Operation Paraquet
Encyclopedia
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
military operation to recapture the Island of South Georgia from Argentine military control in April 1982 at the start of the 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...
. The official name "Paraquet" is an alternative spelling of Parakeet
Parakeet
Parakeet is a term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized species of parrot, that generally have long tail feathers...
, but the operation is perhaps more widely known as Operation Paraquat, an unofficial name adopted by troops in the South Atlantic who feared the operation would prove as lethal to them as the weedkiller Paraquat
Paraquat
Paraquat is the trade name for N,N′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. Paraquat, a viologen, is quick-acting and non-selective, killing green plant tissue on contact. It is also toxic to human beings and animals...
. This view prompted the exclamation "kill Paraquat before it kills us."
The operation, a subsidiary of the main Operation Corporate
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....
(recapture of the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) was successful, leading to the island being restored to British rule on 25 April 1982.
Operation
The operation was ordered by Admiral Fieldhouse on 12 April 1982. It was to involve Mountain Troop from D Squadron SASSpecial Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
from Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
, 150 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...
on the tanker Tidespring
RFA Tidespring (A75)
RFA Tidespring was a of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. As an "oiler," its main purpose was to refuel other ships. The ship had a long career in the RFA, entering service in the early 1960s, and finally being decommissioned in 1991....
, 2SBS on and 6SBS in the submarine . Conqueror was first on the scene and carried out a survey of key areas of the South Georgia coast. The operation was originally supposed to involve both SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
and SBS
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
forces being infiltrated onto South Georgia by helicopters from the Tidespring and , but the plan had to be changed when the two Wessex helicopter
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
s transporting the SAS troops to an ambitious location on the northeast coast crashed in atrocious weather on Fortuna Glacier
Fortuna Glacier
Fortuna Glacier is a tidewater glacier at the mouth of Cumberland Bay on the island of South Georgia. It flows in a northeast direction to its terminus just west of Cape Best, with an eastern distributary almost reaching the west side of Fortuna Bay, on the north coast of South Georgia. Named in...
; the troops and aircrew were rescued by Antrims Wessex helicopter, the last remaining to the expedition.
On 9 April the submarine left port in Argentina with a detachment of marines on board to reinforce the South Georgia garrison, and arrived safely in Grytviken
Grytviken
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
on 24 April. However, on 25 April the Santa Fe was intercepted while sailing away and disabled by depth charges from Antrim's Wessex
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
helicopter and subsequent attacks by task force Wasp
Westland Wasp
The Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter...
and Lynx
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
helicopters, which fired at least six AS-12
Aerospatiale SS.12/AS.12
The SS.12 and AS.12 are two variants of the same missile: SS for surface-to-surface and AS for air-to-surface. It was designed in 1955-1957 by Nord Aviation, later Aérospatiale...
missiles on the submarine. The Santa Fe was forced to limp back to Grytviken
Grytviken
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
.
There followed an immediate assault by an improvised group of Special Forces and 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...
, with two Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessels (Antrim and ) conducting a naval bombardment demonstration on the low hills opposite Grytviken. The garrison at Grytviken and the crew of the disabled Santa Fe surrendered to M Company, 42 Commando
42 Commando
42 Commando Royal Marines is a battalion sized formation of the British Royal Marines and a subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....
, Royal Marines, after fifteen minutes at 17.15 GMT, although the garrison at Leith Harbour
Leith Harbour
Leith Harbour , also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station up on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest of seven whaling stations, situated near the mouth of...
, under the command of Lieut. Commander Alfredo Astiz
Alfredo Astiz
Alfredo Ignacio Astiz was a Commander, intelligence office and maritime commando in the Argentine Navy during the dictatorial rule of Jorge Rafael Videla in the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional...
, surrendered the following day. Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
requested Astiz extradition to the British authorities after learning about his capture, but his captors rejected the petition.
An Argentine prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, Navy Petty Officer Felix Artuso, a crewman of the Santa Fe, was mistakenly shot dead on April 26 after a British marine thought he was sabotaging the submarine and is buried at Grytviken Cemetery.
One of the most famous and legendary signals of the entire 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...
was made by the British Landing Forces' commander Major Guy Sheridan RM after the surrender at Grytviken:
- Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God save the Queen.
Wildlife film maker Cindy Buxton
Cindy Buxton
-External links:*...
and her assistant, who had been filming in an isolated part of the island before the invasion, were evacuated by a helicopter from on 30 April.