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Falklands War - HMS Argonaut

I remember when I was seeing a lass in Guildford, I'd catch the last train down to Portsmouth Harbour which got in at midnight. Last ferry across to Gosport was 00.15 but I always fell asleep on the big bench seats to be woken up by the cleaner. If I was quick, there was a picket boat went across from Vernon to Dolphin at 0030, otherwise it was a case of sleeping on the canteen tables in Nelson.
 
Beats waiting in mess dress for one's late-arrival Vernon ball guest at Portsmouth Harbour and being asked for the time of the next train to Guildford. :razz:
Funnily enough, I'm in Guildford CIO today. What's the next fastest train from Pompey, madam?

On a positive note, retrieved:

IMG_20180501_072036.jpg
 
Must admit I've not heard that story previously.

It does make one wonder why a person witnessing such a desperate act did not also feel they were trapped, but the account states he concentrated on treating casualties rather than make good his escape.

Presumably there are other first hand accounts of this occurrence.

Regarding the suicide pact. To make the obvious point, the two guardsmen would have had to have pulled the trigger at almost exactly the same time, maybe within one three-hundredths of a second (check math!) for that to have worked, That;s extremely unlikely.
 
Regarding the suicide pact. To make the obvious point, the two guardsmen would have had to have pulled the trigger at almost exactly the same time, maybe within one three-hundredths of a second (check math!) for that to have worked, That;s extremely unlikely.

And Guardsmen are notoriously poor shots.
 
Two years after the Falklands conflict, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards had been posted to Hohne. I had been posted to a Security Section in Celle, prior to my promotion, and was given the task of conducting a Protective Security Survey of the Battalion, along with a very young and naïve junior officer on attachment to my Section. On arrival at the Battalion Headquarters, I was shown in to brief the Commanding Officer and 2IC to discuss the conduct of the Survey over the next few days. Being aware that I was visiting a Guards Battalion, I was dressed in a Pin-striped navy blue suit. My young companion, a 2nd Lieutenant, however, was dressed in an open neck shirt, arran jumper and brown corduroy trousers, and was extremely arrogant.

The CO, recognised me, as we had been on HMS Antrim together for a very short time, asked me too sit down and then asked my companion (the officer) to wait outside as he had to discuss matters confidentially with me!!! In confidence, he congratulated me on my standard of dress but informed me that he would be contacting my OC (in Hannover) about the untidy state in which another officer had presented himself to a Commanding Officer whilst on an official duty.

Anyway what the Battalion in general failed on a number of points during my Survey, including the large number of classified documents which could not be located and the number of weapons that were missing from the armoury. In mitigation, this supposedly NATO front-line unit, claimed all missing weapons and documents had been lost in the Falklands two years previously.

Neither the Corps Commander, or Commander-in-Chief was very ecstatic with them when my Protective Security Survey Report was passed on to them by my Headquarters in Rheindahlen!
 
Our CanMan (NAAFI Manager) on Argonaut..Wrote off the entire contents of the diesel flooded NAAFI store. Fair one.

They tried to flog us diesel-soaked Mars Bars. Everyone howled in complaint so they were taken off-sale and placed in a gash bag outside the canteen.

The said gashbag contents were later consumed with relish in the Stokers mess, in short order. Followed by an extraordinarily extra-high useage of bog roll.
 
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Our CanMan (NAAFI Manager) on Argonaut..Wrote off the entire contents of the diesel flooded NAAFI store. Fair one.

They tried to flog us diesel-soaked Mars Bars. Everyone howled in complaint so they were taken off-sale and placed in a gash bag outside the canteen.

The said gashbag contents were later consumed with relish in the Stokers mess, in short order. Followed by an extraordinarily extra-high useage of bog roll.

Embarked troops (RM and Pongoes) on HMS Fearless were required to stow their Bergens and Kit Bags under cargo nets on the Tank Deck, whilst Boxes of Compo Rations were stowed on gangway above. We only kept washing and shaving kit and a change of underwear in the tiny drawers under the bunks on the Mess Deck (3M2 in my case). Amongst this personal kit, was a Bergen belonging to the CO of 42 Cdo, who would some time later, long after the conflict, carry the appointment as MGRM Cdo Forces. He was on board for a briefing with the then current MGRM Cdo Forces in the latter's capacity as Comd, Land Forces Falkland Island (LFFI). Also on board, as I have mentioned previously on this Blog, were a large number of Welsh Guards who bedded down on the open Tank Deck. After they had left the vessel, one of the Marines in our party went down to the Tank Deck to retrieve something from his Bergen. He came back and informed us that virtually all the Bergens had been forced open, some with knives and Bayonets, and all our Cold Weather and Foul Weather Gear, issued by the Marine Arctic Warfare (MAW) Cadre stores prior to our deployment, was now missing and had been replaced with diesel soaked clothing. Also, all the boxes of compo had been broken open and the goodies like Boiled Sweets and Chocolates had been removed.

