HMS ''Antelope'' was a

Type 21 frigate The Type 21 frigate, or ''Amazon''-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s. Development In the mid-1960s, the Royal Na ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

that participated in the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

and was sunk by Argentine aircraft.

Construction and commissioning

Her keel was laid down 23 March 1971 by

Vosper Thornycroft VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...

in Woolston,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England. Initial budget costs for this class were £3.5 million, with final costs exceeding £14 million. She was commissioned on 17 July 1975, and was the only unit of the class never to be fitted with

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...

launchers. In 1977, she attended the fleet review for the

Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...

. At this time, she was part of the 7th Frigate Squadron.

Falklands War

Bombing

''Antelope'' took part in the

, arriving in the area of operations on 21 May 1982. Two days later, while on air defence duty at the entrance to

San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish language, Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San C ...

, protecting the beachhead established two days before, she came under attack by four Argentine A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo 5. The first pair attacked from astern, with the flight leader breaking off his attack after one of ''Antelope''s

Sea Cat missile Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system, and was designed so th ...

s exploded under the port wing of his aircraft. The pilot, Captain Pablo Carballo, managed to nurse his aircraft back to

Rio Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

. The second aircraft on this flight pressed home his bomb run and put a 1,000-pound bomb in ''Antelope''s starboard side, killing one crewman, Steward Mark R. Stephens. The bomb did not explode and the Argentine aircraft was damaged by small arms fire. The second pair of Skyhawks attacked minutes later from the starboard quarter. During this attack, one of the Argentine jets, piloted by First Lieutenant Luciano Guadagnini, was hit by the ship's

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

before colliding with ''Antelope''s main mast and disintegrating. Guadagnini had released the bombs before being brought down, and one bomb penetrated ''Antelope''s hull amidships, but like the first bomb hitting the ship failed to explode. ''Antelope'' fired a Sea Cat at what she believed to be a fifth attacker, but this was Captain Carballo, trying to establish if his aircraft was fit to fly. The missile missed, but passed less than from Carballo's cockpit.

Unexploded ordnance

After initial damage control efforts, ''Antelope'' proceeded to more sheltered waters so that two

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

technicians from the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

could come aboard and attempt to defuse the two unexploded bombs. One of the bombs was inaccessible because of wreckage; the other had been damaged and was thought to be in a particularly dangerous condition. Three attempts by the bomb disposal team to withdraw the fuse of this bomb by remote means failed.

Sinking

A fourth attempt using a small explosive charge detonated the bomb, killing Staff Sergeant James Prescott instantly and removing an arm of Warrant Officer John Phillips, the other member of the bomb disposal team. The ship was torn open from waterline to funnel, with the blast starting major fires in both engine rooms, which spread very quickly. The starboard fire main was fractured, the ship lost all electrical power, and the commanding officer, Commander Nick Tobin, gave the order to abandon ship. Tobin was the last person to leave the ship; about five minutes after his departure, the missile magazines began exploding. Explosions continued throughout the night. The following day ''Antelope'' was still afloat, but her keel had broken and her superstructure melted into a heap of twisted metal. ''Antelope'' broke in half and sank that day. TV and still pictures of ''Antelope''s demise became some of the iconic images of the

and appear repeatedly in histories of the event.

Aftermath

Corporal Alan White received a commendation from the Task Force Commander, Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, for his part in rescuing 41 crew from ''Antelope'' using a Mark 2 LCVP, one of four carried by the assault ship . The landing craft, Foxtrot 7, is now located in the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth, with detailed accounts from Corporal Alan White of the missions he took part in, including the landings at San Carlos. In January 2002, a diving team from the frigate replaced the

naval ensign A naval ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign. It can also be known as a war ensign. A large v ...

on ''Antelope''. The wreck is designated as a prohibited area under the Falkland Islands Protection of Wrecks Act.Protection of Wrecks (Ardent and Antelope Designation) Order 1983 (No. 2) 20 October 1983 (Falkland Islands)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

The Official Board of Inquiry into the loss of HMS Antelope

Video Interview with Warrant Officer John Phillips about events on HMS Antelope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antelope 1972 ships Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom Frigates sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in 1982 Protected wrecks of the United Kingdom Ships built in Southampton Ships sunk by Argentine aircraft Shipwrecks of the Falklands War Type 21 frigates Naval magazine explosions