Broadsword Association

CAPTAIN W R. CANNING ADC R.N

THE FIRST HMS BROADSWORD

SUMMARY OF SERVICE 1944 - 68

HMS BROADSWORD was a destroyer of the "Weapons (Battleaxe)" Class ordered under the 1943 Programme. Built and engined by Yarrow & Co Ltd, Scotstoun, Glasgow, she was laid down on 20 July 1944, launched on 5 February 1946 and completed on 4 October 1948. Of 1,980 tons standard displacement, the BROADSWORD was 365'0" in length, with a breadth of 38'0" and draught (aft) of 17 * 1" • Designed top speed was 34 knots with an endurance of 6,500 miles at 15 knots, 4,500 miles at 20 knots and 1,650 miles at full speed. Armament when built was 4 x 4" guns in twin mountings, 4 x 40mm Bofors in STAAG mountings and 2 x 40mm Bofors in single mountings. The BROADSWORD was fitted with 2 x 21" pentad revolving torpedo tubes for which she carried an outfit of 10 torpedoes. For anti'submarine warfare, she was fitted with 1 Squid mounting, for which she was out fitted with 120 missiles, and 1 rail with an outfit of 15 depth charges. In 1953 2 x 4" guns were removed together with the depth charge equipment. In place of the single Squid fitted, she was fitted with a double Squid (Port and Starboard). In 1958 the torpedo equipment was removed. Upon completion HMS BROADSWORD was allocated to the 6th December Flotilla. She first went to Portsmouth and in November to Chatham where she was taken in hand on 29 November for completion of modifications, the work being completed on 31 December, the then left for Portland and thence to Campbeltown. In June 1949 she was attached temporarily to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla for gunnery trials off Malta, returning to the UK in early September to rejoin the 6th Flotilla. On 29 May 1950, after the Home Fleet Spring cruise, the BROADSWORD left the UK for Norfolk, Virginia, to be attached to the US Operational Development Force, mainly for gunnery trials. She left the USA on 21 August to arrive back at Sheerness on 1 September. After a short docking the BROADSWORD took part in the Home Fleet Autumn cruise. In 1951 and 1952 she took part in Home Fleet cruises and exercises. In April 1953 HMS BROADSWORD was reduced to the Reserve at Chatham. In August 1953 she was placed in a state of preservation and dehumidification. Then in August 1955 the BROADSWORD was removed from the Special Reserve. In November 1956 the BROADSWORD was towed to Rosyth for refit, not completed until October 1958. On completion she was allocated to the 7th Destroyer Squadron and, after work-up and trials, took part in the Home Fleet Autumn cruise. During the early part of 1959 the BROADSWORD was in the Mediterranean taking part in cruises and exercises. In April she returned to Portsmouth and thence to Chatham. The BROADSWORD was on the Iceland Patrol from 19 May to 3 June and again from 24 July to 12 August. She then went to Chatham for repairs which were not completed until the end of October. After a short period on exercises early in 1960 HMS BROADSWORD was transferred in March 1960 to the Mediteranean Fleet where she took part in many exercises and visits. On 29 July 1960 she gave assistance to the ss HARTISMERE after an explosion abroad the latter ship off Malta. In August the BROADSWORD was taken in hand at Gibraltar for a refit, the work not being completed until mid-November. On 25 March 1961 the BROADSWORD arrived back at Chatham having taking part in an exercise on her way home. During her year in the Mediterranean she had steamed 36,000 miles while engaged on NATO and National exercises. The BROADSWORD had a further spell on the Iceland Patrol from 6 September to 25 September 1961. She then took part in a number of visits and exercises. In April 1962 she returned to the Meditarranean Station, where again she took part in many exercises and visits. On 6 December 1962 the BROADSWORD left Gibraltar for Portsmouth, arriving on 10 December to enter the Reserve Fleet. On 24 January 1964 the BROADSWORD was placed on the Disposal List. In April 1968 she was towed to Rosyth where she was used for a time in connection with torpedo trials. On 18 July 1968 she was sold to T W Ward Ltd for breaking-up at Inverkeithing.

THE GATHERING STORM

Gibraltar, Naples, Alexandria, Djibouti, India, Singapore, Kelang, Colombo, Abu Dhabi and Eilat. The deployment of a lifetime. As the ship slipped gracefully out of Devonport visits to these far off, exotic places were in everyone's thoughts. Lots of sun, beaches and plenty of sights to see. There was a certain amount of work to be done before the start of the deployment and this took the form of Exercise Springtrain. Most the Navy's major warships took part in this exercise off to the west of Portugal during late March. All the ships spent an enjoyable weekend in Gibraltar taking part in a sports olympiad as well as sampling the delights of various hostelries. The weekend over and the ships sailed to complete the exercise. This is where the change began. News started to filter through of unrest in the South Atlantic between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. At first very little interest was shown in the matter but when the islands were invaded things began to change. Ships were asked to report their material state of readiness to Commander-in-Chief Fleet, and within hours some of the Fleet were heading south. What was to be BROADSWORD'S Fate; "We'll be O.K. we' re off to Singers" came the reply. It certainly looked that way. While many of the ships were being sent south, BROADSWORD turned east, headed for Gibraltar, and after a very pleasant weekend, continued east. Naples was looking good. How wrong we were, for after 12 hours of heading east we were "about turned" and told to return to Gibraltar to take on stores and ammunition. Goodbye nice sunny deployment, hello cold South Atlantic. Three hectic days were spent in Gibraltar storing ship, and when I say storing ship I mean storing ship. Hardly a corner was left unfilled -potatoes, missiles, stores of every kind were stowed away and when all the preparations were complete we set sail for the unknown of the Falkland Islands. Thoughts onboard were very mixed at the time of sailing. "I can't believe this". "Surely the diplomats can sort this out". "We'11 be turned round at Ascension." "The Argentines must back down". How wrong we all were. Back in the UK the mighty HERMES and INVINCIBLE were made ready, and complete with their squadrons of Harriers and helicopters they set sail to take command of the Task Force. Ships of the Merchant Navy were requisitioned and quickly turned into troop carriers, stores ships and hospital ships to supplement the large numbers of Royal Fleet Auxiliaries already on their way south. Tankers belonging to oil companies were also taken up to help provide the vast amount of fuel required to keep ships at sea and aircraft in the air. While the ships left the UK amidst great cheers and patriotism, the hunter-killer submarines of the Silent Service were already forming the advance party of the strike force. Cruising silently beneath the waves they were already in the South Atlantic long before we were halfway to Ascension. After sailing from Gibraltar we rendezvoused two days later with FEARLESS and four Landing Ships. It was only a brief meeting and after exchanging some radio equipment we hurried ahead to catch up with the carrier group. Once we had caught up, INVINCIBLE who had shaft problems was left behind and we pressed on with HERMES and the other escorts.

THE PASSAGE SOUTH

As we continued south the warm weather of the Tropics quickly disappeared and the cool South Atlantic breezes began to pick at our faces. Most of the ships ordered their men to shave off, but fearful of the Buffer's wrath the First Lieutenant decided against this rule in BROADSWORD, and promptly a beard growing competition took place. Lieutenant Paul Coatalen produced something akin to a Worzel Gummidge special. Lieutenant Commander Roy Birch a D'artagnan masterpeice and words fail me in a description of Chief Petty Officer Dave Rook's! This proved to be one of the First Lieutenants better decisions because it soon became clear that to shave and then go on deck in the cold produced many chapped faces. Anyway the Argentinians had no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons so tight sealing Anti Gas Respirators were not going to be essential although they did prove useful in some ships enabling men to see in smoke filled compartments. As we continued south, BRILLIANT who had been leading an advance force of three type 42s plus HMS ARROW, was sent to join ANTRIM,PLYMOUTH, ENDURANCE and RFA TIDESPRING. Their task was to retake South Georgia. The type 42s and ARROW joined our group on 24 April and for the first time we looked like a well balanced force with Anti Air-warfare defence. On 25 April we held a church service onboard and just before the start of the service we received a signal informing us that the attack on South Georgia had commenced. HMS ANTRIM'S Wessex was carrying out a surface search along the coast when the crew spotted the Argentine Guppy class submarine, SANTA FE, on the surface. The helicopter attacked with Mark 11 depth charges which caused sufficient damage to prevent the submarine from diving. BRILLIANT'S Lynx attacked with a torpedo and finally when the submarine was alongside the jetty at Grytviken, ENDURANCE's wasp attacked with AS 12 missiles. With the submarine crippled and listing the way was clear for the ships to shell the Argentine positions ashore. The enemy positions had been recconnoitred earlier by the SAS, so knowing the enemy's whereabouts, the order to attack was given and a helo assault by men of the SAS and Royal Marines took place. Against odds of three to one, the troops overran the Argentinians and they surrendered without any losses. 130 prisoners were taken, later to be returned to Argentina via Ascension and after an abortive attempt to refloat the SANTA FE, BRILLIANT and PLYMOUTH rejoined the main group. On 29 April we held a Service of Dedication Before Action and on 1 May we entered what was now called the TEZ (Total Exclusion Zone). This was merely an extension of the Maritime Exclusion Zone to include aircraft. It was now become apparent that the negotiations were not going to resolve the dispute so it was decided to put military pressure on the Argentines.

Monday 3 May again saw a first for the Task Force. A Sea King on a surface search mission was fired on from two small surface vessels to the north east of Port Stanley. HMS COVENTRY'S And HMS GLASGOW'S Lynx aircraft attacked the vessels with the newly acquired, but as yet unproven, Sea Skua air to surface missiles. One patrol boat sank and the other was severly damaged. During all the action BROADSWORD had been performing her customary role as goalkeeper for HERMES. This involved the ship manouvering upthreat, very close to the carrier to enable Sea Wolf to protect both ships from attack by missiles or aircraft. Our part in the conflict seemed to be along way from the action but the happenings of Tuesday 4 May brought the horrors of war that little bit closer. We had secured from our regular, dawn action stations and eaten lunch when suddenly we were called to action stations. There seemed to be a lot of confusion. At first it was announced that SHEFFIELD had suffered an internal explosion; it was then thought that she has been torpedoed; but it finally became clear that she had been struck by an Exocet missile fired from a Super Etendard fighter/bomber. It was unbelievable. "How could the aircraft have got close enough to deliver the missile". "Had any more Exocets been fired"? The answers are now history and weren' t then of any concern. What did matter was whether we could save the crew and the ship. The missile had ripped a hole in the ship's side and had started numerous fires. Her main problem was in containing the fires and when it was discovered that her fi remain had been breached and all power lost, all the ships sent over portable fire pumps. It was to no avail - the flames got worse and after a four hour battle the ship was abandoned. HMS ARROW took off most of the survivors and the injured were rushed to HERMES for treatment. A sobering day for all. Argentina was beginning to even the score. To hammer the point home a Harrier was shot down over Goose Green and the pilot was killed. During the following day the weather clamped and the ships remained in the eastern corner of the TEZ to think through the previous day's attack. Slowly the initiative was being lost but morale still remained high and people felt happier in the evening when it was announced that the SAS would be using their High Altitude/Low Opening technique to drop in over the Islands. Very little happened in the fog of the next few days except that unfortunately two Harriers collided in mid-air and both pilots were lost.

