HARRIER DOWN!

Falklands Air Combat

92 www.britainatwar.com

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

NCE BATTLE was joined

with Argentinian forces
when the Task Force
reached the Falkland Islands it
immediately became apparent
that this was not necessarily going
to be a walkover. For one thing,
the Argentinian air force was
prepared and ready. Additionally,
a formidable array of anti-aircraft
defences were ranged against British
aircraft. Inevitably, there were
going to be casualties and several of
these were sustained by the Harrier

force, with the first occurring on

4 May over Goose Green when Lt
Nick Taylor was shot down. Sadly,
he was killed. Fellow 800 NAS pilot,
Flt Lt David Morgan, tells the story.

A BLAZING
TRAIL OF DEBRIS

LEFT:
Bob
Ivesons 1
Squadron
Harrier,
XZ988, at
Ascension
Island.
(ALL

As I finished my brief lunch I heard

the roar of Sea Harriers landing-on
and was in the briefing room in time to
greet Ted Ball as he walked in.
Hi Ted, I said, How did the attack
work out?

IMAGES VIA
AUTHOR)

In total, the British Task Force sent to re-take the Falklands

lost ten of its Harrier aircraft; five to accidents and another
five directly due to enemy action. Gordon Ramsey presents
the pilots accounts of the combat losses and visits the scene of
some of the crash sites on the Falkland Islands.

HARRIER DOWN!
www.britainatwar.com 93

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

ABOVE:
Lt Nick
Taylors
Harrier,
XZ450, just
prior to the
Falklands
War.
BELOW:
Lt Nick Taylor.
BELOW RIGHT:
Lt Nick
Taylors grave
at Goose
Green.

There was a slight pause before he

answered: OK, but we lost Nick.
For a second, I was completely
stunned. What are you talking about?
I asked.
They got him - and he didnt get out
said Ted in a voice that reflected both
fatigue and realisation that we were
not immortal after all.
A few of us gathered round as
Gordie (Gordon Batt) and Ted
debriefed. All had gone well initially,
the three of them arriving at their
initial point in good order and
without encountering opposition.

The first sign of trouble occurred

when they were only thirty seconds
or so from the target. Gordies radar
warning receiver had burst into life,
emitting the shrill warning of a gun
radar lock. He broke right, directly
in front of Nick, and flicked his
airbrake out to deploy chaff. This
broke the radar lock, and he was able
to pull hard left again and continue
his attack. Nick carried on towards
Goose Green and was hit by a 35
mm high explosive round. Teds
gunsight film showed his aircraft in

the latter stages of the attack as it

crossed the airfield boundary. A large
explosion shattered the fuselage just
aft of the cockpit and the aircraft
became an instant fireball. As we
watched the film, frame by frame,
the fuselage began to disintegrate and
ploughed into the ground. It was not
survivable; no one could have escaped
from that blazing trail of debris.
There was a long silence, punctuated
only by a quiet: Shit!. We had lost
our first pilot.

EASY MEAT FOR

ARGENTINE GUNNERS

I did not know Nick very well.

Hed finished his Sea Harrier course
shortly before I arrived at Yeovilton
and had been appointed to 800 NAS
for his first tour of duty. He was an
ex-helicopter pilot like myself, and
was married to the WREN officer on
707 NAS, the Commando Sea King
training squadron, also at Yeovilton.
His wife was one of a team who
had volunteered to break the news
of any casualties to their families.
Unfortunately, the first name to come
through was that of her husband. I

94 www.britainatwar.com

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

can only guess at the horror she felt

when she read the signal.
We ran through the attack in detail
to ascertain what had caused Nicks
demise and decided the most likely
reason was that his aircraft was not
fitted with a radar warning receiver.
The airframe had been allocated to
British Aerospace at Dunsfold to carry
out trials of the Sea Eagle anti-ship
missile. Unfortunately for Nick the
trials equipment had been mounted in
the space used for the RWR. It meant
he was blind to any electronic threat.
We were fairly sure that Nick had
flown through Gordies chaff cloud
as he manoeuvred against the gun
radar and had been locked up without
knowing it. The rest was inevitable.
Nick had been easy meat for the
Argentine gunners. He was buried on
the edge of the airfield where he fell
and his grave is tended to this day by
the grateful residents of Goose Green.
They regard him as one of their own.
He will never be lonely.

