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Conflict and Change
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Lynx Helicoptors
The story of a Lynx helicoptor during the Falklands War
One of the types of helicopter that operated in the Falklands was the Westland Lynx. No Lynx’s were shot down during the conflict but three were lost whilst onboard ships; one on an Atlantic Conveyor, one on HMS Coventry and one on HMS Ardent. The Lynx helicopter is one of the most agile helicopters in the world and is still in production today. During the Falklands the Royal Navy used the Lynx in support of ground troops and for anti-ship and submarine operations. When in her anti-ship role she carried two Sea Skua semi-active radar homing missiles.
On 1 May 1982, three weeks before the landing at San Carlos, a
Lynx (XZ 736) undertook a spotting mission close to Port Stanley. Off
Kidney Island (to the north of Port Stanley) an Argentinian patrol boat
and an armed fishing vessel attacked the helicopter. The helicopter’s
machine gun fire injured some of the patrol boat’s crew so the vessel
returned to Port Stanley. XZ 736 continued to attack the fishing boat
until its machine gun jammed. Six bullets fired from the fishing boat
hit the helicopter. One of which entered the cabin through the doorway,
narrowly missed the pilot’s head and went out through the windscreen.
The crew returned safely to Alacrity. Maintenance crews repaired XZ
736, enabling it to serve throughout the rest of the conflict.
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Lynx Helicoptors
