The ending. Beginning -
A new day and a new sacrifice. No, he can't just sit there and watch his ships die. It is necessary to take special measures to protect the squadron.
The main threat to the British was represented by the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard - French-made supersonic aircraft, carriers of the Exocet anti-ship missiles. The Franco-Argentine contract, worth $ 160 million, provided for the delivery of 14 fighter-bombers to Argentina, along with a consignment of 28 anti-ship missiles. The contract was signed in September 1979 - by the spring of 1982, 6 of these aircraft had already entered service with the Argentine naval aviation. The number of missiles delivered remained unknown. However, the very first meeting with the "Exocet" plunged the British into shock - on May 4, 1982, an unexploded missile burned down the newest destroyer "Sheffield".
The A-4 Skyhawk naval attack aircraft were no less troublesome. Light subsonic vehicles with a colossal combat radius of action (due to the presence of an air refueling system). They boldly flew into the open ocean and tormented Her Majesty's squadron with a hail of free-fall bombs.
Finally, the "Daggers" are used "Nesher" ("Mirage-5") from the Israeli Air Force. The lack of a radar was compensated by a solid combat load and supersonic flight speed - the meeting with the "Dagger" did not bode well for Her Majesty's ships.
Dassault-Breguet Super Etandard
Despite the presence of air defense systems, barreled anti-aircraft artillery and carrier-based fighters, the British squadron was unable to defend itself from air attacks. Over 20 ships came under missile and bomb strikes (many more than once). Such a deplorable situation is a direct consequence of the weakness of the British anti-aircraft weapons. After the war, it turns out that the main British air defense system "SeaCat" used up 80 missiles, but never hit the enemy - the outdated subsonic missiles simply did not have time to catch up with the Argentine attack aircraft!
But it will become clear later …
In the meantime, Admiral Woodward and his officers discussed the situation tensely. The squadron dies under enemy attacks. Urgent action must be taken.
The Royal Navy has nothing to do with Argentine pilots in the air. But what if you attack the planes while they are on the ground?
The fighting core of the Argentine aviation was based in the Rio Grande - a distant airbase on Tierra del Fuego, which turned out to be the closest base to the site of the conflict. "Only" 700 km to the Falkland Islands. It is not surprising that after such a flight, the average time spent by the Dagger in the combat zone did not exceed two minutes. Turning on the afterburner or engaging in air combat with the British SeaHarriers meant falling with empty tanks into the ocean. It was easier for the Skyhawk pilots due to the in-flight refueling system, but the situation was complicated by the lack of the required number of flying tankers. The Argentine Air Force had only one (!) Operating KS-130.
Other Argentine air bases were located even further: Rio Galeros and San Julian (about 800 km), Comodoro Rivadavia (900 km), Trelew (1100 km - only Canberras could operate from there). The runway at Port Stanley, Falklands, was too short for the Duggers and Skyhawks. Dirt airfields on about. Pebble and Goose Green were also unsuitable for basing modern aircraft.
So it all comes down to the Rio Grande! Having lost the base, Argentina will lose the ability to wage war.
In principle, to hell with her, with the base. The British were more concerned with the fate of the Super Etandars and the Exocet anti-ship missiles. Intelligence reports that all the Super-Etandars and missiles are in the Rio Grande. The same information was confirmed by submariners - the latest fighter-bombers were repeatedly seen taking off from a base on Tierra del Fuego. Such a threat was subject to immediate elimination in order to prevent heavy losses of the fleet.
Argentine technicians uncover their "treasure"
What means was at the disposal of Admiral Woodward to strike behind enemy lines?
Deck aircraft!
Aircraft carriers "Hermes" and "Invincible" with four dozen VTOL aircraft of the "Harrier" family. Alas, they had little chance of reaching the line of attack: the formation would have come under attack from enemy aircraft. Moreover, a single hit threatened to turn the ships into flaming ruins. Heavy losses are inevitable. The result is questionable. You need to act differently.
Strategic aviation!
Bombers "Vulcan" and "Victor" (in the role of air tankers) were repeatedly involved in bombing the Falklands. The result was modest: free-fall bombs could not cause significant damage to the airfield at Port Stanley.
