HMS Coventry (D118) was a
Type 42 (Sheffield Class)The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers of the Royal Navy.- History :The class was designed in the late 1960s to provide fleet area air-defence. In total fourteen vessels were constructed in three batches, five of which remain in service...
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
of the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
. Laid down by
Cammell Laird and Company, LimitedCammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.-Founding of the business:The Company was...
, at
BirkenheadBirkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.
The principle role of these Ships is to provide the fleet with mid range anti-air warfare capability with secondary roles of anti-surface and anti-submarine. A total of sixteen "42's" were built between 1972 and 1985, in three batches, HMS Coventry was the last of the first batch to be commissioned. To cut costs, the first two batches had 47 feet removed from the bow and the beam-to-length ratio reduced. These early Type 42s performed poorly during trials and are notoriously poor sea-keepers.
Type 42 Destroyers were fitted with the
Sea DartSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977....
SAM (Surface-to-Air Missiles)A Surface to Air Missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system....
designed in the 1960s to counter threats from manned aircraft. Sea Dart is constrained by limitations on its firing capacity and reaction time, but did prove its self during the Falklands War with seven kills, three of these attributed to
Coventry
Falklands Campaign
HMS
Coventry was taking part in the Exercise Springtrain 82 near the British base of
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
, during March 1982. Along with other vessels involved in the exercise she was detailed for service in the Falklands Campaign. She had a
Union FlagThe Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada...
painted on the roof of her bridge and a black line pained through her funnel to her waterline to aid recognition, as the Argentines also operated two Type 42 Destroyers.
On 27 April
Coventry, in the company of
HMS GlamorganHMS Glamorgan was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy with a displacement of 5,440 tonnes. The ship was built by Vickers-Armstrongs in Newcastle Upon Tyne and named after the Welsh county of Glamorgan. She was launched on 9 June 1964, and was delivered to the Navy two years later. In the...
,
HMS GlasgowHMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built at Swan Hunter Shipyard in Wallsend, Tyneside and launched on 14 April 1976 by Lady Kirstie Treacher, wife of Admiral Sir John Treacher. With a displacement of 4,820 tonnes, Glasgow is the 6th and last Batch 1 Type 42...
,
HMS ArrowHMS Arrow was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, she was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position....
and
HMS SheffieldHMS Sheffield was the second Royal Navy ship to bear the name Sheffield, after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. She was a Type 42 Guided Missile Destroyer laid down by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness on 15 January 1970, launched on 10 June 1971 and commissioned on 16...
, entered the
Total Exclusion ZoneThe Total Exclusion Zone was an area declared by the United Kingdom 30 April 1982 covering a circle of 200 nautical miles from the centre of the Falkland Islands...
, a 200 mile cordon around the Falkland Islands. Within 6 weeks,
Sheffield and
Coventry would be at the bottom of the South Atlantic,
Glasgow would have a bomb pass straight through her and
Glamorgan would be hit by a land-based
ExocetThe Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, and airplanes. Several hundred were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:The missile's name was given by M...
Missile. In all, over fifty crew would be dead.
Coventry's contribution to the
Falklands WarThe Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/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 considerable. Her helicopter was the first to fire
Sea SkuaThe Sea Skua is a British lightweight short range air-to-surface missile designed for use from helicopters against ships. It is primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Lynx helicopter, although it can be ship launched and is in place as a shore battery and also on patrol boats in the state of...
(Air-to-Surface)An air-to-surface missile is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both...
anti-ship missileAnti-ship missiles are guided missiles designed for use against ships. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type and use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s in action. Her
Westland Lynx HAS.Mk.2The 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, which went...
fired two Sea Skua missiles on 3 May at ARA
Alferez Sobral, the former
USS SalishUSS Salish USS Salish (ATA-187) USS Salish (ATA-187) (previously ATR-114 was a Sotoyomo-class rescue tug US Navy ship, her hull was laid down on 29 August 1944...
. One missile missed and the other hit a small boat slightly injuring a crewman manning a 20 mm gun and knocking out the radio aerials.
HMS Glasgow'sHMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built at Swan Hunter Shipyard in Wallsend, Tyneside and launched on 14 April 1976 by Lady Kirstie Treacher, wife of Admiral Sir John Treacher. With a displacement of 4,820 tonnes, Glasgow is the 6th and last Batch 1 Type 42...
Lynx fired two more Sea Skua, and the vessel retreated, with 8 crew killed, 8 wounded and heavy damage. Her damaged bridge is now on display at the Naval Museum in
Tigre PartidoFor other uses please see Tigre Tigre Partido is a partido or municipality of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the north of Greater Buenos Aires. The department covers a large section of the Paraná Delta and its low-lying islands...
, Argentina. This vessel remains in service in the Argentine Navy.