BROADSWORD had been goalkeeping on HERMES for so long that it came as a complete surprise when we were sent up front. On 9 May we sailed with COVENTRY to a position 12 miles from Port Stanley to attempt to enforce the air blockade. The idea was to use COVENTRY’s Sea Dart to shoot down aircraft before they got close enough to attack us and if this failed than our Sea Wolf would be used as point defence for both ships. This was to be our first taste of real action and many onboard were very apprehensive. "What would happen" "Would we survive". All these questions were asked but nobody knew the answers. However we were soon to find out. COVENTRY was also tasked to bombard the shore using her Mark 8 gun. This did not last long for her gun jammed so we sat and waited for any aircraft. All was quiet for a long time as if the enemy did not know that we were there. An air raid then began to build up to the west and pulses quickened. The raid began to close and it was assessed as an Argentine Hercules with an escort of fighters. It kept on heading for Port Stanley and everyone got very excited, wondering if we were going to get a successful hit. Our quiet thoughts were shattered as three Sea Darts leapt off COVENTRY’s launcher and disappeared towards the heavens. Everyone waited with bated breath for news of the attack. Surely we must have hit something. The report was eagerly awaited and when it came the ship's company were stunned. All three missiles were assessed as misses. We could hardly believe it. Thousands of pounds worth of modern missile had just been wasted. However the sight of a Sea Dart whistling over the pilot* s left shoulder gave the incoming aircraft something to think about and after a seconds thought they turned for home. It is very difficult with the Sea Dart system to confirm whether a hit has been achieved unless the target is seen to fall from the sky. They day was overcast and the target 40 miles away so we saw nothing. Argentina later reported losing two Skyhawks that day so maybe COVENTRY did hit something. We will never know. The lack of success spread a cloud a gloom throughout the ship and we would have been really fed up if we had not received news of a successful attack on the spy trawler NARWHAL. This ship had been warned to leave the TEZ earlier in the week but had obviously decided to ignore the warning. Two Harriers on a routine patrol found her and put one bomb clean through the hull and strafed the bridge. The crew were rescued and flown by Sea King to HERMES. Inspired by this small success we sat and waited for more air activity. We waited and waited and nothing came until we were about to set off to rejoin the carrier group. Our radar picked up a slow moving contract over the coast and quite incredibly this contact moved out over the sea. We quickly passed the target information to COVENTRY who loosed off a Sea Dart and this time a Puma helicopter fell from the sky in a ball of flame. Some felt that this was something of a hollow victory but when it was pointed out that it was probably carrying troops who would not think twice about killing our troops when they arrived ashore, they revised their attitude. Feeling happier we returned to the carrier group to be replaced by BRILLIANT and GLASGOW on the day after. They saw no action and returned to the carrier group on the 10th to be relieved by COVENTRY and BROADSWORD on the following day. Unfortunately the action had to be aborted when COVENTRY’s malfunctioned and our Sea Wolf system became unserviceable, so we returned east. Overnight ALACRITY and ARROW passed through the Sound and ALACRITY had a spectacular success. She came upon a darkened vessel lurking in a cove and opened fire with her gun. There was a huge explosion and the vessel disappeared. For one shell to destroy a ship in such a fashion could only mean that is was a fuel ship carrying supplies to troops ashore.

SEAWOLF BITES AT LAST

Fuelled by this success (excuse the pun) BRILLIANT and GLASGOW attempted the air blockade of Port Stanley on the 12th. Again nothing happened until late in the afternoon when both ships were attacked by Skyhawks. Four aircraft attacked from low overland and GLASGOW's Sea Dart was unable to engage them. However BRILLIANT attacked with Sea Wolf in the TV mode. The first two aircraft were hit by the missiles and the third in his efforts to manouvre clear of the other aircraft flew into the sea. Loud cheers echoed around BROADSWORD when news of the success was received. Sea Wolf had done exactly what the makers had specified. When would be our chance to have a go? The euphoria didn' t last long for further news quickly followed and this time it wasn't good news. A further wave of Skyhawks had attacked the ships and at the cricial moment BRILLIANT's system reset and was unable to fire. Both ships were bombed and strafed, one bomb leapt through GLASGOW's engine room and out the other side fortunately without exploding. GLASGOW limped for home BRILLIANT as escort and I suppose you could say that honours were even that day. i here were no casualties in GLASGOW but her time in the TEZ was to be short lived and after a quick patch up by the Fleet Maintenance Team in STENA SEASPREAD she returned to the UK. Fog again struck over the next few days and there was little action. Unfortunately a Sea King ditched killing 21 members of the SAS - some of them heroes at the retaking of South Georgia. Their loss stunned the Task Force. When the fog lifted the Harriers resumed the bombing of Port Stanley airfield and on 15 May HERMES, BROADSWORD and GLAMORGAN detached to do something special. What happened is now a piece of military history. The "Raid on Pebble Island". Men of the SAS bouncing back from the shock of losing their friends and colleagues in the Sea King attacked Pebble Island, under the supporting fire of HMS GLAMORGAN, destroying 11 aircraft. It was a brave feat which they carried out without loss of life on their part and early the following morning they returned to HERMES, and the three ships slipped away east. After the trouble with water ingress in the forward Sea Wolf tracker it was decided to carry out test firings against 4.5" shells. This was carried on the 16th and we shot down 2 shells which were fired from YARMOUTH. On the same day. Sea Harriers strafed two Argentine supply ships in a bay in West Falkland so things began to go our way. However again we suffered a setback. A Sea King got into difficulty a long way from the ships and managed to make it to the Chilean coast but unfortunately crash-landed. The crew managed to survive and were eventually found by the Chileans much to our embarrasment. However the Chileans recognised that the aircraft was in distress and after a brief stay in Chile the crew were returned safely to Britain. Thinking that no more Sea Kings could fall in the sea proved to be an error when a fifth speared in, this time the crew were rescued. At about this time everyone began to wonder when the landing would be -if indeed there was to be a landing. Talks were still going on at the UN and there was always a glimmer of hope. the 19th saw the arrival of the assault ships, FEARLESS and INTREPID, the LSLs, CANBERRA and all the other troop and equipment carriers of the Merchant Navy. GLAMORGAN continued to bombard the islands and the Harriers bombed two Sisters mount.

INVASION - THE 21ST MAY

The following day saw the talks finally breakdown and we were told that the invasion was to go ahead and that the landing would be on the 21st at San Carlos water off Falkland Sound on the west side of East Falkland. The ships formed up and split into two groups. The carrier group remained to the east and the troop carriers and assault ships guarded by ANTRIM, BROADSWORD, BRILLIANT, ARDENT, YARMOUTH, PLYMOUTH and ARGONAUT headed for the beach-head with 4000 troops and all their vital supplies. This was the day that would win or lose the battle. We had to get all the troops ashore. One hit on the CANBERRA and all would be lost. Surely this was the moment for which the Argentines had been saving their remaining air launched Exocet? The weather was on our side - misty with lots of low cloud to hide our position. As we set off from the carrier group on the evening of the 20th May we waited and waited for the inevitable air attacks, but non came. Maybe we could do it after all! We pressed on towards our goal. During the night creeping ever closer to the landing area, GLAMORGAN and the Harriers were carrying out diversionary bombardments of other possible landing sites and when at last as we in the Sound were putting men ashore, the SAS and SBS attacked strategic positions to add to the Argentines confusion. As dawn broke on the 21st we had achieved the beginning of the end for the enemy occupation of the Falklands• Every single soldier of the original 4000 was put ashore safely and after few skirmishes with some Argentinians a beach-head was established. The first aim had been completed, men ashore with sufficient supplies to hold their ground. However it now had to be defended and this task fell to the escorting frigates and destroyers. What happened over the next five days proved to be the highlight of the war from a naval point of view. They were days of sadness, horror, jubilation, thankfulness, pain and joy.

BOMB ALLEY - DAY ONE

During the latter part of the assault, BROADSWORD' s job had been to escort the LSLs, SIR TRISTRAM etc and protect them from the two S209 submarines of the Argentine navy. Once the landing ships had entered San Carlos Water, BROADSWORD returned to Falkland Sound to sweep the area just in case the submarines were lurking there ready to attack the landing ships at anchor. We found nothing, so as dawn was breaking BROADSWORD took up her air defence station in the South with BRIILIANT, PLYMOUTH, YARMOUTH, ARGONAUT, ARDENT, ANTRIM and the undefended FORT AUSTIN. At 1020 the ship went ot Action Stations and the Lynx was launched to carry out a surface search of nearby coves to establish whether there were any lurking patrol craft which might attempt an attack. The crew found nothing and returned safely after one hours flying. Sea Harriers were more lucky and two of them found some Argentine helicopters towards the southern end of the Sound. They attacked with cannon and shot down one Chinook and one Puma. Back on BROADSWORD everyone was looking at the sky awaiting the inevitable air raid. The day was crystal clear with bright sunshine - a total contrast to the previous day. The weather had certainly favoured us on the 20th but it changed sides and favoured the Argentines on the 21st. Initially it was peaceful not unlike summer holidays in the Western Isles. The only thing that told you otherwise was the sound of ANTRIM'S Guns as she pounded the shore. Suddenly this was all to change. A lone Aeromacchi appeared and attacked FORT AUSTIN, dropping bombs but fortunately not with any degree of accuracy. Still it acted as a warning and sensibly FORT AUSTIN moved into the more secure anchorage alongside the assault ships, then all hell let loose. The air was filled with attacking aircraft, mainly Mirage and Skyhawk, and the battle raged for over six hours. Every ship in the sound came under attack that day.

