567:, was considered to be impossible to pull off, due to the loss of the element of surprise and due to British intelligence discovering that the Argentines enjoyed far better radar coverage than initially expected. As a consequence, the airborne assault plan attracted considerable hostility from some members of the SAS, which ultimately led to one sergeant submitting his resignation shortly before the team was due to fly out to Ascension and to the squadron's commander being relieved and replaced by the regiment's second-in-command. The lack of on-site intelligence meant that the British forces did not have a clear idea of how Rio Grande was defended, nor any guarantees that the Super Etendards or the Exocets would even be there if an operation took place. British forces also had no information on how the base was organized and did not know where the Exocets or pilots were located.
446:
37:
637:
After the war, Argentine marine commanders stated that they were expecting a special forces attack, but never expected a
Hercules to land directly on their runways, although they would have pursued British forces even into Chilean territory in case of attack. The operation's failure would have been a
515:
where they landed. One of the two pilots and the aircrewman disembarked on the beach and cut holes in the helicopter to allow it to sink once it was ditched. The other pilot then flew it out over the water but was unable to sink it. He flew back to the beach to cut more holes, but was blinded in his
498:
forcing it to detour, adding twenty minutes to the transit. As it approached the
Argentinian coast after four hours, fog reduced visibility to less than a mile. As they approached twelve miles from the planned SAS drop-off point, visibility was reduced to such an extent that the pilot was forced to
629:
Ultimately, the
British Government acknowledged that there was a strong likelihood that the operation would have failed. After the war, it was revealed that the Rio Grande area was defended by four Argentine Navy Marine Corps battalions, some of whose officers had been trained in the UK by the
520:
by a blinking "Low Fuel" light and crashed on the beach. The crew set fire to the helicopter and detonated explosive charges before leaving the scene. They moved over the course of several nights to a point of observation near Punta Arenas, where they attempted to make contact with the
British
499:
land. The pilot and the commander of the SAS patrol disagreed on their exact position while the SAS commander was also certain that they had been spotted by an
Argentine patrol: he asked to be dropped on the Chile/Argentine border. The pilots were forced to fly on instruments through
550:
patrolling on the north as well as to the air base of Río Grande. In 2007 members of the
Argentine 24th Infantry Regiment claimed that they had hit the helicopter with small arms fire amid thick fog south of
432:. If not, the surviving members of the SAS Squadron and aircrew would use whatever transport available on the airfield to make their way to the Chilean border, about 50 miles to their west.
1500:
464:
on the night of 17/18 May, as a prelude to the attack. The operation consisted of transporting a small SAS team to the
Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego on a stripped down Royal Navy
401:
air-to-sea missiles, sinking two ships. This operation was intended to destroy the three remaining Exocet missiles that
Argentina had in its possession as well as the
1485:
679:
144:
428:
with engines running while the men of B Squadron SAS performed their mission. If the C-130s survived, then they would head for the
Chilean air base at
1505:
1480:
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137:
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479:, making this a one-way mission. Therefore, the aircrew mission consisted of dropping the SAS team in Argentina, heading to
1444:
1081:
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1007:
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468:. The original plan was for the SAS team to march to the Rio Grande air base from the drop-off point and to set up an
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had shelled a submarine and a number of inflatable boats while on patrol two miles off Rio Grande, at the position
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62:
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launch aircraft. It was also intended to kill the pilots in their quarters. To achieve this, Brigadier
243:
1515:
1157:
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291:
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Contrary to rumours, no plan was devised to infiltrate the SAS into
Argentina by Royal Navy submarine
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The British Task Force had been successfully attacked by these Argentinean aircraft using French
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By this time, Operation Mikado, which was already seen by experienced SAS members to be a
8:
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propaganda disaster for the British forces, and conversely a morale boost for Argentina.
