Operation Keyhole was a British special operation to recapture

Thule Island Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient ...

in the

South Sandwich Islands The South Sandwich Islands () are a chain of uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. They are administered as part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The chain lies in the sub-A ...

during 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 ...

. The operation took place from 19 to 20 June 1982.

Background

A base, called Corbeta Uruguay, had been built by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in part to reinforce its territorial claims on British-held territory in the South Atlantic. Ostensibly a meteorological research station, it was also used by Argentine military personnel. The British government became aware of the base in December 1976. Between then and the outbreak of the 1982 war, a diplomatic solution to the problem had not been reached.

Operation

After the Argentine surrender on the Falkland Islands on 14 June 1982, a task force composed of frigate , patrol ship , tanker RFA ''Olmeda'' and tug ''Salvageman'' sailed to the South Sandwich Islands with instructions to end the Argentine presence there.

Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

parties from ''Endurance'' and 42 Commando

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

were landed on

covertly to observe Argentine activities. They encountered harsh conditions on the island with an air temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius and a gale gusting to , the chill factor caused an effective drop to minus 52 degrees. ''Yarmouth'' demonstrated her intention by firing her gun and several helicopters flew around the base. Under the threat of the Royal Marines party and the ships cruising in front of the base, the Argentinians raised a white flag. Royal Marines who were forced to lower the Union Flag on

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 3 April, now hoisted the Union Flag on Thule Island. The final surrender of the war was signed in the wardroom of ''Endurance'' with all commanders present. Ten prisoners (one civilian and nine military personnel) were evacuated to the tanker ''Olmeda'', accompanied by ''Yarmouth'' and they departed for South Georgia. The Argentine base "Corbeta Uruguay" was closed and the buildings sealed to make them weatherproof. The other ships ''Endurance'' and MS ''Salvageman'' followed and were back at Cumberland East Bay,

, by 24 June 1982. No deaths or injuries were suffered on either side.

Aftermath

In March 1983, a UK spokesman said that on 19 December 1982, the research vessel, HMS ''Hecate'', had discovered someone had been back to the base, had lowered the British flag, and raised the Argentinian flag in its place. The spokesman said: "We haven't a clue what went on and God only knows who it was—scrap metal merchants, someone in their cups (drunk) or the Argentine military". To prevent any attempt by Argentina to return to Thule Island, the base was later demolished, in February 1983, by crew from HMS ''Ariadne'' and the supply ship RFA ''Tidespring''. The flagpole, two weather beacons, and a fully provisioned hut were left intact.

References

External links

Images of the operation and of the destruction of the Corbeta Uruguay base

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyhole, Operation

Keyhole A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or pas ...

Falklands War in South Georgia

Battles and conflicts without fatalities 1982 in the Falkland Islands Dependencies

Background

Operation

Aftermath

See also

References

External links