HMS Coventry Hit — 25 May 1982

To counter Argentinian air attacks and give maximum early warning of their approach to the ships anchored in San Carlos Water, HMS Coventry (Type 42 destroyer) and HMS Broadsword (Type 22 frigate) were stationed at sea some 25 miles north-west of the anchorage where Coventry's Sea Dart and radar could operate to best advantage. Broadsword carried Sea-Wolf close-range air-defence missiles (which Coventry lacked), and by `goal-keeping' close to Coventry she could expect to give cover to both Coventry and herself. On the 25 May HMS Coventry destroyed three aircraft with Sea-Dart missiles, but later that same day she was overwhelmed by a determined attack from four fighter bombers coming from the direction of the islands. One of the aircraft hit Coventry with three 1000lb bombs which exploded deep inside the hull. There was no hope of being able to save the ship, and later that afternoon she sank after a brilliant rescue operation by helicopters from the islands, from ships in San Carlos and Broadsword herself. More than 270 men were saved but, tragically, 19 of her company were killed. The final layout of this preliminary sketch was dictated by the distance between the aircraft and the ship at the moment when the bombs exploded. If Coventry herself was a prominent foreground feature of the sketch, the aircraft would have been mere dots in the distance. The final solution shown is therefore a compromise with truth, for the two aircraft would have been even further from Coventry at the moment shown.