THE FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN 1982

HMS BROADSWORD & THE BOUNCING BOMB

Argentinean Skyhawk jets roared low across the water towards the frigate, HMS Broadsword, a few miles off the Falklands.

A bomb from one of them bounced off the waves, tore into the warship's side... ripped its way up through the flight deck.... smashed the front of a Lynx helicopter - then fell harmlessly over the side without exploding !

HMS Broadsword had led a charmed life in the thick of the action after the British landings at San Carlos and Lady Luck was still smiling on her.

Incredibly, no one was injured when the bomb struck and the ship's engineers were able to weld patches over the damage and keep the frigate in fighting trim for the rest of the campaign in the South Atlantic.

It was May 25th and it was the day luck ran out for the destroyer, HMS Coventry, with which Broadsword had teamed up for operations just off the islands.

Only minutes after the attack on Broadsword, the Skyhawks turned their attention on Coventry and bombs left the destroyer crippled and sinking rapidly. Broadsword picked up about 170 of the survivors.

Broadsword had sailed from Devonport on March 17th for a Mediterranean exercise and was scheduled to sail on to ports in the Persian Gulf, India and, finally, to Singapore.

She left Gibraltar on April 5th and was dramatically recalled and ordered to join the Falklands Task Force. Her main role until May 21st when the British landed at San Carlos was as "goal-keeper" for the carrier, HMS Hermes.

With all the modern eqipment onboard this Type 22, these men claimed two aircraft (Goal-Keeper = HMS Broadsword's armament, included Sea Wolf anti-missile stayed close to Hermes to protect her from air attack, when the threat of attack was low Broadsword was within one mile, but when the threat was high they got as close as 200 yards)

To vary the role assigned to Broadsword's ship's company Admiral Woodward gave the ship other jobs. She was teamed up with Coventry to be her "goal-keeper" when the destroyer went in close to land to bombard short targets and the frigate was involved in some hush-hush operations.

Broadsword, Commanded during the campaign by Capt. Bill Canning, was among the warships chosen to provide air defence for the D-Day landings at San Carlos.

The plan was to force the Argentinean pilots to fly through the warships' anti-aircraft fire before they could attack the ships putting men and stores ashore.

Air-raids started about half an hour after sunrise on May 21st and carried on until about half an hour before sunset.

In addition to its Sea Wolf missiles, which claimed one plane on the first day and a second in "bomb alley", Broadsword had a "secret" weapon. This was an upper deck small arms battery, a mixed crew of sailors and Royal Marines, blasting away at Argentinean planes with a 40mm Bofors gun, machine-guns and rifles. The team, led by R.M. Sergeant Bill Leslie, shot down two planes and damaged two more.

One of the bombs ploughed a trial of destruction Sgt. Leslie was awarded the DSM. Some of the upper deck sharp-shooters received minor injuries when Broadsword was strafed. Seaman "Oscar" Wild, who joined Broadsword for his first experience at sea, was hit by shrapnel, but escaped with torn clothing and a few bruises.

The day after the British landings saw Broadsword and Coventry north-west of the Falklands working together as a missile trap for Argentinean planes. She was back in "bomb Alley" on May 23rd and outside with Coventry on May 24th.

May 25th saw the two warships off Pebble Island and Coventry shot down three aircraft with her Sea Dart missiles. Another raid was coming in, but, instead of heading towards Falkland Sound, the planes turned towards Coventry and Broadsword.

The bomb that hit Broadsword struck aft on the starboard side after bouncing off the sea. It struck about halfway between the waterline and the flight deck and tore a gapping hole about 14 ft. by 8 ft. in the flight deck.

It tore through a room and across a passageway and, after blasting through the flight deck, ripped off the front of the Lynx helicopter. Miraculously it failed to detonate. Initial reports on board the ship was that the bomb had gone straight through the bottom of the ship, the next report said it was in the ship and had lodged somewhere. When it found that the bomb had bounced over the side the crew could not believe their luck.

After thinking that they now had a charmed life, everyone's attention was drawn to Coventry who had been hit three times and sank within about twenty minutes.

Broadswords Lynx only helped to slow down the bomb's progress Broadsword immediately launched all boats, called for helicopters from Falkland Sound, and started to pick up survivors. Some men were in life rafts and some had jumped into the water. Over 170 survivors were taken aboard Broadsword, when then steamed into San Carlos Water to transfer them to a ship leaving for the carrier group that night. As they left Broadsword in a landing craft, the Coventry survivors raised three cheers in gratitude for their rescue.

Broadsword's engineers found there was no serious damage from the bomb. The flight deck could not be used until repaired, but a second Lynx in the hanger had escaped damage. The after end of the damaged aircraft was later sent home for repairs and further service.

Air attacks were not the only problem for the Task Force. Broadsword maintained constant vigilance for possible submarine attack and the ship's electronic eyes and ears had to listen round the clock for any signs of underwater activity.

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