532:
According to Argentine reports, the helicopter was tracked by the radar of the destroyer
475:
The mission required that the Sea King helicopter travel a distance close to its maximum
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at 0015 hrs on 18 May. The aircraft inadvertently passed close to an Argentinian
445:
909:
La Infantería de Marina de la Armada Argentina en el Conflicto del Atlántico Sur
773:
Special Forces Pilot: A Flying Memoir of the Falklands War by Richard Hutchings
792:
583:
576:
97:
1474:
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1022:
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The aircraft, with a three-man crew and an eight-man SAS team, took off from
425:
387:
154:
28:
504:
956:(in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Instituto de Publicaciones Navales.
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36:
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into neutral Chile. The SAS team was dropped off on the south coast of
887:
The Fight For The Malvinas: The Argentine Forces In The Falklands War
529:
while moving through town and were turned over to British officials.
495:
375:
66:
370:
was the code name of a military plan by the United Kingdom to use
522:
1036:
122:
980:
Exocet Falklands: The Untold Story of Special Forces Operations
453:
A preliminary reconnaissance mission on Río Grande, code-named
398:
936:"Former Yeovilton pilot talks about 'Operation Certain Death'"
480:
483:
and disposing of the aircraft by sinking it in deep water.
1459:
1501:
Cancelled military operations involving the United Kingdom
863:
La compañía fantasma que le disparó al misterioso Sea King
794:
El Bouchard y el Fracaso de la Operación Británica Mikado
555:. The SAS reconnaissance mission was eventually aborted.
511:
on foot. The helicopter crew flew to a beach closer to
424:
According to the plan, the C-130s would be kept on the
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417:, which consisted of landing 55 SAS soldiers in two
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472:to collect intelligence on the base's defences.
421:aircraft directly on the runway at Rio Grande.
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525:. They were discovered and picked up by the
507:where they were to attempt to move to their
449:Tierra del Fuego and (West) Falkland Islands
1486:Operations involving British special forces
881:
809:
680:"SAS 'suicide mission' to wipe out Exocets"
16:Cancelled UK operation of the Falklands War
1059:
1045:
902:
570:
394:was in charge of planning the operation.
145:
131:
855:
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1506:Battles and conflicts without fatalities
1481:Military operations of the Falklands War
797:by Eugenio L. Facchin y José L. Speroni
788:
786:
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712:
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953:Ataquen Río Grande - Operación Mikado
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501:Instrument Meteorological Conditions
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1526:Cancelled special forces operations
413:) proposed an operation similar to
13:
928:
543:sent a message to her sister ship
374:troops to attack the home base of
356:Thule & South Sandwich Islands
14:
1537:
1496:British Army in the Falklands War
1066:
835:"Mikado: la operación que no fue"
814:. Penn & Sword. p. 140.
812:Argentine Fight for the Falklands
764:
152:
621:on the evening of 16 May 1982.
35:
1511:Maritime incidents in Argentina
977:Southby-Tailyour, Ewen (2014).
875:
96:Super Étendard squadron of the
43:Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard
1307:Falkland Islands Defence Force
828:
803:
647:
380:Super Etendard strike fighters
1:
641:
624:
810:Middlebrook, Martin (2003).
384:Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego
63:Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego
7:
656:from www.eliteukforces.info
539:on the night of 17/18 May;
10:
1542:
938:. BBC Somerset. 2008-10-28
441:Preliminary reconnaissance
1412:
1315:
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1097:Invasion of South Georgia
1092:Invasion of the Falklands
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849:newspaper, 31 March 1996
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92:
81:
73:
57:
49:
34:
26:
21:
1440:British nuclear weapons
869:newspaper, 21 May 2007
718:"The SAS vS the Exocet"
609:53.7272333°S 67.70000°W
571:Rumoured secondary plan
419:Lockheed C-130 Hercules
1521:Clandestine operations
889:, Viking, p. 75,
614:-53.7272333; -67.70000
559:Abandonment of mission
466:Westland Sea King HC.4
450:
1023:53.77750°S 67.75333°W
950:Muñoz, Jorge (2005).
