Military Model Scene

Title: The Falklands Naval Campaign 1982
Author: Edward Hampshire
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-4301-2

Campaign series 361 covers the Naval Campaign of the Falklands War of 1982. These events took place almost 40 years ago, a time which I remember well. My own memories are first for the birth of my son, on the Monday of the week the islands were invaded, plus it was my own uncle caught up in it, as he was Governor of the Falkland Islands at the time. Now with even more information released than was available even soon after the war, this 96-page soft-cover book tells us the story of the Naval elements of the war very neatly.
After an Introduction that gives the background to the war of 1982 and a basic Chronology of events, the detail starts with a look at the senior commanders of both the British and Argentine sides. That leads into chapters setting out the detail of the opposing forces and a couple of pages on the Opposing Plans before we get to the main element of the book, the Campaign itself. There is a lot more here than was made public at the time, obviously for security reasons. Maps show the positions of the British Task Force, the islands, the Total Exclusion Zone, the landings at San Carlos and more. There is a mix of air and naval action, as it was the Argentine air force that attacked the Task Force, and the Harriers of the Fleet Air Arm that had to deal with them. A number of Royal Navy ships were lost, including Sheffield, Antelope, Ardent, Coventry and famously the Sir Galahad, as well as the Atlantic Conveyor, one of the STUFT (Ship Taken Up From Trade) vessels used to support the Task Force on its' 8,000 mile mission. Lots of detail, supported with plenty of archive images, plus maps and the usual super Osprey artwork and all rounded off with consideration of The Aftermath.
I suspect this will be especially interesting for those of us who remember the events of the time, and of course the veterans who were there. For anyone under 40, this of course is 'modern history' for them, and I am sure they will be interested to read what happened. One of the other things for many of us to consider, the famous Sea Harrier/Harrier is now out of service with British armed forces, though the AV-8B is still used by the USMC.
Thanks to Osprey for our review copy.

Robin