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Falklands: 1982

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ARGENTINE AIR LOSSES IN THE FALKLANDS

ABOVE:
An abandoned
Pucara ground
attack fighter
after the
Falklands War.

98

s we saw in last issues

feature covering British
Harrier losses during
the Falklands War, the RAFs 1
Squadron had already lost one
aircraft (XZ988) in the opening
phase of the Battle for Goose Green
on 27 May 1982. The British had
seen the large Argentine garrison
and grass airstrip there as a threat
to the right flank of their advance
out of a beachhead at San Carlos

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and had decided that the settlement

would have to be neutralised first.
As the battle there reached its
climax in the mid-afternoon of
the following day, Friday 28 May,
it was the Argentines turn to lose
a fast-jet to ground fire as they
attempted to give air support to the
beleaguered garrison from their
main base at Stanley.
Two Aermacchi MB-339 jets of 1
Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque

were ordered away on a sortie, just

as the poor flying weather lifted
slightly at 1500 hrs local time. Capitan
de Corbetta Carlos Molteni (flying
aircraft A-117) and Teniente de
Fragata Daniel Miguel (in A-114) took
off from Stanley and headed west for
Goose Green. After an uneventful
flight to the target, Carlos Molteni
later recalled:
Close to the target we talked to
the Air Force ground controller; the

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Falklands: 1982

Following up his feature on British air

losses in the Falklands conflict, Gordon
Ramsey takes a look at a selection of
Argentine losses during the 1982 war.
As with the British losses, tangible
evidence of these aircraft still survive
today at many of the crash sites.

weather was a little bit better with

more horizontal visibility. He gave
us a reference point and an area to
attack. I climbed a little to begin the
attack run and updated Tte Miguel.
I opened fire over hills where I saw
British forces close to our lines. I fired
more than half my ammunition.
On my escape I saw something like
an orange balloon on the ground.
I thought it might be a missile, so
I reduced power and turned back

towards it, then turned again getting

closer to the ground. As I completed
my turn I heard the controller saying:
Escape! Escape! Your wingman
was hit! Desperately, I asked if they
had seen an ejection and he said
they hadnt. I felt very depressed.
Returning to base, I remembered all
the times we had shared together, his
humour and courage. After landing at
sunset, I went to HQ and was told that
Goose Green was to be surrendered.

A FLAMING METEOR

Moltenis wingman, Daniel Miguel,

had been targeted on his attack
run by a Royal Marines Blowpipe
missile operator Rick Strange of 3
Commando Brigades Air Defence
Troop which was attached to 2 Para
in order to beef up their air defences
in the assault. Able to line up the
missiles acquisition system as the
Aermacchi flew north-westward
across the schoolhouse and the

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99

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Falklands: 1982

ABOVE:
Teniente
de Fragata
Daniel
Miguel.
BELOW:
Fuselage
panel from
Tte. Miguels
Aermachi
which
crashed at
Goose Green
and marked
with the word
Armada
or Navy, in
Spanish.

settlement itself, Rick got the warhead

away in a textbook launch. Tracking
it onto the starboard wing root, the
resulting explosion reduced the jet
to a flaming meteor which bounced
on the ground several times at the
edge of the airstrip, just like a stone

100 www.britainatwar.com

skipping across a pond. Several

members of 2 Paras B Companys 4
Platoon, assaulting across the area,
were lucky to be unscathed as the
blazing wreckage tore through the
air between them. Daniel Miguel was
killed instantly.
The crash site was cleared in the
post war period as the grazing sheep
would get pieces of aluminium trapped
in their fleeces, leading to some
interesting near-misses as electric
shearing clippers exploded during
the following shearing season. In the
immediate aftermath of the battle,
however, some relics were saved by
various British servicemen visiting
the battlefield including an impressive
panel from the port side of the fuselage
bearing part of the Argentine Naval
ARMADA insignia, collected by
Surgeon Commander Rick Jolly of
Ajax Bay Field Hospital fame. Other
relics traced included some cockpit
components including the Sperry Gyro
Artificial Horizon control panel, found
by Lieutenant Geoff Rayner of HMS
Hydra when he walked over the site

the following month. Rick Strange

returned to the Falklands on his own
personal pilgrimage in 2002: ...to
lay some ghosts to rest and pay my
respects.'

DANGLING FROM THE

PARACHUTE

As the British landings at San Carlos

began at daybreak on 21 May,1982,
Argentine troops in Port San Carlos
settlement itself, under the command
of Premier Teniente Carlos Esteban of
Regimiento de Infanteria 25, managed
to raise the alarm by radio before
retreating as 3 Para landed on the
beach in front of them. Accordingly,
Grupo 3 Pucaras were prepared at
Stanley airport to procure more
accurate reports of precisely how many
ships and troops were involved and
to press home attacks on them where
possible. In the event, the first pair to
be ordered off had to be reduced to a
single aircraft, A-531, due to technical
delays with the other (A-509). Capitan
Jorge Benitez, the pilot on this mission,
takes up the story:

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Falklands: 1982

On the first flight over the zone I

didnt find any British forces. I started
a second reconnaissance, extending
my turn and climbing a little - to 150
feet - so I could cover more ground
with my observations. Then, over
the hills, I saw a British frigate in San
Carlos Strait/Falkland Sound. Her
presence was unknown when I took
off, so I ceased the turn and stayed very
low to the side of Alberdi Hill (Mount
Usborne), using it to protect me from
radar detection. At the same time I
climbed, improving my view of their
activity.
Absorbed by this unexpected
development in my mission and
increasingly regretting being armed
only with cannon and machine guns,
I continued my approach, when I
suddenly felt a powerful vibration in
the aircrafts structure. Controlling the
plane, I saw the trail left by a British
missile in its climb and this showed
me the position occupied by troops
who were probably with the enemy

forces that I was trying to find, having

moved during the night to this place,
some 5 kilometres distant from their
last reported location. The missile had
been fired from the front and below
at a distance of about 150 metres and
being so close, I had no opportunity to
use my weapons against them. I didnt
know the extent of the damage either,
so decided to get into the valley that
opened to my right and away from the
enemy to prevent them shooting me
again when they saw that I was still
flying. After about a minute, I reached
the valley between the mountains
located to the north and south of
San Carlos, about 15 kilometres
from where the missile had hit. I was
conducting a more thorough check
of my plane when the right engine
stopped. Almost simultaneously the
flight controls loosened and there was
no response to my inputs. The nose
rose to 40 degrees and the aircraft
banked 30 degrees to the left in the
classic position before a corkscrew.

From that point, I must have stayed

with the plane another 5-6 seconds,
time spent feathering the working
propeller, pushing the rudder to the
right and setting the trim tab. These
brought the planes nose towards the
horizon. With this achieved, I pulled
the ejection handle with my left hand,
leaving the plane when I was far from
home and with enemies close by. I
immediately felt the force of the seats
explosive cartridges and impact of the
air in my face. I watched the black
opening of the cockpit of the plane
that I had just abandoned as it was lost
beneath me. I saw pieces of Plexiglass
floating around me for some time. I
felt the explosion that occurs when the
seat separates and had the sensation of
floating in the air, dangling from the
parachute. It was 09.30 hours.
Benitez had been shot down by
a Stinger surface-to-air shoulderlaunched missile fired by an SAS troop
returning from a night diversionary
raid on Goose Green, further to the

TOP LEFT:
Wreckage of
Pucara A-531
at Flats Shanty
today.
TOP RIGHT: A
sub-contractors
airframe label
bearing the
construction
number 031,
the build
number of
Pucara A-531
ABOVE: Former
Royal Marine,
Rick Strange,
re-visits the
scene of
Miguels crash.
Strange was
the Blowpipe
missile
operator
who was
responsible for
downing the
Aermacchi.

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Falklands: 1982

TOP LEFT: Sgt

Norman Hood
poses with the
Argentinian
wing roundel
from Pucara
A-531.
RIGHTT: A
blurry image
showing an
A-4 Skyhawk
about to
attack HMS
Glasgow taken
from the
flight deck of
HMS Brilliant
and with a
Sea King
helicopter in
foreground.
BELOW:
A wrecked
Aermacchi
left behind
by Argentine
forces.

south. Evading capture by the British

Special Forces, Benitez managed to
make contact some ten hours later
with Argentine troops sent out from
the settlement and was rescued. Pucara
A-531dived into the ground at Flats
Shanty, where the broken remains lie
to this day. Post-war, the wreck proved
a popular respite from duty for British
soldiers using the live-firing ranges set
up at Mount Usborne, as the wreckage
rested beside the track created to get
to the ranges from Port San Carlos.
One RAF Sergeant from 29 Squadron,
Norman Hood, could not resist one
of the wing roundels, which he posed
with at the crash site for the camera
although he had to trim it down
somewhat to later fit in into his kitbag!

DECIMATED BY HMS
BRILLIANT

The Douglas A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo

5 de Caza, based at Rio Gallegos, were

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mainly used in the anti-shipping role,

especially in the early part of the war
and their first combat with British
ships took place on 12 May, 1982. The
Royal Navy Type 22 frigate, HMS
Brilliant and Type 42 destroyer, HMS
Glasgow, had been sent to the coast
off Stanley to bombard Argentine
positions ashore and to attempt to
shoot down any Hercules cargo planes
bringing supplies to the garrison.

Accordingly, Grupo 5 was tasked with

the destruction of the two ships but
the first flight of four aircraft sent in
at mid-day were decimated by HMS
Brilliant using her new Sea Wolf
missile system in its first action - only
one A-4 escaped unscathed, the other
three pilots and aircraft being lost.
Undeterred, the squadron tried again
with another four-plane flight, Oro
Escadrille, comprising Capitan Antonio

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Falklands: 1982

Zelaya flying C-225 as No.1 and flight

leader; Teniente Juan Arraras in C-244
(No.2); Premier Teniente Fausto
Gavazzi in C-248 (No. 3) and Alfrerez
(or Ensign) Guillermo Dellipiane in
C-239 as No. 4.
Antonio Zelaya later recalled:
During the flight to the war zone
my navigation equipment went out
of service and I had to navigate by
time and heading. I continued leading
the Escadrille despite this. Halfway
between way-points 1 (West Falkland)
and 2 (Fitzroy) I saw Goose Green on
my right, when in fact it should have
been about seven miles to my left. I

corrected course and when I reached

way-point 2, I began the final approach
to the target. We were in radio silence.
To my sides, wingmen Arraras and
Gavazzi were flying lower than me,
since I had to fly higher to check my
navigation charts. After leaving the
island and flying out to sea, heading
south-east, I descended a little more
and searched for the target. It was
supposed to be 25km from the coast.
I had planned to fly three minutes
at that speed and heading, since the
plane was travelling at 150 metres
per second. If I couldnt see the target
then, I would return. But it wasnt
necessary. I saw two ships in front of
me. I think they were sailing to the
south-east and very fast, because I
could see spray from their bows. The
lead section would attack the ship to
the north and the other two jets that

to the south, which was closer to me.

Some kilometres before reaching the
target, the ships opened fire. I didnt
see missiles but I heard the noise of
the explosions of the AA fire. At the
moment I attacked, I saw only the sight
and the target. I didnt see the crew or
helicopters; the only thing I remember
was the big radar antenna turning
constantly. After passing over the ships,
my wingmen said the sea seemed to be
boiling, with the bullets falling on its
surface. I found myself at 1,000 feet and
turning towards the ships to see what
was happening. On the ship ahead,
there was a lot of movement and circles
on the water, as if something had fallen
into the sea. We started on our return
flight, whilst my wingmen shouted
happily. Then we evaluated our attack.
Arraras said he believed he hit his ship;
Gavazzi was completely certain, but I

ABOVE:
Premier
Teniente
Fausto
Gavazzi of
Grupo 5 de
Caza.
BELOW
LEFT:
Today, that
same wing
roundel
is in a
UK-based
private
collection.

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Falklands: 1982

BELOW &
BOTTOM
MIDDLE:
Wreckage
of Gavazzis
Douglas
Skyhawk
C-248, pictured
recently.

had doubts because I aimed at the stern

and the speed of the ship surprised me.
Dellepiane had used the same aiming
point as me and he saw a helicopter
on the flight deck of one of the ships.
Arraras said Thank God we made
it!, Gavazzi shouted Viva la Patria!
I hit it, I am sure I hit it! Dellepiane
was swearing. Once we had finished
checking our aircraft for damage, we
returned in pairs. Some minutes after
leaving the target and flying over land
close to Goose Green, wingman No. 4
reported that No. 3 had lost an aileron,
then the plane turned upside down and
crashed into the ground. Over Gran
Malvina, Dellepiane had to climb fast
to 40,000 feet because he had minimum
fuel. With Tte Arraras, we continued
to fly low for 90km, then we began the
climb for home. Nobody talked. On
final approach, we realised that our
windscreens were covered with salt,
impeding vision ahead. We tried to
remove it by changing the temperature
of the heaters air from hot to cold, but
we couldnt clear it. Arraras also had a
very big hole in one of his wings.
Fausto Gavazzis bomb had indeed
hit HMS Glamorgan on the starboard

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side and passed right through the

machinery space and out the port
side just above the waterline without
exploding, but causing enough damage
to prevent the ship taking any further
part in the campaign - she sailed for
home on May 27. Gavazzi did not live
long to savour his victory, however,
as he flew too close to the Argentinian
radar-predicted anti-aircraft guns
at Goose Green and, without prior
warning of his flight, the gunners had
taken him to be another Sea Harrier
on a bombing raid despite the yellow
flashes on the fin and wings.

LOOK OUT! MISSILE!

Once the British had successfully

consolidated their landing sites around
San Carlos on the west coast of East
Falkland and begun their advance
towards Stanley, so the
focus of Argentine air
attacks switched away
from attacking Royal
Navy shipping to bombing
ground targets in order
to impede this assault.
Prime targets were the
British stores around San

Carlos and Ajax Bay, as the bulk of the

equipment and ammunition brought
south by the Task Force had by now
been unloaded. Grupo 5 was given
the target on 27 May of the Ajax Bay
refrigeration plant complex, and two
flights each of three Skyhawks took off
in mid-afternoon. The second flight,
given the call sign Truco, was led by
Premier Teniente Mariano Velasco,
flying A-4B serial C-215 and he takes
up the story:
The procedure was as always,
medium level flight, air refuelling, four
500lb BRP bombs to be dropped at no
less than 30 metres. Flying very low,
we crossed San Carlos Strait (Falkland
Sound) around its middle, we passed
to the other island (East Falkland),
then we turned left to fly along the
west coast of the island to arrive at

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Falklands: 1982

San Carlos Bay from the south. The

refrigeration plant was on the left coast
of the bay and on the other side was
the settlement - we had to attack the
former. We saw a lot of containers,
one or two helicopters, pallets; I saw
everything very briefly. The jet was at
full power, with four bombs, flying at
about 430 knots. When we passed the
hills to the south of the bay (Sussex
Mountains), we saw everything, four
or five ships. I was on the left of the
two-plane formation. We descended
and approached the target flying very
low. When I started to climb to drop
the bombs, I heard impacts, not very
loud but I felt as if a hammer was
knocking the plane. Osses shouted
Look out, missile! but apparently,
the missile passed between our planes
and caused no damage. We had the
weapons panel armed. I dropped the
bombs and immediately afterwards, I
heard four or five powerful impacts.
Immediately, I heard Osses telling me
that I was on fire. He was behind me.
At the same moment, I saw emergency
lights coming on. He told me the left
wing was on fire. I reduced throttle,
then went to full throttle again to
check if the engine was still working. I

heard noises and the hydraulic and fuel

emergency lights came on. Osses then
shouted Eject! Eject! But I climbed
and flew over the hills that separated
the bay from San Carlos Strait. Then I
headed west. The ship that had fired at
me was (now) to my right on the bay,
and we exited to the left.
As I was flying over the strait, I saw
smoke coming from my airplane in
the mirror, below the flaps. I saw the
coast of Gran Malvina (West Falkland)
and began to climb. I realised I had to
jettison the tanks and I also released the
TERs. Using the emergency handle, I
jettisoned everything. I reduced throttle,
climbed to 1,000 feet and at 250 knots,
I ejected over the island. I knew that
I had Port Howard on my left, even
though I couldnt see it but people there
heard my plane explode. I landed under
my parachute and heard aircraft but I
couldnt see them; they turned maybe
twice above me, then headed east. I hid
for some time. Later, I prepared my
stuff and after night had fallen I started
walking. Although I knew there were
Argentine troops in Port Howard, we
had received information that they
might have surrendered and so I headed
for Fox Bay. I walked day and night,

resting every 40 minutes, through the

28th, and on the morning of 29 May
I found a refuge. I had walked about
50km. It was an empty hut but had some
stored food, so I stayed there until three
islanders arrived on horses on the 31st
and told me they would tell the garrison
at Port Howard where I was. On the
night of the 28th I had seen the combat
at Goose Green; I saw flares in the sky
and heard explosions. On 1 June, a Land
Rover arrived with an Argentine doctor
and an islander driving it. We went to
the crash site and the islander asked me
if he could take the jets canopy. I replied
Yes and we loaded it onto the back of
the Land Rover, over my feet, and set off
to Port Howard.

TOP:
The ships
bells from HMS
Brilliant and
HMS Glasgow,
both involved
in the action on
12 May 1982.
ABOVE:
Wreckage
of Premier
Teniente
Velascos
Skyhawk,
C-215, near
Port Howard.

SCARS ON THE
LANDSCAPE

Velascos Skyhawk, C-215 had crashed

not far from Port Howard itself and
he would probably have been better
off remaining where he was and just
waiting for a lift! The islander who
had coveted the jets cockpit canopy
when Velasco was collected was the
settlement manager, Robin Lee, and
he later set up a little museum beside
the managers house (now a guest

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Falklands: 1982

RIGHT:
The cockpit
canopy of
Velascos
C-215.
BELOW: The
cockpit side of
C-215, bearing
the aircraft
number.

BELOW LEFT:
Tail section
of Velascos
Skyhawk
pictured today.
BELOW:
C-215 Grupo 5
badge from the
fuselage.

hostel, catering for adventurous

tourists) where it can be seen today
alongside the ejector seat from the
same aircraft. Other items collected in
the immediate post-war period include
a piece of skinning bearing most of
the Grupo 5 badge and the complete
port side of the cockpit bearing the
aircraft serial number and a yellow

ship kill victory marking - supposed

for many years to represent HMS
Coventry, sunk by Velasco on 25 May.
However, C-215 did not take part
in that raid and as it was Argentine
practice to mark all the aircraft which
had taken place in a successful attack,
the marking cannot relate to that ship.
Pilots switched between aircraft, and

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never had a regular machine to fly

and so the kill markings related to
the aircrafts participation and not to
the pilot. It may, however, relate to
HMS Argonaut, attacked by Premier
Teniente Alberto Filippini on 21
May, or perhaps to an attack on 24
May when the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
ships Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedivere and Sir
Galahad were all hit and damaged by
bombs which fortunately failed to
explode. (NB: the last-named ship was
set on fire in a subsequent attack on 8
June with fifty lives lost).
For many years, gunners on both
HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid were
given the credit for Velascos demise
but careful analysis of the flight path
and positions of the ships would lend
credence to the claims of HMS Intrepid,
as C-215 was hit in the left wing
and Fearless was over to the aircrafts
right, on the opposite side. HMS
Intrepid,, however, was dead ahead.
Able Seaman (M) Neil Wilkinson

remembered that rounds from his

40mm Bofors gun hit their target, and
clearly saw his shells cause smoke to
issue from one of the two A-4s as they
attacked him, head on, facing the bows
of the ship. On the ground, six men
ashore died that day: Sapper Pradeep
Gandhi of 59 Independent Commando
Squadron, Royal Engineers: Lance
Corporal Colin Davison of the
Commando Logistics Regiment, Royal
Marines: Marine Stephen McAndrews
of 40 Commando and Sergeant
Roger Enefer, Marine Paul Callan
and Marine David Wilson, all of 45
Commando.
There can be no doubting the
valour and professionalism exhibited
by the Argentinian pilots who
participated in the Falklands air war,
especially in the face of heavy losses.
Today, more than thirty years after the
event, it is possible to see evidence of
those losses still scarring the Falkland
Islands landscape.