The deadly attack of the Atlantic Conveyor: the strategic mistake that caused the British the biggest logistical loss of the Falklands

Roberto Curilovic at Infobae Studios

Ascension Island (British Overseas Territory), May 5, 1982.

"They are all crazy!" Thought the commander of the 3rd Royal Marines Brigade and the commander of the land forces, Julian Thompson, observing with astonishment on Ascension Island that the bulk of the logistic cargo destined for the South Atlantic conflict was concentrated on a single ship: Atlantic Conveyor, requisitioned with 40 other civilian ships as a means of transport for the British fleet, had been urgently appointed by the British Ministry of Defense to be repackaged. And that is done in record time.

Thompson I was not alone in this premonitory appreciation: The commander of the regiment of naval infantry logistics, Colonel Ivar Helberg, gave him the reason.

Ten days after the recovery of the Malvinas Islands by Argentina, the 202 meters long and 15,000 tons cargo ship had a vertical takeoff platform at the rear, its warehouses had been reinforced and equipped with the equipment. a new communication system. Against the clock, the naval conversion was performed in the port of Plymouth, Devonportfrom where he left on April 25 with much of his equipment

He had to refuel in Sierra Leone and dock at Isla Ascensión to complete his strategic cargo: 8 Sea Harrier transport planes and 6 Harrier fighter jets to be transferred to the conflict zone. These ships were added to the five Chinook helicopters, in order to land troops and heavy artillery in San Carlos, as well as 6 other Wesbad and Wasp for the RAF. The helicopters were also used during the transfer to the south to transfer personnel from the British fleet.

Its large capacity also allowed storing in hidden ISO containers, stored in each band, a whole arsenal: cluster bombs, rocket engines, anti-tank missiles, grenades and ammunition. And in its large warehouses, there are inflatable tanks and trucks loaded with fuel, boats for landing, a vertical landing strip for badembly in San Carlos, desalination equipment and lighting , spare parts for airplanes and helicopters, generators and other essential equipment such as tents, rations and heaters.

Ian North, Captain of the Atlantic Conveyor and World War II Veteran supervised from the Command Bridge next to the Commander of the Royal Navy, Michael LayardStowage at the Port: Planes and helicopters without rotors were arranged as pieces of an improvised puzzle on the cover. They were surrounded by anti-corrosion lids and other containers that hindered their mobility in the irascible waters of the south.

All a great logistical effort. Although without foresight, the Atlantic Conveyor was becoming too profitable a goal. And particularly vulnerable to the infallible pair of aircraft and AM-39 Exocet Super Etendard missiles from the Argentine Navy. After the embargo of the French government, the engineer of the central workshop of the missiles, captain of Fragata Julio Pérezhe managed to decipher the code of the Exocets for their dialogue with the supersonic plans, because of the lack of collaboration of the French experts. (Perez also designed an improvised trailer as a ground missile launcher for Exocet mar-mar at Malvinas naval base, and his inventiveness successfully knocked out the destroyer HMS Glamorgan).

Protected as a main ship during the final leg of her transfer, the Atlantic Conveyor (AC) arrived at the edge of the exclusion zone, surrounded by destroyers and aircraft carriers. The working group sailed north-east of the Malvinas Archipelago in mid-May when the Harrier and Sea Harrier stationed changed their location.. With their vertical takeoff skills, they left the close platform of the AC and were split into aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and Invincible.

The enemy air traffic in the area was incessant. Patrols and air strikes followed each other while the troops organized their hunt. 150 km away, Puerto Argentino's TPS 43 radar detected intermittent echoes of this trip, unable to identify specific targets or distinguish which was the naval platform.

Simultaneously in the base of the Rio Grande and a few days earlier in that of the commander Espora in Bahía Blanca, the Second air squadron fighter and attack of the Navy He trained intensively. On May 5, the 5 Super Etendard and its 5 missiles, out of a total of 14 aircraft and 10 missiles bought in France, had arrived four months earlier. One of them was used for spares and the South Atlantic conflict surprised them without being able to adjust the inertia, braking and catapulting systems of a small platform such as the ARA. 25 of Mayo. Such was the rush of hostilities, as Argentina at the request of France yielded to Iraq, then at war with Iran, in turn to receive the remaining 5 missiles.

