The elite SAS went back to their World War II roots on a daring 1980s mission to protect the British fleet businessinsider.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from businessinsider.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The far-flung Falklands are strangely beautiful
Credit: Getty
Distant, windswept, and virtually treeless, the Falkland Islands are not high on many people’s travel wish-lists. 8,000 miles across the South Atlantic, they’re a vestige of empire whose kinship with Britain still inspires murmurs of resentment from next-door Argentina. And this is undoubtedly one of the things that makes them so fascinating.
Visiting the Falklands is to be plunged back into a conflict that still haunts its people. But the Falklands are also strangely beautiful: it’s a country the size of Wales with a human population of barely 3,000, extraordinary bird life, marine mammals, and vast craggy landscapes
The British Army and the Falklands War
‘The significance of the Falklands War was enormous, both for Britain’s self-confidence and for our standing in the world. Since the Suez fiasco in 1956, British foreign policy had been one long retreat. Victory in the Falklands changed that.’
Margaret Thatcher, ‘The Downing Street Years’, 1993
In April 1982, British soldiers joined a naval task force sent to re-take the Falkland Islands after their surprise capture by the Argentine military. They went on to play a key part in the land campaign that helped secure victory in the war.
Invasion
On 2 April 1982, a tiny British overseas territory, located about 300 miles (almost 500km) off the east coast of Argentina, was thrust violently into public consciousness in the UK.
New report finds numerous examples from the 1940s to 80s when ministers would usually tell parliament about UK special forces.
Extreme secrecy allows prime ministers to covertly deploy UK forces abroad and bypass parliamentary scrutiny
British government ministers were willing to give Parliament more information about the UK military’s special forces during World War 2 and the “end of empire” than they do today, new research reveals.
Ministers currently claim to have a “long-standing policy” of not commenting on Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) when asked by MPs for basic details of its operations.
The special forces, which consist of several thousand personnel, are believed to be involved in eight covert wars abroad, including Yemen and Mali, and have a multibillion-pound budget.
Major Tommy Turtle, SAS soldier who took part in crucial operations during the Falklands War – obituary
He was noted for his calmness under pressure, and besides the South Atlantic he also served in Gibraltar, West Germany and the Middle East
Tommy Turtle: as ‘tough as teak’
Major Tommy Turtle, who has died of cancer aged 70, was an SAS soldier who was involved in a number of special forces campaigns over 39 years of service and saw much action during the Falklands War.
Shortly after midnight on May 12 1982 eight members of 17 (Boat) Troop, D Squadron, 22 Special Air Service Regiment, were covertly inserted into West Falkland to reconnoitre an Argentine airfield on Pebble Island, a small island just to the north, as a prelude to bringing in the remainder of the squadron to destroy any enemy aircraft or radar it might contain.