This is a revelatory account of three un-tabulated special forces operations, PLUM DUFF, MIKADO and KETTLEDRUM, that were tasked to destroy Argentina's Exocet missiles during the 1982 Falkland's campaign. In that context alone this book is of international military importance. ?Using previously unknown material and through interviewing key players who have remained silent for 30 years, Ewen Southby-Tailyour has finally established the truth: that it has taken so long reflects the sensitivities, both military and personal, involved. ?Interviews with the SAS officer commanding Operation PLUM DUFF, members of the reconnaissance patrol for Operation MIKADO, plus the navigator of the helicopter that flew eight troopers into Tierra del Fuego, has allowed the author to describe the tortuous events that led, instead, to a significant survival story. ?The RAF pilots ordered to conduct an 'assault-landing' of two Hercules onto Rio Grande air base during Operation MIKADO have spoken of the extraordinary procedures they developed: so have the commander of the SBS and the captain of the British submarine involved in Operation KETTLEDRUM. ?The Super Ätendard pilots who sank HMS Sheffield and MV Atlantic Conveyor and then 'attacked' HMS Invincible, plus a key member of the Argentine special forces and the brigadier defending Rio Grande, add credence, depth and gravitas to the saga: as does an equally revealing interview with the SIS (MI6) officer who led the world-wide search for Exocets on the black market. ?Disturbing over-confidence by commanders at home was finely counter-balanced by stirring accounts of inspiring physical and moral courage across the South Atlantic. ?Exocet Falklands is a ground-breaking work of investigative military history from which many salutary lessons can be learned.??As featured in the Daily Record, Western Morning News, Plymouth Herald and on BBC Radio Wiltshire.

The harrowing tale of HMS Glamorgan, the only ship to survive a hit by Exocet during the Falklands War in 1982, told by her Navigating Officer. In the course of this bitter conflict Glamorgan faced missiles, bombs, shells and rockets. Personal accounts recall these attacks, culminating with the Exocet hit and the resulting life and death struggle to save the ship, which came perilously close to sinking. The aftermath and the traumatic stress experienced by those who lost shipmates brings home the gruesome reality of war. Written by one who experienced at first hand that reality, Ordeal by Exocet vividly recalls the war in the South Atlantic twenty years on.

The Falklands Conflict was remarkable for many reasons: it was a hard fought, bloody and short conflict between a leading NATO power and one of the most capable armed forces in South America; it demonstrated the capabilities of a range of cutting-edge technologies including nuclear-powered attack submarines, Exocet missiles and Sea Harrier VSTOL aircraft; and it was fought many thousands of miles away from the Royal Navy's home bases. In this illustrated study, renowned naval historian Dr Edward Hampshire draws upon the latest available sources to offer a comprehensive examination of the Falklands naval campaign. Blow-by-blow accounts of key engagements, such as the sinking of the General Belgrano, the loss of HMS Sheffield, and the landings at San Carlos Bay, are presented alongside lesser known but equally important naval operations that helped shape the outcome of the conflict.

The Falklands War is a story of occupation, fierce air battles, heavy naval losses and bitter encounters between ground forces amidst an inhospitable terrain and unforgiving climate. With complex political machinations and nationalist sentiment at the centre of the conflict, even today the sovereignty of the islands is hotly contested in political circles. For the first time, renowned military historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes has compiled a definitive A–Z guide to the British involvement in the Falklands conflict, including personalities, weapons, battles, ships, places, and much more. This accessible yet comprehensive companion to the Falklands War will be a welcome addition to any enthusiast's shelves.

Using four warship-centered examples, this book shows how naval battles are won or lost—and how technological advantage is rarely as decisive in defeat or victory as is often claimed. Providing a unique assessment of naval strategy and historic outcomes across centuries of warfare, Understanding Victory: Naval Operations from Trafalgar to the Falklands presents four case studies that examine each ship-based battle narrative to expose and analyze the factors that contributed to each side's success or defeat. The work opens with an overview of the general causes of success and failure in naval operations. Each case study starts with a detailed narrative of the battle and then reviews the conflict from the key perspectives identified in the introduction. These classic examples of naval warfare underscore how the outcome of naval operations is often predetermined by the clarity and quality of the mission aim, and point out striking constants in naval warfare despite the obvious differences in military technologies over a long span of time.

At the beginning of the 21st century much has remained the same in naval terms but much has changed. Geoffrey Till's study is an exploration of how change will impact upon the world's navies.