Info on Operation Paraquet and the Fortuna Glacier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortuna_Glacier
Before Santa Fe could land her troops the British Task Force was off South Georgia. The first order of business was to land the SAS mountain troop onto the Fortuna Glacier using 3 Wessex helicopters. A reconnaissance was made of the glacier at first light on 21 April by the radar-equipped Wessex HAS 3 helicopter from HMS Antrim and, although there was some wind and driving rain, conditions seemed suitable for the operation. The Wessex 3 returned to pick up four SAS men, and the Wessex HAS 5s from RFA Tidespring landed alternately on Antrim's deck to embark more. The plan was for the radar of the Wessex 3 to lead the 5s up onto the glacier by radar. The operation had to be abandoned after they encountered thick low cloud, driving rain and snow storms in Possession Bay. After some hours the weather improved, and a second attempt was made - the helicopters climbed onto the glacier in swirling low cloud. The visibility and navigation problems were made worse by frequent driving squalls of snow and sudden changes in wind speed and direction. Nevertheless, the three helicopters reached the landing zone and delivered their troops and their equipment. They returned to the ships by way of Possession and Antarctic Bays to avoid being sighted by Argentine observers.
During the night of 21 April the barometer fell sharply to 960 millibars and a force 10 snowstorm, which gusted to 70 knots, blew all night. The windchill factor on the glacier was dangerously high. The wind blew away the troops' shelters, and after nearly 24 hours in the blizzard and intense cold, the Mountain Troop men - under Captain John Hamilton of the Green Howards - radioed at 11:00 on 22 April that they had been unable to move off the glacier, that they could not survive another 12 hours and that frostbite cases or 'environmental casualties' were imminent.
It was decided to extract them using the same formation as before. Conditions were much worse than the day before, with swirling low clouds and driving snowstorms sweeping across the glacier. The wind was very changeable, gusting to 70 knots and then dropping unexpectedly to ten, which caused problems of severe mechanical turbulence over the mountains. It was decided to leave the Wessex 5s orbiting in Antarctic Bay while the Wessex 3 tried three times to get onto the glacier. The 5s landed on a spit of land to conserve fuel. In the end, all three helicopters had to return to their ships to refuel.
A second attempt was made immediately, and this was successful. The three helicopters climbed the glacier, sighted the smoke ignited by the troops to indicate their position and wind direction, and landed there during a welcome break in the weather. But as the SAS men were boarding, the wind blew strongly again and whipped up the snow. One of the Tidespring's Wessex 5s, call sign YA, had been the first to load troops and was ready for take-off, and so the pilot decided to lift immediately. As he took off and moved forward, he lost all external reference in the 'white out' and crashed, skidding for some 50 yards and ending up on his side. The other two helicopters had now embarked their troops, so they lifted and landed next to the crashed YA where they loaded its aircrew and soldiers. Half were taken onto the other Wessex 5, call sign YF, which dumped fuel to carry the extra load as did the Wessex 3, which had the other half.
Visibility by this time was practically zero, and the wind and snow had not abated. With the survivors on board, the Wessex 3, call sign 406, took off with YF following astern and they made their way down the glacier. Some seconds later, they traversed a small ridge, YF was seen to flare violently and strike the top. It rolled over onto its side and could not be contacted by radio. The overloaded 406 had to return to the ship some 30 miles away to the north. The passengers were disembarked and medical supplies and blankets were taken on board. The Wessex 3 then flew back towards the glacier, but the foul weather prevented landing. Contact was however made by radio with the crashed YF, and it was confirmed that there were no serious casualties.
The Wessex 3 returned to Antrim to wait for a break in the weather. About an hour later an opportunity presented itself, and 406 flew back to the glacier and managed to locate the survivors. They were embarked and, somewhat overloaded with 17 passengers and their kit, got back to Antrim some 35 minutes later. For these feats of incredible airmanship and dedication to duty, the pilot of 406, Lt. Commander Ian Stanley RN, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Fricken Nails......
