HMS ''Brilliant'' was a

Type 22 frigate The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a ship class, class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine ...

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 ...

. ''Brilliant'' took part in the only ship-to-ship engagement of 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 ...

, when she and chased the Argentine coaster ''Monsunen'', in the Battle of Seal Cove.

Royal Navy service

Falklands War

''Brilliant'' was part of the

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

that took part in the

, with Captain John Coward in command. She sailed south with two WE.177A nuclear depth charges on board; to avoid complications arising from the

Treaty of Tlatelolco The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (commonly known as The Tlatelolco Treaty) is an international treaty that establishes the denuclearization of Latin America and the Caribbean. It was proposed b ...

, these were transferred to on 16 April 1982. ''Brilliant'' was assigned to Operation Paraquet, the effort to retake the island of

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

. On 25 April her two helicopters, together with those of other warships in her group, disabled the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

submarine '' Santa Fe'' at South Georgia. ''Brilliant'' was the first Royal Navy warship to fire the

Sea Wolf missile Sea Wolf is a naval surface-to-air missile system designed and built by BAC, later to become British Aerospace (BAe) Dynamics, and now MBDA. It is an automated point-defence weapon system designed as a short-range defence against both sea-skimmi ...

in action when, on 12 May 1982, she shot down three A-4 Skyhawks. On 21 May 1982, ''Brilliant'' came under Argentine air attack outside San Carlos Water and was lightly damaged by cannon fire. On 23 May she joined HMS ''Yarmouth'' in the chase of the Argentinian supply ship ARA ''Monsunen''. On 25 May she rescued 24 survivors from '' Atlantic Conveyor''.

1983–1996

In 1987 she became leader of the 2nd Frigate Squadron. On 14 May 1989, the ship's helicopter, a Lynx HAS3, ''XZ244'', crashed near

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya, while en route to the city's airport for a period of shore leave. A door had detached when opened inflight and collided with the tail rotor, resulting in the aircraft splitting in half and the death of all nine personnel on board. In October 1990 she saw the first members of the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

to serve officially on an operational warship. In January 1991, ''Brilliant'' deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

as part of the Operation Granby Task Force, in the

First Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) was an armed conflict between Iraq and a multinational military coalition led by the United States, triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Persian Gulf War may also refer to: * Shatt al-Arab conflict ...

. ''Brilliant'' starred in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary series called ''HMS Brilliant – In a Ship's Company'' by the journalist

Chris Terrill Chris Terrill (born 1952) is a British anthropologist, adventurer, broadcaster, author and film-maker. Biography Born in Brighton, Sussex, in 1952, Terrill attended Brighton College 1965–1970, and then went to Durham University, where he ga ...

in 1994, while she was undertaking an operational tour off the coast of former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

enforcing a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

arms embargo in the Adriatic sea.

Brazilian Navy service

She was decommissioned from Royal Navy service in 1996 and sold to the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

on 31 August 1996 and renamed ''Dodsworth''. F47 ''Dodsworth'' was sold for scrap and broken up at

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

, Turkey, during July 2012. The silhouette of HMS ''Brilliant'' is painted, with the date 21 May, on the side of

Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

IAI Finger serial number C-412. Also painted on C-412 is the silhouette of HMS ''Arrow'' and the date 1 May. These kill markings (without crossing) have to do with damage to both ships in the Falklands War, HMS ''Arrow'' being slightly damaged by cannon fire 1 May 1982 and HMS ''Brilliant'' also being slightly damaged by cannon fire on 21 May. C-412's markings were painted soon after the war; they were seen during the November 2005 multi-national Exercise Ceibo in Argentina.

Citations

References

* * * AirForces Monthly Magazine February 2006, page 61.

External links

Argentine Aircraft Successes against British Ships

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brilliant Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom 1978 ships Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy Type 22 frigates of the Brazilian Navy