IMPACT OF
EXPLODING SHELLS

Flt Lt Jeff Glover of 1 Squadron,

RAF, was the only POW from the
air component of the Task Force,
captured after having been shot down
on a reconnaissance flight over Port
Howard, West Falkland, on 21 May.
I climbed to 8,000ft to conserve fuel
and stooged around over the centre of
West Falkland for about a quarter of
an hour to give a little time for things
to quieten down at Port Howard. I
wanted to make my second run from
a different direction but there was
not a lot of choice because Mount
Maria is immediately to the west of
the settlement. I decided to run in
heading north-east. That was a mistake
because I found myself heading straight
into the sun and had to concentrate
much more on flying the aircraft than
watching what was happening outside.
The aircraft shuddered under the
impact of exploding shells - first one,

then two more in rapid succession.

The aircraft flicked into a violent and
uncontrollable roll to the right. I waited
until the aircraft was rotated through
320 and pulled the ejector seat handle.

WE WERE ALL
FIRING AT YOU

There was a crash above my head

as the explosive charge shattered
the canopy. As I was blasted into
the 600mph wind my left arm was
wrenched back and I passed out.
When I came to I was under water.
I worked out which way was up
and swam to the surface. I came
up and saw my parachute floating
in the water in front of me. I had a
good look around and saw the shore
about 200yds away. I started trying
to swim towards it on my back, but
got nowhere fast. I had not released
my parachute harness. So I gave that
up and started to think things out.
I was in the process of releasing the
pack connectors, before inflating
my dinghy, when I heard shouting.
Looking around I saw about ten
Argentine soldiers standing on
the shore.

TOP:
The
ejector
seat from
Nick
Taylors
Harrier
at Goose
Green,
marked
with the
serial
number
XZ450.
TOP LEFT
& BELOW:
Cannon
shell,
cannon
shell
linkages
and portion
of roundel
from Lt Nick
Taylors
Harrier.
BELOW:
The
wreckage of
Lt Taylors
Harrier
at Goose
Green.

www.britainatwar.com 95

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

ABOVE:
These poor
quality snaps,
from an
Argentinian
soldier, show
the moment Flt
Lt Jeff Glover
was brought
ashore at Port
Howard.
BELOW: Jeff
Glovers
Harrier, XZ972,
leaves Atlantic
Conveyor.

Then, a rowing boat put out with

half a dozen soldiers on board. In
the front of the boat was an officer,
and under his direction they came
alongside me and hauled me on board;
as they lifted me my arm hurt like
hell. The officer spoke to me in good
English. He said he was a doctor,
asked where it hurt and said I would
be alright. He would look after me.
One of the things I asked him was:
What shot me down? He replied:
Everything, we were all firing at you.
We were rowed to the shore and
got out of the boat. The officer had a

96 www.britainatwar.com

motorbike and I was put on the pillion,

riding off down a rough track with
a soldier on each side jogging along
and supporting me. I was holding my
left arm with my right in the most
comfortable position I could find. I was
bleeding rather a lot from my face, and
could see the blood dripping onto the
back of the officers tunic.
We continued on the motorbike
for about 300yds before we arrived
at Port Howard Social Club which
had been requisitioned as a medical
centre. I spent about thirty-six hours
in Port Howard before being moved
by helicopter to Goose Green where
I spent a night. Some of the young
officers were keen to try out their
English on me and asked if I knew
Nick Taylor who had been shot down
and killed at Goose Green.

When I said I had

known him, they
expressed sorrow at his
death. The following
evening we went on to Port Stanley
where I spent a couple of nights in a
large medical centre. On the night of
the 24th I boarded a C-130 Hercules to
fly to the mainland. Early in June, I was
flown to Chamical airbase in La Roja
province in the north of Argentina
where things were a bit more difficult.
At the time I didnt realise I was
their only POW and felt I had let the
squadron down. It was my first sortie.
Wed only taken six planes down
with us and I lost one of them almost
immediately, so I was pretty fed up.

LOW AND FAST

Sqn Ldr Bob Iveson, also of 1

Squadron, was brought down by the
same guns that downed Nick Taylor
on his second visit to Goose Green on
27 May.