The objective of maximum with the anti-ship Exocet addressed to those who had a greater offensive ability and, as far as possible, to carry a psychological blow, striking the emblematic: the Hermes or the Invincible, who accompanied the enemy forces in their advance towards the port. Argentine. But first we had to detect them. A difficult task given the low level of the P-2 Neptune exploration aircraft of May 19 for its old electronics and the range and accuracy of remote and unsophisticated radars Puerto Argentino.

On May 4, the pilots of this squadron, Augusto Bedacarratz and Armando Mayora, they carried their first fatal blow to the binomial Super Étendard-Exocet by sinking the destroyer HMS Sheffield in the southeast of the Malouines. Now, it was the turn of another section. The Lieutenant Commander Roberto Curilovic, aka Toro, his call sign and his digit, the Lieutenant of the ship Julio Barraza, aka mate.

Barraza (70) also describes the mission in detail from Vancouver, where he emigrated with his family 29 years ago, after leaving the Navy in 1986 with the rank of captain of the Corvette. Far from aviation, he currently runs an English and French translation company..

On May 11, part of the Rio Grande was to take off with a 600-kilogram missile in each right wing of the two planes. The maximum absorption efficiency was sought. But the mission was pushed back to 14 hours due to the unavailability of refueling in flight.

The two Hercules KC-130s were simultaneously badigned to another operation: the bombardment of the HMS Broadsword frigate and the HMS Coventry destroyer by the fearless Air Force A4B Skyhawk squadron that was operating from the base of Río Gallegos. We remember May 25 as an endless nightmare for the working group.

If the Sheffield attack had occurred in the south, the shot this time would be the north. Curilovic and Barraza took off as planned.

"Once the cabin is closed, the pilot merges with his machine and there is no room for any distractions. There may be only the hidden fear of failing on a mission that we have been preparing for years, "says Curilovic as a prelude to this legendary mission.

In an absolute electronic silence, the two "albatrosses" traveled 1000 km north of the meeting, at the height of Puerto Deseado, at an altitude of 6,000 meters. with the tanker that was waiting for them faithfully by circling in the air.

In a simultaneous maneuver of extreme precision, they approached the two hoses deployed in each wing of the KC-130 and were attached to the baskets. "They knew how much fuel they had to deliver. We do not ask anything at all", evokes Curilovic.

Between 15 and 20 minutes were enough to refill the tanks. From there, they headed east at 1000 km speed. And over the last 200 kilometers, they descended slowly and they "hid" flying 15 meters above sea level to not be detected. Thus, they continued their way to the phi omega point.

"To communicate, we approached and we spoke by signs, towards the east, the daylight was shortened and it was dark, the sun was low and low behind us and, in front, there was a gray lead sea with lambs from the target when we climb to 100 meters. We did two or three sweeps left and right for up to three seconds and it was one thing not to believe. What we had practiced so many times appeared on the screen: a big echo in the center, like a bananita drawn on the screen, with two other smaller echoes, a top and a bottom, "describes Barraza.

The pilots came down sharply and they continued with their approach. Approximately 37 or 27 miles (37 km) from the target, they stood up to issue a new radar broadcast on the fleet and they reached the target.

-Mate, the largest radio ordered Curilovic.

Barraza nodded in two clicks. I did not want to talk. Although I know it, with the first three seconds of the radar, the radar plot had already been detected and would surely be in the line of sight of Sea Dart missiles. The English also knew that it was the radars of two formidable Super Etendardbecause they had electronic countermeasures adjusted to distinguish them.

They did not know which ships were being treated. By the size of the echo could be the Hermes or the Invincible. "But that does not invariably mean that the big echo is a big ship. It depends if you present the bow or the. But there was no option but to overtake the bigger target, "Curilovic rebuilt.

The location that had not varied much from that provided by the Malvinas radar. The ships were about 150 kilometers northeast of the end of Soledad Island.

Already at the shooting distance, Toro and Mate started the launching sequence. They flipped information, connected switches and kept the white "trigger" button depressed for the computer to dialogue with the missile and decide the appropriate time when it must leave to reach the electronic center of the target.

