Spetsnaz
Rafting
Death Row
Manfred von Richthofen
Back to the Future: The Ride
ED-209
Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin
Piasecki PA-97
Tooth Bleaching
Raise The Titanic!
Georgia Aquarium
Balls 8
Snow Blower
Spitting Cobra
Great White Shark
MV Mont
Dry Tortugas National Park
Gemini 9A
Starfish Prime
Sebaceous Cyst
Skunk
Wolf Spider
MRAP Armored Vehicle
Prepaid Mobile Phone
Rolling Thunder Inc.
Ecdysis
Inhalant Abuse
LASIK
Hydraulic Rescue Tools
Moray Eel
Star of India
Beretta CX4 Storm
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
Japanese Spider Crab
Blue Angels
Precrash System
Slipway
USS Intrepid CV-11
Nasal Irrigation
Petroleum Toxicity
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Ballistic Gelatin
Caminito del Rey
Bhopol Disaster
AK-47
Sardine Run
Tarantula Hawk
Cauliflower Ear
Schwerer Gustav
Crotalus Adamanteus (Eastern Diamondback)
Derweze
MS Oasis of the Seas
Space Exposure
Reflex Sight
Samuel L Jackson
Undercarriage
Knee Replacement
Ultralight Aviation
Vasily Zaytsev
ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772)
Tacome Narrows Bridge (1940)
Bullfrog
Red Flag (USAF)
Traffic Light
Coral snake
Lun-class Ekranoplan
MV Princess Ashika
Kimbo Slice
Reggie Watts
Resolute Desk
Parkour
Miracle On Ice
Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)
Miss Cleo
Opiliones (Daddy Long Legs)
Colt Anaconda
Hypermiling
Veterinary dentistry
Dental Braces
Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Tap, Rack, Bang
Rhinoplasty
SSC Aero
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Red Rock Crab
Sl-1
Surgical Suture
Abdominoplasty
Lethal Injection
Osprey
Assault Breacher Vehicle
Parasailing
Mount Vesuvius
Pit Bull
Desert Tortoise
Four-stroke Engine
RT-2UTTH Topol M
Mil Mi-26
Möbius Syndrome
Pykrete
Gimli Glider
Tonsillolith
Chewing Gum
Water Rocket
African Grey Parrot
Nunchaku
RAID
Rat
Fred Rogers
Guinness
Jameson Irish Whiskey
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
Casu Marzu
LED-backlit LCD television
Suppressor
Bear Grylls
Big Bertha (Howitzer)
Crawler-Transporter
Principality of Sealand
Car Battery
White Blood Cell
Digital Photography
Flying First Class
Freestyle Skiing
Goblin Shark
The Three Stooges
Benelli M4 Super 90
Tanker 910
Breast Reduction
Hiller X-18
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Down Syndrome
Spider Monkey
Union Pacific Big Boy
Warrenpoint Ambush
Apollo 11
Les Stroud
Richard Pryor
Concussion
North American X-15
Blue Ringed Octopus
Rhytidectomy (Facelift)
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
Big Mac Index
Annelid
Tiger Shark
Niagara Falls
Heckler & Koch MP5
Hyena
2008 Toronto Propane Explosion
Lamborghini Countach
Breast Implant
Delorean DMC-12
Tonopah Test Range Airport
Buran Program
Poison Dart Frog
Samuel Adams Beer
Outlaws Motorcycle Club
P-51 Mustang
Fluorescence
Simo Hayha
Hot Dog
Airwolf
Golden Eagle
Halabja Poison Gas Attack
HMS Ardent
Taurus Judge
Antipredator Adaption
Tom Savini
Black Ice
Hyacinth Macaw
AH-1 Super Cobra
Honey Badger
Traumatic Brain Injury
Emma Maersk
Magma
Patterdale Terrier
Evergreen Supertanker
Andre The Giant
Minigun
Irukandji Jellyfish
.357 SIG
The Greatest American Hero
USS Thresher (SSN-593)
Richard Simmons
Ingrown Toenail
Spud Gun
Trebuchet
Go-Go Dancing
Suicide By Cop
Floater
Rubber Band Gun
KITT
Green Anaconda
Richard Kuklinski
Rip Current
Buzkashi
1993 Storm Of The Century
Kidney Transplant
Florida Stone Crab
Polar Bear Plunge
Times Square Ball
The Year Without A Santa Claus
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
K2
Blue Footed Booby
Massive Ordinance Penetrator
Neuschwanstein Castle
SR-71 Blackbird
Glow Stick
Venus Fly Trap
Mitch Hedberg
German Battleship Tirpitz
Chironex Fleckeri
Boss Hoss Motorcycles
USS Nautilus
Project Excelsior
John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
LZ 129 Hindenburg
Mount Everest
Emphysema
C-130 Hercules
Zone Of Alienation
Target Girl
Jimmy Hoffa
Code Talker
SS Andrea Doria
Ramstein Airshow Disaster
Caddyshack
MacGyver
Flamethrower
