELOW &

BOTTOM

MIDDLE:

Wreckage

of Gavazzis

Douglas

Skyhawk

C-248, pictured

recently.

had doubts because I aimed at the sternand the speed of the ship surprised me.Dellepiane had used the same aimingpoint as me and he saw a helicopteron the flight deck of one of the ships.Arraras said Thank God we madeit!, Gavazzi shouted Viva la Patria!I hit it, I am sure I hit it! Dellepianewas swearing. Once we had finishedchecking our aircraft for damage, wereturned in pairs. Some minutes afterleaving the target and flying over landclose to Goose Green, wingman No. 4reported that No. 3 had lost an aileron,

then the plane turned upside down andcrashed into the ground. Over GranMalvina, Dellepiane had to climb fastto 40,000 feet because he had minimumfuel. With Tte Arraras, we continuedto fly low for 90km, then we began theclimb for home. Nobody talked. Onfinal approach, we realised that ourwindscreens were covered with salt,impeding vision ahead. We tried toremove it by changing the temperatureof the heaters air from hot to cold, butwe couldnt clear it. Arraras also had avery big hole in one of his wings.

Fausto Gavazzis bomb had indeedhit HMS Glamorganon the starboard

side and passed right through themachinery space and out the portside just above the waterline withoutexploding, but causing enough damageto prevent the ship taking any furtherpart in the campaign - she sailed forhome on May 27. Gavazzi did not livelong to savour his victory, however,as he flew too close to the Argentinianradar-predicted anti-aircraft gunsat Goose Green and, without priorwarning of his flight, the gunners hadtaken him to be another Sea Harrieron a bombing raid despite the yellow

flashes on the fin and wings.

LOOK OUT! MISSILE!

Once the British had successfullyconsolidated their landing sites aroundSan Carlos on the west coast of EastFalkland and begun their advancetowards Stanley, so thefocus of Argentine airattacks switched awayfrom attacking RoyalNavy shipping to bombingground targets in orderto impede this assault.

Prime targets were theBritish stores around San

Carlos and Ajax Bay, as the bulk of theequipment and ammunition broughtsouth by the Task Force had by nowbeen unloaded. Grupo 5 was giventhe target on 27 May of the Ajax Bayrefrigeration plant complex, and twoflights each of three Skyhawks took offin mid-afternoon. The second flight,given the call sign Truco, was led byPremier Teniente Mariano Velasco,flying A-4B serial C-215 and he takesup the story:

The procedure was as always,medium level flight, air refuelling, four

500lb BRP bombs to be dropped at noless than 30 metres. Flying very low,we crossed San Carlos Strait (FalklandSound) around its middle, we passedto the other island (East Falkland),then we turned left to fly along thewest coast of the island to arrive at


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San Carlos Bay from the south. Therefrigeration plant was on the left coastof the bay and on the other side wasthe settlement - we had to attack theformer. We saw a lot of containers,one or two helicopters, pallets; I saweverything very briefly. The jet was at

full power, with four bombs, flying atabout 430 knots. When we passed thehills to the south of the bay (SussexMountains), we saw everything, fouror five ships. I was on the left of thetwo-plane formation. We descendedand approached the target flying verylow. When I started to climb to dropthe bombs, I heard impacts, not veryloud but I felt as if a hammer wasknocking the plane. Osses shoutedLook out, missile! but apparently,the missile passed between our planesand caused no damage. We had theweapons panel armed. I dropped thebombs and immediately afterwards, Iheard four or five powerful impacts.Immediately, I heard Osses telling methat I was on fire. He was behind me.At the same moment, I saw emergencylights coming on. He told me the leftwing was on fire. I reduced throttle,then went to full throttle again tocheck if the engine was still working. I

heard noises and the hydraulic and fuelemergency lights came on. Osses thenshouted Eject! Eject! But I climbedand flew over the hills that separatedthe bay from San Carlos Strait. Then Iheaded west. The ship that had fired atme was (now) to my right on the bay,

