Word: harriers
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...Sandy") Woodward, 50, had been to enforce a total air and sea blockade within 200 miles of the islands. In a daring, long-distance raid on May 1, a delta-winged Vulcan bomber blasted the airstrip near the Falklands' tiny capital, Port Stanley. Flights of carrier-based Sea Harrier jets pounded the airfield with more bombs and also attacked a second, grassy airstrip 50 miles away, near the settlement of Goose Green. A British Sea King helicopter reportedly launched a strafing attack near the settlement of Port Darwin. British warships pulled close to the islands to add their gunfire...
Britain also kept up the military pressure on land. Despite claims to have knocked out the airstrips at Port Stanley and Goose Green, the British sent another wave of Sea Harriers against both targets, followed by a second solo Vulcan attack on the field at Port Stanley. The initial attacks had left it possible for smaller aircraft to fly from the fields; the British also wanted to inhibit Argentine repair work. During these raids the British admitted to suffering their first loss: a Sea Harrier was downed, its pilot killed...
Among families of the dead, the forms of grief were mixed. Said Harry Taylor of the Dorset village of Ryme Intrinseca, father of the first Harrier pilot to be shot down: "I am proud to have a son who died doing the job he loved for the country he loved. Nick was always fully aware of the dangers." But Joan Goodall, the Enfield, Middlesex, mother of a 21-year-old cook aboard the Sheffield, was far airport stoic. Said she of her son Neil: "He never joined the navy to die for something as wasteful as this. I feel totally...
About three hours later, carrier-based Sea Harrier jets armed with 1,000-lb. bombs and cannons swooped in again on the airfield, pounded it and then streaked back out over the South Atlantic. In a separate strike, British jets attacked a grassy airfield 50 miles away, near the settlement of Goose Green (see map). Though one Harrier reportedly suffered minor damage, British officials called the series of missions a success and reported: "All aircraft and personnel returned safely." British warships also shelled the Port Stanley airport and perhaps other military positions along the Falklands coastline. A British Sea King...
...problems with the blockade strategy are the same ones the British have faced since assembling the task force. The major difficulty is achieving air superiority, either tactical or absolute, over the Argentines in the Falklands. The Hermes and Invincible are equipped with only 20 Sea Harrier vertical short-takeoff and landing jet aircraft. The Harriers are highly maneuverable but also are relatively slow (top speed 736 m.p.h.) and have a maximum range of only 460 miles-or about 100 miles for a 1 1/2-hr. blockade patrol. The Royal Navy's version of the Harrier is not well suited...