The second communication between the pilots was the top of the launch. At 1628, the almost simultaneous disengagement of these 600 kilos caused a slight roar followed by a tremor that slightly unbalanced the right wing.

The snowy point of this almost infallible subsonic weapon crossed the windshield. They had to turn 180 degrees, put the maximum power and flee from their entry into the Sea Dart's range. But Curilovic succumbed to the plight of the executioners. He was held hostage by what is called a "white fascination".

"I was ecstatic," he says. "There was a twilight and I saw these two trails of fire heading for the fleet and I thought," What a powerful weapon we have. "Knowing the outcome of the Sheffield attack, it was unlikely that enemy surface ships could avoid the damage. Reflecting on this, I forgot a few seconds that it was necessary to take a distance. When I reacted, Mate 's plane seemed very small, as it had complied with the procedure well. "

"Something spectacular is going to happen today"

According to declbadified British documents, this same evening of 25 May, in the guise of darkness, the Atlantic Conveyor was to disembark the troop and all the helicopters in San Carlos and begin the transfer of the other supplies with the first ones. dawn lights. That is why, a few hours ago, the captain's captain, Ian North, was boasting to the crew: "Well guys, we are on May 25. Something spectacular is going to happen today.".

The radar emission of the Super Etendards had been effectively detected by the British fleet. Almost everyone has thrown straw, clouds of metallic particles, to disorient the Exocets. On the screens of the destroyers, the English have seen these contacts duplicate themselves and head for the Atlantic Conveyor. The Exocets sailed so close to each other that they could be seen on the same monitor.

The Invincible HMS counter-attacked with six missiles with little effectiveness: two of them went down to their own helicopter, a Sea King, which served as an anti-submarine curtain. And the others got lost in their own cloud of bullets or in pursuit of other clutter.

The missiles pierced load deck C, above the waterline, at the rear of the Atlantic Conveyor. A few minutes later, with the explosion, the fatality: spread by the huge amount of fuel from the floating tanks and the arsenal that he was charging, the flames devoured the cargo ship and its "treasures" of war. The explosion went through one group and came out of the other. The opportunity could not be more chaotic for rescue operations: 15 minutes later, during the Air Force raid with conventional bombs in the Strait of San Carlos , the sword is damaged and the convent is pbaded under.

Meanwhile, Toro and Mate had been preparing a route for some time while the boss was trying to communicate with the tanker. "It was already late and the Hercules remained in orbit away from the place of action, but without any defense, always vulnerable to receiving some sort of attack", recognizes the head of the mission.

The HMS Alacrity frigate tried to help the captain. Some of the ammunition was thrown containers but the belly of the freighter was already filled with embers and explosions to infinity. From a tower, Captain Ian Norh badessed the damage and ordered the abandonment of the vessel.

Darkness threatened the dramatic rescue. The last recovered by HMS Alacrity was only 23 years old. Of the 33 crew members, 12 died: three in the blast and nine others disappeared in the Atlantic. Among them, Ian North (57), who survived the Second World War when the Germans torpedoed his boat.

He was a "worthy enemy", "honorable", the pilots agree, because, loaded as he was, he took his ship to Malvinas and filled his country.

After the second refueling and after 4:10 hours of flight, Toro and Mate landed at night in Rio Grande without being able to quantify the damage caused by unparalleled technology. All the team was waiting for them on the track. They celebrated not only the alleged success of their mission, but also that of the Air Force that day. An hour later, they were on an Elektra plane heading for the Espora base. They should train on night flights. Meanwhile, in Rio Grande, there was a last Exocet.

Three days later, the Atlantic conveyor went under and that meant the biggest unitary logistic loss in the war. The enemy was forced to alter his battle plan based on the movements of troops and artillery helicopters transported during the final harbadment in Puerto Argentino.

When Brigadier Thompson learned in San Carlos that he no longer had the Chinook, he embarked on the final badault with his men on foot. In the paralyzing cold of the peat, these last 100 kilometers constantly recalled the worst miscalculation in the planning of the war logistics of the South Atlantic.