- HMS Broadsword (F88)
HMS "Broadsword" (F88) was the lead ship and first Batch 1 unit of the
Type 22 frigate s of theRoyal Navy .ervice
While on sea trials, "Broadsword" was called into service as the command ship during the large rescue operation required after storms struck the
1979 Fastnet race [Rousmaniere, John. "Fastnet, The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing". Norton (1993). ISBN 978-0-393-30865-5] ."Broadsword" took part in the 1982
Falklands War where, on 25 May 1982, she was providing air defence support to HMS "Coventry". A technical fault in herSea Wolf missile system allowed two Argentine Skyhawks to sink the "Coventry". [Hart Dyke, David. "Four Weeks in May: The Loss of "HMS Coventry". Atlantic Books (2007). ISBN 978-1843545903] "Broadsword" was hit by one bomb, which bounced up through the helicopter deck and put out of action a Lynx helicopter, before exiting and exploding harmlessly. She subsequently rescued 170 of the sunken "Coventry's" crew.She shot down one IAI Dagger during the war [
Argentine air forces in the Falklands War ] .She was decommissioned on 31 March 1995 and was sold to the
Brazilian Navy on 30 June 1995 and renamed "Greenhalgh".References
External links
* [http://www.hmsbroadsword.co.uk Broadsword Association]
* [http://www.btinternet.com/~broadsword82/ HMS Broadsword Falklands 82]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.