Now I am not accusing anyone personally, but its seemed a bit strange at the time. By the way, CO 42 Cdo's kit, which was clearly marked with his Rank and Name, was also ripped open with a Bayonet.

We got some replacements from Commando Log Regt 48 hours later, but not enough to make up for what was lost.
 
Embarked troops (RM and Pongoes) on HMS Fearless were required to stow their Bergens and Kit Bags under cargo nets on the Tank Deck, whilst Boxes of Compo Rations were stowed on gangway above. We only kept washing and shaving kit and a change of underwear in the tiny drawers under the bunks on the Mess Deck (3M2 in my case). Amongst this personal kit, was a Bergen belonging to the CO of 42 Cdo, who would some time later, long after the conflict, carry the appointment as MGRM Cdo Forces. He was on board for a briefing with the then current MGRM Cdo Forces in the latter's capacity as Comd, Land Forces Falkland Island (LFFI). Also on board, as I have mentioned previously on this Blog, were a large number of Welsh Guards who bedded down on the open Tank Deck. After they had left the vessel, one of the Marines in our party went down to the Tank Deck to retrieve something from his Bergen. He came back and informed us that virtually all the Bergens had been forced open, some with knives and Bayonets, and all our Cold Weather and Foul Weather Gear, issued by the Marine Arctic Warfare (MAW) Cadre stores prior to our deployment, was now missing and had been replaced with diesel soaked clothing. Also, all the boxes of compo had been broken open and the goodies like Boiled Sweets and Chocolates had been removed.

Now I am not accusing anyone personally, but its seemed a bit strange at the time. By the way, CO 42 Cdo's kit, which was clearly marked with his Rank and Name, was also ripped open with a Bayonet.

We got some replacements from Commando Log Regt 48 hours later, but not enough to make up for what was lost.
That seems bizarre in the extreme. I could understand the motive behind a desire to obtain better quality kit but cannot fathom the logic or motive behind anyone going to the trouble of soaking clothing in diesel and putting it in bergens.

If I remember rightly there were diesel fuelling points for vehicles and landing craft in the tank deck/dock areas on the LPDs so it would be easy to get diesel through the hand-pumps. Very odd though.
 
That seems bizarre in the extreme. I could understand the motive behind a desire to obtain better quality kit but cannot fathom the logic or motive behind anyone going to the trouble of soaking clothing in diesel and putting it in bergens.

If I remember rightly there were diesel fuelling points for vehicles and landing craft in the tank deck/dock areas on the LPDs so it would be easy to get diesel through the hand-pumps. Very odd though.

Ninja,

I can assure you that this actually happened. If not soaked in diesel, the wet clothing which ended up in my Bergen, certainly smelled strongly of diesel. Other members of 30 Signal Regiment (who were sharing the Mess Decks with Other Ranks from HQ MGRM Cdo Forces) reported a similar experience with their kit.

The Battalion had to be taken onboard Fearless because thay were either unable, due to the foul weather, or too unfit in comparison to other fighting units of the Task Force, to march the distance cross-country (or Yomp) to their objective as both the Royals and Paras had done. For much of the previous two years prior to the conflict, the Battalion had been engaged on Public Duties and were not at the same level of readiness (or fitness) as other fighting units of the Task Force. An exception to this was 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, the other Public Duties Battalion, who fought exceptionally well.
 
Vale Brian Dutton.

Lieutenant Commander Brian Dutton, mine clearance expert - obituary

Daily Telegraph 18 June 2018 said:
Lieutenant Commander Brian Dutton, who has died aged 86, was twice honoured for his bravery in mine clearance operations.

In the Falklands War, on May 21 1982 the frigate Argonaut was struck during an air raid by a 1000-lb bomb which lodged in a magazine causing extensive damage, wedged between broken ordnance but without exploding...
 
Our CanMan (NAAFI Manager) on Argonaut..Wrote off the entire contents of the diesel flooded NAAFI store. Fair one.

Diesel would have improved the flavour of that bloody awful beer called, I think, Cockburn's Special Brew. Legend had it that it was lager with added food colouring to make it look like bitter and that the cans had a shelf life of over 100 years.
 
Published today in The Times:


Bomb-disposal officer who once did handstands on the dance floor and was decorated for outstanding courage in the Falklands

When an unexploded Argentine bomb became lodged in HMS Argonaut’s Seacat magazine during an air attack on May 21, 1982 at the entrance to San Carlos Water, it appeared to herald the frigate’s demise.

Wedged between damaged, unstable missiles, its safe removal was the task assigned to Lieutenant-Commander Brian Dutton, the senior mine clearance diving officer in Admiral Sandy Woodward’s (obituary, August 6, 2013) carrier battle group, who had been about to be made redundant when he was abruptly sent to the South Atlantic.

With civilian life shelved, Dutton found himself in charge of Fleet Clearance Diving Team No 1, mulling through how to get Argonaut back in the fight....
 

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