The bombing of HMS Glasgow

[Hobilar]

On the 12th of May 1982 four Argentinian Skyhawk fighter-bombers sucessfully avoided the Royal Navy's Harrier patrols over San Carlos Water and homed in on the warship HMS Glasgow. Three of the attacking aircraft were destroyed by the Sea Wolf missile of HMS Brilliant, but the fourth managed to drop a bomb which penetrated the Glasgow's side, passed through the after engine room and bounced out of the other side without exploding.

Admiral Woodward, the Task force Commander in the Falklands, anxiously signalled the Glasgow's Captain: "Report your dead and wounded immediately.".

Glasgow's Captain replied: "Thousand-pound bomb through starboard side forward auxiliary machinery room, exited port side. No dead, No injured. One chief stoker in dire need of a change of underwear".

 

[Instal]

That is friggin funny

 

[T4.H]

The Argentinian Air Force had problems with there bombs (and fuses) and even with the Exocet rocket. In some cases they just forgot to charge the bombs befor start (it's said, they forgot to take out the splinters at the fuses). In other cases the pilots dropped the bombs at a too low high; the bombs had such a low time in air that they didn't arm themself. Thirteen (or much more bombs! You can start to count...) which hit, were duds.

Several ships had been hit but the bombs didn't explode (like HMS Glasgow). But the dud bomb, which hit the HMS Glasgow, damaged her so badly, that she was immediatly send back to Great Britain for repair.
But even with dud bombs they sunk two ships.

The Destroyer HMS Sheffield was hit by a Exocet rocket (amidship), the rocket didn't explode, but the rocket fuel set the ship on fire for several days; the Sheffield was lost, burned out and sunk.
The Frigate HMS Antelope was hit by two dud bombs. When they tried to decharge the rear one, the bomb explodes, the frigate starts to burn furiously, later an arsenal explodes and she broke amidship into two parts.

Other ships were hit by bombs and sunk or had been destroyed.
Frigate HMS Ardent: several bomb hits (five exploded and six duds), burned furiously and sunk.
Destroyer HMS Coventry, three bomb hit (rear part, 2 explode, one dud), heavy fire, sunk in less then one hour.
Small landing boat F4 sunk (by bombs?) by air attack.

Landing ship Sir Galahad: Three bomb hits, furious fire for several days, didn't sink, but was totally destroyed (total loss)
Landing ship Sir Tristram: One direct hit (dud), bomb exploded later, ship sunk in shallow water, was later refloaded and repaired.
Frighter (and help carrier): Atlantic Conveyor, hit by a Exocet rocket, furiously set on fire and sunk with crucial material.

All british frigates have been hit, most of them severe! Several were sunk, several heavily damaged.
Frigate HMS Argonaut: Two duds, one of them caused two rockets on bord to explode. Ship was heavily damaged and less or more out of duty.
Frigate HMS Plymouth: Several bomb hits (5? duds) and hits by shells, water bomb on board explode, heavy fire and out of duty. Later repaired.

Also heavily damaged:
Destroyer HMS Glamorgan, hit by a Exocet rocked fired from ashore, hit in the stern, heavy fire in the hangar, badly damaged.

Destroyer HMS Broadsword, hit by a bomb, bounced through the rear, through the hangar and the Lynx helicopter and exploded outside of the ship. Stearing and engine damaged.

Lucky ones:
Destroyer HMS Antrim, dud bomb stucked in a rocket storage