FIGHTING ON THE FALKLANDS
The largest SAS operation since WWII was a pivotal moment in the Falklands War
April 1982: Argentinian forces invade the Falklands Islands and trigger a war with Britain. The South Atlantic islands have been in British hands since 1833 and its population (1,850 in 1982) is mostly descended from British settlers, but the Argentinians have long staked their claim to what they call Islas Malvinas, some 400 miles (644km) off their coast. On hearing of the invasion, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dispatches the largest military expedition since the Suez Crisis of 1956. As the fleet races the 8,000 miles (12,875km) from Britain to the Falklands, it is abundantly clear that central to the campaign will be the elite soldiers of the SAS.
Of huge strategic importance if Argentina was to have any chance of winning the war were the three small airfields on the islands, from which they could attack British ships and impede a counter-invasion. These were at the capital Port Stanley, Goose Green on East Falkland and the tiny Pebble Island at the north of West Falkland. The latter was identified as a potential forward operating base, capable of being upgraded into a launching point for the FAA, the Argentine Air Force.
On 23 April, a plane landed on Pebble Island, or Isla de Borbon, and, as the couple of dozen residents looked on, Argentinian troops disembarked, planted the national flag and sang their anthem. Improvement works got underway and Lieutenant Ricardo Marega was given command of a platoon of the 3rd Marine Infantry Battalion. Adding engineers and air crews, around 150 men were posted.
Soon, Pebble Island was the base for six FMA IA-58 Pucara groundattack aircraft, four T-34 Turbo Mentors and one Short SC7 Skyvan. All posed a threat to any proposed British amphibious invasion.
British forces similarly recognised the strategic value of Pebble Island and began planning how to best neutralise the threat. The obvious option of an air strike was deemed unfeasible as it put the civilian population in danger. Instead, a special forces operation was preferred. The 22nd SAS regiment – under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rose and on board the flagship HMS Hermes – was assigned the job of the largest SAS mission since the Second World War, codenamed Operation Prelim.
They did not have long to get everything ready. Rose reportedly stated that an airfield raid might require three weeks of preparation, only for
