| Tgunner | 29 Mar 2018 1:43 p.m. PST |
Here is an interesting article. So maybe we weren't all that neutral during the Falklands after all. link
Give Maggie whatever she needs! |
| Martyn K | 29 Mar 2018 2:21 p.m. PST |
Very interesting. It was always portrayed in the UK news at the time that the US wasn't giving any help to the Brits. I remember, for example, press reports that UK requests for Satellite photo access were being denied by the US.
It shows that what is happening behind the scenes is not always the same as what is being released publicly. |
| Vigilant | 29 Mar 2018 2:21 p.m. PST |
This was also covered in a documentary here in the UK many years ago. We certainly got the latest Sidewinders pretty quickly. We also got some help from France regarding the performance of the Mirages and Super Etendards. |
| Striker | 29 Mar 2018 3:56 p.m. PST |
Didn't France also delay shipment of paid-for Exocets? |
| KSmyth | 30 Mar 2018 11:03 a.m. PST |
"Didn't France also delay shipment of paid-for Exocets?" Yep, I believe there were only five missiles, and all but one of them hit something with a Union Jack on it. |
| Panfilov | 06 Apr 2018 10:00 a.m. PST |
Yes, the US drew down the War reserves (the latest sidewinders) for the UK to supply Missiles, etc. and some other intelligence activity on the QT. |
| Bozkashi Jones | 19 Apr 2018 4:35 a.m. PST |
IIRC the Argentinean Navy called in French engineers to figure out why the exocets weren't exploding. The French found the problem but decided not to say. Sorry, can't remember where I read this so no citation (hence 'IIRC'!) We got a lot more help than is generally recognised, mainly due to allies not wanting to advertise the fact because of their own diplomatic position. My favourite though is the Portuguese who referred back to the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 to bat off criticism for allowing us to use the Azores! Nick |
| Virginia Tory | 20 Apr 2018 10:49 a.m. PST |
US provided significant assistance, especially from the Ascension Island SIGINT station. And yes, the AIM-9Ls… |
| Max Schnell | 30 May 2018 6:34 a.m. PST |
There was a reason why the British Task Force had a port call to Norfolk before they went to the Falklands. |
| seneffe | 31 May 2018 2:42 p.m. PST |
Did the task Force really call at Norfolk?? I've never heard that. Sandy Woodward's (Task Force CO) memoirs don't seem to mention it. BTW UK media reporting of the US govt position during the war was actually quite mixed and properly discriminating.
There was a great deal of praise for Caspar Weinberger's very supportive stance- which included reference to US facilities at Ascension and (at the time cryptic) references to military supplies (9Ls etc), and also for Alexander Haig.
There was however a great deal of criticism for Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Ambassador to the UN. |
| Windward | 01 Jun 2018 8:39 a.m. PST |
Of course giving the AIM-9L to the Brits did provide a live fire test too… Confirming how deadly they could be, but previous generations didn't always live up to the specs. We also denied the Argentinians support with their American bombs, they wanted assistance in getting or adjusting fusing for contact explosions. Due to this lack of support a number of the bombs passed through ships. With contact fuses the British losses would have been much higher. |
is not a real big fan of pre-painted minis, and he positively despises randomly-packed "collectable" ones - so why is he writing this article?