and we exited to the left.As I was flying over the strait, I saw

smoke coming from my airplane inthe mirror, below the flaps. I saw thecoast of Gran Malvina (West Falkland)and began to climb. I realised I had tojettison the tanks and I also released theTERs. Using the emergency handle, Ijettisoned everything. I reduced throttle,climbed to 1,000 feet and at 250 knots,I ejected over the island. I knew thatI had Port Howard on my left, eventhough I couldnt see it but people thereheard my plane explode. I landed undermy parachute and heard aircraft but Icouldnt see them; they turned maybetwice above me, then headed east. I hidfor some time. Later, I prepared mystuff and after night had fallen I startedwalking. Although I knew there wereArgentine troops in Port Howard, wehad received information that theymight have surrendered and so I headedfor Fox Bay. I walked day and night,

resting every 40 minutes, through the28th, and on the morning of 29 MayI found a refuge. I had walked about50km. It was an empty hut but had somestored food, so I stayed there until threeislanders arrived on horses on the 31stand told me they would tell the garrison

at Port Howard where I was. On thenight of the 28th I had seen the combatat Goose Green; I saw flares in the skyand heard explosions. On 1 June, a LandRover arrived with an Argentine doctorand an islander driving it. We went tothe crash site and the islander asked meif he could take the jets canopy. I repliedYes and we loaded it onto the back ofthe Land Rover, over my feet, and set offto Port Howard.

SCARS ON THE

LANDSCAPE

Velascos Skyhawk, C-215 had crashednot far from Port Howard itself andhe would probably have been betteroff remaining where he was and justwaiting for a lift! The islander whohad coveted the jets cockpit canopywhen Velasco was collected was thesettlement manager, Robin Lee, andhe later set up a little museum besidethe managers house (now a guest

TOP:

The ships

bells from HMS

Brilliant and

HMS Glasgow,

both involved

in the action on

12 May 1982.

ABOVE:

Wreckage

of Premier

Teniente

Velascos

Skyhawk,

C-215, near

Port Howard.


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hostel, catering for adventurous

tourists) where it can be seen todayalongside the ejector seat from thesame aircraft. Other items collected inthe immediate post-war period includea piece of skinning bearing most ofthe Grupo 5 badge and the completeport side of the cockpit bearing theaircraft serial number and a yellow

ship kill victory marking - supposedfor many years to represent HMSCoventry, sunk by Velasco on 25 May.However, C-215 did not take part

in that raid and as it was Argentinepractice to mark all the aircraft whichhad taken place in a successful attack,the marking cannot relate to that ship.Pilots switched between aircraft, and

never had a regular machine to flyand so the kill markings related tothe aircrafts participation and not tothe pilot. It may, however, relate toHMS Argonaut, attacked by PremierTeniente Alberto Filippini on 21

May, or perhaps to an attack on 24May when the Royal Fleet Auxiliaryships Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedivereand SirGalahadwere all hit and damaged bybombs which fortunately failed toexplode. (NB: the last-named ship wasset on fire in a subsequent attack on 8June with fifty lives lost).

For many years, gunners on bothHMS Fearlessand HMS Intrepidweregiven the credit for Velascos demisebut careful analysis of the flight pathand positions of the ships would lendcredence to the claims of HMS Intrepid,

as C-215 was hit in the left wingand Fearlesswas over to the aircraftsright, on the opposite side. HMSIntrepid, however, was dead ahead.Able Seaman (M) Neil Wilkinson

remembered that rounds from his40mm Bofors gun hit their target, andclearly saw his shells cause smoke toissue from one of the two A-4s as theyattacked him, head on, facing the bowsof the ship. On the ground, six men

ashore died that day: Sapper PradeepGandhi of 59 Independent CommandoSquadron, Royal Engineers: LanceCorporal Colin Davison of theCommando Logistics Regiment, RoyalMarines: Marine Stephen McAndrewsof 40 Commando and SergeantRoger Enefer, Marine Paul Callanand Marine David Wilson, all of 45Commando.

There can be no doubting thevalour and professionalism exhibitedby the Argentinian pilots whoparticipated in the Falklands air war,

especially in the face of heavy losses.Today, more than thirty years after theevent, it is possible to see evidence ofthose losses still scarring the FalklandIslands landscape.

BELOW LEFT:

Tail section

of Velascos

Skyhawk

pictured today.

BELOW:

C-215 Grupo 5

badge from the

fuselage.

RIGHT:

The cockpitcanopy of

Velascos

C-215.

BELOW:The

cockpit side of

C-215, bearing

the aircraft

number.

eject! eject! argentine air losses falklands 1982

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