Page 107 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

609
aCta
air operations in apriL
Air Port to Malvinas
It was not unusual to see planes unload equipment as well as troops on the runway.
Besides, other aircrafts reached Malvinas at a set time which allowed to have an air port
during 24 hs.
Still other important activities were the transport of material and personnel to the conti-
nent by the so called main lines which connected BA, Cba, Resistencia, Parana, Reconquista
and others with Comodoro Rivadavia and Rio Gallegos; and the secondary lines located
within the toaS.
Between april 1 and June 29 , 1982, 10,000tns and 50,000 passengers were transported
th
st
by military and civil planes in 1,039 flights.
From these, 452 landed on Malvinas, 9,726 military staff and 5.442 tns of material were
taken to.

expLoration and far reconnaissance
rd
This mission was performed on April 3 .
A plane form Aerolineas Argentinas observed an aircraft carrier and a vessel sailing along
the south of Marruecos. A nuclear British submarine Conqueror was discovered by a plane
on april 2 .
nd
These two observations were done at a far distance by an Argentine plane.
This was not the only information provided by commercial aircrafts. British counter in-
telligence service also knew about the activities performed by pilots of Argentine airlines.
When the transport vessel Conveyor was sailing to the exclusion zone, one of the Sea Harrier
on board, set all fire equipment under control in case an argentine attack was fired.

fLeet sighting
on april 21 , the planes Boeing B-707 of the Air Force were incorporated to the tasks of
st
Exploration and far Reconnaissance.
For the first time the British fleet was sighted at 9.38 situated at 19º40’S/21º37’W, which
was going to the islands. They were two aircraft carriers, three destroyers, five frigates and
six supporting ships. Specialists from the Navy and the Air Force started to take photos of
the vessels. The reaction was not delayed. Twelve minutes later, the Sea Harrier XZ460 from
Squadron 800 armed with air-air missiles, flew next to them. It flew for some minutes, and it
went back to the aircraft carrier after having taken photo and checked no danger.
From then on, these encounters between B-707 and Sea Harrier became a routine.

the commerciaL aviation in the maLvinas air battLe
It is worth considering the importance of the participation of the commercial aviation in
this heroic deed.
The importance of the situation led to include to this mission the two commercial compa-
nies; Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral.