FROM TARANTO TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS Mark Daly reviews two of the most famous British aircraft carrier actions: the Falklands War and the Battle of Taranto.
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oyal Navy (RN) aircraft carriers have been constantly active since the end of World War II. In the Korean conflict of 1950 to 1953, RN aircraft carriers Glory, Ocean, Theseus, and Triumph mounted 23,000 aircraft sorties. In 1956, five carriers were deployed in the controversial Suez campaign. This was followed by carrier deployments off Oman in 1958, and Kuwait in 1961, and further deployments during the Indonesian confrontation (1963 to 1966). There were also operations off Africa in 1964 and 1966. However, long after the ending of Britain’s colonial attachments have ceased, Royal Navy carrier operations have continued, often as part of the NATO Alliance, in the Adriatic for operations over Bosnia and Kosovo during the 1990s, and later for deploying helicopters to Sierra Leone in 2000. They were also used to support forces in Afghanistan, enforce a no-fly zone over southern Iraq and prosecute an amphibious assault on the Iraqi Al Faw peninsula in 2003. The Falklands War Few imagined that Royal Navy carriers would ever be engaged in intensive warfare in the South Atlantic, but that is what happened after the Falkland Islands were invaded by Argentina on April 2, 1982. Just three days later, two very different aircraft carriers departed Portsmouth naval base: HMS Hermes, a converted Centaur-class
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HMS Prince of Wales
of 28,000 tonnes dating from 1959, and the modern light carrier HMS Invincible of 19,000 tonnes. They steamed south with a task force of surface warships. HMS Hermes was the flagship for the force and had embarked an air group of 12 Sea Harriers from 800 and 809 Squadrons, Sea King HAS.5 helicopters from 826 Squadron, and ‘A’ Company 40 Commando Royal Marines. HMS Invincible’s air group was initially eight, later 10, Sea Harriers of 801 and 809 Squadrons and Sea King HAS.5s of 820 Squadron. The Falkland Islands, 8,100 nautical miles (nm) from the