ANTRIM battling bravely fired her Sea Slug at some attacking aircraft but the odds were too great and she was hit by bombs and rockets around the flight deck. Fortunately the bombs did not explode which was just as well because one passed through the Sea Slug magazine. However the damage was sufficient to put her Sea Slug and Sea Cat systems out of action so all she could do was to sit out the rest of the day. BRILLIANT'S turn came. next. She was hit by cannon fire and one shell passed clean through the Operations Room damaging important cabling which severly affected her Sea Wolf system. Sea Harriers were fighting the bravest air battle since The Battle of Britain. A handful of aeroplanes were having to fly repeatedly from their carrers 150 miles east, yet were taking on and beating the faster Mirage and Skyhawk. One flew over the top of the ship and fired a Sidewinder at a departing Mirage which dipped and crashed into the hillside when hit. BROADSWORD was striving to get Sea Wolf away but the close proximity of the land was preventing the system from operating correctly and the opportunities to launch the missiles were scarce. However when it did strike it was a spectacular success. Unseen by most, a group of four aircraft attacked from low over the hills. Fortunately Leading Seaman Ball, the missile aimer on the forward system, saw the incoming aircraft on his screen and fired a missile in the TV Mode. It was a tremendous achievement, steering the missile towards nothing more than a black dot on the screen. Many people on the flight deck, who were looking in that direction, didn't see anything until the missile exploded under the aircraft's port wing. It was a good job that the flight deck team saw this for it alerted them to the attack and enabled some of them to engage the other incoming aircraft with gunfire while others took cover in the hangar. Two delta shaped silver Mirages winged over, flew round the stern and attacked the port side with 30mm cannon, strafing the hangar and the flight deck. Shrapnel bounced around the hangar injuring several of the flight but mercifully no one was killed. This action brought it home that we were at war. A second attack on the BROADSWORD was met with withering fire from the starboard battery. Cannon shells burst into the ship's side, one narrowly missing Sergeant Leslie as he slipped trying to rect fire at the escaping aircraft, and a piece of shrapnel ripped through the windproof jacket of Seaman 'Oscar' Whild. Several other members of the battery who were armed with SLRs were also hit by shrapnel. The battle went on. ARGONAUT received two direct hits from bombs and again they failed to explode. One landed in her main magazine leaning on live Sea Cats and other ammunition! Crippled, but not dead, she limped into San Carlos Water to better shelter. Still the attacks went on with no sign of them dying away. The Harriers were managing to knock some out of the sky but because they were heavily outnumbered inevitably others got through. Although the escorts were suffering badly they were achieving their aim of protecting the beach-head concolidated. The last attack of the day proved to be the saddest of all when a combination of Skyhawks, Mirages and Aeromacchi's attacked HMS ARDENT. They bombed her hangar and flight deck killing most of the Flight and causing her to list to starboard. Her weapons were cripplied and she was heading out of control for the shore so she dropped her anchor. The aircraft attacked again splattering the flight deck where the doctor was attending a dying man. The doctor was blown overboard but remained concious and was picked up by BROADSWORD where he recovered after being treated for exposure. HMS YARMOUTH came alongside the stricken ARDENT and took off the survivors to end a sad but successful day. 17 aircraft had been destroyed by Harriers and the escorts while a Lynx had quietly disposed off an oiler hiding in a cove. Darkness came and with it safety-at least for the next few hours. Tomorrow would be different because we all hoped the Rapier Batteries would be established to give the ships and the beach-head added protection.

BOMB ALLEY - THIRD DAY

May 23 dawned bright and clear. BRILLIANT was in need of repairs and COVENTRY was detached to the carrier group so we took BRILLIANT'S place in San Carlos Water. Here we were supposed to have a better chance because we were protected by high ground and the long awaited Rapier, and it was thought that the only way that the Argentines could attack was through the narrow gap at the head of the water. How wrong we were. The aircraft came in low and fast, swooping down valleys on either side. Earlier in the day we had seen success when ANTELOPE' s Lynx had fired a Sea Skua into a freighter and the Harriers had shot down two Pumas and Bell helicopter, but now the boot was on the other foot. There were several attacks during the day, some more member able than others. All were frightening but some seemed comical in retrospect. Sea Cat chased Mirages and just when they seemed to be gaining they ran out of steam and fell in the water like something from a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Other missiles and 40/60 fire hit the hillside in pursuit of one jet, scattering a herd of cows who left a trail of dust that even the Roadrunner would have been proud of. After the comedy came the tragedy. ANTELOPE who had replaced the unfortunate ARDENT was the subject of a particularly ferocious attack in which received an unexploded bomb. She defended herself valiantly shooting down one aircraft and destroying another which hit her mast and cartwheeled into the water just yards ahead of our bridge. We ourselves then became the subject of a determined attack, Sea Wolf took one and 40/60 another, but somehow one aircraft launched two bombs which looked as if they were going to end BROADSWORD*s war. The approach of the bombs, fitted with air brakes was very slow and everyone on the upper deck froze as they watched them draw nearer. Again God was kind and the first one fell short and the second passed over the bridge and exploded in the water 30 yards away. Meanwhile ANTELOPE had limped up the harbour to shelter amongst the assault ships. YARMOUTH'S Sea Cat shot down another aircraft and dusk approached, signalling the end of the day* s battle. There was a lot of joy around because many aircraft had been shot down and we had suffered only light casualties. The Navy had also not lost a ship. However this was all about to change. Shortly after dark ANTELOPE exploded as a bomb disposal expert attempted to defuse the unexploded bomb in the engine room. The explosion broke the ship* s back and she quickly caught fire. This marred an anotherwise successful day and set many minds wondering just how long we could hold out in Bomb Alley, by common consent we had decided San Carlos Water should be named. Early the next day ANTELOPE finally sank.

BOMB ALLEY - FIFTH DAY: HMS COVENTRY

May 25 - a day to remember, one never to be forgotten. May 25 is Argentina’s National Day and the Task Force Commander had warned us to expect fierce attacks from the Argentine Air Force. Well prepared we staioned ourselves, together with COVENTRY, about 10 miles north of the northern entrance to Falkland Sound off Pebble Island. The day began well and after an attack on San Carlos, Sea Harriers chased two Mirage north out of the Sound towards us. As the fleeting aircraft approached they banked left, climbed and headed for home using their superior speed to outrun the Harriers. Imagine what shock the pilots must have suffered, when after thinking they were home and dry, they were hit by Sea Darts from COVENTRY. Two down. This was more like it - the missile trap was beginning to work. Shortly after the first encounter another aircraft appeared heading out of the Sound and it too felt the power of COVENTRY'S SEA Dart. Rapier and YARMOUTH'S Sea Cat were also proving successful, shooting down one each. Perhaps the 25 May was going to prove to be a sad National Day for Argentina. Wrong. Things then started to go against us. The group intercepted a radio message saying that Port Stanley airfield was ready. Ready for what? The Admiral assumed that there was going to be an Exocet attack on the carrier group 150 miles to the North East. We sat and waited and nothing happened until a raid of strength four was detected closing our position from the West. They were tracked in until they disappeared from the radar as they crossed West Falkland. The first two were detected again as they came over the sea and COVENTRY'S missile system locked on ready to fire. Unfortunately the lock was broken and COVENTRY started firing her gun instead so the aircraft turned slightly and attacked our starboard quarter. They were flying extremely low and close together and our Sea Wolf tracker was unable to form a clear track for the missile to engage so we were unable to fire. "Take Cover", came the cry. Everyone dived for the deck, except the gun crews who kept on firing for all they were worth, and hearts in mouths we awaited our fate. Seconds seemed like hours and then there was a loud CLANG from aft. Nobody moved and the explosion was awaited. The seconds passed and still nothing happened. We were still alive and afloat! However the raid was not over because the other two aircraft were attacking from ahead. This time Sea Wolf had locked on to the aircraft. They were still outside range so we waited for the right moment to fire. Then without explanation COVENTRY moved across our bows, probably to open her weapon acrs, preventing us from firing. The Skyhawks dropped their bombs and at least one and maybe two hit COVENTRY midships. Five seconds later there was an almighty explosion and she took on a severe list. It was apparent that she was capsizing and the ship's company were already abandoning ship. We had also been hit by a bomb which fortunately entered the starboard side of the ship and bounced out via the flight deck, demolishing the Lynx enroute, but passing through without exploding. Realising we were safe for the time being, we set about the task of recovering the COVENTRY survivors and prayed that no more aircraft would attack us while we were attempting this rescue. Harriers provide us with a protective umbrella as we fought to get everyone onboard by nightfall. Men were leaping into liferafts and others were just jumping into the icy water, so it was imperative that the survivors were rescued as quickly as possible. Fortunately we had an already developed, but as yet untested, survivor handling plan which swung into action. All available boats were lowered and helicopters streamed out from San Carlos to assist. Men suffering from the effects of the blast were brought onboard and everyone was examined, given medical treatment if required, reclothed, fed and the more seriously injured were flown straight to the hospital ship, UGANDA. The helicopters proved to be invaluable. Time and again aircrewmen were winched down to pluck men from the icy sea and at one stage a Wessex landed on the hull of the sir tokened COVENTRY to pick up survivors. One extremely brave piece of flying occured when one pilot hovered above the Sea Dart magazine, and his winchman recovered 17 men from a group of life rafts which were trapped alongside the ship's hull. At any moment the magazine could have exploded. With all the survivors rescued we returned to San Carlos where they were put into a landing craft and transferred to the CANBERRA.

defence of the Argentines and led to their surrender. 14 Paras died in the attack but they took 1400 prisoners in one of the bravest battalion actions ever. While the Paras were reaping in the results of their attack, the Royal Marines were quietly marching across a more Northern route and they took the strategic settlements of Douglas and Teal Inlet. The GR 3s continued their bombing runs this time attacking Port Stanley, Pebble Island and Mount Kent, and amongst all this excitement someone managed to shoot down a Mirage and a Sky hawk. All in all a very successful day where the ability of the British troops proved to be the ace in our hand. Sunday 30th May saw the by no familiar retaliatory attack on the Task Force. Unable to gain success on land the Argentine Air Force seemed determined to avenge their losses ashore by dealing a crippling blow to a carrier. They launched a combined Etendard and Skyhawk attack on the Task Force but did not press it home with sufficient determination to hit a carrier. Launching on Exocet at the first contact that appeared on its radar screen the Etendard turned and ran for home while the Skyhawks attacked and bombed HMS AVENGER. The Exocet had been carelessly set at too low a height setting and had ditched harmlessly into the sea. All the bombs aimed at AVENGER missed and EXETER'S SEa Dart splashed an escaping Skyhawk. The ships of the Task Force secured from Action Stations somwhat relieved and continued their efforts. It came as no surprise to receive outrageous news from Argentina that INVINCIBLE had been hit and seriously damaged in the attack. This was the third time she had been 'hit'. On the other occasions she had been. sunk! The Harriers continued their bombardments of Port Stanley and Mount Challenger and one was hit by ground fire, ditching on the way home. The pilot was safely rescued. In the evening there was another call to Action Stations for an Etendard attack. This was something different - a night attack. "Chaff" was fired everywhere and at one stage the flare of a chaff rocket was mistaken for that of an Exocet and for one awful moment it was thought that a missile was heading for us. Nothing materialised and it was thought to have been an Etendard returning from Port Stanley to Argentina after the afternoon's abortive attack. More bombing runs on Port Stanley were carried out over the next two days and GLAMORGAN, AVENGER and ALACRITY continued overnight bombardments. The Glorious First of June saw the land forces only 12 miles from Port Stanley. There was little air activity but one Harrier was shot down north of the Sound, the pilot being picked up later. On the day of the last Exocet attack, the BRITISH WYE a civilian support tanker had reported that she has been attacked by a Hercules aircraft and that bombs, which were kicked out of the aircraft's back door, had bounced off her forecastle without exploding. This was a new tactic because the BRITISH WYE, was stationed well to the east of the main group, and it appeared that the Argentines had opted for a desperate, unorthodox method of homing using the Hercules because it had a greater ranger than the jets. It was probably a tactic developed to attack the QE 2 together with the embarked 5 Infantry Brigade. However unknown to the enemy the QE 2 was allowed no nearer than South Georgia and she transferred her troops to other ships including the CANBERRA. They did attempt a second attack on the 1st June but fortunately a Harrier on a routine patrol saw the Hercules to the north of the Sound and attacked with Sidewinder and cannon, splashing the aircraft in a one-sided fight. NORLAND, the prison ship, left with prisoners taken at Darwin and Goose Green to head for Montivideo. Onboard was BROADSWORD'S Supply Officer, Lieutenant Commander Alan JOHNSON who was seconded to help after "owning up" to having spent one year on the army staff course at Camberley. Meanwhile BROADSWORD

