The Falklands War - 25 years ago

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6th May 1982

Two British sea harriers crash in fog;

Argentine junta rejects Peruvian peace plan;

Convoy including Canberra heads south from Ascension Island

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7th May 1982

Britain extends total exclusion zone to 12 miles off Argentine coast;

de Cuellar discusses peace proposals in New York with British and Argentine delegations

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8th May 1982

War cabinet dispatches landing force south from Ascension Island;

Argentina rejects Peru's peace proposals

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9th May 1982

Final plans drawn up for San Carlos landing site;

Argentine trawler Narwhal bombed by sea harriers, and subsequently sinks;

Argentine positions face heavy bombardment from sea and air, especially around Stanley

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10th May 1982

Task Force briefed about San Carlos landing plans;

Argentine supply ship Islas de los Estados sunk by Alacrity in Falkland Sound;

Argentina declares the entire South Atlantic a war zone

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11th May 1982

Haig sends his deputy General Vernon Walters to Buenos Aires

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12th May 1982

QE2 leaves Southampton with 5 Infantry Brigade comprising Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Gurkhas

Argentine junta concedes that sovereignty of the Islands isn't a precondition to the UN peace plan

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14th May 1982

Britain's ambassadors to the US and the UN summoned back to London;

Thatcher warns Britain that a peaceful settlement may not be possible;

SAS attack the Argentine base on Pebble Island and destroy supplies and 11 pucara aircraft;

3 Argentine skyhawk aircraft are shot down by sea harriers

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16th May 1982

Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons sent back to New York with British peace proposals

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17th May 1982

British peace proposals transmitted to Argentina;

Helicopter from Invincible lands SAS team in Argentina but they fail to destroy Argentine military aircraft at the Rio Grande base

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18th May 1982

Landing force rendezvous with Admiral Woodward's task group;

San Carlos landing plan put to full cabinet;

Argentine junta rejects British peace proposals

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19th May 1982

War cabinet gives Admiral Woodward the go ahead for landing plan;

British sea king helicopter crashes with the loss of its crew and 19 Special Forces personnel

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20th May 1982

de Cuellar admits failure of UN peace talks;

Thatcher accuses Argentina of 'obduracy and delay, deception and bad faith', tells Commons of collapse of peace process, and orders task force into battle;

RMS St. Helena requisitioned by the Task Force - 19 Saint Helenian sailors volunteer to serve aboard alongside naval personnel, and after the end of the War she stays in the Islands as a minesweeper

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21st May 1982

San Carlos landings begin, codenamed Operation Sutton;

British frigate Ardent sunk in San Carlos Water by air attack - 22 die;

Argonaut and Antrim hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode - 2 die;

2 British helicopters and 15 Argentine aircraft are shot down;

Open debate commences at UN Security Council

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23rd May 1982

British frigate Antelope hit by Argentine bomb which fails to explode - 1 crewman dies;

10 Argentine aircraft are shot down