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

Back again in our cockpits we

waited for our launch time. Launch
up the ski-jump and back over the
Falklands once more. Several targets
were in the offing and I was told to
go for a different gun this time but I
neither saw it nor received any detailed
information about its precise location.
It was a secondary target anyway, but
I went round for a second look and on
that pass detected company positions. I
released my CBUs and it was, I think, a
good attack.
I assumed the Paratroopers were
in trouble and needed every form of
assistance they could get, and decided
I would give this attack everything I
had. So I came in again, low and fast,
to use my 30mm guns. Normally this is
tactically inadvisable but in view of the
ground situation, it was a must.

FLAMES LICKING INTO

THE COCKPIT

The gun attack worked well, giving

the Argentine troops a long burst
along their trenches before pulling
off. I reversed my flight path down to
100 feet when I felt hits, one closely
followed by the other. They must
have been fairly heavy calibre as the
shock through the aircraft was very
noticeable. Two heavy thumps. Almost
immediately the fire warning light

came on and I detected fumes in the

cockpit.
Suddenly, the controls froze
completely. I thought I must have
been hit in the hydraulic control
systems. Shortly after this the
controls cleared, but when I carried
out a rapid cockpit check I found I
was losing hydraulic pressure at an
alarming rate. I punched the fire
extinguisher system and checked in
the mirror. Looking along the top
of the aircraft I saw flames. Smoke
started pouring into the cockpit,
then the controls went slack and the
aircraft went into a dive.
I managed to arrest the angle by
vectoring the engine nozzles and the
aircrafts nose picked up. Although I
had corrected the angle of dive, flames
started licking into the cockpit itself.
The Pegasus engine was still running
in fine style but it was obviously a
situation I couldnt sustain without
useable flying controls so I pulled the
ejection handle. I must have passed
out for a few seconds because the next
thing I knew I was flying horizontally
through the air and going straight for a
fireball. My burning aircraft!
There were a few tense moments at
that point, but fortunately the main
chute opened and I dropped clear of
the fireball.

NIGHT ATTACK ON
GOOSE GREEN

I think I was on the chute for only

about five or ten seconds. It was really
quick. As I landed I couldnt see very
well, as my eyes were affected by the
high speed wind blasting my face
during ejection. I did know, however,
that I was on the wrong side of the
lines. Seeing dots coming down the hill
in the distance my immediate reaction
was that they were enemy troops
looking for me.
On reflection, I thought they could
have been animals but one cant be

ABOVE LEFT:
The wing of
Jeff Glovers
Harrier is
uncovered
during a
recent site
visit.
ABOVE RIGHT:
The impact
point of Jeff
Glovers
Harrier
photographed
recently.
TOP:
Jeff Glovers
Log Book,
Pilots Notes,

LEFT:
The RollsRoyce
Pegasus
engine from
Jeff Glovers
Harrier
pictured at
the crash
site with Port
Howard in the
distance.

www.britainatwar.com 97

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

TOP LEFT:
Bob Iveson
enjoys a beer
on board
HMS Hermes
after his
rescue.
TOP RIGHT:
Pilots of 1
Squadron on
board Atlantic
Conveyor.
BELOW:
The twin
35mm
Oerlikon GDF
gun which
downed
Bob Iveson.
The GDF,
combined
with
Skyguard
radar, formed
an effective
defence.

too careful in a situation like that. At

that range, with my eyes streaming, I
could not make out what they were so
did the obvious thing and cleared off
in the other direction. Much later that
evening I found a deserted farmhouse.
I knew the Argentines were looking
for me as a Huey helicopter with a
big searchlight came towards me that
evening. He began hovering over one
spot so think he must have found the
Harriers remains. He moved away
from there and came towards me.
Fortunately, at that very moment,
the night attack on Goose Green
started up and he moved off, not
wanting to be caught in the open
with all that ordnance flying around.
I spent the following two days either
in the heather or in the farmhouse
at night. It was bitterly cold, and any
form of shelter was welcome. I was

98 www.britainatwar.com

eventually picked up on 29 May by a

Royal Marine flying an army Gazelle
helicopter.

