The Falklands war: the Bluff Cove disaster

Military Review, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Robert S. Bolia

(3.) Ibid., 222.

(4.) Martin Middlebrook, The Falklands War, 1982 (London: Penguin, 2001), 299-300; Nicholas van der Bijl and David Aldea, 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982 (Barnsley, UK: Leo Cooper, 2003), 101, 104-105.

(5.) Because all the Chinook helicopters in the theater except one had gone down when the Atlantic Conveyor sank on 25 May; 3 Commando had to march overland to its objectives. Julian Thompson, No Picnic (London: Cassell and Co., 2000), 69. A "commando" is the Royal Marine vernon era battalion.

(6.) The two parachute battalions were late additions and Army, not Marine, units. Both were originally from 5 Infantry Brigade. However, they had little difficulty in adapting to fighting with the Royal Marines.

(7.) Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins, The Battle for the Falklands (London: Pan Books, 1997), 308.

(8.) Ibid.; Middlebrook, The Falklands War, 396. Moore's actions seem a bit shortsighted. Despite 3 Commando nominally being a Marine brigade in the Falklands War, two of its five combat battalions came from the British Army. Indeed, 2 Para, an Army unit, fought the only land battle before Moore arrived in theater. There was no shortage of Army participation.

(9.) Middlebrook, The Falklands War, 296-98, 396; Hastings and Jenkins, 309-11; Clapp and Southby-Tailyour, 286.

(10.) Van der Bijl and Aldea, 77-79.

(11.) Ibid., 92; Hastings and Jenkins, 312.

(12.) Van der Bijl and Aldea, 107-109.

(13.) Ibid., 113; Clapp and Southby-Tailyour, 307.

(14.) Ibid., 307-308.

(15.) Hastings and Jenkins, 313-14.

(16.) Middlebrook, The Falklands War, 301-302.

(17.) Clapp and Southby-Tailyour.

(18.) Middlebrook, The Falklands War, 302-303; Van der Bijl and Aldea, 128-29; Charles Bremner, "The Sinking of Sir Galahad, 8 June," in Above An, Courage: Personal Stories from the Falklands War, ed. Max Arthur (London: Cassell and Co., 2002), 129-31; B.H. Andrada, Guerra aerea en las Malvinas [Aerial warfare in the Malvinas] (Buenos Aires: Emece Editores, 1983), 204.

(19.) Ruben O. More, La Guerra Inaudita: Historia del Conflicto del Atalantico Sur [The unheard war: history of the conflict in the South Atlantic] (Buenos Aires: Editorial Pleamar, 1985), 460. It should be noted that Clapp had not been receiving weather reports from Fitzroy so was not aware of the clearing weather when he allowed Sir Galahad to sail. See Van der Bijl and Aldea, 127.

(20.) Ibid.; Andrada, 203-204.

(21.) Andrada, 204, 208-209; Moro, 462-63; Middlebrook, The Fight for the Malvinas: The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War (London: Viking, 1989), 211-12.

(22.) Middlebrook, The Fight for the Malvinas, 212.

(23.) Andrada, 211.

(24.) More, 463-64.

(25.) Middlebrook, The Fight for the Malvinas, 212-14.

(26.) Derek Oakley, The Falklands Military Machine (Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount, 1989), 34-35.

(27.) Middlebrook, The Fight for the Malvinas, 212; James S. Corum, "Argentine Air Power in the Falklands War: An Operational View," Air & Space Power Journal (Fall 2002): 76.

(28.) Van der Bijl and Aldea, 119-20; Tony McNally, Cloudpunchers (Gwynedd, Wales, UK: Pharaoh Press, no date given).