BLUFF COVE

SIR GALAHAD and SIR TRISTRAM were unloading the last set of troops for the final assault on Port Stanley, the Welsh Guards, at Bluff Cove. Some of the troops were already ashore but others were helping to unload ammunition when the overcast skies suddenly cleared and Mirages and Skyhawks bombed both ships. The bombs exploded setting alight the ammunition. Those who were not killed instantly were severely burned and soon the sea was full of soldiers trying to escape from the blazing ships. Over 50 Guardsmen were killed and many more injured. Several men of the RFA were also killed. A small landing craft was sunk with 6 killed. The Fleet Air Arm again became heroes out of the tragedy. Flying their helicopters in thick, blinding smoke they rescued many servicemen who would otherwise have died. While the ships in Bluff Cove were being attacked, HMS PLYMOUTH was receiving similar treatment elsewhere around East Falkland. She was attacked with bombs, rocket and canon but despite being seriously damaged, she managed to bring down two enemy aircraft before limping back to the safety of the carrier group. Attacks were going on ashore but here the Argentines had little success and at the end of the day the Scots Guards had shot down four Skyhawks with machine gun fire, and two Harriers brought down two further aircraft, one each. The Argentines did not get everything their own way. Two more GR 3s flew in from Ascension and although one crash landed at the Forward Operating Base, our 'air force' was slowly increasing. By now most of the Navy's contribution, except the air operations and Naval Gunfire Support, was beginning to take a back seat as the troops prepared for the battel for Port Stanley - the one everybody had been waiting for, the one which would win the war and send the invader back where he came. The Argentines still persisted with their desparate tactics of bombing ships at sea, this time 400 miles north east of the islands. Unfortunately the Argentines were not too good at recognition and it was an Amercian owned tanker flying the Liberian flag. None of the Italian crew was injured but it was subsequently found that an unexploded bomb had lodged inside the hull and the ship was ordered to leave Rio De Janeiro after she had limped there carrying a 6 degree list. We now know that she was taken out and sunk as being too dangerous to defuze.

VICTORY

During the next two nights the softening up process was continued and YARMOUTH shelled Sapper Hill, Moody Brook and Mount Harriet. By now the troops ashore were in control of most of the high ground to the west of Port Stanley and were able to direct their fire on to Argentinian positions in and around the capital itself. There were just two phases left. The first was to take Wireless Ridge and the second was to take Sapper Hill. Then it was hoped that Port Stanley would fall for no positions would be safe and could be picked off at will. During the nights of the llth and 12th, ACTIVE, ARROW and EXETER shelled Port Stanley and Port Howard. The Harriers continued to bomb the capital during the day and on- the 12th GLAMORGAN, AVENGER and YARMOUTH joined in the blitz of Port Stanley. A lone Vulcan again failed in a bombing run and as the gunline ships were returning, GLAMORGAN was hit by a shore launched Exocet. This missile hit the hangar, killing 13 and injuring 17. The damage and casualties could have been much worse had the missile hit lower down the hull in the Sea Slug magazine, but fortunately the after Sea Cat aimer probably got his missile close enough to the Exocet to damage a fin and cause it to fly upwards at the last minute. This was, of course, no consolation to the people who died in the hangar and on the deck below, but an even greater tragedy had been averted. The 13th saw the fighting drawing rapidly towards the 'last battle'. Harriers started to bomb Port Stanley and the Argentine troop emplacements using laser guided bombs. Their accuracy was such that one actually dropped down the barrel of a large gun with the obvious conclusion. Harriers also found time to attack a fast patrol boat and CARDIFF shot down yet another Mirage. The army continued to consolidate, and then launched its assault overnight assisted by a bombardment from AVENGER, AMBUSCADE and YARMOUTH. After some fierce fighting. Wireless Ridge was taken and the Argentines turned and fled back towards Port Stanley. Encouraged, our troops pushed on and a similar thing happened on Sapper Hill. The streets of the capital were becoming jammed with frightened Argentine troops. General Moore quickly saw the chance to force the enemy to surrender. General Menendez had little option. Had he carried on the fight thousands of his men would have been killed by a few shells placed in the Main Street. He had the good sense to realise this and on the 14th June he surrendered East and West Falkland to General Moore. The Task Force had achieved a remarkable success. It had re-taken a strongly defended island, at the end of an 8000 mile supply route without air superiority - something that military strategists believed was almost impossible.

ON THE BRIDGE AIR RAID WARNING YELLOW

The following is an extract from his Order of Service. CALL TO WORSHIP God is our hope and strength; a very present help in trouble. HYMN FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT WITH ALL THEY MIGHT: CHRIST IS THEY STRENGTH AND CHRIST THEY RIGHT: LAY HOLD ON LIFE AND IT SHALL BE THEY JOY AND CROWN ETERNALLY. CAST CARE ASIDE, LEAN ON THY GUIDE, HIS BOUNDLESS MERCY WILL PROVIDE: LEAN, AND THY TRUSTING SOUL SHALL PROVE, CHRIST IS THY LIFE, AND CHRIST THY LOVE. FAINT NOT, NOR FEAR, HIS ARM IS NEAR: HE CHANGETH NOT, AND THOU ART DEAR, ONLY BELIEVE AND THOU SHALT SEE, THAT CHRIST IS ALL IN ALL TO THEE. READING (Read by Captain Canning) Then He entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants from their stalls, saying to them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple is a place of prayer; but you have turned it into a den of thieves.' "After that He taught daily in the Temple, but the Chief Priests and other religious leaders and the business community were trying to find some way of getting rid of Him. But they could think of nothing, for He was a hero to the people, they hung on every word He said. THE CONDITIONS OF A JUST WAR Jesus himself took a weapon, a whip, and applied sufficient force to achieve his objective when He found corruption in the Temple. The practical expression of the Love of God in human activity is in the EXERCISE OF JUSTICE. In an attempt to humanise war and limit wanton slaughter the church formulated the PRINCIPLES OF A JUST WAR. 1. DECLARED AND ENGAGED IN BY PROPER AUTHORITY: Not an individual’s whim, governments wage war against governments. We are not mercenaries but servants of our community through the government they elected. 2. ENGAGED IN FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE INNOCENT: and for the defence of the oppressed, not agreed or aggression. 3. FOUGHT ONLY WHEN PEACEFUL NEGOTIATIONS FAIL TO ATTAIN JUSTICE: As a last resort. We don't live by the sword' but we are skilled in its use should all else fail. 4. THERE MUST BE A REALISTIC EXPECTATION OF SUCCESS: The just war is for the protection of the innocent not to sacrifice more lives unnecessarily. 5. IT MUST BE A JUSTLY WAGED WAR: Two wrongs don't make a right. Torture, wanton destruction and non-military targets cannot be justified. ADDRESS Just now, I would rather be in the Indian, than the Atlantic ocean, I would rather be in Cornwall than entering a War Zone BUT I have no moral qualms about being here and being part of this Task Force. I would like to think that if my part of the United Kingdom was invaded, someone would be prepared to do for my children what we may be asked to do for the Falklanders. It is with this in mind that I invite you all, whatever you believe and in the name of all you hold dear, to share with me in the sentiment if not the conviction of the following prayers* LET US PRAY PRAYERS Our Families - God, our Heavenly Father, look in love upon our families and friends. Protect them from harm, comfort them in loneliness and prosper them in all good things. Let no shadow come between them and use to divide our hearts and in your own good time bring us home to them again; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. Before Action -• 0 God, who sees that in this conflict we are seeking to serve you, and yet in the waging of it we must need to do many things that are an offence against your love; accept we pray you our imperfect offering, arm us with your spirit that our action may further the victory of your justice and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. Sir Francis Drake' s Prayer - 0 Lord, when Thou givest to Thy servants to endeavour in any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the same until it be thoroughly finished that yieldeth the true glory; through Him who for the finishing of Thy work laid down His life, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. NELSONS PRAYER (Together) - MAY THE GREAT GOD WHOM I WORSHIP, GRANT UNTO MY COUNTRY, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF FREEDOM IN GENERAL, A GREAT AND GLORIOUS VICTORY: MAY NO MISCONDUCT IN ANYONE TARNISH IT: AND MAY HUMANITY AFTER VICTORY BE THE PREDOMINANT FEATURE IN THE BRISTISH FLEET. FOR MYSELF INDIVIDUALLY, I COMMIT MY LIFE TO HIM THAT MADE ME, AND MAY HIS BLESSING ALIGHT ON MY ENDEAVOURS FOR SERVING MY COUNTRY FAITHFULLY. TO HIM I RESIGN MYSELF AND THE JUST CAUSE WHICH IS ENTRUSTED ME TO DEFEND. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN. The Service ended with the Naval Hymn.

THE GDP

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 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 Argentinian 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 COVENTRY RESCUE THE GEMINI IS IN THE FOREGROUND RIGHT

COVENTRY left it too late. She fired Seadart-, but more to frighten the pilots than anything else, but it didn't work. They had two direct hits amidships which crippled the ship. We pumped thousands of rounds at the Skyhawks but it didn't seem to work. The COVENTRY seemed to lean over to port quite a lot and then they abandoned ship. We were told to go and look for survivors floating in the water by Gemini. When we were heading towards the COVENTRY we noticed two 30 Man Liferafts stuck alongside. By this time the ship was almost on its side and threatening Co crush the life rafts, so we went to the rescue. The first one was amidships, which was in the most danger. The men inside were badly burnt, some of them panicked and jumped out but we pulled them into the Gemini. We thought the ship was going to explode at any moment: there were flames and heavy black smoke coming out of the funnel but we carried on with the job and somehow managed to get them to safety. We used a small nylon line to tow one 1 if era ft clear of the ship and we left them our paddles to stop them from floating back into the sinking ship as we returned to BROADSWORD to drop off survivors. We then went back for the liferaft at the forward end of COVENTRY which contained her Captain. About 16 of them came aboard the Gemini (which was only made for 7 people) and 10 more were hanging onto the side. We couldn* t pull ourselves away from the ship as there was not enough power in the engine. The helicopters used their downdraft to blow us off until we could make some headway, and we tried to tow the liferaft but the line snapped, and there was no going back to rig another one, without endangering ourselves and the other people in the boat. It took about 45 minutes to get 1000 yards; the boat had six inches of water in it; the engine was straining, and some of the people clinging to the side were freezing to death so we had to drag them aboard. We were then badly overloaded and threatening to capsize, but we managed to reach our seaboat which was straining its engine pulling another liferaft. Our first job was to get the men out of the water. These were winched up by helicopter and flown to safety, and another gemini came alongside and took half our survivors. We though our day was over until we go the propeller fouled with some rope which had to be cut off. We finally cleared the prop and returned to BROADSWORD and the warmth within the ship. The Gemini had eight inches of water in it, the motor was almost worn out and the boat had broken its back. Our thanks to the helicopter pilots who probably saved our lives and the lives of many others.