A VERY UNLUCKY HIT

Sqn Ldr Jerry Pook, again from 1 Sqn,

was brought down by small arms fire
damaging his fuel lines in a freak lucky
shot for Argentine troops on Mount
Harriet on 30 May.
Our launch and departure were
uneventful. About 4km short of the
target things began to happen very fast.
I could see the target area clearly (the
saddle of Mount Harriet) and realised
it was unoccupied - i.e. no helicopters
were visible on the ground. At the
same moment, we crossed a dirt road
on which several military vehicles were
stopped. Within a couple of seconds, I
felt a significant thump in the airframe
somewhere behind me. I knew Id been

hit. Having seen no tracers or SAMs I

assumed it was small-calibre stuff.
John Rochfort had seen the vehicles
and observed the hit on me and
transmitted straight away Jerry, youre
leaking fuel! Barely two minutes had
elapsed since I had been hit and I
settled down to check a few things.
By now, one of my two hydraulic
systems had failed and, as I pulled up
into the climb, several unanswered
calls to JR demonstrated my radios
had packed up. As I levelled out at
about 30,000 ft I saw the fuel gauges
dropping through 300lbs total.
I watched in horror as the
fuel contents continued to drop
symmetrically as if I was on full
afterburner. Experience of previous
leaks and simulator training had
conditioned me to expect leaks from
one side only.

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

Afterwards, the engineers calculated

I had received a very unlucky hit in
the short length of feed pipe to the
engine at the only point where the
two separate halves of the system
combine. As the fuel gauges ran down
together, I could see I wasnt going to
make it back. From 30,000 feet, I could
see the angry white tops of the waves
and knew I would need some luck to
survive.

WILD ROLLER-COASTER
RIDE

At 10,000 feet I pulled the handle.

The ejection was extremely violent
and I clearly remember my head being
forced down between my knees by
the 3,000lb thrust of the rocket seat.
After this, the relief of hanging in the
parachute harness was overwhelming.
The sea below was dotted with large
cumulus cloud and there was no sign

of a ship in any direction. Suddenly, in

the hostile stillness of the cloud, I heard
the sweetest sound imaginable - the
distinctive chop of rotor blades. Thank
god for the Navy!
Below the cloud I still couldnt see the
helicopter and concentrated hard on
the landing, immediately smashing into
a large piece of South Atlantic which
rose to meet me. Now, the panic really
started. I was unable to release my
parachute and straight away I was off,
dragged by the strong wind on a wild
roller coaster ride from wave to wave.
Luckily, I was dragged on my back or I
would have drowned very quickly.
However, try as I could, I was unable
to get enough purchase to release my
parachute with my rapidly freezing
fingers. I couldnt see what I was doing
because of the bulk of my lifejacket and
Browning pistol stowed underneath.
At last my chute collapsed, allowing

me to pull in my life-raft and inflate

it but I was still unable to release the
parachute harness. A Lynx helicopter
was already overhead but I realised
I had to get into the life-raft first in
order to get rid of the parachute. With
my remaining strength I hauled myself
aboard, helped by the fact that the liferaft was travelling steeply downhill as
I entered.

NO ROOM FOR ERROR

Temporarily safe in the wildly rocking

raft, I sprawled face-down for several
minutes not daring to move in case I
fell out. I knew I would never be able
to climb back in again. Eventually, I
slowly turned over to see that the Lynx
had been replaced by a Sea King which
was dangling a single-lift strop in my
general direction. I was going to have
to do everything for myself. There was
no room for error.

ABOVE:
Flt Lt Jerry
Pooks Harrier,
XZ963, on
board HMS
Hermes.
BOTTOM LEFT:
The starboard
wing of
Ivesons XZ988.
BOTTOM
MIDDLE:
The port
outrigger
jockey wheel
from Ivesons
shot down
Harrier.
BOTTOM RIGHT:
The tail section
of Bob Ivesons
XZ988 at Goose
Green.

www.britainatwar.com 99

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

NEAR RIGHT:
A Roland
CAROL AA
system at
Stanley.
It was
captured
and studied
in detail.
FAR RIGHT:
Bob Iveson,
Jeff Glover
and Jerry
Pook (L to
R) celebrate
on their
return home
from the
Falklands.
BOTTOM:
Ian
Mortimers
Harrier is
the rear
aircraft in
the right
hand row
in this
shot taken
on board
HMS
Invincible.

