A Destructive/Productive Day for British Forces, Not So for Argentina's

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

On the 9th of May 1982 the residents of Port Stanley were roused from their sleep by three hours of intense bombardment beginning at around 1:30 a.m. The Task Force was continuing to soften up Argentine troop positions and gun emplacements. But even more significant events were taking place out at sea, as the Type 42 destroyer Coventry teamed up with the Type 22 frigate Broadsword to overcome certain shortcomings in their respective radar and weapons systems. By acting in concert with, Broadsword (whose 997/998 state of the art radar system was superior to that of Coventry's system), Coventry was able to employ its "Sea Dart" multiple rocket launcher effectively to knock two of three Argentine aircraft out of the sky from a distance of approximately 61 kilometers. The two downed planes were Skyhawk fighters. The Hercules transport plane they were escorting was not hit. Only a few minutes later, from a distance of 21 miles, Coventry again employed "Sea Dart", downing an Argentine Puma helicopter. A Harrier aircraft, operating from one of the Task Force's two aircraft carriers, also scored a hit, as it strafed and bombed Narwhal, an Argentine trawler that had been refitted to follow the Task Force at a distance and gather information. Of he 30 or so Argentine troops on board Narwhal, one had been killed and 12 had been injured. The horror of war had taken the lives of several people on his fateful morning. The Narwhal did not sink immediately, but did so the next day as it was being towed... Maintaining morale and a sense of hope on the part of those Argentines who got the true story of what had happened on this day must surely have been very difficult. Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.