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00:00It's the 25th of May, 1982, and two pairs of Argentinian jets roar low over the Falkland Islands
00:06on their way to what could be a one-way mission.
00:09They're led by Captain Pablo Carballo, and he and his men are flying old and poorly equipped A-4 Skyhawk
00:16jets loaded with bombs.
00:18Their mission is to destroy the British ships HMS Coventry and HMS Broadsword.
00:24The Argentinians have captured the Falkland Islands, or the Malvinas as they call them,
00:28and they need to destroy the ships if they're to hold on to them.
00:32The Argentinians know that two ships have moved closer to the islands to cover ground troops,
00:37islands that give them the chance to approach undetected by British radar.
00:46The Skyhawks fly as low as they dare, hugging the contours of the island as they reach the enemy's radar
00:52range.
00:52The two ships are equipped with advanced anti-air missiles and powerful radars,
00:57which have been devastating to the Argentinian planes.
00:59The only way to evade detection is to stay low.
01:03On board HMS Coventry, Captain David Hart Dyke has his men on high alert.
01:08British special forces have warned him that the Argentinians have recently launched on a mission,
01:13but he's unaware that this time his ship is the target.
01:19Four detections on the radar screen confirms his worst fears.
01:23Four contacts bearing 225 range 30.
01:26Captain Hart Dyke immediately orders a crew to action stations and alarms Blair on both ships,
01:32and swiftly the mighty sea darts surface-to-air missiles turn to bear.
01:37The Skyhawks, at the same time, approach Pebble Island and hug its contours.
01:42Isla de Borbón, adelante. Mantenete abajo y seguime.
01:45With expert flying, the Argentinians become invisible to the British radar,
01:50and on the Coventry, the contacts disappear.
01:54Contacts lost over Pebble Island.
01:55It's precisely what Captain Hart Dyke feared.
01:58Pebble Island is too close.
02:00The sea darts have a minimum range,
02:02so now they'll only be able to fire once, if they're lucky.
02:07Hart Dyke gets on the radio to Broadsword.
02:09Broadsword, what is your status?
02:13HMS Broadsword is equipped with shorter-range Seawolf missiles,
02:16better suited for a close-range fight.
02:19On the Skyhawks, Carbello brings his men as close to the ships as he can under cover of the land.
02:24His planes have no radar and no warning systems,
02:27but at 10 nautical miles distance, they can see the British ships.
02:35He and his wingman, Lieutenant Carlos Rinque, make the charge
02:40and accelerate to maximum speed while skimming the waves.
02:44Aboard Coventry, the two Skyhawks immediately light up their radar.
02:49Two hostiles bearing 192 low level.
02:51To add to the confusion, a British Harrier jumpjet reports in.
02:55It's in the firing zone.
02:57Captain, friendly aircraft 20 miles out.
03:00A British plane and enemies in the same airspace.
03:03Should he fire?
03:04In a split-second decision, he chooses the missiles.
03:07Turn the Harrier away. Shoot missiles!
03:12But the operators still can't get a lock.
03:14The Argentinians are flying extremely low, mere feet from the sea.
03:19Carbello's canopy is covered in sea salt as he soars through the spray,
03:23so low that the radars struggle to track them.
03:26Aboard the Coventry, the men's hearts race as they see the enemy getting ever closer.
03:32The SeaDart missiles are failing to lock.
03:35Captain Hart Dyke feels the dread of a wrong decision.
03:40Praying for Broadsword SeaWolf missiles to do the job.
03:44Aboard Broadsword, the men can see the targets.
03:47The Skyhawks are flying so close, the SeaWolf's radar detects them as a single aircraft.
03:53They lock the target as the Argentinians bow down towards them.
03:58But then, the single contact splits into two,
04:01and the two sets of coordinates crash the missile guidance system.
04:05The missiles are not responding. Restart them.
04:09There's no time. Lookouts aboard Coventry see the Skyhawks with the naked eye and shout with alarm.
04:15In a last-ditch effort, HMS Coventry's deck guns turn to bear an open fire.
04:20Soon joined by the roar of personal machine guns and rifles, sailors firing from all across the deck.
04:27Carbello sees the splashes of the shell striking the sea and the tracers of the British bullets drawn closer, refining
04:33their aim.
04:35The enemy ship is right there.
04:37He can taste victory, but the shells are getting closer. He can feel it. They're not going to make it.
04:46He orders to swap targets, setting his sights on Broadsword.
04:51The two planes pull to the side and away from Coventry's guns, roaring by her deck as they line up
04:57their pass.
04:57The two Skyhawks pull the triggers and their 1,000-pound bombs are released.
05:03They fall down into the sea and splash onto the ocean's surface.
05:07It redirects them upwards as they bounce, skipping like stones.
05:11Broadsword sailors see the two massive bombs bounce twice as they head down towards them.
05:16One bomb hits the sea and sinks short of the Broadsword, but the other doesn't.
05:22It punches straight into the side of Broadsword. It's deflected upwards and it bursts out of the deck.
05:28It flies on, tumbling as it falls into the sea without exploding.
05:34Carbello is dismayed, but they're not done yet.
05:37Coming in behind them is the second flight of 1st Lieutenant Mariano Ángel Velasco
05:42and Ensign Jorge Nelson Barranuevo.
