ABSTRACT
The main reason for the British victory in the Falklands War of 1982 was – from the perspective of military hardware – the naval task force’s co-operation with Royal Navy Sea Harriers and the RAF’s Harrier GR.3 V/STOL fighters. These aircraft won the air battle against Argentina’s Mirage III and the Super Étendard. Indeed, at the outbreak of hostilities, 247 Argentine fighters outnumbered the 20 British Sea Harriers by 12–1. The British were required to draw on V/STOL Sea Harriers, the only available aircraft that could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier far from the mainland. 1 And yet they were victorious.