THE VIEW FROM THE FLIGHT DECK

The first encounter with the Argentine Air Force took place soon after lunch on Friday 21st May, when the Flight Commander and Second Observer had returned from a coastal search between Pebble Island and Cape Dolphin. Suddenly a Pucara counter insurgency aircraft appeared from ahead, screaming down the starboard side, dropping bombs well short of RFA FORT AUSTIN before disappearing over the hill and into San Carlos Water itself, where it fired rockets at ARGONAUT, and escaped apparently unscathed to the south. Not long after that, wave after wave of Mirage fighter/bombvers swept down on us -three separate attacks being directed at BROADSWORD herself. The first of these three came in from the starboard side. We had a GPMG and two LMGs back aft. The whole of the Flight's attention was drawn to these aircraft whistling past, clearing the top of the mast, and departing to the south west to return to base. Many rounds were pumped into the air in the general direction of the aircraft. It all seemed much like a Portland exercise. We may just as well have been firing blanks at incoming Hunters in a low level exercise. The next wave was to change all our minds. AEM WEST and myself were following the path of two A4s, sweeping down the starboard side, clinging to the cliffs, well out of range. As I watched them turn, I noticed that WEST was crawling towards the hangar. Indeed, there was no sign of anyone around. Looking right behind me, over the port side, I could see why. Three Mirage were heading straight for us, the left hand one obviously heading for the flight deck and the exposed helicopter. There was only one sensible course of action but rather than head for the hangar, I ran up the starboard waist, collapsing on the deck. Picking myself up and counting the Mirages passing overhead, I ran to the hangar to see what, if any, damage we had sustained. In the hangar was a sight I had never before seen, nor ever wished to see again. Several of the team had been hit. Mercifully the injuries were not as serious as the amount of blood led one to believe. The third and final attack that day was again pressed home by three Mirages, this time from the starboard side. We were few and far between on deck by this time. The Flight Commander was to my left, manning an LMG, whilst I remained closed up on the GPMG, but without a belt feed man. As the three aircraft closed, one conspicuously broke left, again aiming for the flight deck. Again the starboard battery let rip, only to see the aircraft 30mm cannon open up, and a bomb drop. That was enough for me - rapidly turning to my left, I launched myself under the hangar door. A few moments later, I poked my head out to see if all was well, but the Flight Commander had been hit in the fleshy part of his chin by a piece of shrapnel, and had to be rushed forward for attention. There had been no cover for any of us. It has been an almost futile gesture. Even so it was a help-so much so, that one Mirage was splashed by a combination of 40/60, GPMG, LMG and SLR fire. The Saturday was much quieter. HMS COVENTRY and ourselves were deployed to the north of Pebble Island, to act as a Missile trap, with COVENTRY'S SEA Dart acting as an attack weapon. On Sunday morning the 23rd, we found ourselves back in Bomb Alley, ready to take out any marauding Argentine aircraft. Once again, our Lynx departed on a coastal/surface search to the north, again finding nothing in the area. Having picked up two Fighter Controllers from FEARLESS (ex ANTRIM) the cab was tasked to investigate three contacts to the north of the AOA at about 50 miles, returning to land on ANTELOPE. That was when the fun started! Air raid warning red was piped minutes after they had shut down on ANTELOPE' s deck. During several attacks by A4s, ANTELOPE was hit, port and starboard, by unexploded bombs, (one bomb hit the Air Conditioning Unit, allowing inert Freon gas to escape). This immediately caused a gas alarm. Our poor crew, minus anti-gas respirators, were in two minds whether or not to leap over the side and try to swim for it. The mere fact that they were standing talking about it of course meant there was no gas present, and they finally managed to leave for BROADSWORD; but not before having a good look at ANTELOPEs pole mast, which has been bent virtually double by an exploding A4, taken out by a combination of BROADSWORD and ANTELOPE'S Small arms fire. Tactics again changed on the 24th; back to our original missile trap to the North of the Sound. We had very little activity, although the two FCs we had picked up earned their keep by controlling Sea Harriers into incoming raids, and successfully shooting down 7 aircraft. This plot was repeated on Argentina's Revolution Day the 25th. We remained in defence watches until required to close up at Action Stations. Our first call being at 1234. Two aircraft had been detected 20 miles to the south, and closing. COVENTRY fired two Darts: lockouts sighted one parachute while the other aircraft was tracked by radar heading back over the land. Things then happened thick and fast, at 1800 - Air Raid Warning Red; 1805 -raid now west at 80 miles closing at 450 knots, CAP intercepting; 1820, and we are under attack; 1822, one UXB come inboard from the starboard quarter, exiting through the flight deck, taking with it the nose of XZ 729; 1825, COVENTRY has been hit and was listing to port. The raids cleared, and we- went to pick up survivors from the now capsizing COVENTRY. She lies on her side, a Wessex 5 resting his front wheels on her port side, winching men out of liferafts trapped by her Sea Dart launcher. There are a total of 10 helos dotted around the sky, picking up survivors who have drifted away in bright orange liferafts; checkiong pieces of flotsam to see if anyone maybe clinging onto them; more are heading in from the AOA. The job of recovering the survivors continued on into the darkness. By last light the majority had been recovered, and were hustled below, stripped, showered/bathed to warm them up, and fed. It was not until nearly two o'clock in the morning that we finally saw the Ship's Company of HMS COVENTRY depart in an LCM to be taken to a holding vessel. I have never been so moved as when those men sat, huddled together against the chill winter's night, kitted out in borrowed clothes and shoes, with Pusser's towels and blankets, gave three cheers for 'HMS BROADSWORD' not once but twice. Even as they pulled away into the darkness, those unfortunate souls were clapping and shouting their thanks to those of use left on deck.

THE OPERATIONS ROOM

The ship joined HERMES and INVICIBLE a week after leaving Gibraltar; inevitably, being in company with the two carriers, the Gloom Room boys were working a two watch system much earlier than the rest of the Ship's Company. The journey South was used to refine procedures and become familiar with the other ships in the Task Force. We set up the "War Office", the fount of all buzzes terrifying and true, frightening and false. SOO and SCO pinned up the charts, made their flags and markers and prepared for paper action. A sunny respite was taken at Ascension when all that was black. was painted grey and final touches were made to suntans. We estimated two weeks at Ascension awaiting the Amphibious forces; after a day we set off South again and within hours a periscope (?) was sighted and the realities of the situation were dawning on us* No submarine was detected but Soviet and Argentine surveillance confined. • The Russians used their large Bear aircraft and the Argentines employed Boeing 707; as they approached the carriers they were escorted off by Sea Harriers. But these were highlights in an otherwise monotonous routine - there were daily exercises but nothing to delay the plod into the ever increasing cold of the Southern Atlantic * The Roaring Forties produced some rough weather; for the benefit of TV we closed HERMES and increased speed to generate some spray and to "take it Green" * So much so that the First Lieutenant snapping away with his camera in the shelter of the Bridge Wing was drenched by a wave that came over the top of the Bridge! Much delight and amusement for those within the Bridge. Helicopters were flying round the clock transferring stores and personnel from the RFAs and it was a sad incident involving a SeaKing 4 that, nonetheless, demonstrated the thoroughness of Portland Training. The aircraft had, unbeknown to any ship, flown into the sea just after dusk. The pilot sitting in his dinghy had released a red flare as we passed him about a mile away. "Red Flare Green 90" yells the OOW, ASWD deep in a long watch reverie comes to with a start "Take TCMs" he bellows. (Torpedo Counter Measures, in an ASW Exercise the firing of a torpedo by a submarine is signalled by a Green Flare). We were involved in the search for the ditched helicopter and its crew for some time, eventually handing over to HMS YARMOUTH. Only the pilot was saved, nothing was found of his crewman, our first casualty of operation. As we approached the 200 mile zone we received the great news that South Georgia had surrendered and the Submarine Santa Fe had been destroyed with no loss of life. "We' 11 wrap this up and be on our way to Singapore via Simons town in no time" thought the optimists. May 1st and battle commenced, well for some; ships were despatched inshore for bombardment and to chase a possible submarine• We stayed in our usual station close by the HERMES. Some aircraft were shot down (Argentinian that is) and ships were attacked and slightly damaged and both sides withdrew to think about it. In the Ops Room we listened to fighter pilots and the bombardment ships some 100 miles away, it hardly seemed real; more like the games at DRYAD. The warmongers amongst us were thirsting for action and the chance came on 9th May when we went inshore with HMS COVENTRY to lay a missile trap for Argentine aircraft and to bombard Stanley. The weather was cool and overcast with poor visibility and although COVENTRY fired 3 Sea Darts the results seemed inconclusive. Late in the day a helicopter was detected by the radars and was confirmed as an Argentinian Puma helicopter; we pointed this machine out to COVENTRY who destroyed it with a Sea Dart. We watched the event on the Seawolf TV system in Black and White, it all seemed so unreal. We returned on the llth but there were no aircraft the weather was awful and we rejoined the Carriers with nothing on the score sheet. It seemed to us then that we would spend the rest of the war following HERMES' bulk around, mainly in persistent fog. We followed her to Pebble Island and later we followed INVINCIBLE to Beauchene Island, and back. 20th May and we joined the Ships taking the troops to San Carlos; another eventful day, far more quiet than an exercise. By daybreak on 21st, 3 Commando Brigade were streaming ashore and the escorts were waiting for the expected air attacks. Never having been under air attack before nobody knew really what to expect; and then they arrived "Air Raid Warning Red, Aircraft in the Sound" became a familiar call. We operated in the Sound, in San Carlos Waterway, off the coast and towards the Western Islands. All the daylight hours were spent at Action Stations waiting for the aircraft; the weather was perfect for them we saw the ARDENT, ANTELOPE and COVENTRY go under and yet in the gloom pressing buttons watching it on radar and TV, listening to the radio circuits and the gunfire it hardly seemed possible. Even with COVENTRY'S SAd survivors littering the decks the truth of what was going on was hard to believe; even when the bombs were so close on the TV that they were out of focus and filled the screen and the dreaded words "Take Cover" we all ducked the wrong way. The TVs are on the starboard side but the bombs were coming from the port side, we all ducked to port away from the TV! With COVENTRY sunk and a huge hole in the Flight Deck we were withdrawn back to follow HERMES, feeling guilty about leaving the others behind in San Carlos. But for all their success the Argentine Air Force seemed to have had enough, their attacks on the ships became very infrequent and were from high level - very inaccurate. Perhaps we had all stood our ground long enough to make them back off and search for easier prey. The rest of May passed, June and Surrender Day, we still followed HERMES * Then release from the Task Force and homeward bound, still following HERMES. Each air raid seemed to be over in minutes. In fact we often closed up at Action Stations for several hours at a time and were amazed when it was all over that time had passed so quickly. The next account is of an airraid as heard in the Operations room.