Carefully, I finally removed my

harness and began to untangle the
myriad of parachute lines which were
wrapped around me. I realised that
if just one line was left attached the
winch could severely injure me as it
tried to separate me from my sunken
parachute. Only when I was 100 %
certain that I was completely untangled
did I start to reach for the strop which
had whistled past my ear a few times
already.
This was going to be interesting;
the strop alternately dangled in the
water and then, in seconds, hung 15ft
above it. I had no strength left for
fancy gymnastics. It had to work first
time. The next time the strop stabilised
beside me for a brief period, I grabbed
it and looped it over my shoulders.
Although my right arm was well in,
I had only just got a purchase with an
inch of my left elbow when the South
Atlantic fell away beneath me. I clung
on grimly and was winched aboard,
just retaining the presence of mind to
reach down and release my life-raft
lanyard before it became taught. After
collapsing on the cold metal floor of

the cabin, I felt safe at last. With my

remaining strength, I grabbed the
rather surprised observer in a joyful
hug. I would have kissed him if our
flying helmets had not got in the way!

A TREMENDOUS FLASH

Flt Lt Ian Mortimer survived an

incredible nine hours alone in a
one-man dinghy in the South Atlantic
after being shot out of the sky by a
Roland SAM over Stanley on 1 June.
I was on Combat Air Patrol south of
Stanley, trying to see if their Hercules
transports were trying to get in. I
was running up and down the road
from the Darwin and Goose Green
area. The plan was also to look out
for Pucaras to see if I could take some

of them out. I had been up and down

the road twice, a good way south and
at a good height as well. On the third
occasion, as I went by Stanley airfield, I
thought I saw something taxying. Just
at that moment a cloud got in the way
so I dropped down to about 10,000 feet
and moved in quite a bit, convinced
that I was out of the way of their
Roland missiles. I was wrong. The first
thing I saw was a tremendous flash,
just as though somebody had shone
a huge mirror in my eyes. There was
nothing for a couple of seconds.
Then I picked up the missile. It was
on a perfect 90intercept, with me
flying one way and the missile coming
on at 90. I watched the smoke trail
all the way, still convinced I was out

Next month
Gordon Ramsey
takes a look at some
of the Argentinian
aircraft losses
during the
Falklands
conflict.

100www.britainatwar.com

HARRIER DOWN!
Falklands Air Combat

of range. Rather than try to defeat the

missile by increasing speed, I turned
away from it and tried to climb to
increase range. At about 10,000ft the
missile levelled off and I thought that
was it. No problem.
I wasnt in the least bit worried. I
was looking out of my right-hand
window as it disappeared underneath
and transferred my gaze out of the
left-hand window expecting to see the
missile falling away into the water.

THE ADRENALIN
WAS FLOWING

There was an almighty explosion, the

aircraft went head over heels and,
being a bright lad, I guessed what
had happened. It was a phenomenally
violent explosion which really
surprised me. It had taken the tailplane
off and I ejected immediately. For a
horrible second I thought the seat
hadnt worked and I was still in there.
The next thing I know, Im hanging
onto the silk. The adrenalin was
flowing, needless to say.
The chute was going round in
lovely little circles and I was spiralling
down from 13,000ft at 25ft a second.
Quite a long time in a parachute,
but I was even enjoying it and it was

very peaceful. I drifted quite a few

miles which did me a lot of favours
because shortly after I hit the water the
Argentinians came looking for me.
They had a Chinook searching the
spot where Id been hit, but the wind
was about 20 to 25 knots and Id
gone a long way in six minutes. The
helicopter was looking in the wrong
place, but after half an hour they found
me. Another helicopter flew right over
the top, then broke away hard.
Then a Chinook pointed straight at
me and got within 200yds before he
turned and both beat it back to Stanley.
I speculated there had been a radar
contact and they wanted to get away
There were a couple of Sea Harriers
airborne but they werent coming near,
although the Argentinians didnt know
that. Fortunately, they didnt find me
again.

NINE HOURS IN
THE DINGHY

I was in the dinghy for about nine

hours - three in daylight, six in
darkness. It was freezing and I was
never able to sleep for more than a few
minutes at a time. Helicopters from
820 NAS had been looking for me
from the moment it got dark.

