Bluff Cove air attacks
The Bluff Cove air attacks occurred 8 June 1982, during the Falklands War. British troop transport ships were bombed by the Argentine Air Force (FAA) while unloading at Bluff Cove, with significant damage and casualties. Background By 1 June, British forces on the Falkland Islands were bolstered by the arrival of 5,000 new troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade. Major General Jeremy Moore now had sufficient force to start planning a full-scale assault on Port Stanley. Advance parties of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment moved forward and occupied Fitzroy and Bluff Cove, when it was discovered to be clear of Argentine forces. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards and 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards were to be sent in to support them. After the sinking of the transport Atlantic Conveyor there was only one British heavy-lift helicopter available, an RAF CH-47 Chinook, Bravo November. Therefore, supplies and reinforcements would have to be transported by ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which were manned by civilian sailors. Air strikes While unloading on 8 June, the British ships were attacked by two waves of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft from the Argentine Air Force's 5th Air Brigade, each of them loaded with three 500