 Antelope's magazines exploding on 24 May 1982 |
|
| Career (UK) |
 |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Antelope (F170) |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Builder: | Vosper Thornycroft |
| Laid down: | 23 March 1971 |
| Launched: | 16 March 1972 |
| Commissioned: | 19 July 1975 |
| Motto: | Audax et vigilans ("Daring and watchful") |
| Fate: | Sunk by Argentine bombs on 24 May 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Type 21 frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,250 tons full load |
| Length: | 384 ft (117 m) |
| Beam: | 41 ft 9 in (12.73 m) |
| Draught: | 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m) |
| Propulsion: | COGOG: 2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines 2 × Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1A gas turbines for cruising |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,000 nautical miles at 17 knots (7,400 km at 31 km/h) 1,200 nautical miles at 30 knots (2,220 km at 56 km/h) |
| Complement: | 177 |
| Armament: | 1 × 4.5
inch (114 mm) Mark 8 naval gun 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 1 × quadruple Sea Cat SAMs 2 × triple ASW torpedo tubes 2 × Corvus chaff launchers 1 × Type 182 towed decoy |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × Westland Wasp helicopter, later refitted for 1 × Lynx |
HMS Antelope (F170) was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy that participated in the Falklands War. Her keel was laid down 23 March 1971 by Vosper Thornycroft in Woolston, Southampton, England. She was commissioned 17 July 1975 and was the only unit of the class never to be fitted with Exocet launchers.
HMS Antelope took part in the Falklands War arriving in the area of operations on 21 May 1982. On 23 May 1982, while on air defence duty at the entrance to San Carlos Water, protecting the beachhead, established two days previously, she came under attack by four Argentine A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo 5. The first pair attacked from astern with the flight leader breaking off his attack after one of HMS Ardent's Sea Cat SAMs exploded under the port wing of his aircraft. The pilot (Capitán Pablo Carballo ) managed to nurse his aircraft back to Rio Gallegos. The second aircraft on this flight persecuted his bomb run and put a 1,000 pound bomb in the starboard side, killing one crewman, Steward Mark R. Stephens. The bomb did not explode and the Argentine aircraft was damaged by small arms fire.
The second pair of Skyhawks attacked minutes later from the starboard quarter and put a another unexploded bomb in the front of the ship. During this attack, one of the Argentine pilots, (Primer Teniente Guadagnini), was killed after being hit by the ship's 20mm cannon before crashing through Antelope's main mast.
HMS Antelope fired a Sea Cat at what she believed to be a fifth attacker but she actually fired a second missile at Capitán Carballo who was trying to establish if his aircraft was still fit to fly. This missile flew less than 10 meters from the Capitán's cockpit.
After initial damage control efforts, Antelope proceeded to more sheltered waters so that two EOD technicians from the Corps of Royal Engineers could come aboard and attempt to defuse the bombs. One of the bombs was inaccessible because of wreckage; the other had been damaged and was thought to be in a particularly dangerous condition. Three attempts by the EOD team to withdraw the fuse of this bomb by remote means failed. A fourth attempt, using a small explosive charge, led to the detonation of the weapon, killing Staff Sergeant James Prescott instantly and severely injuring Warrant Officer Phillips, the other member of the EOD team. The ship was torn open from water line to funnel, with the blast starting major fires in both engine rooms which spread very quickly. The starboard fire main was fractured, the ship lost all electrical power, and the commanding officer, Commander Nick Tobin, gave the order to abandon ship. Tobin was the last person to leave the ship, and about five minutes after his departure, the missile magazines began exploding.
Explosions continued throughout the night, and the following day Antelope was found to be still afloat, but her keel had broken and her superstructure melted into a heap of twisted metal. Antelope broke in half and sank that day. TV and stills pictures of Antelope's demise became one of the defining images of the Falklands War and appear repeatedly in histories of the event.
On 27 January 2002, a diving team from HMS Montrose replaced the Naval Ensign on Antelope. The wreck is designated as a prohibited area under the Falkland Islands Protection of Wrecks Act[1][2].
It is Naval tradition that the first offspring born of the crew is given the honour of being christened on board. Mike Duncan Kenneth Hedges son of John and Margaret was born on 5 June 1974. His name was engraved on the ship's bell, which was on board the ship when she sank.
|
||||||||
   | Memorial Webpage for SSgt James Prescott - The South Atlantic Medal Association 82 |
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