They were from HMS Invincible, so

were good friends of mine. I still had
my helmet on and every time I thought
I heard something, I had to clear the
dinghy canopy out of the way and try
to pull my helmet away so as to be
able to listen. The last time I thought
I heard something, sure enough, there
was a helicopter. They had seen me
before I heard them. They had gone
by, seen a shape in the water and were
coming back for another look when
I pitched up on the radio beacon. It
worked, and I got a reply. I dont know
what on earth they said and wasnt too
fussed by that stage. They put a strobe
light on and homed in on me. It took
about two minutes and then a grinning
Irishman called Mark Finucane came
down the wire. I dont know who was
grinning most, him or me.
Despite the attrition rate of Task
Force Harriers the whole success of
Operation Corporate depended upon
air superiority over a well-equipped
and well-trained air force and against
modern ground-to-air defence
systems. Achieving that objective had
come at a price.

ABOVE
LEFT: Bob
Iveson
(right) and
Jerry Pook
following
Ivesons
first Harrier
check-flight
in August
1982,
carried
out by
Pook, after
returning
from the
Falklands
conflict.
TOP
RIGHT: Ian
Mortimer
(centre)
and the
Sea King
crew who
rescued
him
pictured
back on
board HMS
Invincible.

www.britainatwar.com101

GALTIERI: MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL!

Falkands Harrier Pilot

GALTIERI
W

HEN ARGENTINA
invaded the Falklands
in 1982, the RNs Sea
Harrier force was still building up
to full strength. Some RN pilots
had flown RAF Harriers, and
a couple of RAF Harrier pilots
were posted to RN exchange
posts. David Morgan was one
of the exchange pilots, but an
unusual one in that he had begun
his flying career as an RN officer

102 www.britainatwar.com

before transferring to the RAF.

After his exchange tour, he
transferred back to the dark blue.
In addition to the established Sea
Harrier exchange officers, more
RAF Harrier pilots undertook a
rapid conversion, so that the war
was fought by 29 RN and 7 RAF
Sea Harrier pilots. Sea Harriers
accounted for 21 Argentine
aircraft without sustaining any
air combat losses.

GALTIERI: MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL!

Falkands Harrier Pilot

MAIN PICTURE: RAF Harrier GR3s about

to launch from HMS Hermes with a mix
of RAF and RN Harriers parked and
waiting the next operation.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Dave Morgan earned
a DSC during the Falklands conflict
and was the highest scoring pilot of
operations in the South Atlantic and
finished his career as a Lt Cdr.

MY PART IN HIS
DOWNFALL!
The only front line combat air-assets possessed
by the South Atlantic Task Force during the
1982 conflict were the Harrier aircraft of the
Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force.
One of the first Harrier pilots into action was
David Morgan who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the conflict. Here, he shares one of the dramatic highlights of his short but outstanding war.

www.britainatwar.com 103

GALTIERI: MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL!

Falkands Harrier Pilot

position and a further one seen

from a position crouching down
behind the gunsight camera,
where I suspected I might be
during the final stages of the
attack.

SLAMMED THE
THROTTLE OPEN

TOP LEFT:
Conditions
in the South
Atlantic were
often atrocious,
as this image
of a wind and
spray-swept
deck of HMS
Hermes with
parked Sea
Harriers,
Harrier GR3s
and Sea Kings
illustrates.
TOP RIGHT:
A Sea Harrier
and Harrier GR3
over-fly HMS
Hermes.

ASSAULT ON
STANLEY AIRFIELD

In April 1982, I was just one third

of the way through my Sea Harrier
conversion course as an RAF exchange
pilot at RNAS Yeovilton. I was no
stranger to Vertical/Short Take-Off
and Landing flying, having just spent
three years serving as a Harrier pilot
on 3 (F) Squadron in Germany but
very much a new boy when it came to
air defence. It was all a bit of a surprise,
then, to find myself on the deck of
HMS Hermes as dawn broke on 1 May,
about to carry out my first operational
mission against the Argentine enemy.
As I settled into the cockpit, I mentally
ran through my part in the plan. It was
essential that everyone carried out his
individual role as perfectly as possible
to preserve the integrity of the attack.
I was partly responsible for planning
the first assault on Stanley airfield and
was aware that the odds were very
much against us all returning safely. I
double-checked all the weapons and
head-up display aiming data, adding two
marks on the sight glass just in case I
suffered a display failure. These marks
both coincided with the weapon aiming
point; one seen from my normal sitting

