• REGISTER NOW!! Why? Because you can't do much without having been registered!

    At the moment you have limited access to view all discussions - and most importantly, you haven't joined our community. What are you waiting for? Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join Join Talking Horses here!

Reply to thread

I'm sure you'll find they did, it's just that the specificity of the threat wasn't credible. Quite apart from anything he was flying Sea Kings outside of the Argentine air range as they didn't have mid air re-fuelling capacity. Picking off a helicopter thus and then capturing the pilot would have been pretty close to impossible on a shoot, snatch, and escape kind of mission.


In any event, as only one of two aircraft carriers (I use the term loosely as 'Invincible' was strictly speaking anti-submarine cruiser according to NATO) his ship would have been a legitimate military target in its own right irrespective of his presence on it, and had the Argies been able to launch their entire air-force against them ,they might easily have over-loaded the British anti-aircraft missile umbrella and stopped the TF in its tracks. Hence why they were seldom brought within range of the mainland. It would have required an operation flying out of Stanley, or a naval engagement, conceivably a Super Etendard with the addtional range that a 'fire and forget' cruise missile like Exocet offered, could have posed a threat, which why he flew decoy missions, (though I'm seriously struggling to believe this was anything other than propoganda) as the radar signature of a carrier set against that posed by a helicopter would hardly fool the on board computer in target assignation.


As regards sending him elsewhere, it's difficult to know where you could send him that wouldn't look transparent. A light armoured division like the Blues and Royals have a legitimate role in Iraq (militarily speaking) and it would be pointless to train a brigade, equip them thus, and then tie the whole lot down rounding up sheep in the Falklands, on the strength of one of the number presenting a prestige target.


I just hope the young mans got the sense to stay out of night-clubs for the next few months


5 + 3 = ?
Back
Top