Five Royal Navy submarines lined up, submerged, on the edge of Argentina’s 12-mile territorial limit to provide early warning of bombing raids on the British task force during the Falklands conflict, according to a new account of the secret role played by the nuclear-powered vessels.

Trailing wire aerials behind them, the submarines were able to pick up launchings of Skyhawks and other aircraft from the main base at Rio Grande, pinpointing their type and number, and giving the task force 45 minutes’ notice in which to react.

The details of the 1982 mission, which was never discovered by the Argentinians, have been revealed by the former second-in-command of one of the boats, HMS Conqueror.

Writing in a special publication, Royal Navy, A Global Force, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim McClement, now retired, says that 25 years after the Falklands campaign it is important to recall the “vital contribution” of the submarines to victory.

The threat from Argentina’s Sky-hawk bombers, armed with 1,500lb and 2,000lb bombs, and its Super Étendards, fitted with sea-skimming Exocet antiship missiles, posed the gravest danger to the task force, mainly because the Royal Navy lacked any proper early-warning system.

Although the two Royal Navy aircraft carriers, HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes,were out of range of the Argentine bombers, located well to the east of the Falklands, the warships on point duty closer to the Argentine mainland, and the troops landing on the islands, were highly vulnerable.

The well-documented secret plan to attack one of the main Argentine air-bases and destroy the Skyhawks, using the SAS, was aborted after a dry run went wrong and a number of SAS soldiers had to seek sanctuary in neighbouring Chile.

The presence of five nuclear-powered submarines – HMS Conqueror, HMS Splendid, HMS Spartan, HMS Courageousand HMS Valiant,and one conventional diesel-electric submarine, HMS Onyx – provided the solution. In the early part of the conflict, most of the submarines were engaged in other, priority missions. HMS Conqueror was trailing the Argentine cruiser, General Belgrano, and on May 2 fired two Mark 8 torpedoes, sinking the ship, with the loss of 323 sailors. HMS Splendid and HMS Spartan were involved in the search for the Argentine aircraft carrier 25 de Mayo, which was suspected of lurking in the mist north of the Falklands, preparing for a pincer movement together with the Belgranoagainst the task force. HMS Onyx was engaged in top-secret special forces operations.

However, eventually the five nuclear-powered submarines took up positions on the Argentine 12-mile limit to act as early-warning platforms. There were several dramatic incidents.

Admiral McClement reveals that in transit to the 12-mile limit HMS Conqueror got her floating wire aerial wrapped around her propeller. “This made a distinctive noise. She knew Argentine submarines were in her area and so had to get rid of the wire,” he writes. All the divers on board the submarine volunteered for the dangerous task of untangling the wire. The former deputy commander of the submarine recalls: “It was very rough, far too rough for peacetime rules to put people on to the deck, let alone put a diver into the water.”

HMS Conqueror surfaced and eight volunteers successfully removed the wire “knowing that if an Argentine aircraft, ship or submarine was detected, the captain [Commander Christoper Wreford-Brown] would have to shut the hatch, dive the submarine and leave them to their fate. Thankfully, they all came home to tell the tale,” Admiral McClement says.

With the 45-minutes warning from the submarines, Sea Harriers on combat patrol were alerted and several Argentine bombers were destroyed, forcing others to return to base. But there were uncomfortable consequences for the submariners. “These [returning] planes jettisoned their bombs before landing, and they did so around the 12-mile limit. All the boats employed in this task experienced some random bombing, luckily without damage,” Admiral McClement writes.

HMS Conqueror arrived back at Faslane, its home base on the Clyde, after 90 days continuously at sea.

“Although she played a significant part in the conflict, her crew never actually saw the Falkland Islands,” Admiral McClement says.

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