HMS Coventry (D118)
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The HMS Coventry (D118) was a British destroyer of Sheffield class . It was attacked and sunk by Argentine aircraft on May 25, 1982 during the Falklands War .
The Coventry
The ship was named after the city of the same name, Coventry in England .
Trip to China and deployment during the first Gulf War
The destroyer belonged to the Sheffield- class, which was designed by the Royal Navy as an anti-aircraft ship in the 1960s . The ship took part in a voyage to Asia in 1980 and was the first Royal Navy ship to visit China since the Second World War . She was also involved in securing oil transports from the Persian Gulf at the beginning of the first Gulf War .
Use in the Falklands War
The Coventry was part of the British fleet that was used in the war for the Falkland Islands in April 1982. With its powerful radar system and long-range anti-aircraft missiles, it was assigned to protect British dropships and ground forces at San Carlos from air raids. They patrolled on 25 May 1982, together with HMS Broadsword , before Pebble Iceland . While Coventry was able to use its Sea Dart missiles against more distant air targets, the frigate HMS Broadsword was able to combat targets at extremely low altitudes at close range with its Sea Wolf system, so that the capabilities of the two ships complemented each other.
A-4 "Skyhawk" aircraft from Fuerza Aérea Argentina came within the range of the "Sea Dart" missiles and Coventry claimed to have shot down two of them. After the Argentines recognized the threat, their high command ordered an air strike on the two ships. Argentine A-4B "Skyhawk" fighter-bombers, each armed with two unguided 500 kg (1000 lbs) aerial bombs, took off from the air force base near Río Gallegos at around 11:00 am and set course for the fleet. The four planes split up into two groups: two planes flew just above the waves around the Falkland Islands to their destination, the other two took the direct route and crossed the islands at low altitude.
A British SAS scout troop, which infiltrated into Argentina, reported the take-off of the aircraft to the fleet. Because of its low approach, the Coventry's radar discovered the targets late and was only able to establish contact sporadically. At 1:21 p.m., the first two Skyhawks broke through the ships' anti-aircraft fire and dropped their bombs at extremely low altitude on Broadsword . Their "Sea Wolf" system could not fight the targets because the aircraft flew in such close formation that the fire control computer thought they were a target and after the formation had broken up tried to pursue three targets, which led to the system crash. Three bombs missed the ship, one hit, but did not explode, but penetrated the ship and damaged the helicopter.
The second group of enemy planes came into view a short time later. The help of a Seaharrier fighter aircraft that could intercept the enemy aircraft was refused by the commander of Coventry because the aircraft could have become the target of its own air defense. Another possible enemy contact was reported to the commander in the north, so he turned the ship to starboard to allow the missile launcher on the foredeck to attack targets from both directions. The "Sea Dart" system had meanwhile established contact and Coventry launched an anti-aircraft missile, but lost contact again immediately after the launch, so that the missile flew aimlessly away. The Coventry's change of course had maneuvered them between Broadsword and the attackers so that they could not use their "Seawolf" missiles. Defensive fire from the Coventry main gun and the light weapons on board was ineffective. Both fighter-bombers dropped their four bombs at low altitude and hit the destroyer. Two bombs exploded inside the ship, killing 19 sailors. Uncontrollable water leaks caused an ever increasing list to port. The destroyer capsized after 20 minutes and sank minutes later. 261 sailors were rescued from the Broadsword .
In the opinion of its last commander, David Hart Dyke, HMS Coventry nevertheless fulfilled part of its task because it attracted the Argentine attacks and thus protected the vulnerable landing forces.
Web links
documentation
- National Geographic Channel : Series Seconds Before the Disaster - Season 6, Episode 9, original title "Sinking The Coventry", first broadcast on December 27, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alistair Finlan: "The Royal Navy in the Falklands Conflict and the Gulf War: Culture and Strategy", Routledge, 2004, ISBN 978-0714654799 , page 172
- ↑ Interview in the course of the documentary "Sinking The Coventry"