Argentine air attacks slacken after losses —turning point reached?

Press, 2 June 1982, Page 8

Argentine air attacks slacken after losses —turning point reached?

By

DREW MIDDLETON.

of. the "New York Times" (through NZPA)

Argentina's bombing offensive against British forces on and around East Falkland Island is slackening in weight and tempo, according to British officials. The officials said attacks on the aircraft carrier battle group had failed to ' inflict any serious damage and the rapid advance of British forces following the northern route to Stanley had been free from air attack. The marked reduction in ■the strength of Argentine air operations would be a turning point in the campaign. British and neutral analysts said. Since Saturday they have expected a series of heavy raids on the British fleet, especially the two carriers and the two assault craft, and repeated strafing and bombing attacks on the ground forces. The.“last gasp” nature of the 'Argentine attacks was characterised by the .use of a C-130 transport as a bomber, according to British reports. The aircraft appeared above ships and the crew pushed bombs out of .its rear door. British intelligence officers who from the outset have praised the daring of Argentine pilots said they had noted a gradual reduction in the enemy's willingness . to brave the Screen of missiles and, bullets th make attacks. If their assessment is correct, the Argentine Air Force , has lost its best pilots as well as a high proportion of its best ? aircraft, Mirages and Skyhawks. These sources concede the possibility of a final offensive by the remaining bombers against ~ the fleet and- the ground forces. But

they are confident that the task force has enough Harriers operating from new bases on East Falkland Island and from the carriers and sufficient Rapier and Blowpipe missiles with the two columns moving on Stanley to prevent a serious dislocation of British operations. A revealing fact about the present strength of the Argentine Air Force is the testimony of two captured pilots. According to British sources, they said that on returning to their mainland bases and finding the number of aircraft greatly reduced, they had been told by senior officers that the rest of their squadron had been diverted to another airfield; Senior officers of the Royal Air Force recalled that Luftwaffe commanders during the Battle of Britain in 1940, used the same excuse to hide losses from returning air crew. The British position on the ground has now become more favourable. But senior officials in the Ministry of Defence cautioned that the advancing commandos and parachute troops had not yet ‘ made contact with the main Argentine forces defending Stanley. Intelligence estimates on their number vary from 5000 to 750 t) but all estimates agree that there is a hard core of professional troops well equipped with artillery, mortars and some armoured vehicles, including French AMX-13 tanks. The rest of., the garrison is believed to be made up. of conscripts of "moderate” effectiveness; These troops will now have to face a concerted attack from the two British columns believed to have linked up on 457 m Mount Kent, about 24km north-west

of Stanley. The joining of the two forces, one approaching from the south-west and the other from the north-east, concluded an advance of almost parade-ground precision. Installed on Mount Kent, the British will be able to direct artillery fire on the Argentine positions around the capital. The infantry also will be able to call in air strikes by Harriers against any- Argentine troops moving out of Stanley to attack. The gravity of the British threat grew with reports that the sth Brigade — battalions of the Scots and Welsh Guards and the 7th Gurkha Rifles — also had landed north of Stanley. These soldiers sailed from Southampton, last month on the Queen Elizabeth 2. Their entry into the battle raises British combat strength to about 7500 men, which probably equals the number of Argentine troops in the Stanley garrison. The brigade probably landed while the Argentine defenders were concentrating on the growing threat from the west represented by the joining of the two columns. Rear Admiral John (Sandy) Woodward, the task force commander, apparently committed the brigade as a consequence of two related developments: the link-up of the two columns and the realisation that, if the battle for Stanley was to be fought and won quickly, additional strength was needed. Unless there was a complete collapse of the garrison, three Marine commandos, two parachute battalions, and some light tanks and armoured cars would not have sufficed to storm the position. British sources say that

even continued bombings and strafing by Harriers and shelling from the fleet will not alone be enough to drive good troops out of strong positions that they have constructed for over a month and that are supported by abundant artillery. The British cannot answer one of the basic questions about the garrison: the level of ammunition remaining. The anti-aircraft guns have been active but little fieldgun ammunition has been expended and that only in desultory and ineffective fire against British warships. Qualified sources estimate that the Argentine garrison has enough artillery ammunition remaining to fight the Royal " Artillery’s 105 mm guns, landed last week, on even terms. Under the conditions of modern war, any shortage of field guns should be made up by the Harriers and helicopter gunships.. But a spell of bad weather, could reduce the effectiveness of these and leave the British artillery to fight a duel against numerically superior Argentine batteries. British sources said that nothing had been heard from the Argentine garrison clustered around the Fox Bay inlet on West Falkland Island. This,force, estimated at about 1100 men, has been under constant surveillance by the Harriers. Its prospects of crossing Falkland Sound and attacking the British base at Port San Carlos are regarded as. negligible because British warships now regularly patrol the sound. In any case, a British source said confidently, the garrison at Fox Bay, like all the other Argentine forces, on the islands, is suffering from a shortage of food. and fuel. .‘