Operation Keyhole
Encyclopedia
During Operation Corporate
in the 1982 Falklands War
, Operation Keyhole was a British special operation on Thule Island
on the South Sandwich Islands. The Operation took place from 19-20 June 1982. 10 prisoners (one civilian and nine military personal) were evacuated to the tanker OLMEDA, accompanied by HMS YARMOUTH. They departed for South Georgia. The Argentine Base URUGUAY was closed and the buildings sealed to make them weatherproof. The other ships of Operation Keyhole (ENDURANCE, SALVAGEMAN) followed and were back at Cumberland East Bay/South Georgia by 24 June 1982.
During the operation KEYHOLE nobody was killed or injured.
A Royal Marines
team were landed on Thule Island
covertly to observe Argentine activities. The harsh conditions on the island with an air temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius and a gale gusting to sixty miles per hour, the chill factor caused an effective drop to minus fity-two. Under the threat of the Royal Marines Party on the island and the ships cruising in front of the Argentine Base and several helicopters flying to the Argentine Base a white flag was raised. The ENDURANCE people who were forced to lower the Union Flag on South Georgia in 3 April hoisted now the Union Flag on Thule Island.
Operation Corporate
Operation Corporate was the codename given to the 1982 British military involvement in the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War. The commander of task force operations was Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse. Operations lasted from 1 April 1982 to 20 June 1982....
in the 1982 Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, Operation Keyhole was a British special operation on Thule Island
Thule Island
Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient geographers to lie at the extreme end of the earth...
on the South Sandwich Islands. The Operation took place from 19-20 June 1982. 10 prisoners (one civilian and nine military personal) were evacuated to the tanker OLMEDA, accompanied by HMS YARMOUTH. They departed for South Georgia. The Argentine Base URUGUAY was closed and the buildings sealed to make them weatherproof. The other ships of Operation Keyhole (ENDURANCE, SALVAGEMAN) followed and were back at Cumberland East Bay/South Georgia by 24 June 1982.
During the operation KEYHOLE nobody was killed or injured.
A Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
team were landed on Thule Island
Thule Island
Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient geographers to lie at the extreme end of the earth...
covertly to observe Argentine activities. The harsh conditions on the island with an air temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius and a gale gusting to sixty miles per hour, the chill factor caused an effective drop to minus fity-two. Under the threat of the Royal Marines Party on the island and the ships cruising in front of the Argentine Base and several helicopters flying to the Argentine Base a white flag was raised. The ENDURANCE people who were forced to lower the Union Flag on South Georgia in 3 April hoisted now the Union Flag on Thule Island.