Operation Mikado facts for kids

Operation Mikado was a secret military plan by the United Kingdom during the 1982 Falklands War. The goal was to attack the main base of Argentina's five Super Étendard fighter jets. These jets were based at Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina. Brigadier Peter de la Billière was in charge of planning this daring operation.

British ships had been attacked by these Argentine aircraft. The jets used special French Exocet air-to-sea missiles, which had already sunk two British ships. The main aim of Operation Mikado was to destroy the three remaining Exocet missiles Argentina had. It also aimed to destroy the Super Étendard planes that launched them. Another goal was to stop the pilots from flying these dangerous planes again. To do this, Brigadier Peter de la Billière, who led the SAS, suggested a bold plan. It involved landing 55 SAS soldiers in two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft directly on the runway at Rio Grande.

The plan was for the C-130 planes to stay on the tarmac with their engines running. This would allow the SAS soldiers to quickly complete their mission. If the C-130s survived, they would then fly to a Chilean air base at Punta Arenas. If the planes were damaged, the surviving SAS soldiers and aircrew would use any available transport at the airfield. They would then try to reach the Chilean border, which was about 50 miles to the west.

The Secret Plan: Operation Mikado

Scouting Mission: Operation Plum Duff

Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands

Before the main attack, a secret scouting mission was launched. It was called Operation Plum Duff. This mission took place on the night of May 17-18. It started from the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The goal was to send a small SAS team to the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego. They would travel on a special Sea King HC.4 helicopter.

The original idea was for the SAS team to walk from their drop-off point to the Rio Grande air base. There, they would set up a hidden observation post. Their job was to gather information about the base's defenses. The helicopter had to fly almost its maximum distance, making it a one-way trip. The aircrew's mission was to drop off the SAS team in Argentina. Then, they would fly to Chile and sink the helicopter in deep water.

The helicopter, with a three-person crew and an eight-person SAS team, took off from Invincible just after midnight on May 18. The helicopter accidentally flew near an Argentine drilling rig. This forced it to take a detour, adding twenty minutes to the flight. After four hours, as it neared the Argentine coast, thick fog reduced visibility. About twelve miles from where the SAS team was supposed to be dropped, the fog became so bad that the pilot had to land.

The pilot and the SAS commander disagreed on their exact location. The SAS commander also believed they had been spotted by an Argentine patrol. He asked to be dropped closer to the Chile/Argentine border. The pilots had to fly using only their instruments through bad weather into neutral Chile. The SAS team was dropped off on the south coast of Bahia Inútil. From there, they planned to try and reach their observation post on foot.

The helicopter crew flew to a beach closer to Punta Arenas and landed. One pilot and the aircrewman got out and cut holes in the helicopter. This was to make it sink when ditched. The other pilot then flew it over the water but could not sink it. He flew back to the beach to cut more holes. However, a blinking "Low Fuel" light blinded him in his night vision goggles, and he crashed on the beach. The crew then set the helicopter on fire and blew it up with explosives. They then left the area. Over several nights, they moved to a spot near Punta Arenas. They tried to contact the British Embassy. But they were found by the Chilean military while moving through town. They were then handed over to British officials.

Argentine reports say that the destroyer ARA Bouchard tracked the helicopter on its radar. This happened on the night of May 17-18. Bouchard sent a message to another ship, ARA Piedrabuena, and to the Río Grande air base. In 2007, members of the Argentine 24th Infantry Regiment claimed they hit the helicopter with small arms fire. This happened in thick fog south of Rio Gallegos. In the end, the SAS scouting mission was called off.

Why the Mission Was Cancelled

The plan for an airborne attack faced strong opposition from some SAS members. One sergeant even resigned just before the team was supposed to fly out. The squadron's commander was also replaced. The main problem was a lack of information. British forces did not know how well Rio Grande was defended. They also had no guarantee that the Super Étendards or the Exocet missiles would even be there if an attack happened. British forces also lacked details on how the base was set up. They did not know where the Exocets or the pilots were located.

A Rumored Second Plan

There were rumors that another plan existed. This plan supposedly involved the SAS secretly entering Argentina using the Royal Navy submarine HMS Onyx. However, these rumors were not true. The Argentine Navy claims that their ship, the Bouchard, shelled a submarine and some inflatable boats. This happened while on patrol two miles off Rio Grande on the evening of May 16, 1982.

Looking Back at Operation Mikado

The British Government later admitted that the operation would likely have failed. After the war, it was revealed that the Rio Grande area was heavily defended. Four Argentine Navy Marine Corps battalions were stationed there. Some of their officers had even been trained in the UK by the SBS years before.

After the war, Argentine marine commanders said they were expecting a special forces attack. However, they never thought a Hercules plane would land directly on their runways. They also stated they would have chased British forces even into Chilean territory if an attack had happened. If Operation Mikado had failed, it would have been a huge propaganda disaster for the British forces. For Argentina, it would have been a big boost to their morale.