This is a list of the naval forces from the United Kingdom that took part in the Falklands War, often referred to as "the Task Force" in the context of the war. For a list of naval forces from Argentina, see Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War.
HMS Cardiff was a British Type 42 destroyer and the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honour of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.
HMS Battleaxe was a Type 22 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She was sold to the Brazilian Navy on 30 April 1997 and renamed Rademaker.
HMS Antelope was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy that participated in the Falklands War and was sunk by Argentine aircraft.
HMS Arrow was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy.
HMS Alacrity was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy.
HMS Ardent was a Royal Navy Type 21 frigate. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland. She was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position. Ardent took part in the Falklands War, where she was sunk by Argentine aircraft in the Falkland Sound on 21 May 1982.
HMS Sheffield was a Type 42 guided missile destroyer and the second Royal Navy ship to be named after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. Commissioned on 16 February 1975 the Sheffield was part of the Task Force 317 sent to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War. She was struck and heavily damaged by an Exocet air-launched anti-ship missile from an Argentine Super Étendard aircraft on 4 May 1982 and foundered while under tow on 10 May 1982.
HMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The last of the Batch 1 Type 42 destroyers, Glasgow was commissioned in 1979. The destroyer fought during the Falklands War, and on 12 May 1982 was damaged by a bomb from an Argentine A-4 Skyhawk. Glasgow was part of the Royal Navy’s 3rd Destroyer Squadron along with HMS York, HMS Edinburgh and HMS Liverpool. The 3rd Destroyer Squadron was based in Rosyth during the 1980s and early 1990s before being moved to Portsmouth when Rosyth Dockyard was privatised and re-purposed. The destroyer was decommissioned in 2005 and was broken up for scrap in 2009.
HMS Coventry was a Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.
This article describes the composition and actions of the Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War. For a list of naval forces from the United Kingdom, see British naval forces in the Falklands War.
ARA San Luis (S-32) was a Type 209 diesel-powered submarine of the Argentine Navy. Built in Germany, San Luis has a displacement of 1,285 tonnes and was commissioned in 1974. The submarine operated against the Royal Navy during the Falklands War without any noticeable success, but survived a number of anti-submarine sweeps carried out by British frigates. San Luis was struck in 1997 after an incomplete overhaul; as of 2020, its hull remained stored at Domecq Garcia Shipyard (Tandanor).
HMS Argonaut (F56) was a Leander-class frigate that served with the Royal Navy from 1967 to 1993. She took part in the Falklands War in 1982, sustaining damage and casualties in action.
HMS Plymouth was a Royal Navy Rothesay-class frigate. In 1982, Plymouth was one of the first Royal Navy ships to arrive in the South Atlantic during the Falklands War.
HMS Penelope was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. In the Falklands War, Penelope fired on an Argentine patrol boat and claimed to be the last ship attacked by Argentine aircraft over the course of the war. In 1991, she was commissioned into the Ecuadorean Navy, and renamed Presidente Eloy Alfaro.
Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system, and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum modification to the recipient vessel and (originally) using existing fire-control systems. A mobile land-based version of the system was known as Tigercat.
HMS Yarmouth was the first modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy.
These are some of the key weapons of the Falklands War used by both sides.
The Battle of Seal Cove was a minor naval action west of Lively Island, during the 1982 Falklands War. On the evening of 22 May 1982, while supporting Operation Sutton off San Carlos Bay, the British frigates HMS Brilliant and HMS Yarmouth received orders to stop and seize the Argentine Navy armed coastal supply boat ARA Monsunen. Under heavy shelling, the coaster managed to avoid capture by grounding on a nearby inlet.
The Battle of San Carlos was a battle between aircraft and ships that lasted from 21 to 25 May 1982 during the British landings on the shores of San Carlos Water in the 1982 Falklands War. Low-flying land-based Argentine jet aircraft made repeated attacks on ships of the British Task Force.
United Kingdom
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