05:45They are equipped with less powerful but more reliable 250-kilogram bombs.
05:50Aboard the British ship, they now see all four contacts on the radar
05:55and Captain Hart Dyke orders an immediate turn to starboard to allow the missiles to fire at all contacts.
06:02Coventry's missile operators get a lock on Velasco and the sea darts turn directly towards them.
06:08Shoot!
06:09There's a bright flash on Coventry's deck and the missile rockets out in a plume of smoke.
06:16Just as it does, Velasco and his wingman fly lower and lower over the water.
06:22They disappear from the British radar and the missile goes straight.
06:27The sailors are aghast as the missile loses track and flies away.
06:32Velasco sees the missile fly off 500 meters to his right,
06:37but his eyes are locked on HMS Coventry as he fast approaches.
06:42Brawdsword, meanwhile, is restarting the missile systems as the Skyhawks fly in towards them.
06:48Sailors nervously stare at blank screens as they're on a race between the Skyhawk and the rebooting computers.
06:54Come on!
06:55The screens come to life and the sailors get to work. The Skyhawks are detected and appear on the Seawolf
07:01radar.
07:02The launchers turn and the target is locked. But then, on their screens,
07:09they see HMS Coventry sail directly in front of the launcher.
07:13The Coventry is in the way!
07:15In their rush to cover all targets, they've blocked the only missiles that could actually fire.
07:20The broadsword's captain tries to maneuver to get a clear shot, but it's just too late.
07:26In the Skyhawks, Velasco and Baranuevo are approaching their target.
07:31On the Coventry, Captain Hartdyke orders all turrets to fire at will.
07:35Cannons and machine guns join in, firing with everything they've got at the incoming planes.
07:40The main 4.5-inch gun is sending its shells towards the sea.
07:44The men realize the sights are misaligned, but that's not the only malfunction.
07:49At the same time, the 20mm anti-air gun jams.
07:53The men desperately try to fix it as the Argentinian planes close.
07:57In a desperate attempt, sailors all across the ship open fire with their rifles.
08:03The sea churns and splashes as everything the British have is directed towards the advancing Skyhawks.
08:09But it's all too late.
08:14Echo over the intercom and commanding officers order everyone to hit the deck.
08:19Men jump for cover and hold on, waiting for the inevitable.
08:24Velasco sees the enemy ship fill his view and pulls the trigger.
08:28His A4's 20mm cannons are unleashed, spraying a volley of lead across the ship's deck and superstructure.
08:35He holds the trigger down as long as he can, then he releases his payload.
08:40The bombs fall away, arcing lazily across the air before slamming into HMS Coventry with force.
08:47They punch through the hull, the impact echoing through the ship as two almost hollow thunks.
08:53But there's no explosion.
08:55The second A4 roars overhead without dropping its bombs, the payload failing to release.
09:01Seconds drag on.
09:03The men start to get back up, looking around with fear and confusion.
09:07A voice comes through the intercom reporting damage, but they never get to finish their sentence.
09:13The bombs detonate.
09:15Two huge explosions rock HMS Coventry.
09:19In the air, the Argentinian pilots are elated to see smoke pouring from the Coventry.
09:25They've done it.
09:32One explosion right under the bridge breaks a massive hole in the side of the ship and destroys the
09:38computer room. The fire moves up through corridors and blasts through the operations room, where all
09:44the operators and Captain Hart Dyke were working. The second one explodes in the Ford engine room,
09:50starting a massive fire and taking out electrical and propulsion power from the ship.
09:56Captain Hart Dyke comes back to his senses.
10:01He's surrounded by smoke and destruction.
10:05Screams fill the air. He tries to see who's making them, but they appear to come from everywhere
10:10and nowhere at the same time. He staggers to his feet and realises the ship is listing.
10:17He attempts to use his intercom, but is completely dead. It's no use. He needs to get out.
10:23Captain Hart Dyke slowly works his way through the smoke and corridors as he listens to the ship
10:27groaning and cracking underneath him. He manages, somehow, to find an exit and emerges into the cool
10:34air of the South Atlantic. Now on deck, he's filled with concern for his men, but instead of chaos,
10:41he's met by an extremely professional evacuation. His team of sailors practice this and are now
10:49springing into action. Men rescue their fellow sailors from the smoke-filled cabins and provide
10:55medical attention on deck as others prepare the survival rafts and help more sailors put on their survival gear.
11:04Hard Dyke feels the deck shift beneath his feet as the hull lists. He's dazed and wounded and amidst
11:10the chaos, he has to sit down on the rapidly listing hull while others abandon the ship. All but Captain
11:18Hard Dyke. After all the men have gone, Hard Dyke is alone on the upturned hull of the Coventry.
11:25He casts one last look around the smoking ship. He's done his duty.
11:32And finally, as a last man board, he enters the last survival raft and drifts away from his command.
11:40Due to the professionalism of the British, 170 survivors would be picked up from the water
11:46by HMS Broadsword and the British rescue helicopters. But tragically, 19 lost their lives in the battle.
11:53All of the Argentinian pilots make it back to base and land successfully. They'd done it, but their victory
12:01did not turn the tide of the war. For another great modern air battle, check out this film on when
12:07MiG-29s ambushed Eagles in Iraq.
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