United States Bullion Depository
Hells Angels
Yellow Jacket
Cluster Bomb
Body Suspension
Piper Alpha
Molotov Cocktail
Gumpert Apollo
Russian Knights
John Gotti
Ashley Force
Ilyushin Il-62
Audi R10 TDI
Kim Peek
Pancreatic Cancer
Cordyceps
Ebola
BGM-109 Tomahawk
Sid Haig
Burj Dubai
Bagger 288
Goliath Birdeater
Robert Lasardo
Antonov An 225
HU-16 Albatross
Galileo Spacecraft
Crack Cocaine
Lyle Alzado
Caterpillar 797
Muay Thai
|
|
filed under | maritime | britain | ships
HMS Ardent (F184) was a Royal Navy type 21 frigate, built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland. Ardent participated in the Falklands War. On 21 May 1982, whilst lying in Falkland Sound and supporting Operation Sutton by bombarding the Argentine airstrip at Goose Green, Ardent was attacked by at least three waves of Argentine aircraft. The air strikes resulted in the sinking of Ardent the next day. The first attack took place when a lone A-4 Skyhawk dropped two bombs at 16:00 Z, which straddled the frigate but both failed to explode. The bulk of the air strikes began at 17:40 Z. Ardent was ordered to proceed west of North West Island along with HMS Yarmouth to "split air attacks from the south". A group of three aircraft, either Skyhawks or IAI Daggers crossed the Falklands Sound from the west and then turned to their left in order to attack from the north east. Cannon fire and three bombs struck home as the Argentine aircraft pressed their attack from the port side. The only weapons which reacted properly were the 20 mm AA cannons. The Sea Cat system failed to lock onto the attackers, who also outmanoeuvred the 4.5" gun by carrying out their run out of its arc of fire. Two bombs exploded in the hangar area, destroying the Westland Lynx helicopter and blowing the Sea Cat launcher 80 ft (24 m) into the air before it crashed back down onto the flight deck, and the third crashed through the aft auxiliary machinery room but failed to explode. The hangar was left in flames, and the crew suffered a number of casualties. Still in full control of her engines and steering, but virtually defenceless, Ardent was told to head north, toward Port San Carlos. But at 18:00 five Skyhawk approached the frigate and dropped a great number of free-fall and retard bombs. A pattern of two to four bombs exploded in the port quarter (aft), while an undetermined number of others which failed to explode penetrated into the ship. Some of the remaining bombs exploded in the water nearby, battering Ardent and resulting in a minor flooding in the forward auxiliary machine room. The Dining Hall was shattered, while communications between the bridge and the Ship Control Centre were cut off, and the ship lost steering. This attack caused many casualties, especially among the damage-control teams working in the hangar. Ardent stopped in the shallow waters of Grantham Sound, the fires in her stern now out of control. With the ship listing heavily, Captain West decided to abandon the ship. HMS Yarmouth then came alongside to take off survivors. At that time it was known that 22 men had lost their lives. Ardent continued to burn throughout the night, accompanied by the occasional explosion, until she sank at 6:30 the following morning, with only her foremast remaining above the water. Able Bodied Seaman John Dillon was able to remove debris from an injured sailor and, despite his own burns, got the man topside and into the water where they were both rescued. For his heroism he received a George Medal. The last man to leave was her captain, Cdr. Alan West, who was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and served as First Sea Lord from 2002-2006. Within days navy divers removed her light AA guns for fitting to other ships and her foremast was used as Navigational warning and datum by her sister ship HMS Arrow whilst she bombarded Goose Green. The wreck is designated as a prohibited area under the Falkland Islands Protection of Wrecks Act. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
