Royal Air Force News Friday, March 25, 2022 P18
Feature
Falklands War, 40th anniversary
As the UK marks the Falklands 40th anniversary, EOD specialist Ade Thorne shares his explosive and candid account of the 74-day battle WITHIN THREE days of the Argentianian invasion of the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982, the British Task Force set sail with 25,948 UK military personnel and 3,000 civilians on board. 255 of them would never return. Ade Thorne was part of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team on the Otterburn ranges when 5131 (Bomb Disposal) Sqn was ordered back to RAF Wittering to form five two-man teams to clear landing strips for 1 (F) Sqn Harriers spearheading the air assault on the Argentinian invaders.
April 30
“
We said goodbye to our families and headed to Marchwood military docks in Southampton to board the RFA Sir Bedivere. Unfortunately, as it had two uncovered Bofors guns at the front, it couldn’t be classified as a merchant vessel and we were ordered off, leaving all our vehicles and kit on board, and got a coach back to Wittering. The following week, a BL755 cluster bomblet exploded at West Freugh range in Scotland killing Sgt Ginge Rutter and LAC Boothroyd and injuring two others – the first two RAF EOD deaths since 1956. It was a trial drop of the munition, a task which we were to face hundreds of times in the forthcoming weeks.
May 7
We caught a VC10 to Ascension Island from Brize and were billeted in Two Boats village. It was on the Equator, yet it was chucking it down. I remember supping pina coladas in a swimming pool, thinking, ‘This is a lovely war’. Next morning there was a sign outside the tent that read, ‘Whoever has nicked the 21 x 1,000lb bombs
DUTY CALLS: Ade (right) with No 5131 Sqn at Marchwood military base, Southampton
can they please return by midday and nothing will be said.’ Later we found out they were taken for the Vulcan Black Buck missions.
May 10
RFA Sir Bedivere sailed into Ascension. To board we had to climb a rope ladder dropped over the side. It was quite scary watching my 50-year-old WO pull his way up, surrounded by hammerhead sharks circling our boat. We set sail at night to avoid Argentine submarines. We had four times as many people on board than we should have had.
May 14
We sail south. As RAF, we were enemy aircraft watchers on the bridge. One night, I had been following a bright, white light and eventually plucked up the courage to shout out, ‘Red (on the port side) 110 plus 60’. The officer on watch ON THE WAY: Ade (front) and comrades aboard RFA Sir Bedivere, heading to Ascension
came out saying, ‘What’s up?’, to which I replied, ‘Bright light sir, been following us for a while now, moving around a bit’. ‘That’s the planet Venus, you idiot,’ he said.
The war diary of a young RAF Explosive Ordnance Disposal operative
May 23
HMS Ardent escorts us into San Carlos water. What a sight, naval and civilian vessels everywhere, helicopters buzzing all over the place. As I stood on the deck taking pictures, a marine said, ‘You won’t be doing that at 2pm mate – that’s when the Argies come.’ He wasn’t wrong. I could have set my watch by it. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Metal tins being banged, ships’ horns blasted, lots of small-arms fire, then a massive whoosh as a missile fired by one of the warships cracks past us. Our brief was to go back to our bunk and lie down, pushing mattresses against the bulkhead. On the way down I saw some Argentine Mirages go flashing past. I remember thinking, ‘Brave bas**rds’, because they were met by a wall of tracers and missiles from the ships and kept coming. If we didn’t get them, then the Harriers or Rapier batteries would have a good go as they left. A couple of bombs hit us but didn’t explode. One bounced through the crane on the front, skipped off the water and into Sir Galahad. We were attributed the kill of a Mirage but also put a GPMG volley through the wardroom of HMS Fearless. The night before, HMS Antelope had exploded, killing a Royal Engineer trying to defuse a bomb. The reality is sinking in.
May 24
We move ashore as our explosives
WELCOME TO WAR: Mirage attack on the Sir Bedivere saw 5131 in the thick of things
were too much of a target. At 2am we move the vehicles onto a Mexeflote raft, arrive at Ajax Bay, and head for the old sheep refrigeration factory. There were some hooligans from Poole or Hereford who saw we were looking lost. The RSM from 45 Commando appeared and wasn’t impressed. ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, the bloody Air Force has arrived. Only they would bring a 4-tonner decked in white arctic camouflage and two Land Rovers with bright red wings and blue lights on top. Get them covered up now.’ We all went down with Galtieri’s Revenge. The latrine was just a 12 x 12, you went in four at a time and hung onto the makeshift scaffolding pipe. It was not the
time to stop and chat. The rat pack toilet paper was shiny. Absolute nightmare. Another time, an air raid sounded, the helicopter went to ground and blew the tent away. There was our Warrant Officer, trousers down hanging over the trench, God, how we laughed!
May 27
We were housed in the Field Hospital, but it was decided not to paint a Red Cross on the top because of the proximity of our supplies and ammunition. We were back in our room when the air raid sirens started. I thought, ‘Blimey they’re late tonight’. Next thing, smallarms fire opened, there was an almighty bang, a loss of air, and a rush of wind past us. All the lights went out, the air was full of dust, and people were shouting and screaming. Scrambling around for my