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T H E   G D P
The Bridge ] Call To Worhsip ] [ GDP Crew ] View From The Flight Deck ] Operations Room ] Gollies ] HQ1 ] Aft Section Base ] For'ad Section Base ] The Resteraunt At The End Of Bomb Alley ] Aft First Aid ] Fwd First Aid ] Weapons Department ] Seawolf ] Buntins ] The Flooding Of 3R Mess ] Memorial ] Coventry ] Letters ] A Lighter Note To End On ] Useless Information Section ] After Thoughts Of Reality ] By The Editor ]

Anyone thinking about the things they might write for a Commissioning Book when we sailed from Gibraltar on 8th April is unlikely to have come close to the truth!

However, back to Thursday April 8th. We sailed from Gibraltar full of apprehension. What were the following weeks going to hold for us? One thing we did realise was that this was not going to be a training period; if something went wrong we knew we wouldn't' t be able to stop the serial and re-run it to get it right. We therefore had to try and visualize every tactical situation and practise it and get it right, first time. We exercised 40/60 shoots, 3" rocket re-loading (with great enthusiasm when we discovered that the Argies had the air launched Exocet) and small arms firings. Then we went on repeating it all, time and time, again so that by the time we reached the War Zone everyone knew everyone else's job.

Apart from all the training periods the passage down to Ascension was generally relaxed. The weather was good and everyone made the most of getting as much sun as possible.

After Ascension the sun lasted for a few more days and it didn't seem possible that it would soon be freezing cold and that we could be fighting for our lives. The News on the BBC World Service has probably never had so many listeners. Every hour, on the hour it would be tuned in, eveyone wanting to hear the same thing, that a political solution had been found. It was not to be. Before we knew where we were, we were inside the Total Exclusion Zone and everything was for real. The war was on.

Every day from now on we would be going to Action Stations at Air Raid Warning Red, and we had only three days to wait until the first fatality. On 3rd May HMS SHEFFIELD was hit by an air launched Exocet missile, and this disaster honed our alertness and reactions to every threat. However no more air attacks were to come into direct contact with the Carrier Battle Group again until 25th May when the ATLANTIC CONVEYOR was sunk.

After SHEFFIELD, BROADSWORD acted as anti missile escort either to one or other of the carriers or to naval gunfire support missions until the big day, Friday 21st May, the day on which we escorted the amphibious group to the beachhead in San Carlos Water.

On the following day our troops took the landing beaches. HMS BROADSWORD was subjected to wave upon of Argentinean fighter and bomber aircraft throughout daylight hours. To combat them we had the Seawolf missile; however the environment we were operating in did not let it perform to the best of its ability. To over come this gap in our defences we armed the GDP crew with small arms - more to give them something to do than anything else. After all, what chance have you with small arms against supersonic aircraft?

The first raid of the day came in. Seawolf, with the help of L/S BALL took the left hand target, which left two for the riflemen and 40/60 crew. The aircraft, flying at 15 feet above the sea, sent a trail of cannon fire snaking its way in splashes of water towards the ship. Undaunted the GDP crew stood its ground, matching fire with fire, putting up so much lead with 40/60, GPMG and SLR, that the planes would have to fly through it to reach us. Only at the last minute did the brave gunners take cover, as the cannon fire raced its way up the ship's side and into the screens around the flag-deck. Once the planes had gone overhead, the team were on their feet again, recharging magazines, and checking all the gear. Those with shrapnel wounds were taken below; to come back minutes later, ready for more action.

And more action they were to have. More waves of aircraft were to attack during the long remaining hours of daylight, and yet the courage, spirit, and sheer staying power of those young men never faltered once, and were it not for the wall of lead that they bravely threw up into the sky, and through which the enemy had to fly, the pilots' aim would have been better, and their bombs might have found their mark. This was however only the beginning.

The next day we combined with HMS COVENTRY to act as a radar picket and anti aircraft missile trap to the north of the Falklands and the following day it was back to Bomb Alley to provide close AA protection for the ships at the Beachhead. Once again we came under heavy air attack, and once again the GDP crew did their job, quietly and efficiently, helping the ship combination to "splash" two A4s and five Mirage. The next two days were spent again with the COVENTRY on Air Picket duties and on the evening of the second day it happened. Four A4 attacked us, and two managed to get through our defences to hit the COVENTRY with the result that we know only too well. Having picked up the survivors, with the help of many brave helicopter pilots, we transferred them, and were then told to make our way back to the Carrier Group to "lick our wounds". We had also been hit by a bomb which fortunately did not explode and which miraculously injured no one onboard.

Many things will be written about this Operation, and many feats of herosim have been reported. The Canteen Manager of the ARDENT did a fine job and the world knows about it: the GDP crew of the BROADSWORD did a fine job, for five times longer. We are proud of them.


The Master Blaster

The Widow Maker