Have you pulled a ‘plug out yet? 😉

Can we change to the Russian anthem?

B^gger knows what they are singing but it makes me feel proud…

…and I’m a lackey of the imperialist running-dogs! 😀

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PY0NZ0be50&feature=related

So you are telling me Clarkson didn’t say the batteries needed replacing every two years at huge environmental cost?

Clarkson, in particular, does have a habit of making exaggerated (humorous) comments to support or condemn a point of view. Usually they are easy to spot for what they are, but I’ve often heard these comments quoted later as fact.

Try doing an impression of Clarkson saying “and the batteries need replacing every two years, at huge environmental cost!”

Just a thought. 🙂

The ships escorting the Belgrano posed a greater threat to the task force due to their Exocet arnament.
These ships would in my judgement be the ones to sink – the British submarine would have been capable of sinking these – bear in mind that the Belgrano was a WWII ship !

Probably, but I’m not even 100% sure the Belgrano’s escorts even carried Exocet; there was some account of dummy Exocet launchers being constructed for warships but I can’t remember if it was the Belgrano, her escorts or another ship.

As for the escorts being more modern, they were both obsolescent and of a comparable age to the Belgrano, although they had had some limited modernisation.

On balance of probability I think torpedoing the Belgrano offered the best chance of limiting casualties; the vast majority of those killed were killed by the initial explosion of one of the torpedoes.

‘Super-sonic flown’…..can that be right? :confused:

I’d rather be one of the ten…

Quite right too!

Realistically though, was there ever any chance of the government keeping a Jaguar flying (as the originator was hoping for)?

I’m sure it was well meant…..but without significant publicity all these petitions do is show an apparent lack of interest.

What do you need to start one anyway…..just be a British citizen with an e-mail address?

As for the Chilean role, I’m sure it was greater than we realise.

Yes, almost certainly but I don’t think it would ever have got to the point where RAF fighters or bombers were flown from Chile against Argentine forces. I can see how covert Canberra PR9 sorties to photograph mainland airbases to assess Argentine aircraft strength could have been carried out; possibly even Canberra PR9 sorties to the Falklands themselves would have been done. Maybe this was why the Mirage III fighters were pulled-back, to discourage photo-recon rather than any possible Vulcan strike?

Thatcher was adamant the Pinochet should not have been detained in this country! 😉

Lots of countries were covertly involved in one way or another.

I read recently that the Roland Anti-Aircraft missile system at Stanley Airport broke-down and a German civilian from the manufacturer was flown-out to the islands to fit a spare part; apparently this was done to improve the post-war sales of Roland which at that point hadn’t shot anything down. Post-war the ‘recording’ of the Roland shooting down a Sea Harrier was given to the manufacturer as a thank-you!

I think the Black Buck missions required the use of nine Victor tankers (plus two spare Vulcans) just to get one stick of bombs across the runway.

Actually thirteen Victors, two Vulcans and a Nimrod.

Here’s another “what if?”: What if the French had delivered a few more Exocets before hostilities? The Argentines were severely limited by the fact that they had very few missiles – was it ten? If they had had thirty or fifty Exocets, it would have been quite a lot nastier in the British fleet

Argentina had five air-launched Exocet plus a greater number of ship-launched (one of which was fired from an improvised trailer and badly damaged HMS Glamorgan).