Earlier Falklands War averted?
An earlier Argentine invasion of the Falklands may have been averted, according to new documents released by the National Archives Office.
They show that the Callaghan government ordered the dispatch of a Royal Navy taskforce to the islands in 1977.
It was led by a nuclear power submarine and conducted in complete secrecy – even in the sailors involved were not told where they were going.
The flotilla was launched in response to the landing of 50 Argentine “scientists” on the island which the British feared could be the start of an invasion.
Although Argentina was privately warned that a nuclear submarine was in the area, the rest of the world were unaware of the events until now.
Lord Owen, then Foreign Secretary, even went so far as to claim that the later war could have been avoided if similar action had been taken by Margaret Thatcher.
Argentina eventually invaded the Falklands – which they claim are part of their sovereign territory – in 1982. They believed that Britain was unlikely to retaliate with force, particularly considering that the islands were 6,000 miles away.
Britain appeared initially taken by surprised, but the then-PM Mrs Thatcher launched a Royal Navy taskforce to retake the islands.
The war lasted 72 days in total. About 700 Argentine and 235 British service personnel were killed.