Coventry was the first warship to fire
Sea DartSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977....
surface-to-air missileA Surface to Air Missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system....
s in anger when the ship fired three on the 9th May at two Learjets of
Escuadrón FénixThe Phoenix Squadron was a special unit of the Argentine Air Force formed during the 1982 Falklands War - History :...
, just missing the aircraft.
HMS BroadswordHMS Broadsword was the lead ship and first Batch 1 unit of the Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy.-Service:While on sea trials, Broadsword was called into service as the command ship during the large rescue operation required after storms struck the 1979 Fastnet race .Broadsword took part in the...
reported that her radar tracked the missiles merging with the pair of contacts but they missed the Aircraft,(call signs Litro and Pepe).
Coventry's Captain Hart-Dyke in his book "Four Weeks in May: The Loss of HMS Coventry," claims that two Skyhawks of Grupo 4 were shot down by the Sea Darts, but Aircraft (C-303 and C-313) were lost in bad weather, with both wrecks found on
South Jason IslandSouth Jason is one of the Jason Islands in the north west Falkland Islands . In Spanish it is considered one of"Islas las Llaves"...
. One on the Northwest side of the cliffs, the other in shallow waters on the SouthWest. Lt Casco and Lt Farias were both killed.
The first confirmed Kill made by "Coventry" was a Aérospatiale Puma helicopter of
601 Assault Helicopter BattalionThe 601 Assault Helicopter Battalion is a helicopter unit of the Argentine Army.This battalion is the main helicopter unit of the Argentine Army Aviation and is based on Campo de Mayo, Buenos Aires. The unit is composed by Bell UH-1H and Aerospatiale Puma helicopters. It is organised in two...
with its three man crew was shot down by a Sea Dart over
Choiseul SoundChoiseul Sound is a stretch of sea in the Falkland Islands. It runs parallel to Eagle Passage and is between Lafonia and the north of East Falkland. Lively Island is in its mouth....
.
Coventry had been one of three Type 42 destroyers providing anti aircraft cover for the fleet. With the loss of
HMS SheffieldHMS Sheffield was the second Royal Navy ship to bear the name Sheffield, after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. She was a Type 42 Guided Missile Destroyer laid down by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness on 15 January 1970, launched on 10 June 1971 and commissioned on 16...
and damage to
GlasgowHMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built at Swan Hunter Shipyard in Wallsend, Tyneside and launched on 14 April 1976 by Lady Kirstie Treacher, wife of Admiral Sir John Treacher. With a displacement of 4,820 tonnes, Glasgow is the 6th and last Batch 1 Type 42...
on 12 May, forcing her to return to the UK,
Coventry was left to carry out the role alone, until other ships could arrive from the UK.
25 May 1982
On 25 May 1982 (one of Argentina's
national dayThe National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called ”National Day”...
s:
el Día de la Revolución de Mayo ),
Coventry was ordered to take up position in
Falkland SoundThe Falkland Sound is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running south west - north east, it separates West and East Falkland.-Name:The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only later being applied to the archipelago and its two largest islands...
, accompanied by
HMS BroadswordHMS Broadsword was the lead ship and first Batch 1 unit of the Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy.-Service:While on sea trials, Broadsword was called into service as the command ship during the large rescue operation required after storms struck the 1979 Fastnet race .Broadsword took part in the...
. There she would act as a decoy to draw Argentinian aircraft away from other ships at
San Carlos BayNot to be confused with the San Carlos River.San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound.-Name:...
. In this position, close to land, with not enough open sea between her and the land, her Sea Dart missiles would be less effective.
Broadsword was armed with the Sea Wolf missile, which is for short range anti-aircraft and anti-missile use.
At first, the trap worked, with FAA A-4B Skyhawk C-244 of Grupo 5 shot down north of
Pebble IslandPebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying north of West Falkland. It has an area of approximately 88 square kilometres and has been a sheep farm since 1846...
by a Sea Dart. Pilot Capitán Hugo Angel del Valle Palaver was killed. This aircraft was returning damaged and losing fuel after attacking the ships at San Carlos. Later a FAA A-4C Skyhawk coded C-304 of Grupo 4 de Caza deployed to San Julian was shot down north east of Pebble Island by another Sea Dart while returning from a mission to San Carlos Water. Capitán Jorge Osvaldo García successfully ejected but was not recovered from the water. His body was washed ashore in a dinghy at
Golding IslandGolding Island is one of the Falkland Islands, just to the north of West Falkland in Keppel Sound and near Keppel and Pebble Islands. It has a complex shape, with narrow headlands and bays, and a pond in the middle....
in 1983. Garcia's wingman was also shot down during the raid on San Carlos, by a Sea Cat from
HMS YarmouthHMS Yarmouth was the first Modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy. From her commissioning in 1960, she performed in numerous roles, including the Third Cod War and the Falklands War. On 13 July 1965, Yarmouth collided with the submarine HMS Tiptoe, 10...