In the case of the Rio Grande, they would have to fly another 700 km south, beyond a reasonable range for such an old and imperfect machine. Of course, no one doubts the courage of the RAF pilots - but flying across the entire war zone, into the enemy's lair, looked like a useless victim. A single slow-moving bomber would inevitably be intercepted by enemy aircraft. Moreover, as already noted, the accuracy of the bombing was low - there is nothing even to hope for the targeted defeat of parking lots with "Super Etandars".
Admiral Woodward needed a powerful, destructive weapon capable of penetrating the enemy's camp and with surgical precision eliminating the main threat - blowing up Super Etandar planes, finding and destroying missiles, and killing technicians and pilots. If possible - burn down the fuel storage, destroy ammunition depots, paralyze the operation of the airbase.
Let the whole world see that shooting at Her Majesty's ships is not cheap entertainment. The payment for such an act becomes one's own life.
Admiral Woodward had no battleships with the destructive 15 '' guns. There were no Stratofortress bombers, precision-guided munitions and cruise missiles. But there were a handful of desperate guys from the Special Air Service (SAS). Living people will replace bombs and missiles.
The operation was codenamed "Mikado" - a direct allusion to the sacrificial endurance of the Japanese kamikaze.
The battle
The hour before dawn, May 21, 1982. Tierra del Fuego
… Diego yawned wearily and rubbed his eyes - less than an hour was left before the end of his shift. Outside the window, rain pounded all night, turning the airfield into a large muddy puddle. Who named this place Terra del Fuego? This is the real Terra del Agua! (Water land).
Suddenly, the operator's attention was attracted by two marks on the radar screen - two large slow-moving objects appeared at a distance of 25 miles from the coast. The defendant "friend or foe" is in order, but they do not get in touch.
- Relax, amigo. These are our transporters from the continent. They promised to arrive yesterday, but were delayed due to the weather.
And in the sky the landing lights of planes are already swinging - two "Hercules" with the identification marks of the Argentine Air Force are going to land. Inside, in cramped seats along the sides, 60 people sit shoulder to shoulder - squadron "B" of the 22nd SAS regiment. The floor is littered with bales of ammunition and food. Explosives are carefully folded, barrels of large-caliber machine guns stick out. The paint on the sides of the army Land Rovers gleams dimly - it is a pity that the Hercules' carrying capacity did not allow us to take a couple of heavy armored vehicles with us.
Having barely extinguished the speed, the Hercules lower the ramps - the metal scratches the wet asphalt, raising a plume of spray behind the stern. Jeeps with paratroopers roll out of the womb of the Trojan horses, the sleeping Rio Grande is filled with the roar of gunfire.
Without waiting for the denouement, both "Hercules" increase the engine speed and go for an emergency take-off - Argentinean antiaircraft guns are shooting in the back. One of the cars rolls heavily and, engulfed in flames, falls in the vicinity of the airfield. The second transporter at full throttle and extremely low altitude goes to the west. Faster! Faster! The border is only 50 kilometers away. The hospitable radio beacons of Agua Fresca can already be heard - the Chilean air base welcomes "guests".
Senor Pinochet is always ready to do nasty things to his "friend" Leopoldo Galtieri. Relations between dictator Pinochet and the Argentine military junta were so bad that Argentina was forced to keep half of its army on the border with its neighbor. In view of these events, the plan for the evacuation of British fighters looked unambiguous.
Having defeated the base, the British special forces must pick up the wounded and "dump" them into Chile.
Woodward saw Commander Mike Clapp turn pale.
- Sixty someone's sons … You are sending them to certain death!
- The commandos, at the cost of their lives, eliminate the mortal danger to our squadron. Someone's sons also serve on the ships. Thousands of sailors. In the end, do not forget why we are here - we are obliged to return the islands to the jurisdiction of the British crown.
- Sir, this operation is fraught with great risks. We have only a general idea about the Rio Grande and know almost nothing about the base's security system. What is the size of the Argentine garrison in Tierra del Fuego? There is a great danger that the military transport "Hercules" may be prematurely detected and shot down - we can suffer heavy, moreover, senseless losses.
The aerodrome is still present on Google maps. located on the very shore of the ocean. Dirty streaks near the coast are nothing more than silt carried into the ocean by the waters of a large river (Rio Grande is translated as a big river)
Suddenly, Commander Peter Herbert, commander of the squadron's submarine forces, rose from his seat:
- There is another proposal. Did you say that the Rio Grande is located close to the coast?
“Yes, the east end of the runway is just a mile offshore.
