A Carrier at Risk: Argentinean Aircraft Carrier and Anti-Submarine Operations Against Royal Navys Attack Submarines During the Falklands/Malvinas War, 1982

(Paperback)

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The naval warfare of the last few decades appears dominated by operations of fast missile craft and a wide diversity of other minor vessels in so-called 'littoral warfare'. On the contrary, skills and knowledge about anti-submarine warfare on the high seas a discipline that dominated much of the World War II, and once used to be the reason for existence of large fleets of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and of the Warsaw Pact appear nearly extinct. Indeed, it seems that no armed conflicts involving this form of naval warfare have been fought for a significant time. As so often, the reality is entirely different. Submarine and anti-submarine warfare remain one of most sophisticated forms of armed conflicts to this day. Unsurprisingly, considering the amount of high-technology equipment necessary for their conduct, they are shrouded behind a thick veil of secrecy. This is why the operations of the sole Argentinean aircraft carrier ARA 25 de Mayo during the much-publicised war in the South Atlantic of 1982 remain largely unknown until this very day. It is well-known that the United Kingdom deployed the largest task force its Royal Navy had assembled since the Korean War over 12,000 kilometres away from home. It is well-known that the operations of this task force proved decisive for the outcome of the war: it not only brought the air power that established itself in control of the air space over the battlefield, but also hauled all the troops and supplies necessary to recover the islands that were the core of the dispute. However, the impression created very early during this conflict and largely maintained until today is that ARA 25 de Mayo and other elements of the accompanying Task Force 79 of the Argentinean Navy were forced into a hurried withdrawal by the sheer presence of multiple nuclear attack submarines of the Royal Navy. Based on years of research, including extensive investigation into naval operations of both sides of the conflict, 'A Carrier at Risk' is a vibrant and lucid account of a week-long cat-and-mouse game between anti-submarine warfare specialists on board ARA 25 de Mayo, and multiple nuclear attack submarines of the Royal Navy: an entirely unknown, yet crucial aspect of the South Atlantic War. AUTHOR: Mariano Sciaroni graduated as a lawyer and currently works as a specialist in insurance and commercial law. He also lecturers in procedural law in the law faculty of the Universidad Catolica Argentina. 74 b/w photos, 8 colour photos, 12 colour profiles, 8 maps, 3 tables, 3 diagrams

Reviews

Overall, this is a well-researched book about an aspect of a recent war that has not, until now, received the level of attention that it deserves. I thoroughly recommend it to a wide, professional naval readership. * Naval Review *
This book will give the reader an understanding of Argentinean carrier operations in the South Atlantic. With over 100 photos, colour maps and profiles; combined with first hand accounts from both sides the book is highly recommended. * Britmodeller.com 11/06/2019 *
It offers a valuable contribution both to their professional educations and to the wider field of naval history more generally. * Baird Maritime 15/07/2019 *
Historians and modellers alike will find this volume of great interest. * Airfix Model World 06/06/2019 *
A really interesting read, and lots of detail about an aspect of the Falklands War which was largely unknown at the time. * Military Model Scene 23/05/2019 *
There's good coverage of Agentine operations in the war . . . The text has been translated from Spanish and reads well. Better, the author has largely avoided taking a partisan approach to his subject. The photo selection is to be commended for its originality. * Aeroplane Magazine *

Author Bio

Mariano Sciaroni graduated as a lawyer, has a Masters Degree in Strategy and Geopolitics, and a postgraduate course in contemporary military history from the Argentine Armys Military Academy. He is currently working as a specialist in insurance and commercial law and lectures in procedural law at the Law Faculty of the Universidad Catolica Argentina. Living with wife and three children in Buenos Aires, he is a member of the Argentine Institute of Military History and a Sub-Lieutenant in the Argentine Army Reserve. He has published two books and dozens of articles on the military history of Argentina, published in Argentina, United States, Germany, and Russia. This is his second instalment for Helions @War series.