(also claimed by various others in the area including a Rapier battery), but he was luckier, and ejected into captivity, in front of waiting news crews.
The two ships then came under attack by two waves of two Argentine
A-4 SkyhawkThe Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...
s, with each aircraft carrying a 1000lb bomb. The four enemy aircraft flew so low that
Coventry's targeting radar could not distinguish between them and the land and failed to lock on.
Broadsword attempted to target the first pair of attackers (Capitán P. Marcos Carballo and Teniente Carlos Rinke) with her
Sea Wolf missileSea Wolf is a naval guided missile system designed and built by BAC, later to become British Aerospace Dynamics . It is an automated point-defence weapon system designed as a final line of defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missiles and aircraft...
system, but her own tracking system locked down during the attack and could not be reset before the aircraft released their bombs. Of the bombs released, one struck
Broadsword's flight deck and, though it failed to explode, wrecked the ship's Lynx helicopter.
Coventry claimed to have hit the second Skyhawk (Capitán P. Marcos Carballo) in the tail with small arms fire, although he did return safely to Argentina. In fact, Carballo's plane was hit under the right wing by a piece of shrapnel on his way in.
The second pair of Skyhawks (Primer Teniente Mariano A. Velasco and Alférez Leonardo Barrionuevo), headed for
Coventry some 90 seconds later at a 20 degree angle to her port bow. Still unable to gain a missile lock,
Coventry launched a
Sea DartSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977....
in an attempt to distract them and turned hard to starboard to reduce her profile. On
Broadsword the Sea Wolf system had been reset and successfully acquired the attacking aircraft, but was unable to fire as
Coventry's turn took her directly into the line of fire.
Coventry used her 4.5 inch gun and small arms against the attacking aircraft. The port
Oerlikon 20 mm cannonThe Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original designed by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
jammed, leaving the ship with only rifles and machine guns to defend herself.
Coventry was struck by both bombs just above the water line on the port side. One of the bombs exploded beneath the computer room, destroying it and the nearby operations room, incapacitating almost all senior officers. The other entered the Forward Engine Room, exploding beneath the Junior Ratings Dining Room where the First Aid Party was stationed and the ship immediately began listing to port. The latter hit caused critical damage as it breached the bulkhead between the forward and aft engine rooms, exposing the largest open space in the ship to uncontrollable flooding. Given the design of the ship, with multiple watertight compartments, two hits virtually anywhere else may have been just survivable..
Within 20 minutes
Coventry had been abandoned and had completely
capsizeCapsizing refers to when a boat or ship is tipped over until disabled. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d. 19 of her crew were lost and a further 30 injured.
Coventry sank shortly after. After the ship was struck, her crew, waiting to be rescued, sang "
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a popular song written by Eric Idle that originally featured in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.-History:Whilst trying to come up with a...
" from
Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
. Marine Engineering Mechanic Paul Mills died on 29 March 1983 from a brain tumour caused by a skull fracture sustained during the attack.
Tributes and Notes
Despite providing an effective anti-aircraft screen, shooting down three Argentine Aircraft and being placed in a position so the Argentine aircraft would attack her rather than the landing fleet, no member of
Coventry received an award for bravery. CPO Aircrewman M J Tupper of No.846 NAS was awarded a
Distinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
for his part in the rescue.
After the war, a memorial cross was erected on
Pebble IslandPebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying north of West Falkland. It has an area of approximately 88 square kilometres and has been a sheep farm since 1846...
to her Crew.
David Hart Dyke, Coventry's commanding officer during the Falklands War, wrote about the ship's tale in his book
Four Weeks in May: The Loss of HMS Coventry. This was adapted by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
into a documentary
Sea of Fire, with dramatised sequences and shown in June 2007. The wreck site is a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act.
About 8 months after
Coventry sank, a RN Fleet Diving Team conducted an underwater survey of the wreck which they found lying on her side in a 100 meters of water. This survey was a prerequisite to a dive on the wreck, named "Operation Blackleg", to recover classified documentation and make the remaining weapons safe. The dive team recovered several personal items belonging to Captain David Hart-Dyke and the ship's battle ensign, later presented to the new
HMS Coventry (F98)HMS Coventry was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was originally intended to be named Boadicea but was named Coventry in honour of the previous Coventry , a Type 42 destroyer sunk in the Falklands War....
, a Type 22 frigate. The divers also recovered the Cross of Nails originally presented to the ship by
Coventry CathedralCoventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Dr Christopher Cocksworth....
, and this was presented back to the Bishop of Coventry in March 1983.
External links