Falklands War 2 on the horizon? Nah. Well… nah.
February 19th, 2010 | Historical Maritime operations Royal Navy | Posted by Phil Ewing
The Royal Navy destroyer Sheffield burned after being hit by an Argentine anti-ship missile during the Falklands War, which, despite recent tensions, seems unlikely to get a second installment // Royal Navy
Great Britain and Argentina are in another tiff these days, centering — again — on the U.K.’s tiny island possessions in the South Atlantic. The British (and everyone else) call them the Falklands; the Argentines call them las Malvinas. The last time these two nations got into a big tiff over the islands, 28 years ago, it escalated into a shooting war, but there’s not much worry about that this time. Or is there?
Just as when Argentina invaded the Falklands the first time, in 1982, the ruling government in the U.K. is unpopular, mired in economic turmoil and on the verge of making more steep cuts to its military — especially the Royal Navy. There have even been discussions in London of collapsing all the British armed forces into one mutant super-service. You could make the argument that the U.K. was no more prepared to fight its first Falklands War than it would be for a second round.
However, this column in the Daily Mail, by the man who commanded the Royal Navy’s amphibious group back in the day, shoots that right down:
So as as the sound of political sabre rattling returns to the South Atlantic, could we repeat that success today? I’m not doubting the resolve of our armed forces – our soldiers, sailors and airmen have a long and proud track record of plucking success from adversity – but I’m sorry to say that we no longer have the ships and equipment to launch a sea-borne attack on an enemy on the other side of the world… If the Royal Naval fleet has shrunk spectacularly since 1982 – it had 55 frigates and destroyers then; today it has 24 – then the British merchant fleet has all but disappeared. Who knows where we’d get the ships to support a war in the South Atlantic from now.
From the U.S. Navy, perhaps? President Reagan didn’t get too openly involved in FWI, but as Adm. Sandy Woodward wrote in his memoir “100 Days,” the British Harrier pilots over the Falklands couldn’t have been as successful as they were without American-built AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. If the U.K. and Argentina decided to throw down again, who knows what kind of help the U.S. might provide — or withhold.
Comments
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The Scoop Deck – Fade out Says:
February 19th, 2010 at 2:39 pm[...] an Argentine camp on South Thule in December of 1977, one of the things that set the stage for you know what. When the Falklands War did heat up, Britain was glad it still had the ships it had planned to [...]
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The Scoop Deck – Falklands War 2 on the horizon? Nah. Well… nah. | Headlines Today Says:
February 19th, 2010 at 7:30 pm[...] the original here: The Scoop Deck – Falklands War 2 on the horizon? Nah. Well… nah. Share and [...]