Warfare in News

On 4 May 1982, the British ship HMS Sheffield was hit by an Argentine Exocet missile deep into her control room.

The Exocet missile is designed to skim the sea to avoid radar detection. It has its own radar that guides it to its intended target.

A major rescue operation was launched to save as many of the ship's 268 crew as possible.

Sheffield was a Type 42 guided missile destroyer designed to provide a naval fleet with defences against an attack from the air. During the Falklands War, Sheffield and other ships like her provided protection for the larger ships such as the Hermes and Invincible.

The Exocet missile that hit Sheffield had been fired from a French-built Super Étendard, at a range of only 6 miles and caused great damage. 20 people were killed and 24 were injured as a result of the attack.

Sheffield sunk on 10 May whilst being towed by HMS Yarmouth. She was the first of five British ships to be sunk by the Argentine Air Force during the conflict.

On 4 May 1982, the British ship HMS [i]Sheffield[/i] was hit by an Argentine Exocet missile deep into her control room. The Exocet missile is designed to skim the sea to avoid radar detection. It has its own radar that guides it to its intended target. A major rescue operation was launched to save as many of the ship's 268 crew as possible. [i]Sheffield[/i] was a Type 42 guided missile destroyer designed to provide a naval fleet with defences against an attack from the air. During the Falklands War, [i]Sheffield[/i] and other ships like her provided protection for the larger ships such as the [i]Hermes[/i] and [i]Invincible[/i]. The Exocet missile that hit [i]Sheffield[/i] had been fired from a French-built Super Étendard, at a range of only 6 miles and caused great damage. 20 people were killed and 24 were injured as a result of the attack. [i]Sheffield[/i] sunk on 10 May whilst being towed by HMS [i]Yarmouth[/i]. She was the first of five British ships to be sunk by the Argentine Air Force during the conflict.