756:Ewen Southby-Tailyour
654:The SAS VS The Exocet
448:
1107:Total Exclusion Zone
1028:-53.77750; -67.75333
518:night vision goggles
457:, was launched from
407:Peter de la Billière
392:Peter de la Billière
87:Peter de la Billière
1491:Special Air Service
1019: /
883:Middlebrook, Martin
684:The Daily Telegraph
605: /
455:Operation Plum Duff
411:Director of the SAS
372:Special Air Service
184:Operation Corporate
117:Operation cancelled
108:Special Air Service
1425:Argentine cemetery
840:2009-04-22 at the
451:
386:, during the 1982
53:Airborne operation
1516:1982 in Argentina
1468:
1467:
1435:British logistics
1403:Atlantic Conveyor
1138:Many Branch Point
983:. Pen and Sword.
436:Planned operation
415:Operation Entebbe
364:
363:
302:Many Branch Point
269:Atlantic Conveyor
166:Operation Rosario
121:
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1430:British cemetery
1328:General Belgrano
1153:Mount Tumbledown
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527:Chilean military
509:observation post
470:observation post
368:Operation Mikado
346:Mount Tumbledown
157:
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104:Executed by
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22:Operation Mikado
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1445:Cultural impact
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494:in an offshore
477:operating range
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994:. Retrieved
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967:. Retrieved
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921:(in Spanish)
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904:
886:
877:
871:(in Spanish)
866:
862:
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851:(in Spanish)
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799:(in Spanish)
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721:. Retrieved
688:. Retrieved
686:. 2002-03-08
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261:
249:
233:
222:
215:
208:
201:
182:
181:
164:
1395:Sir Galahad
1163:Two Sisters
1133:Goose Green
1026: /
612: /
547:Piedrabuena
325:Sir Galahad
312:Two Sisters
282:Goose Green
1475:Categories
1450:Land mines
1323:Argentine:
1271:Argentine:
1212:Black Buck
1197:Operations
1183:Bluff Cove
1178:Mount Kent
1128:San Carlos
1102:Occupation
1082:Background
1014:67°45′12″W
1011:53°46′39″S
969:2014-08-31
942:2014-08-31
723:2011-12-16
690:2011-12-16
642:References
625:Assessment
488:Invincible
461:Invincible
297:Bluff Cove
287:Mount Kent
244:San Carlos
196:Black Buck
177:Occupation
85:Brigadier
1420:Aftermath
1393:RFA
1387:Glamorgan
1385:HMS
1377:HMS
1369:HMS
1361:HMS
1353:HMS
1347:Sheffield
1345:HMS
1334:ARA
1326:ARA
1219:Corporate
1205:Algeciras
1173:Seal Cove
1112:Surrender
996:3 January
600:67°42′0″W
577:HMS
496:gas field
459:HMS
376:Argentina
318:Glamorgan
256:Seal Cove
223:Sheffield
67:Argentina
1455:Memorial
1401:SS
1379:Coventry
1355:Antelope
1342:British:
1289:British:
1233:Paraquet
1075:Timeline
885:(1989),
838:Archived
588:Bouchard
541:Bouchard
536:Bouchard
378:'s five
276:Coventry
262:Antelope
209:Belgrano
202:Santa Fe
191:Paraquet
77:May 1982
58:Location
27:Part of
1413:Related
1240:Rosario
1226:Keyhole
1121:Battles
523:Embassy
114:Outcome
74:Planned
1363:Ardent
1297:Ground
1279:Ground
1264:Forces
1254:Mikado
1247:Sutton
1087:Causes
987:
960:
915:
893:
867:Clarín
846:Clarín
818:
777:
582:. The
426:tarmac
399:Exocet
250:Ardent
239:Sutton
234:Mikado
216:Sobral
93:Target
1371:Arrow
1316:Ships
1302:Naval
1284:Naval
481:Chile
1460:Yomp
998:2015
985:ISBN
958:ISBN
913:ISBN
891:ISBN
816:ISBN
775:ISBN
579:Onyx
545:ARA
534:ARA
50:Type
1292:Air
1274:Air
632:SBS
382:at
1477::
919:.
911:,
785:^
766:^
758:,
732:^
699:^
682:.
661:^
65:,
1060:e
1053:t
1046:v
1000:.
972:.
945:.
824:.
726:.
693:.
409:(
146:e
139:t
132:v
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