On the morning of May 1, 1982, the radar officer was reporting echoes closing fast. Lieutenant Paul Barton with Steve Thomas flying as wingman, flying CAP, painted six Mirages at about 35,000 feet, but the six declined to come down to fight, and the Sea Harriers would not be lured up to where the French fighter was most dangerous. The two sides skirmished throughout the day until Barton scored with a Sidewinder that shattered everything aft of one Mirage's cockpit. Wingman Steven Thomas fired at and crippled a second Mirage just as it entered cloud. The pilot limped toward Port Stanley, where Argentine guns shot him down.[6]
On May 21, 1982, Thomas' commander, Lieutenant-Commander Ward, was leading a division of three aircraft launched to carry out Combat Air Patrol over the Falkland Sound, southwest of San Carlos Water with the other aircraft flown by Steve Thomas and Alisdair Craig. Two Pucaras operating from Goose Green at low level were detected by the air defence controller in HMS Brilliant. The three Sea Harriers were in the climb en route Invincible when they were vectored towards the Pucaras. One of the Pucaras was attacked from abeam by the two Sea Harriers flown by Steve Thomas and Alisdair Craig but evaded being hit. Simultaneously, Ward attacked Major Carlos Tomba's aircraft from behind with his cannon, setting the starboard engine on fire and damaging the port aileron. He immediately re-attacked hitting the fuselage and port engine. In his third and final run flying as low as 10 feet above the ground, he destroyed the cockpit canopy and upper fuselage. Tomba ejected from the Pucara at very low-level before the aircraft crashed north-west of Drone Hill. Tomba was unhurt and walked back to Goose Green.[1][7][4][5][8]
Later that same day Ward, and his wingman, Steve Thomas, were carrying out a low-level combat air patrol to the West of San Carlos over the land. Whilst in a turn, Ward sighted two Argentine Air Force Mirage V "Dagger"s approaching from the West at very low level. They were on their way to attack the landing force in San Carlos Water. He flew between them head on and then turned hard to engage them in combat. The Daggers also turned hard but not towards their target. They were running for home. This placed them in front of Thomas's Sea Harrier and he shot them down with two Sidewinder missiles. Meanwhile, a third unseen Dagger was firing its cannon from behind Ward's aircraft at him but missed. Ward turned on the Dagger and shot him down with a Sidewinder. Whist this dog fight was going on, a fourth Dagger had evaded intercept and had attacked the air defence control ship Brilliant: fortunately with little damage. The three Dagger pilots, Major Piuma, Captain Donadille and Lieutenant Senn, ejected safely.[9][5][pageneeded][10] “As we reached Port Howard we went on either side of the settlement, to avoid the Argentine troop positions there but I must have flown over one of the outlying machine gun posts because suddenly I saw small orange flashes coming past me. A split second later there was the sound of a ‘thump’ on the radio and at the same time one of my fuel pumps failed. Both of my radios were out. When I reached the carrier I went into the hover and there was the Flight Deck Officer in his yellow jacket pointing at the spot on which I was to land. After I landed I found the aircraft had been hit in the avionics compartment at the rear by three .5in armour piercing rounds. Two had gone clean through the fuselage and come out the top, one had lodged in the TACAN control box. From the direction in which the bullets hit, the enemy machine gun must have been almost exactly underneath me.”[11]
On the 1st June, 1982, Steve Thomas and Ward were in the climb returning to Invincible after combat air patrol when they were alerted by HMS Minerva to an intermittent radar contact 40 miles to the northwest. Ward immediately led Thomas in a hard turn towards the reported contact position and detected a large aircraft target on his Blue Fox radar, at 38 miles and 4,000 feet below. He immediately took charge of the intercept and tracked the target turning towards Argentina and descending. At high speed, the two Sea Harriers closed in on the target and, as he emerged through the low cloud, Ward became visual with a four-engined Lockheed C-130 Hercules at 200 feet above the sea. Short of fuel for the return to Invincible, immediate action was required. Ward's first AIM-9L Sidewinder missile fell just short of the C-130, but the second started a fire between the inner and outer starboard engines. Ward then fired 240 rounds from his Harrier's two ADEN cannons and this action caused the enemy aircraft to lose control, sending it crashing into the sea and killing the seven crew members.[12][5]
Thomas flew over fifty war missions, achieved three air-to-air kills, and took part in or witnessed a total of ten kills; and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry[13][14] Stephen was the only British pilot to shoot down three fast jets in the conflict, yet he was one of the least experienced Sea harrier pilots with less than 200 hours on the type.[15]
After the Falklands War
Thomas subsequently served at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down as a test pilot until 1988.These trials and tests were critical in developing and refining new aircraft and weapon systems, as well as in improving the capabilities of existing ones. The AAEE at Boscombe Down played a vital role in ensuring the effectiveness and safety of British military aviation during this period.[16][pageneeded]
Later life
Stephen retired from the Royal Navy in 1989 with the rank of Lieutenant-Commander [2][pageneeded][failed verification] Upon retiring from the Navy in 1989, Harrison-Thomas embarked on a civilian aviation career, starting as a First Officer and then becoming Captain at Air UK, a regional airline. He flew the BAe 146 Regional Jetliner on European routes from Manchester and later operated Boeing 737-400 for Air UK Leisure from Luton Airport. After KLM bought Air UK, he moved to the Netherlands and served as a Captain on Boeing 767-300 ER on South American routes.[17]
Lieutenant Thomas, 801 Naval Air Squadron, a first tour pilot, flew 50 combat sorties and was involved in four separate actions against the Argentine Air Force. In each of these he acquitted himself exceptionally well showing disregard for his own safety. During these actions, one aircraft was destroyed by Lieutenant Thomas. On one occasion he and his partner were attacked by three Mirages firing missiles, but they turned the tables by shooting down two and damaging the third. On a second occasion, his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and communications lost, despite which he recovered safely to the ship. In two of the actions he was left with barely sufficient fuel but returned safely to the ship 150 miles away with professional skill and calmness. In each of the actions his excellent radar handling and teamwork were decisive factors. This young aviator displayed enormous courage, determination, good judgment and aggression in the face of the enemy.
