hello everybody,
Although it is clear that the British easily won the Falkland wars.But It also exposes the weakness of the destroyers against air launched anti-ship missiles.I head read somewhere on the internet that at the time of the war the Argentina only had less than 10 Exocet missiles and with such few missiles they had destroyed 3 British destroyers.And if Argentina had more of them it would had been deadly for the British.I just wanted to confirm is this statement.Did Argentina really had less than 10 Exocet.And also what do you people think about this whole scenario.Are the Air Launched Anti-Ship missiles so deadly.thks for help.
Please note:
- Argentine Navy Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard warplanes carrying the AM39 Air Launched version of the Exocet caused irreparable damage which sank the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sheffield on 4 May 1982.
- Two Exocets then struck the 15,000 ton merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor on 25 May.
- Two MM38 ship-to-ship Exocet missiles were removed from the old destroyer ARA Seguí, a retired US Navy Allen M. Sumner-class vessel and transferred to an improvised launcher for land use, a technically challenging task which also required reprogramming. One of these was fired at, and caused damage to, the destroyer HMS Glamorgan on 12 June.
The Exocet that struck the
Sheffield did not explode. Accounts suggest that the initial impact of the missile disabled the ship's electrical distribution systems and breached the pressurised sea water fire main, severely hampering any firefighting response and eventually dooming the ship to be consumed by the fire. During the four and a half days that the ship remained afloat, five salvage inspections were made and a number of photographs were taken. Members of the crew were interviewed, and testimony was given by Exocet specialists (the Royal Navy had 15 surface combat ships armed with Exocets in the Falklands War). There was no evidence of an explosion, although burning propellant from the rocket motor had caused a number of fires, which could not be checked as a fire main had been put out of action.
The
Atlantic Conveyor was a container ship that had been hastily converted to an aircraft transport and was carrying helicopters and supplies. The missiles had been fired at a frigate but had been confused by the frigate's defences and instead targeted the
Atlantic Conveyor nearby. The Exocets—it is not certain whether the warheads exploded or not—caused a fire in the fuel and ammunition aboard which burnt the ship out.
Atlantic Conveyor sank while under tow three days later.
The Exocet that struck
Glamorgan detonated, (a number of crew members witnessed this, as did the Argentines who fired it, the whole event being recorded by a film crew), on the port side of the hangar deck, punching a hole in the deck and galley below, causing fires. The missile body travelled into the hangar and caused a fully fuelled and armed Wessex helicopter to explode. Prompt action by the officers and men at the helm saved the ship.
So, strictly speaking, Exocet did not sink any ships in the way that the missile was intended. It often (relatively speaking)failed to explode. Ship loss was determined by the effectiveness of damage control in general and extinguishing fires in particular.
Likewise the USS Stark in 1987:
The pilot fired the first Exocet missile from a range of 22.5 nautical miles (41.7 km), and the second from 15.5 nautical miles (28.7 km), just about the time
Stark issued a standard warning by radio. The frigate did not detect the missiles with radar; warning was given by the lookout only moments before the missiles struck.The first penetrated the port-side hull and failed to detonate, but left flaming rocket fuel in its path. The second entered at almost the same point, and, leaving a 3-by-4-meter gash, exploded in crew quarters. 37 sailors were killed and 21 were injured.
On fire and listing, the frigate was brought under control by its crew during the night. The ship made its way to Bahrain where, after temporary repairs by the tender USS
Acadia to make her seaworthy, she returned to her home port of Mayport, Florida, under her own power. The ship was eventually repaired at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi for $142 million.
One should remember that the surface to air missile systems on these ships (if any) weren't specifically designed to deal with sea skimming missiles, unlike e.g. the British Sea Wolf or the US/German RAM. Failure to intercept is often due to surprise (no systems on) or failure to acquire (i.e. fire control / engagement dead angles )
Cannon fire and old fashioned dumb bombs were more effective than Exocet in the Falklands war.
British Ships sunk and damaged - Falklands War 1982