104 www.britainatwar.com

At 1040Z (0640 local time) the

order came booming over the
flight deck broadcast system: Stand
clear of jet pipes and intakes. Start the
Sea Harriers. After a few minutes the
flashing anti-collision lights showed
that all twelve fighters were ready to
go. There was time for a quick glance
at the en route map before Hermes
turned into the prevailing westerly
wind and the chocks and chain lashings
were removed leaving the aircraft
ready for take-off. I inserted the ships
heading into the nav kit, re-checked:
flaps down, armament master switch
live, nozzle stop set at 35 degrees, trim
3 degrees nose down and ejection
seat live. Exactly on time, the flight
deck officer dropped his green flag to
launch Lieutenant Commander Andy
Auld, ahead of me. My machine was
buffeted violently by Andys jet efflux
and as the grey bulk of his aeroplane
threw itself off the end of the ski-jump.
I taxied forward to the take-off point
and slammed the throttle open. Within
two seconds the jet was accelerating at
a terrific rate towards the ramp, driven
by the ten tons of engine thrust. As the
end of the deck disappeared below me,
I rotated the nozzles and leapt into the
air some 70 knots below conventional
stalling speed, accelerating rapidly to
forward flight.

LIKE A FIREWORK
DISPLAY

The initial transit towards the islands

went without incident and we soon
settled down into a flexible transit
formation, with everyone scouring
the rapidly lightening sky for enemy
aircraft. After 12 minutes, we made
our planned landfall at Macbride Head,
the most north-easterly point of East
Falkland. My first impression was
of its similarity to the Scottish coast,
which made it quite difficult to believe
that we were not on one of our more
familiar routine exercises, rather than
bent upon a real errand of destruction.
By the time we reached Berkeley
Sound, with only 90 seconds to run
to the airfield, we had split into three
sections. Four aircraft were pulling
up off Volunteer Point to toss 1,000lb
bombs onto the anti-aircraft defences
from three miles out and three others
were setting themselves up to approach
from the north-west whilst Andy Auld
and myself headed for the east side of
the pair of 900-foot high mountains
to the north of Stanley. As I rounded
the face of Mount Low, tucked behind
and slightly to the left of my leader,
the target came into view. The airfield
and the entire peninsular on which
it was built seemed to be alive with
explosions. Anti-aircraft shells carpeted
the sky over the runway up to a height
of 1,000 feet and missiles, fired from
the airfield and outside the town,
streaked across my path, chasing the
previous attackers out to the south-east.
Tracer fire criss-crossed the sky and as
I watched, a number of guns turned in
my direction. The tracer curved lazily
down, rather like a firework display

GALTIERI: MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL!

Falkands Harrier Pilot

and not initially conveying much

feeling of imminent danger. As it got
closer, however, it suddenly seemed
to accelerate and began whipping past
my ears, bouncing off the grey sea all
around me.

LOLLING AT DRUNKEN
ANGLES

I hauled the aeroplane hard left

and then right, to pass between the
Tussock Islands and Kelly Rocks,
themselves only 30ft high, and pressed
on towards the airfield below the
level of the sand dunes, accelerating to
480 knots. Inspection of the gunsight
film later in the day, showed that we
were flying at a height of somewhere
between 5 to 15ft as we approached the
target. I became aware that a number

of Argentine
soldiers were
firing down at
me from the
sand dunes,
their bullets
kicking up the
water all around me. I dropped the
trigger on the front of the stick and
squeezed it hard but the guns would
not fire. I thought that they must
have jammed but realised later that in
the heat of the moment I had failed
to select the gun master switches on.
As I crossed over the beach, I yanked
back on the stick and levelled at 150ft,
the minimum height required for
my cluster bombs to fuse properly. I
instantly took in the damage caused by
the rest of the formation, the airport
buildings were billowing smoke and a
number of aircraft on the ground were
lolling at drunken angles, obviously
badly damaged. The fuel dump to my
right was a storm of orange flame,
under a gathering pall of oily black
smoke and huge lumps of debris were

still falling from the sky from the

explosions of the 1,000lb bombs. One
aircraft, which seemed undamaged,
was a small Britten-Norman Islander
transport. I quickly lined up my
bombsight, raised the safety catch and
despatched my three cluster bombs.

