Loan: Mr Reagan would have handed Britain the use of the amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima (pictured) should harm have come to either HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes, which the Royal Navy had deployed to the Falklands
Not So Neutral After All: Ronald Reagan Made Secret Plans To Loan U.S. Warship To Britain If Aircraft Carrier Was Lost During Falklands War -- Daily Mail
* Revelation made by former U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Lehman
* Reagan would have loaned Britain use of amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima should harm have come to either HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes
* U.S. was officially neutral during the two-month conflict
Ronald Reagan made secret plans to loan Britain a U.S. warship if she lost an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, it has emerged.
The then-president was prepared to support Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher despite the U.S. being officially neutral during the 1982 conflict.
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My Comment: If it was President Obama in the Oval Office and NOT President Reagan .... would the same thing have happened? More to the point .... would the U.S. help Britain today if the Argentinians were successful in invading and occupying the Falklands?
I was young at the time (22 years old) but I had no doubt on what US policy was in regards to the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands .... and to the extent of what President Reagan would do to help his ally in London. But President Reagan is gone, and today we have a situation where I am not even sure on what US policy would be .... or even if they take a position.
Also at the time, while on the way to Argentina, the U.K. fleet made a stop half way and picked up some U.S. made "L" variant Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles (AIM-9L). At the time, the "L" variant was new in that you no longer needed to be behind the enemy aircraft to fire a heat-seeking missile. The "L" pumped coolant around a more sensitive optic that allowed you to take a heater shot nose-on to the enemy. While in that war there were no nose-to-nose AIM-9L shots, it did give a wider firing envelop for Harriers carrying the AIM-9L vs previous Sidewinder variants.
ReplyDeleteAlso at the time, while on the way to Argentina, the U.K. fleet made a stop half way and picked up some U.S. made "L" variant Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles (AIM-9L). At the time,
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Ronald Reagan made secret plans to loan Britain a U.S. warship if she lost an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, it has emerged. paydayloan
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