THE GLOOM ROOM

Once we had got into the swing of things the routine for action was very much the same. It would invariably start with an announcement on the main broadcast. PWO speaking, "We have intelligence reports that an air raid has been launched from the mainland and can be expected in the area in about 30 minutes time - the ship will therefore go to Action Stations at 1545". There is something nice about walking to Action Stations - its so much more dignified than a breathless heart stopping run to the noise of the main broadcast alarm. The PWOs announcement gave one time to finish off the paragraph of the letter, put away the book, secure the bunk, button on the life jacket or slip into an extra pair of overalls. It was like a gladiator preparing to enter the arena• On the way to the Ops. Room you always passed friends taking advantage of the warning and moving to their own places. "Give them hell from me" "You bet, just wait till I see the whites of their eyes" "Hi, Bill, hope the Seawolf works" "i f.....g hope so, its time we got another b..•.r!" "See you later" "Ok". In the Operations Room the lights are dim and there is an air of concentration. They have been closed up as a Defence Watch since 1200 in any case and there is an air of expectancy of some action to relieve the boredom. The Captain is in his chair looking down at the display and he is monitoring "button 7" the Task Force Commanding \ Officers special radio network. Each of the displays is manned and there is a buzz of reports being made as the tempo of the action increases. On Command Open line the reports are becoming more frequent. The PWO operates the main broadcast alarm and calls the ship to Action Stations. Reports came in as people close up at their positions and report that people are in place, equipment ready. When all is done and the flow of reports stops the PWO gives a sitrep. PWO speaking, "The raid we are expecting has still not been detected by any of the force radars. HERMES has launched an extra pair of CAP and they should be with us in about 15 minutes time. That is all". There are a few minutes silence broken only by the odd operator clearing his throat or bumping his microphone. "Captain, Sir, Golf Six Charlie has just called hostiles at 330*25" "Golf Six Charlie is ANTRIM?" "Yes, Sir - that means the raid is about there - they don't appear to have released it to link yet" "No - I see, lets wait" "There they are, track 2043" "Roger" "EWD this is Captain, anything on about 330" "Not yet Sir, we have Blue Fox on 270" "Roger - at least we have some CAP in that direction" "PWO this is HC. Red Leader reports he has two Mirage visual and is going "buster" "Roger - now for some action - 1 hope he gets them". Still no word on the other raid. The Captain briefs the Officer of the Watch. "OOW we have some raids developing to the West. CAP is engaging one, but another which we had a few minutes ago on radar has gone low and must be fairly close by now. Good look out in the Sound please" "Roger, Sir" The same message is passed to the SCC and silence settles again as the tension increases and eyes strain for that first tell tale blip on the radar. "PWO this is HC. Red Leader reports he has splashed one Mirage. The other ditched his bombs and fled for home" The word flashes round the Ops. Room. The Incident Board Operator tells HQ1 and a faint cheer can be heard from inside the ship. The Captain brings us back to the job in hand. "I'm still worried about that other raid - where the hell has it gone?" "Must be to the South Sir" We wait. And wait. And wait. "AIRCRAFT IN THE SOUND" They are here, the Officer of the Watch *s report is urgent, his voice showing the extra tension. The upper deck batteries check their guna . Anti-flash is pulled tighter round the face and pulses quicken. The PWO quickly makes a main broadcast announcement. "Air Raid Warning Red - On Anti-Flash" The concentration is now intense • Eyes peer from slits in Anti-flash, people stand up to get a better position at their displays. Here we go -hearts beat a little faster and like sprinters at the beginning of a race minds concentrate on the single job in hand - shooting the attackers down. "Aircraft to port - closing fast" Guns can be heard firing faintly - the raid must have gone towards another ship. "Further two aircraft - red 40 - coming at us" At the Seawolf panel the alert buzzer sounds. Above our heads the port 40/60 Bofor starts firing with a steady beat and we can hear the empty shell cases changing on the deck above our heads. The small arms now start as well - this one must be close and coming straight at us. Seawolf fires. On the Seawolf TV there is the image of an aircraft so close that it fills the screen. "Christ this is close" "Go Seawolf go" The involuntary urgings came out loud on Open line as does the shouting on the bridge. "Take cover" "Look out" "There are two more astern" "Where?" "Christ" "Port on Starboard" "Starboard quarter. Green 160" "Yes, have got - track 2045" "TI for gods sake" The small arms firing is intense, 40/60 cases clatter on the deck and there are the sounds of feet pounding above our heads as the upper deck batteries dive for cover. There is a loud whoosh as an aircraft passes overhead. People in the Ops Room duck involuntarily and the Starboard battery opens up as the Port Battery falls silent • We know the raid has passed and is now opening on the other side. There is a crumping sound and just faintly at first we can hear some cheering. "Captain, Sir - Officer of the Watch" "Captain" "The First pair of aircraft went for YARMOUTH who engaged with small arms and Sea cat. Our Seawolf also went very close and one aircraft seems to have been hit. We think It might have crashed just out of our sight in San Carlos Sound. The second raid bounced us from fine on the Starboard quarter. We seemed to do quite well with small arms but one aircraft dropped two bombs which landed about 20ft on the port beam and exploded in the water". "Roger - thank you - keep a good look out". So thats what the crump was - another near miss. "Captain - Sir - PLYMOUTH are reporting one aircraft splashed on AAWC" A small cheer goes up in the Ops. Room and the report, heard on the Bridge is passed to the GDP crew. A louder cheer goes up. People relax a little, but thoughts are reconcentrated on screens and controls. Still another four hours of daylight, still more raids to come. The SCC reports that a general search for damage is being made throughout the ship. Someone mentions tea and another asks how many Argies have been shot down today. No one knows. We remain at Action Stations for another three hours. There are no further raids. We live to fight another day. SWEO

H.Q.1

Working in HQ1 on the Incident Board at Action Stations and being in contact with both Section Bases, and the Ops. Room, 1 received the first reports of imminent attacks and resultant damage. When the voice at the other end of the line says, "HQ1, After Section " (usually it's always Cook Crooks that's first) "Explosion aft, patrols out", you wait, wondering what sort of damage we've got; is it bad? The MEO and DMEO start to plan the ways to deal with floods and fires, and the Watch in the SCC all seem to be looking at the Incident Board. Then the reports come in. We have a hole in the after Cleansing Station, through the tailor' shop and through the Flight Deck. A bomb has passed through us without exploding* We breathe a little easier, but what other damage have we got? SMEO nips off and does his on the spot assessment and then all the reports come in, and the picture on the Incident Board tells the story. Looking at the Board and remembering what sort of damage the ARDENT, ANTELOPE and COVENTRY received and what happened to them, I wonder what the Portland sea riders would have to say. I know what I have to say..."Somebody got it wrong and it wasn't US". Everyone in the ship knows where HQ1 is and what its function is. They now associate it either with pipes such as "Do you hear there. This is HQ1. Sit re p. We have received damage to the ship in the after section and this is being dealt with* All damage is under control", or with a certain Commander (E) suddenly leaping out on them with shouts of "Put on your anti flash", or "Don't you know you could be shot in war for leaving your Action Station". For me though HQ1 at Action Stations, for real, even managed a number of amusing incidents. Such as closing up to find a Lieutenant and a Fleet Chief fighting as to who answers which phone and Commander (E) refereeing: or lying on the deck under attack and suddenly being asked "what kind of planes are they this time", or listening to MEO saying for the umpteenth time, "It's about time LMEM Barnes that this ruddy Seawolf got its act together" as the Bofors started banging away at a close range attack.

"Hands to Action Stations" was a familiar pipe and one we all dreaded in the After Section of the Ship, but our first day at Action Stations was very quiet with no enemy action and we were all crimped out on the deck trying to snatch some "Z"s« We were all very confident about our ship's weapon system and had no worries about Argentinian Air attacks. But this was only the first day.... 21st May. As the morning came up we had a quick look at San Carlos Bay from the quarterdeck, but there wasn't much to see, just rambling hills and the odd sheep, which made me think of camping holidays in Wales. An hour passed quickly by, which gave way to another familiar pipe, "Air Raid Warning Red" and hearts were beating fast, people were going to the heads like it was going out of fashion: Seawolf was fired; there was a mon-ent of silence and then tremendous cheering. Seawolf had made a kill. Two minutes later we heard the Bofors open up, followed by the sound of small arms from the Flight Deck. We looked at each other. ... suddenly the headset was alive with "Take cover", shouted to the rest of the Section, who hit the deck and then followed by the thudding of 30mm cannon shells ripping into the ship and planes passing overhead with a "Whoosh". Then it was time to blanket search the after end. Damage was minor with holes everywhere, and then we discovered the dhoby had been hit, and that all the Flight along with the Leading Reg had suffered shrapnel wounds. This was the first day: our initiation into the Bomb Alley "Suicide Squad". The days then moved slowly on. We had more attacks with no more damage and we had shot down several jets. It was on 25th May when we were all praying for darkness that Air Raid Warning Red was sounded and we were subsequently attacked with COVENTRY. A bomb passed through the ship shortly before COVENTRY was hit, causing damage to our hangar, helicopter and 2R passage and destroying the Tailor's shop. Everyone was surprisingly calm and men worked hard repairing our damage and tending to COVENTRY'S Survivors who were in very high spirits and who gave us all something to admire. We were very lucky the bomb didn' t go off. That was one of our last days in Bomb Alley. We were tired but remained cheerful, and thankful we made it, though we will not forget those who didn't.

Although the For'ad Section did not receive much damage during the air attacks such as the other ships of the Bomb Alley Group were blessed with, the 27 man crew plus the occasional visitor in the form of Midshipman Dubois or Thre If all gave vital assistance when needed in other sections of the ship. Even through the long hours of waiting for the attacks to come the team did not show any signs of fatigue; even the ones who had been up on the long 24 hours of night defence watches and daytime Action Stations. The maximum sleep which any member of the crew had over the six day period in Bomb Alley was 18 hours, split up over three six hour sessions. During the air raids the whole section hit the deck, hands over heads and waiting for the Seawolf to shoot from the launcher above their heads. When this did not happen and the dull "Thud, thud, thud" of the Bo f ors was heard along with the sharper "Crack" of small arms fire everyone listened for the loud explosion to happen. During the air attack on COVENTRY two bombs went off under the ship and the force of these explosions lifted us all off the deck* while the Section was carrying out a search for damage the Gas Alarm went off over the broadcast, causing the blood to drain from nany faces. The alarm proved to be false, and looking back at the incident it was a funny sight to see everyone grabbing respirators, some with filters missing and some on upside down. A sit rep from HQ1 gave us a rough estimate of damage to the ship and, most important of all the report that there were no casualties. The ship was then standing by to pick up survivors from COVENTRY. The men of the For'ad Section carried out their orders with great speed and discipline, which made the job of co-ordinating and directing from the Incident Board a much easier task. Great courage was shown by everyone that day, even when told that there was another attack on the way. What started out as Just one more For'ad Section base, that took 20 minutes to close down to 1Z, changed to a very effective team in a very short time, managing to close the whole Section down within 3 minutes and able to cope with everything that was thrown its way. PS. Thank you to the Chefs for all they did during the Campaign, Through thick and thin they always managed to come up with a 'HOT' meal, and tea just when it was most needed.