The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities.
HMS Invincible was the Royal Navy's lead ship of her class of three light aircraft carriers. She was launched on 3 May 1977 as the seventh ship to carry the name. She was originally designated as an anti-submarine warfare carrier, but was used as an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, when she was deployed with HMS Hermes. She took over as flagship of the British fleet when Hermes was sold to India. Invincible was also deployed in the Yugoslav Wars and the Iraq War. In 2005, she was decommissioned, and was eventually sold for scrap in February 2011.
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.
Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were seven extremely long-range ground attack missions conducted during the 1982 Falklands War by Royal Air Force (RAF) Vulcan bombers of the RAF Waddington Wing, comprising aircraft from Nos. 44, 50 and 101 Squadrons, against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands. Five of the missions completed attacks. The objective of the missions was to attack Port Stanley Airport and its associated defences. The raids, at almost 6,600 nautical miles and 16 hours for the round trip, were the longest-ranged bombing raids in history at that time.
This article describes the composition and actions of the Argentine air forces in the Falklands War, which comprised units of the Air Force, Army, Navy and other services.
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.
The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter.
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers.
The FMA IA 58 Pucará is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capable of operating from unprepared strips when operationally required. The type saw action during the Falklands War and the Sri Lankan Civil War.
These are some of the key weapons of the Falklands War used by both sides.
800 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 Flights.
Commander Nigel David "Sharkey" MacCartan-Ward, was a Royal Navy officer who introduced the Sea Harrier aircraft to service with the Fleet Air Arm and commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron during the Falklands War. His nickname of "Sharkey" is traditional for anyone called Ward in the navy, after the Barbary corsair Jack Ward.
This is a list of the units, aircraft and casualties of the British air services in the Falklands War. The numbers in bold are the number of aircraft used in the war, the numbers in brackets are the number of lost aircraft. For a list of air forces from Argentina, see Argentine air forces in the Falklands War.
801 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.
809 Naval Air Squadron, nicknamed the Immortals, is a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm of the United Kingdom. It was first formed in 1941 and flew in the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean and the Far East during the Second World War. After active service during the Suez Crisis, 809 was disbanded in 1959. Reformed in 1963 to fly Blackburn Buccaneers, the squadron was disbanded briefly in 1965–66, and then again in 1978. A brief period during the Falklands War saw 809 reformed to bring Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft south to the UK task group and to fly from HMS Illustrious.
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.
The Ferranti Blue Fox was a British multi-role airborne radar designed and built for the Royal Navy by Ferranti Defence Systems in the late 1970s. It had a mixed record in service, and was replaced by the more capable Blue Vixen.
ARA Narwal was an Argentinian fishing trawler, equipped for ELINT purposes during the Falklands War and captained by Asterio Wagata.
David Henry Spencer Morgan is a former British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who flew on attachment to the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during the Falklands War in 1982 where he became the most successful British fighter pilot of the conflict and was also involved in the last dogfight by British fighter pilots in which enemy aircraft were destroyed.
Lieutenant Commander Taylor Humphrey Scott was an English Fleet Air Arm pilot and a test pilot for British Aerospace.
1 2 Smith, Colin R; Wilton, David L; Burden, Rodney A; Draper, Michael A; Rough, Douglas A (1986). Falklands: the Air War. British Aviation Research Group. pp.208–223. ISBN978-0-85368-842-6.
Shores, Christopher (1994). Aces High: A Further Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in WWII, Volume 2. Grub Street Publishing. ISBN978-1898697008.
Budgen, Christopher (2020). Hawker’s Secret Cold War Airfield: Dunsfold: Home of the Hunter and Harrier. Air World. ISBN978-1526771759.
Harrison-Thomas, Stephen (2023). Navigating The Skies: Comprehensive Insights Into Aviation Management. Primedia eLaunch LLC. ISBN979-8-89074-049-6.
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