DAMAGE TO THE TAIL

Suddenly there was a huge explosion

and my aircraft started vibrating like
mad. It was impossible to read any of
the cockpit instruments but the aircraft
still seemed to be flying, so as soon as
the last bomb had cleared the wing
pylon, I dived my machine for the
smoke beside the control tower. I still
have a very clear recollection of passing
below the level of the tower windows
as I entered the cloud of thick black
smoke. (When I returned to the airfield
after the war was over, I discovered
that the tower windows were only
about 15ft above the ground.) I waited
a short pause inside the smoke, then
pulled the aircraft into a hard turn to
the east.

TOP LEFT:
Sea Harrier
armed with
1,000lb
bombs
ready for
ground
attack
operations.
BELOW:
Sea Harrier
ready to
launch
from HMS
Hermes.

www.britainatwar.com 105

GALTIERI: MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL!

Falkands Harrier Pilot

checked in. I believed that we would

probably lose two or three aircraft on
this raid because of the intensity of the
ground defences. I was hugely elated,
therefore, when everyone came up on
the radio. Once safely clear of land, I
slowed down and climbed gently up
to 10,000ft. As I reduced speed, the
vibration began to reduce to acceptable
levels and I was able to check out the
aircraft systems. I was amazed to find
that everything appeared to be working
correctly except the rudder trim gauge.
This in itself was of no consequence to
the operation of the aeroplane but gave
me the first indication that damage had
been done to the tail of the aircraft.

CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE
TOP LEFT:
Harriers
operating
from Stanley
airfield after
the fighting
with wrecked
Pucaras in the
background.
BELOW:
Dave Morgans
cockpit selfie,
at low-level
and with his
Number 2
tucked in close
behind.

As I punched out of the smoke, I

was locked up by a radar-laid antiaircraft gun. I racked the aircraft
into a break to the left through 90
degrees and flicked out the airbrake
to release a bundle of chaff into the
airflow. Despite the Heath Robinson
design, the chaff did its job; the
radar lost lock and I was able to haul
the vibrating aircraft back onto an
easterly heading and run out to sea
and safety. As we cleared the target
area, we changed radio frequency and

READER
OFFER!
106 www.britainatwar.com

Once back in the overhead of Hermes,

Flight Lieutenant Ted Ball came up
alongside me to inspect the damage
and after a few seconds said: Ah
yes... you have got a bloody great
hole in the tail. The control surfaces
appeared to be working correctly but
there was a distinct possibility that the
reaction controls might have taken
some damage. I therefore decided to
carry out a rolling vertical landing.
This entails running the aircraft onto
the deck with a certain amount of
forward speed and is not an approved
manoeuvre as there is a distinct
danger of running over the side into

For a more comprehensive look

at Harrier operations in
the Falklands Conflict see Bob
Marstons Harrier Boys.
Published by Grub Street, ISBN
978-1-909808-29-4, and with
a cover price 20.00, this is bein
g offered, including P&P,
to Britain at War readers for
16.00. This may be ordered
via www.grubstreet.co.uk, quot
ing code HB15, or by calling
02079 243966 and quoting the
HB15 code. (Note: The
16.00 including P&P offer appl
ies only to the UK. Overseas
customers will need to add 7.5
0 for shipping)

the sea. It does, however, reduce the

reliance on the reaction controls and
might have given me the option to
overshoot and try again if the controls
had jammed. After a pretty hairy but
successful landing, I discovered that
the hole was about six inches across
and had obviously been caused by a
20-millimetre shell, which had entered
the left side of the fin and exploded,
causing considerable damage to
the right-hand side of the fin and
tailplane.

I COUNTED THEM ALL

BACK

That evening Brian Hanrahan, the

BBCs reporter on the spot, sent his
report of the raid with the phrase
which later became famous: I cannot
say how many aircraft took part in
the raid, but I counted them all out
and I counted them all back. We had
had our baptism of fire and achieved
considerable success, without loss a
good start to the conflict.
Over the next six weeks I flew a
further 54 operational sorties and was
jointly responsible for the sinking of an
Argentine spy ship and the destruction
of three Argentine helicopters. My
final action took place on the evening
of 8 June 1982 and made me the last
British pilot to shoot down an enemy
aircraft in air combat.