Raid on Pebble Island

Military raid during the Falklands War

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Pebble Island raid
Part of the Falklands War
Location of Pebble Island (in red), north of the West Falkland island.
Date 14–15 May 1982 Location Pebble Island, Falkland Islands Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Argentina
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Cedric Delves Cap. Gavin Hamilton	Lt. Ricardo Marega  †
Strength
45 SAS troopers 1 naval gunfire observer 1 destroyer ( HMS Glamorgan ) 2 helicopters	150 troops[1]
Casualties and losses
1 Wounded[2]	1 Killed Operation Rosario South Georgia Occupation Operation Corporate Paraquet Black Buck Santa Fe Belgrano Sobral Sheffield Pebble Island Mikado Sutton San Carlos Ardent Seal Cove Antelope Atlantic Conveyor Coventry Goose Green Mount Kent Top Malo House Bluff Cove Many Branch Point Mount Harriet Two Sisters Glamorgan Sir Galahad Mount Longdon Wireless Ridge Mount Tumbledown Port Stanley Thule & South Sandwich Islands

The raid on Pebble Island was a raid by British Special Forces on

During the night of 14 May, two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters of 846 Naval Air Squadron departed with 45 members of D Squadron on board. The force infiltrated the airfield to lay charges on the aircraft with their mortar teams and HMS Glamorgan providing distracting fire. The aircraft were attacked using thermite grenades wrapped in PE-4 explosives with 4 second fuses, the cockpit glass was broken and the charges were thrown inside. Five of the aircraft were destroyed in this manner, whilst the rest were damaged with small arms fire. Following this cue Glamorgan began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores. The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had re-grouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was wounded by an Argentine improvised explosive device (IED) while the raiding party returned fire, resulting in the death of the Argentine commanding officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort. The wounded man was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party reaching the aircraft by the required time for transportation back to Hermes before daybreak.

Background

Immediately after the Argentinians had seized the Falkland Islands they established a small airbase, Aeródromo Auxiliar Calderón,

Initial intentions were for a squadron-strength air insertion from Hermes using personnel from D Squadron, 22 Regiment. The raiding party would destroy the deployed aircraft, radar site, ground crew, and force protection garrison before helicopter exfiltration to return to Hermes before daybreak.^[citation needed]

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance for the raid was conducted by personnel from the Boat Troop of D Squadron, who infiltrated by Klepper canoe. The patrol found that strong headwinds would increase the time taken to fly in from Hermes, delaying time on target and reducing the available offensive window to thirty minutes from the planned ninety. In light of this information, the planning emphasised the importance of destroying the aircraft as a priority, with support personnel as a secondary priority.

The raid

During the night of 14 May, two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters of 846 Naval Air Squadron departed with 45 members of D Squadron on board. The delivery point was 3.7 mi (6 km) from the airstrip on Pebble Island. Mountain Troop was tasked with the destruction of the Argentine aircraft, while the remaining personnel acted as a protection force, securing approaches to the airstrip, and forming an operational reserve.

The raiding party unloaded over 100

As the raiding party approached the target, they spotted an Argentine sentry but were not seen, allowing them to lay charges on seven of the aircraft. Once all the aircraft had been prepared, the raiding team opened fire on the aircraft with small arms and rockets. All of the aircraft were damaged, with some having their undercarriages shot away. Following this cue, Glamorgan began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores.

The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had re-grouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was wounded by an Argentine IED. The raiding party returned fire using small arms and M203 grenade launchers, resulting in the death of the Argentine commanding officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort.

The Argentine version states that their marines remained in shelters during the shelling by Glamorgan, so they were unable to face the SAS in combat. The British soldier's injury was the result of shrapnel from exploding charges planted by the Argentines under the airstrip in order to deny its use to the enemy. The blasts were triggered in the belief that the operation was a full-scale assault to take over the air base.

Exfiltration

The wounded soldier was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party, who reached the aircraft in time for transportation back to Hermes before daybreak. The party decided to proceed with exfiltration instead of returning to attack the defending force.^{[citation needed]}

Aftermath

Assets destroyed during the raid totalled:^[5]

• Six FMA IA 58 Pucarás^{[n 1]} (Air Force)
• Four
  trainer/light attack aircraft (Navy
  )
• One
  Coast Guard
  )
• Destruction of the ammunition dump
• Destruction of the fuel dump

• Raid on Cortley Ridge

Footnotes

References