CAPTAIN W R. CANNING ADC R.N

CAPTAIN W R CANNING,

ROYAL NAVY

COMMANDING OFFICER

HMS BROADSWORD

CAPTAIN SECOND

FRIGATE SQUADRON

Captain Bill CANNING was born on 17 November 1930 in Egypt, where his father was serving with the British Army. He joined the Royal Navy in January 1949 and, after early training, served in frigates at home and on the Far East station. In 1957 he commanded, as a Lieutenant, the minesweeper HMS INGLESHAM and subsequently served in the destroyer HMS CONTEST, the frigate HMS BLACKWOOD, and HMY BRITANNIA. In 1962 he attended the Army staff course at Camberley and in 1963 his second command was HMS STRIKER, in the Persian Gulf. In 1964 he joined the staff of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, for two years. Promoted Commander in 1966, he returned to sea in command of the destroyer HMS CAMBRIAN and followed this with two years in the Ministry of Defense between 1969 and 1971. As second-in-command of the cruiser HMS BLAKE, he was promoted Captain in 1973 and returned to London for two further years in the Ministry of Defense. Captain CANNING'S more recent appointments have included command of HMS NORFOLK and two years on the staff of the Command-in-Chief, Naval Home Command before joining HMS BROADSWORD in October 1981. Captain CANNING lives in Liphook, Hampshire with his wife. Daphne. They have a 24 year old son who is a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines and a daughter of 21 who is working in London. Out of uniform. Captain CANNING'S interests include sport generally, trout fishing, wildlife and 'DIY' around the home.

THE FIRST HMS

BROADSWORD

SUMMARY OF SERVICE

1944 - 68

THE GATHERING STORM

Gibraltar, Naples, Alexandria, Djibouti, India, Singapore, Kelang, Colombo, Abu Dhabi and Eilat. The deployment of a lifetime. As the ship slipped gracefully out of Devonport visits to these far off, exotic places were in everyone's thoughts. Lots of sun, beaches and plenty of sights to see. There was a certain amount of work to be done before the start of the deployment and this took the form of Exercise Springtrain. Most the Navy's major warships took part in this exercise off to the west of Portugal during late March. All the ships spent an enjoyable weekend in Gibraltar taking part in a sports olympiad as well as sampling the delights of various hostelries. The weekend over and the ships sailed to complete the exercise. This is where the change began. News started to filter through of unrest in the South Atlantic between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. At first very little interest was shown in the matter but when the islands were invaded things began to change. Ships were asked to report their material state of readiness to Commander- in-Chief Fleet, and within hours some of the Fleet were heading south. What was to be BROADSWORD'S Fate; "We'll be O.K. we' re off to Singers" came the reply. It certainly looked that way. While many of the ships were being sent south, BROADSWORD turned east, headed for Gibraltar, and after a very pleasant weekend, continued east. Naples was looking good. How wrong we were, for after 12 hours of heading east we were "about turned" and told to return to Gibraltar to take on stores and ammunition. Goodbye nice sunny deployment, hello cold South Atlantic. Three hectic days were spent in Gibraltar storing ship, and when I say storing ship I mean storing ship. Hardly a corner was left unfilled - potatoes, missiles, stores of every kind were stowed away and when all the preparations were complete we set sail for the unknown of the Falkland Islands. Thoughts onboard were very mixed at the time of sailing. "I can't believe this". "Surely the diplomats can sort this out". "We'11 be turned round at Ascension." "The Argentines must back down". How wrong we all were. Back in the UK the mighty HERMES and INVINCIBLE were made ready, and complete with their squadrons of Harriers and helicopters they set sail to take command of the Task Force. Ships of the Merchant Navy were requisitioned and quickly turned into troop carriers, stores ships and hospital ships to supplement the large numbers of Royal Fleet Auxiliaries already on their way south. Tankers belonging to oil companies were also taken up to help provide the vast amount of fuel required to keep ships at sea and aircraft in the air. While the ships left the UK amidst great cheers and patriotism, the hunter- killer submarines of the Silent Service were already forming the advance party of the strike force. Cruising silently beneath the waves they were already in the South Atlantic long before we were halfway to Ascension. After sailing from Gibraltar we rendezvoused two days later with FEARLESS and four Landing Ships. It was only a brief meeting and after exchanging some radio equipment we hurried ahead to catch up with the carrier group. Once we had caught up, INVINCIBLE who had shaft problems was left behind and we pressed on with HERMES and the other escorts.

ASCENSION ISLAND

We arrived at Ascension Island on 16 April. Although a barren, volcanic island there were one or two inviting sandy beaches. Unfortunately life was too hectic to enjoy any banyans. Stores and missiles were "vertrepped" throughout the first day and the ship's company set to and painted out all our black and white bits in an attempt to camoulflage us. After the work there was a chance to relax and we held a horse racing evening on the flight deck. Thought was given to hands to bathe but it was decided against when Leading Seaman "Taff" Evans caught a shark while fishing from the quarter deck. About this time a Maritime Exclusion Zone was announced by the British government extending 200 miles around the Falklands. The only sensible way of enforcing this was by submarine so one must assume that our advance party was already in station around the Falklands. At Ascension a large force assembled. HERMES, INVINCIBLE, FEARLESS, GLAMORGAN, ALACRITY, YARMOUTH, one LSL, BROADSWORD and two RFAs, OLMEDA and RESOURCE. On Sunday 18 April all but FEARLESS and the one LSL sailed. People onboard began to get the feeling that may be we were going to war, and those who had any doubts rapidly revised their views as OLMEDA sighted a periscope and the Fleet were called to Action Stations. ALACRITY and BROADSWORD gained sonar contact and a submarine radar was detected. Two hours of chasing took place until it was decided that what ever it was, wasn' t Argentinian, and then we continued on our way. The call to Action Stations had been necessary because the Argentinian Guppy class submarine could have sufficent range to reach Ascension and a successful pre-emptive strike on a carrier could have dealt a serious blow to the Task Force. Undeterred we pressed on south, uncertain of our future but ever hopeful of a diplomatic solution.

THE PASSAGE SOUTH

THE FALKLANDS

At 0600 on 1st May a lone Vulcan bomber attacked the airfield at Port Stanley having been re-fueled in flight by Victor tankers from its base in Ascension - the round trip covering 6000 miles. One bomb hit the runway putting a large crater across it. At 1000 the ship went to Action Stations as HERMES launched 11 Harriers on bombing runs on Port Stanley and the airs trip at Goose Green. This strike produced three more small craters on the runway at Port Stanley as well as damaging many of the surrounding airfield buildings. Throughout the day there were several calls to Action Stations for air raids but no enemy aircraft came near the main force except for two Canberra bombers looking for the carriers. However GLAMORGAN, ARROW and ALACRITY were bombed and strafed as they were bombing Port Stanley from close in shore. These ships suffered minor damage but thankfully nobody was killed. The Harriers intercepted some of the attacking aircraft shooting down two Mirages, two Canberras and chasing many more back to Argentina. One of these fleeing aircraft was shot down by its own Argentine troops on the Falklands. The bombardment continued overnight and then the group in shore returned to the main force at the completion of a very successful day. Initially Sunday 2nd May was very quiet but it livened up in the evening with the news that HMS CONQUEROR had torpedoed the Argentine cruiser, GENERAL BELGRANO. The action took place 35 miles outside the TEZ, which caused a few ruffles around the world, but the action was explained when MOD stated that the cruiser had been sunk because its six inch guns posed a threat to the Task Force. Waves of euphoria, tinged with sadness for the men now fighting for their survivial in the icy seas, swept through the ship. Surely the actions of the past two days would bring the Argentine Junta to its senses and show them that we meant business?

SEAWOLF BITES AT

LAST

INVASION - THE 21ST

MAY

BOMB ALLEY - DAY ONE

BOMB ALLEY - THIRD

DAY

BOMB ALLEY - FIFTH

DAY: HMS COVENTRY

headed east to rendezvous with the CANBERRA and then both ships turned west and after being joined by others headed for the islands to land the remaining troops. Napalm was discovered at Goose Green which angered everyone and ALACRITY voiced her feelings by shelling Fitzroy. The next day saw two Harriers fly in from Ascension Island to help boost our depleted force and AVENGER, ACTIVE and AMBUSCADE shelled Pebble Island, Fitzroy and Diamond Mountain respectively* The 3rd brought another two Harriers from Ascension and yet another unsuccessful Vulcan raid. This was made even worse by one Vulcan getting into difficulties near Brazil and having to make an emergency landing at Rio De Janeiro. Events were going so well ashore however that a Forward Operating Base for Harriers was now established at San Carlos. Here aircraft could refuel to increase their time on task over the islands. The following day saw Two Sea Harriers and 2 GR 3s sent permanently from the carriers to operate from this base. ARROW shelled Port Howard and CARDIFF, AVENGER and YARMOUTH bombarded Bluff Cove to support the Paras who had foot-slogged it overland from Goose Green. More shelling continued with CARDIFF, AMBUSCADE, ACTIVE and YARMOUTH all playing their part. CARDIFF also scored a spectacular hit with Sea Dart, shooting down a spying Learjet at 39,000 feet. Again this must have come as a great shock to the pilot who probably thought he was well out of range of surface launched missiles. Progress was made swiftly over these days and although little is said here about the details of events ashore, suffice it to say that the troops were continuing to sweep up stray Argentine patrols as well as shooting down the odd marauding aircraft. All seemed to be going very well indeed until this changed on the 8th when the Task Force suffered its saddest day.

