What happened in the Battle of Falklands?
Today, according to the instructions of the commander of the fleet, the destroyer Sheffield has stepped up its alert, and all its weapons are in a state of "ready to go"-the ship's air warning radar, missile tracking and guidance radar, anti-submarine torpedo system, jamming rocket launcher system and so on, all of which are working intensively. The air-to-air missile of the "sea javelin" ship pierced the blue sky like a sword, and the "Bobcat" helicopter was ready to fly at any time, and everything was in a state of war. It seems that it is difficult for any target to slip away from the destroyer Sheffield.
As the saying goes, "the strong are always strong." Today, the destroyer "Sheffield" unfortunately encountered a high-tech weapon "Flying Fish" anti-ship missile, which skimmed the sea at ultra-low altitude. On the morning of May 4th 10: 45, three "Super Flag" attack planes of the third squadron of Argentina took off from an air base according to the plan of Argentine Admiral Anaya. This "Super Flag" plane was bought by Argentina from France before the war, with a total of 14. This is an advanced aircraft with superior performance. This fighter-bomber (attack aircraft) mainly performs the tasks of air cover for the fleet and attacking enemy targets at sea or on the ground, and can also perform photo reconnaissance tasks. The Argentine pilots who fly this kind of high-performance aircraft are unlucky and will send out the "magic weapon" of ultra-low altitude-"flying fish" missiles.
Argentina's three "Super Flag" attack planes quickly flew to the target as planned-the British destroyer "Sheffield". Two of them hang a "flying fish" missile under the right wing, and the left wing uses the auxiliary fuel tank to balance the weight. Another plane is in front of them, responsible for monitoring the accurate position of enemy ships. After taking off for 30 minutes, when approaching the edge of the blockade area of the British fleet, immediately lower the altitude and fly at ultra-low altitude to avoid the surveillance of the British radar. In other words, cover yourself with the curve of the earth's surface, so that you can quickly enter the missile range of the enemy radar blind area (the maximum range is 70 kilometers). Of course, this requires superb flying skills.
After they flew into the missile range, the first "super flag" plane suddenly took off, jumped quickly and went straight into the blue sky. This is extremely dangerous, on the one hand, because aerobatics is very difficult; On the other hand, it is easy to be found by enemy radar (once found, it may be shot down by enemy missiles). However, it is necessary to measure the exact position of enemy ships. I saw this "super flag" plane just pulled up, and then suddenly dropped. It only took three seconds to go up and down. In this very short time, the high-tech electronic equipment on the plane has accurately measured the position of the destroyer Sheffield and all kinds of data needed by the flying fish missile (for example, the azimuth and speed of the enemy ship, etc.). ), and transmit these data to the "super flag" attack aircraft with missiles behind it in time, so that the missiles can "lock the target" and launch attacks. This "3 seconds" is also a critical moment for enemy radar. If it is discovered, it is victory. If not found, the warship will be sunk.
The words are divided into two ends, and the "flash of Sheffield" really deserves its reputation. Argentina's first "Super Flag" plane went up and down every three seconds, but it did not escape the surveillance of the destroyer "Sheffield" (radar). It was "captured" by radar, but it was "released" again, because radar observers suspected that they were blinded by this fleeting target and dared not "lie about the enemy" (because it was once reported that the aircraft on the aircraft carrier would also take off to meet), which made Argentina's "Super Flag" attack aircraft break into the defense zone and make a big mistake.
It's too late to say now, but it's too soon. I saw two "super flag" attack planes flashing red light behind them, releasing two "flying fish" missiles. After releasing the "magic weapon", the three planes quickly turned around and returned.
The beauty is that the "flying fish" missile is a kind of missile that needs no care after launch, and its guidance mode is inertial guidance plus terminal active radar homing (target) guidance. The length of the bomb is 4.69 meters, the diameter is 0.35 meters, the wingspan is 1. 1 m, the speed is 0.95 times the speed of sound (close to the speed of sound), and the warhead weighs 165 kg. After the "Flying Fish" missile was launched, when it landed freely about 10 meter, the booster automatically ignited, the solid fuel burned to generate thrust, and the radar seeker of the missile started. Then the missile quickly descends to the height of15m above the water (or ground) for horizontal flight. At this stage, the inertial guidance system on the missile leads the missile to the target. When the missile is at a distance of 10- 15km from the target, the missile drops to 2-8m from the water surface 15m, and flies over the sea surface (its flying height is preset by the pilot according to the sea waves before launching). At this time, it is the guidance of active radar homing, which means that the radar on the missile begins to actively search and track until it hits the target.
Salter, commander of the destroyer Sheffield, didn't feel that disaster was coming. On May 4th 10, the commander of the task force Woodward said to him:
"What about our warships?" General Woodward used to be the captain of the Sheffield, so the first sentence when talking to the current captain is often asked like this.
"Great!" Captain salter is confident that the ship's air defense radar is very advanced, and it can find all targets 400 kilometers away. It is difficult for any enemy plane to break through Sheffield's air defense fire net.
1 1: 23, Captain salter suddenly felt an abnormal sound, although the sound of "flying fish" was very small and almost drowned in the sound of the waves. "Big things are not good!" He said to himself. When he heard the sound of "flying fish", it was all over, because the speed of "flying fish" was almost the same as the speed of sound. He exclaimed, "Hide!"
It's impossible to hide. Two "flying fish" missiles came, and one of them deviated from the direction; Another flying fish missile came obliquely and poked a big hole 1.5 meters above the starboard waterline of the destroyer Sheffield, and the flying fish rushed into the warship's kitchen. At this time, the chefs are busy cooking lunch for the sailors. Unexpectedly, a big "flying fish" more than 4 meters long came. This "flying fish" rushed into the ship's management room at a very fast speed and suddenly exploded. Suddenly the fire was like lightning, the sound was like thunder, and a thick smoke went straight into the sky. In an instant, "Sheffield" 1/3 fell into a sea of fire, and the whole ship was filled with the suffocating smell of cable burning. In just 20 seconds, the destroyer Sheffield lost control of its power ... The fire became more and more fierce and the deck began to bend.
People can't help asking, how can the "flying fish" missile set off such a fire like "Vulcan"? It turns out that this has a lot to do with the warhead of the flying fish missile. Its warhead is semi-armor-piercing, weighing 165 kg and containing 65 kg of high explosives. When it hit the target, it was the warhead and the projectile that got into the warship together. After reaching a certain depth, the fuze detonated the warhead with delay. At this time, there was still a lot of surplus fuel in the bomb, and the fuel splashed everywhere, so it began to "burn the warship."
Captain salter thought the fire was really fierce and difficult to put out, so he ordered to abandon the ship. Hundreds of sailors bid farewell to the Shining Sheffield in lifeboats. But some people failed to escape, and some people died on the spot.
From the tragedy of the destroyer "Sheffield" worth 200 million dollars, it can be seen that the role of radar is related to the life and death of soldiers.
Military strategists believe that if there is a "radar early warning aircraft" in the British special mixed fleet, it is possible to organize various firepower to intercept the "flying fish" missile in advance, and the above tragedy will not happen.