Scenarios
1982 Pebble Island Raid 1982-05-14 · Pebble Island (Argentine: Isla Borbón), Falkland Islands · Small-unit actions
Terrain map Your role You command the raiding force: D Squadron of the British Special Air Service, some 45 to 48 men (sources differ), with a naval gunfire observer. You have four troops (Boat, Mountain, Air and Mobility) and a mortar team. You must put the aircraft at Pebble Island airfield out of action on the ground and be back aboard the carrier by helicopter before dawn.
Higher commander's intent Before the landings, put the aircraft at Pebble Island out of action on the ground and remove the threat of reconnaissance or attack on the western approaches. Keep time on the objective short, avoid a fight with the guard force, do not fire on the islanders’ houses, and be back aboard before dawn.
Situation Enemy: since late April the Argentines have used the grass strip beside the settlement as the auxiliary airfield Calderón, with Pucará attack aircraft, Turbo-Mentors and a coastguard Skyvan. Estimates of the guard force differ widely: about 150 (RAF account) against thirty naval personnel (Argentine Air Force account). The 25 or so islanders are largely confined to their houses. The strip is grass and turns to mud in rain (strip position approximate).
Mission On the night of 14–15 May the raiding force flies onto Pebble Island, puts the aircraft on the airfield out of action, and returns to HMS Hermes by helicopter before dawn.
One-page print version
Sources The SAS raid on the airfield at Pebble Island - 14th May 1982 (archived) — Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence (via Internet Archive) (CROWN)The Official History of the Falklands Campaign, Vol. II: War and Diplomacy (Freedman, 2005) — Routledge (COPYRIGHTED)Falklands War 1982, Part 28: Pebble Island Raid by SAS (week seven, 10–16 May) — Naval-History.net (COPYRIGHTED)El ataque al Aeródromo Auxiliar Calderón, 15 de mayo (archived) — Fuerza Aérea Argentina (via Internet Archive) (COPYRIGHTED)Pebble Island raid (bibliography: Ruiz Moreno 1987, Davies 1998, Clack & Pollard 2022) — Wikipedia (CC_BY_SA)Pebble Island: The Falklands War 1982 (Mackay & Cooksey, Elite Forces Operations Series, 2007) — Pen and Sword (Open Library record) (COPYRIGHTED)One Hundred Days: Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander (Woodward, 1992) — Naval Institute Press (Open Library record) (COPYRIGHTED)
