Raid on Argentine

Press, 4 June 1982, Page 1

Raid on Argentine

NZPA-Reutcr London British commandos raided an airbase on the Argentine mainland about two weeks ago and destroyed five French-built Super' Elendard aircraft, according to a British television correspondent on Wednesday.

His report quoted Chilean intelligence sources, which said nine men had been dropped by a helicopter to carry out the raid on Rio Grande airbase near the southern tip of Argentina. The men later escaped through Chile. The Defence Ministry in London denied the report, and said that there had been no British attack on Argentina’s mainland. I.T.N.'s reporter in Chile.

Jon Snow, said that after destroying the five planes, which deliver the deadly Exocet anti-ship missile’ the commandos had planned to leave by helicopter. But, he said, the Navy helicopter which had dropped them ran into difficulties and later force-landed in Chile. The Defence Ministry said that on May 20 a helicopter had crash-la’nded in Chile but had been on a reconnaissance mission over Tierra del Fuego, the area round Rio Grande. Mr Snow said that commandos had escaped through the Chilean port of Punta Arenas and were now in Britain, but his sources emphasised that Chile had no advance knowledge of the raid.

Snow also reported that 10

Peruvian Mirage fighter planes, bearing Argentine Air Force markings, had arrived at the Argentine air base of Estancia Zara, but were being used only for defensive patrols. In Santiago, the Chilean Foreign Minister, Mr Rene Rojas, said that reports from abroad that Chile would allow British planes to attack Argentine air force bases from its lerritorv were false.

His comment followed up a report on a United States radio station which said that British aircraft had been based in Chile in preparation for raids on Argentine bases. The Argentine Navy's Super Etendards, delivered by France shortly before the Falklands crisis.’have struck two big blows to the British naval task force.