Themes

Conflict and Change

• Introduction

• In Focus: 1900

• In Focus: World War One

• In Focus: Interwar

• In Focus: World War Two

• In Focus: Post War Conflict

• In Focus: Cold War Climate

• In Focus: Falklands and Beyond

• Special Exhibition: Falklands 25

  • - Early History

  • - Preparing for war

  • - 74 days of conflict

  • - On the front page

  • - Coming home

  • - Voices of War

Learning

• How To: Understand Propaganda

• Propaganda Image Galleries

• Education Project: Sea With Your Own Eyes

74 days of conflict

Article highlights

• 74 days of conflict

• Harriers and helos

• The heart of the Task Force

• Silent Hunters

• Tankers, tugs and the Great White Whale

• Under attack

• 'Bungs, wedges and woolley bear suits'

• Into Bomb Alley

• Harrass and deceive

• The yomp to Stanley

• 'Mother Hen' and the 'Red and Green Life Machine'

‘Besides the bombs there were lots of cannon strafing us we found loads and loads of strafe holes afterwards’

Ian Henderson, Executive Officer, HMS Plymouth during Falklands Conflict

HMS Plymouth following attack (RNM)

‘Bungs, wedges and woolly bear suits’

The crew’s familiar surroundings could change instantly when a ship was hit. Bomb or missile strikes might lead to explosion, fire, smoke and darkness. Despite casualties the crew had to work together on ‘damage control’ to save the ship. The war highlighted many problems with equipment.

Uniforms containing man-made fabrics melted. Some ship fittings splintered into dangerous fragments or produced toxic gases when burnt. Fire-fighting pumps were bulky and difficult to move and operate in cramped compartments. Occasionally they failed to work altogether.

Quick repairs were vital - sometimes while the ship was actually fighting off more attacks. The crew plugged holes and gashes in the ship’s hull with mattresses, wooden bungs and wedges. The efforts of the crew could save the ship. HMS Plymouth was hit by four 1 000 pound bombs; they failed to explode but started a severe fire which was successfully extinguished.

Lessons learnt from the war are now applied at the specialist Damage Control School at Whale Island in Portsmouth. Before the conflict the Navy’s fire-fighting school faced closure. Now it trains people from all over the world.