The Falkland Islands is a remote British territory, about 8,000 miles
from the UK mainland and just over 400 miles from the coast of
Argentina. The ownership of the islands had long been disputed, but it
reached a boiling point in March 1982, when a group of individuals
raised the Argentine flag on South Georgia. Foreseeing a large-scale
response from British forces, the Argentine government quickly ordered
Operation Rosario, and, on 2 April 1982, undertook an amphibious
invasion of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands. Retaking the islands posed a logistical nightmare for the
British task force. Fortunately, there was a small forward operating
airfield on Ascension Island, halfway between Britain and the Falklands.
At the time, many of the British aircraft did not have air-to-air
refueling capabilities and lacked the range to reach the South Atlantic.
Nonetheless, a full-scale British invasion was planned, and, within just
74 days, the Argentine forces surrendered. With over 150 high-quality
images, this book features an informative history of the significant
British aircraft types in service with the Royal Navy, RAF and Army Air
Corps during the conflict. It covers some of the most iconic British
aircraft ever built, including an eclectic mix of helicopters, the Avro
Vulcan, Handley Page Victor and British Aerospace Sea Harrier, and
showcases surviving aircraft looking at where they are now, 40 years
after the conflict.
