British soldiers surrendering to Argentine soldiers during the Falklands War, April 1982. Rafael WOLLMANN/Gamma-Rapho
Business Insider:
How a daring British SAS mission in one of the most remote parts of the world went wrong
* The Falklands War in 1982 was the last major conflict to involve land, sea, and air battles.
* To help counter Argentina, the British turned to their most well-known special-operations unit: the SAS.
* Despite their skills, the SAS troops weren't able to achieve their objective in one of the most remote corners of the world.
In April 1982, a British armada, including two aircraft carriers, sailed south to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina. In response, the Argentine Air Force launched a fierce campaign to stop them.
The deadly combination of the Super Etendard aircraft and the Exocet anti-ship missile made Argentine pilots extremely dangerous.
If they managed to sink either of the two British aircraft carriers, the British fleet would lose its air superiority and would have to retreat.
The British knew there were five Exocet missiles stored at Argentina's Rio Grande air base, 400 miles west of the Falklands in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's southernmost province and one of the world's most remote regions.
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WNU Editor: Not all special operations succeed. This was one of them.
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