“In that case, we can use a safer method of delivering special forces.
- Onyx! - everyone who was present at the meeting exclaimed happily.
Midnight, May 21, 1982
Near the coast of Tierra del Fuego, the dark silhouette of HMS Onyx sways on the waves. Several semi-rigid Zodiacs with SBS fighters are visible on the water nearby. Having launched the last boat with "seals", the submarine quietly disappears into the depths. Small in number, but armed to the teeth, the British landing force rushes to the shore.
SBS (Special Boat Service) - British Naval Special Forces
At dawn, they will land on the coast, make a short march, and then, like a whirlwind, burst into the territory of the Argentine air base. The only problem for the paratroopers will be the lack of vehicles, however, captured vehicles can be obtained from the enemy.
Having shot the personnel of the airbase and destroying the planes, the surviving fighters must go to the West - towards the Chilean border …
This was the final version of the Mikado Plan.
How it was in reality
The preparatory part of Operation Mikado ended with a successful raid on the Calderon auxiliary airfield on the island. Pebble - on the night of May 15, 1982, forty-six SAS fighters disembarked from helicopters on an island occupied by the Argentines and by morning amicably attacked the base, under the cover of the guns of the destroyer Glamorgan. Seeing the British special forces, the Argentine soldiers dropped their weapons and fled. According to British sources, the SAS managed to shoot one of the amigos. The British themselves suffered no losses. It is reliably known about the destruction of 11 aircraft of the Argentine Air Force: 6 light anti-guerrilla attack aircraft IA-58A "Pukara", 4 training T-34C "Turbo mentor", as well as one light transport "Skyvan".
Wreckage of Argentine aircraft, photographed from the Sea Harrier
British special forces have shown their readiness to carry out a serious raid on an airfield behind enemy lines.
However, the first phase of Operation Mikado in real combat conditions ended in failure - on the night of May 18, 1982, the SiKing helicopter (w / n ZA290) tried to land a group of 9 special forces in the vicinity of the Rio Grande airbase for reconnaissance and reconnaissance … However, the "turntable" got entangled in the dense fog. The commander of the special forces group, seeing how the navigator and the pilot were heatedly arguing about the location of the helicopter, decided to cancel the landing. The helicopter headed towards Chile. There, the crew tried to drown the helicopter in the cold waters of the Strait of Magellan, but the Sikorsky Sea King turned out to be an unusually floating machine - they had to land the helicopter on one of the deserted beaches of Punta Arenas and destroy it with an explosive charge. The sufferers themselves were secretly transported to the British embassy grounds in Santiago.
The Onyx submarine is the only British diesel-electric submarine to take part in the Falklands War. Due to its modest dimensions, it was ideal for covert surveillance in the coastal zone and for the landing of small groups of scouts and saboteurs on the coast occupied by the enemy. During one of the last operations, Onyx hit stones and severely damaged the nose - however, it was able to independently return to the UK for repairs.
HMS Onyx (S21)
It was this submarine that was considered as the highest priority vehicle capable of secretly penetrating the very coast of Tierra del Fuego and landing a group of troops - in accordance with the plan of Operation Mikado.
However, the British plans were not destined to come true.
As it turned out, the fears about the Exocet anti-ship missile system were exaggerated - foreign intelligence obtained information that at the time of the embargo, Argentina managed to receive only five combat-ready Super Etandars and the same number of missiles. Another, sixth in a row, fighter-bomber did not have a complete set of avionics and was used as a source of spare parts.
The last Exocet was used up on 30 May in an unsuccessful attack on a British aircraft carrier group. The rocket was never able to reach its goal - according to one data, it was managed to be diverted from the course by dipole reflectors. According to another version, the anti-ship missile was shot down by the destroyer HMS Exeter. Thus ended the Falklands triumph of the legendary French rocket. By the end of May, the British had already broken through to the islands and landed the main landing force. The intensity of the Argentine air attacks decreased markedly - the losses in aircraft equipment affected. It became obvious to the British command that there was no need for a suicide raid on Tierra del Fuego. The bloody operation "Mikado" has remained a terrible legend.
Argentina learned about the raid that was being prepared only many years after the war. According to statements from the Argentine side, the hijackers could not have avoided answering - the Argentine army continued to pursue the SAS fighters in Chile.
Argentine military cemetery in the Falklands
