RE: [Leica] Brasil wins World Soccer Cup

["Tim Atherton" <tim@KairosPhoto.com>]

> True. But didn't the role of Argentine air power keep the british navy
> also as far back from the front lines? I seem to recall that when the
> U.S. stepped in, it neutralized the AAF. But, as always, I'll gladly
> stand corrected.
> Slobodan Dimitrov
>

For one thing, the US never stepped in, apart from providing intelligence
and Sat photos etc.

The British Navy was pretty close in most of the time. Sea Harriers don't
have much of a range and were providing air support the whole time.

British ships ran right up to the island and constantly through the sound
between East and West Falkland. Indeed the QEII, which was now a troop ship
(and which, incidentally sailed most of way through the South Atlantic
unescorted because none of the fleet could keep up with it), ran through the
sound after dropping troops. A friend of mine who was on the bridge at the
time asked the (civilian) Captain why they were taking the route through the
sounds, and his reply was "For the record book Padre, for the record book".
That was how close they were, and the sort of confidence they had.

I just saw Hugh McManners book about the Falklands is re-issued in
paperback. He was a Naval gunfire forward observer with the Special forces
and he and his team landed on the Islands very early on and were directing
naval bombardments as well as air strikes - again, that's how close they
were.

British SAS members were landed by helicopter on the Argentine mainland,
close to the major air base and spent the whole campaign in hides and were
able to give warning whenever the Argentine fighters left base headed for
the combat zone - which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the attacks.
They were never found and left by submarine once it was all over. All that
remained was a burned out Sea King helicopter on the coast some way from
Punta Arenas, because it was a one way trip in.

Oh - on topic, my friend on the QEII was chaplain to the Welsh Guards and
took his Leica M4P with him, but lost it when one of the Argentinian attacks
got through and bombed the Sir Galahad as they were disembarking, to large
loss of life.

This wasn't soccer, and I can tell you, war is fought by different rules, as
much as we would like to philosophize about it. It's always down to a grunt
on the ground with a pack, rifle and bayonet taking a piece of ground away
from someone else in the most brutal and primal way.

Slobodan, you asked for details, and here are some. I don't want to get into
whether it was right or wrong - that's part of what got out of hand last
time.

tim


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