BLUFF COVE

VICTORY

ON THE BRIDGE AIR RAID WARNING YELLOW

THE GDP

THE COVENTRY RESCUE THE GEMINI IS IN THE FOREGROUND RIGHT

THE VIEW FROM THE

FLIGHT DECK

THE OPERATIONS ROOM

THE GLOOM ROOM

Once we had got into the swing of things the routine for action was very much the same. It would invariably start with an announcement on the main broadcast. PWO speaking, "We have intelligence reports that an air raid has been launched from the mainland and can be expected in the area in about 30 minutes time - the ship will therefore go to Action Stations at 1545". There is something nice about walking to Action Stations - its so much more dignified than a breathless heart stopping run to the noise of the main broadcast alarm. The PWOs announcement gave one time to finish off the paragraph of the letter, put away the book, secure the bunk, button on the life jacket or slip into an extra pair of overalls. It was like a gladiator preparing to enter the arena• On the way to the Ops. Room you always passed friends taking advantage of the warning and moving to their own places. "Give them hell from me" "You bet, just wait till I see the whites of their eyes" "Hi, Bill, hope the Seawolf works" "i f.....g hope so, its time we got another b..•.r!" "See you later" "Ok". In the Operations Room the lights are dim and there is an air of concentration. They have been closed up as a Defence Watch since 1200 in any case and there is an air of expectancy of some action to relieve the boredom. The Captain is in his chair looking down at the display and he is monitoring "button 7" the Task Force Commanding \ Officers special radio network. Each of the displays is manned and there is a buzz of reports being made as the tempo of the action increases. On Command Open line the reports are becoming more frequent. The PWO operates the main broadcast alarm and calls the ship to Action Stations. Reports came in as people close up at their positions and report that people are in place, equipment ready. When all is done and the flow of reports stops the PWO gives a sitrep. PWO speaking, "The raid we are expecting has still not been detected by any of the force radars. HERMES has launched an extra pair of CAP and they should be with us in about 15 minutes time. That is all". There are a few minutes silence broken only by the odd operator clearing his throat or bumping his microphone. "Captain, Sir, Golf Six Charlie has just called hostiles at 330*25" "Golf Six Charlie is ANTRIM?" "Yes, Sir - that means the raid is about there - they don't appear to have released it to link yet" "No - I see, lets wait" "There they are, track 2043" "Roger" "EWD this is Captain, anything on about 330" "Not yet Sir, we have Blue Fox on 270" "Roger - at least we have some CAP in that direction" "PWO this is HC. Red Leader reports he has two Mirage visual and is going "buster" "Roger - now for some action - 1 hope he gets them". Still no word on the other raid. The Captain briefs the Officer of the Watch. "OOW we have some raids developing to the West. CAP is engaging one, but another which we had a few minutes ago on radar has gone low and must be fairly close by now. Good look out in the Sound please" "Roger, Sir" The same message is passed to the SCC and silence settles again as the tension increases and eyes strain for that first tell tale blip on the radar. "PWO this is HC. Red Leader reports he has splashed one Mirage. The other ditched his bombs and fled for home" The word flashes round the Ops. Room. The Incident Board Operator tells HQ1 and a faint cheer can be heard from inside the ship. The Captain brings us back to the job in hand. "I'm still worried about that other raid - where the hell has it gone?" "Must be to the South Sir" We wait. And wait. And wait. "AIRCRAFT IN THE SOUND" They are here, the Officer of the Watch *s report is urgent, his voice showing the extra tension. The upper deck batteries check their guna . Anti- flash is pulled tighter round the face and pulses quicken. The PWO quickly makes a main broadcast announcement. "Air Raid Warning Red - On Anti- Flash" The concentration is now intense • Eyes peer from slits in Anti-flash, people stand up to get a better position at their displays. Here we go -hearts beat a little faster and like sprinters at the beginning of a race minds concentrate on the single job in hand - shooting the attackers down. "Aircraft to port - closing fast" Guns can be heard firing faintly - the raid must have gone towards another ship. "Further two aircraft - red 40 - coming at us" At the Seawolf panel the alert buzzer sounds. Above our heads the port 40/60 Bofor starts firing with a steady beat and we can hear the empty shell cases changing on the deck above our heads. The small arms now start as well - this one must be close and coming straight at us. Seawolf fires. On the Seawolf TV there is the image of an aircraft so close that it fills the screen. "Christ this is close" "Go Seawolf go" The involuntary urgings came out loud on Open line as does the shouting on the bridge. "Take cover" "Look out" "There are two more astern" "Where?" "Christ" "Port on Starboard" "Starboard quarter. Green 160" "Yes, have got - track 2045" "TI for gods sake" The small arms firing is intense, 40/60 cases clatter on the deck and there are the sounds of feet pounding above our heads as the upper deck batteries dive for cover. There is a loud whoosh as an aircraft passes overhead. People in the Ops Room duck involuntarily and the Starboard battery opens up as the Port Battery falls silent • We know the raid has passed and is now opening on the other side. There is a crumping sound and just faintly at first we can hear some cheering. "Captain, Sir - Officer of the Watch" "Captain" "The First pair of aircraft went for YARMOUTH who engaged with small arms and Sea cat. Our Seawolf also went very close and one aircraft seems to have been hit. We think It might have crashed just out of our sight in San Carlos Sound. The second raid bounced us from fine on the Starboard quarter. We seemed to do quite well with small arms but one aircraft dropped two bombs which landed about 20ft on the port beam and exploded in the water". "Roger - thank you - keep a good look out". So thats what the crump was - another near miss. "Captain - Sir - PLYMOUTH are reporting one aircraft splashed on AAWC" A small cheer goes up in the Ops. Room and the report, heard on the Bridge is passed to the GDP crew. A louder cheer goes up. People relax a little, but thoughts are reconcentrated on screens and controls. Still another four hours of daylight, still more raids to come. The SCC reports that a general search for damage is being made throughout the ship. Someone mentions tea and another asks how many Argies have been shot down today. No one knows. We remain at Action Stations for another three hours. There are no further raids. We live to fight another day. SWEO

H.Q.1

Although the For'ad Section did not receive much damage during the air attacks such as the other ships of the Bomb Alley Group were blessed with, the 27 man crew plus the occasional visitor in the form of Midshipman Dubois or Thre If all gave vital assistance when needed in other sections of the ship. Even through the long hours of waiting for the attacks to come the team did not show any signs of fatigue; even the ones who had been up on the long 24 hours of night defence watches and daytime Action Stations. The maximum sleep which any member of the crew had over the six day period in Bomb Alley was 18 hours, split up over three six hour sessions. During the air raids the whole section hit the deck, hands over heads and waiting for the Seawolf to shoot from the launcher above their heads. When this did not happen and the dull "Thud, thud, thud" of the Bo f ors was heard along with the sharper "Crack" of small arms fire everyone listened for the loud explosion to happen. During the air attack on COVENTRY two bombs went off under the ship and the force of these explosions lifted us all off the deck* while the Section was carrying out a search for damage the Gas Alarm went off over the broadcast, causing the blood to drain from nany faces. The alarm proved to be false, and looking back at the incident it was a funny sight to see everyone grabbing respirators, some with filters missing and some on upside down. A sit rep from HQ1 gave us a rough estimate of damage to the ship and, most important of all the report that there were no casualties. The ship was then standing by to pick up survivors from COVENTRY. The men of the For'ad Section carried out their orders with great speed and discipline, which made the job of co- ordinating and directing from the Incident Board a much easier task. Great courage was shown by everyone that day, even when told that there was another attack on the way. What started out as Just one more For'ad Section base, that took 20 minutes to close down to 1Z, changed to a very effective team in a very short time, managing to close the whole Section down within 3 minutes and able to cope with everything that was thrown its way. PS. Thank you to the Chefs for all they did during the Campaign, Through thick and thin they always managed to come up with a 'HOT' meal, and tea just when it was most needed.

THE AFTER FIRST AID

PARTY

The two dates, 21st and 25th May will stay in the ship's company's memories for a long time. Not least those of the After First Aid Party. The First Aiders were split into two groups; one of four including the POMA John Wicks in the Sick Bay, and the second just the PO Writer and one up in 1M Flat. On the 21st we received reports of casualties and soon members of the Flight appeared from the Hangar, together with others from the Laundry and Tiller Flat. The 1M Team dealt with the more seriously hit Flight members, sending them along to the Wardroom for attention from the Doctor, and the Sick Bay party handled those casualties from 2 Deck and the lightly injured Flight members. Luckily of course all our casualties were "relatively" light, and when we had done what was possible in the Sick Bay those not yet ready to return to Duty went down to the Petty Officers Mess which was in use as a holding area run by the Captain's PO Steward and a couple of men from the Action Messing Team. In all 16 casualties were treated from this raid. By the 25th we were of course comparatively hardened fighters (!) but down aft we thought our final hour had come when with a loud bang that bomb entered the starboard side and exited through the Flight Deck doing a lot of damage on the way but fortunately causing no casualties. Our relief was cut short however when we heard that COVENTRY was sinking and that we were to pick up her survivors. There was a detailed plan to deal with this and all the preparations were put in hand. The Flight Deck was of course unuseable for helicopter casevacs and some changes had to be made but very soon survivors were pouring in from what seemed like every direction at once, but there were so many volunteers from our crew to do anything to help, that soon it was all sorted out, and things went swiftly and efficiently until all survivors were onboard and being looked after.

INTRODUCTION

CAPTAIN W R CANNING, ROYAL NAVY

COMMANDING OFFICER HMS BROADSWORD

CAPTAIN SECOND FRIGATE SQUADRON

SHIPS COMPANY

FLEET AND CHIEF PETTY OFFICERS

PETTY OFFICERS

LEADING RATES

ABLE RATES

HMS BROADSWORD

CAPTAIN W R CANNING

FIRST LT: lt/Cdr D J M MOWLAM

OFFICERS

HMS BROADSWORD

BUILDING PARTICULARS

THE FIRST HMS BROADSWORD

SUMMARY OF SERVICE 1944 - 68

Was the Codeword given to the

fight for the Falkland’s

This is an account of the war

seen from

HMS BROADSWORD

FOREWARD

By RO1 GREEN

THE GATHERING STORM

ASCENSION ISLAND

THE PASSAGE SOUTH

THE FALKLANDS

ENFORCING THE BLOCKADE - ACTION AT LAST

SEAWOLF BITES AT LAST

INVASION - THE 21ST MAY

BOMB ALLEY - DAY ONE

BOMB ALLEY - SECOND DAY

BOMB ALLEY - THIRD DAY

BOMB ALLEY - FOUTH DAY

BOMB ALLEY - FIFTH DAY: HMS COVENTRY

OUCH XZ729 25MAY 82

OUT OF THE ALLEY - BACK TO THE TEZ

THE ADVANCE ASHORE

BLUFF COVE

VICTORY

EPILOG

This section of the book was written by the Ship's Company, and

is a sequel to the earlier "big picture" history of Operation

Corporate• It gives some idea of what it was like working

onboard during this busy period of the ship's history and to

some small extent shares an experience which greatly

strengthened each man's faith in the Ship and her people.

MASTER BLASTER

THE WIDOW MAKER

Even before the loss of HMS SHEFFIELD it was clear that the ship

was likely to engage the enemy in action. On Thursday 29th April

a service as an act of Dedication Before Action was conducted in

the Junior Rates Dinning Hall by the Rev Jake watson.

THE GDP

And now to that other exposed position. The Flight Deck, which

infact took the brunt of all attacks on BROADSWORD and sadly was

the area where we sustained most casualties. This account is by

one of the Flight Deck Team.

This first piece sets the scene. It was written by an eye

witness from the Bridge.

The only people onboard who could actually see the enemy were

those clustered in and around the Bridge and Gun Direction

Platform (GDP) and those on the Flight Deck. This item was

written by one of our two “Gun Battery” members.

Here is an account of that COVENTRY rescue through the eyes of a

young Able Seaman (AB COPPELL) who was assisted in his Gemeni

rubber outboard dinghy by MNE WILSON.

JAKE AND THE BUFFER DISCUSING “OLES”

THE VIEW FROM THE FLIGHT DECK

A “JUNGLIE” PICKING UP SURVIVORS

And now we move between decks, firstly to the Operations Room

from where, in semi-darkness the Command operates the ship’s

sensors and primary weapon systems. Its a ‘Star Wars’ sort of

place, computerised and luminous. This is how we prepared for

war.

THE OPERATIONS ROOM

”AND THE WEATHER WAS AWFUL”

THE GLOOM ROOM

A.S.W