The Last Run to Coventry: Inside the High-Stakes Falklands Airstrike That Changed a War

On May 25, 1982, as cold winds swept across the South Atlantic, two pairs of Argentine A-4 Skyhawks swept low over the stark hills of the Falkland Islands, skimming the sea and tracing the contours of the land as if their survival depended on it. In truth, it did. What the four pilots were about to attempt—a daring, low-level strike on two British warships—would require every ounce of skill, nerve, and luck they possessed.

Their leader, Captain Pablo Carballo, flew at the front of the formation. His squadron’s A-4B Skyhawks were aging jets, lightly equipped and lacking radar, electronic warning receivers, and modern targeting computers. But each carried a deadly payload: unguided iron bombs that could cripple any ship they found. And today, their objective was unmistakable—HMS Coventry and HMS Broadsword, two British vessels providing protective cover for the landings occurring on the islands.

To Argentina, the Falklands—known locally as Las Malvinas—were a national cause, a matter of identity and history. To Britain, they were sovereign territory illegally seized weeks earlier. Now, the South Atlantic had become a crucible where political decisions transformed into life-or-death struggles waged by pilots and sailors.

The four jets roared forward into a mission that might bring them home as heroes—or not at all.

A Radar Problem and an Opportunity

British naval commanders had positioned Coventry and Broadsword west of Falkland Sound to shield ground troops entering the islands. Coventry carried long-range Sea Dart missiles; Broadsword possessed the fast, close-range Sea Wolf system. In theory, the two ships could cover one another: Coventry engaging distant targets, Broadsword swatting down anything that slipped through.

But the rugged geography of Pebble Island posed a challenge. As Captain David Hart-Dyke, commanding Coventry, knew all too well, aircraft flying extremely low behind the island’s ridgeline could drop entirely off radar. And if a strike came from that direction, Coventry’s long-range missiles would lose lock just when they were needed most.

That possibility became reality.

“Contacts Lost Over Pebble Island”

As the Skyhawks entered British radar range, operators aboard Coventry detected four fast-moving contacts. Within seconds, alarms rang through both ships.

But almost as quickly as the contacts appeared, they vanished.

“Contacts lost over Pebble Island,” the radar team reported.

Captain Hart-Dyke felt the tension rise. This was the blind spot—the one avenue where low-flying attackers could approach almost unnoticed and at exactly the wrong range for Sea Dart missiles. He contacted Broadsword, seeking readiness reports and urging vigilance.

Meanwhile, the Argentines continued racing forward, flying so low the spray from the sea coated their canopies. Then, as they curved around the island, the British ships came into view.

Carballo tightened his grip on the controls.

“Starting the attack,” he radioed. His wingman, Lieutenant Carlos Rinke, acknowledged.

Their charge began.

A Split-Second Decision on Coventry

Aboard Coventry, the tension reached a peak. The radar suddenly lit again—two hostile aircraft at low altitude. Before Hart-Dyke could act, an additional complication appeared.

A British Harrier was now in the same airspace.

The captain faced a terrible dilemma: fire the Sea Darts and risk hitting a British aircraft, or hold fire and risk allowing an attack to proceed unchallenged. He made his decision instantly.

“Turn the Harrier away—fire missiles!”

But the radar lock failed. The Skyhawks were simply too low.

Behind them, Carballo and Rinke raced across the waves, the tracers from Coventry’s deck guns reaching for them. Shells erupted around their aircraft. Every second in that envelope increased the danger.

Realizing they might not survive a straight run at Coventry, Carballo made a rapid decision.

“Change to the other one!” he ordered.

They shifted toward Broadsword.

Bombs That Bounced Like Stones

The first pair of Skyhawks streaked past Coventry and lined up Broadsword for an attack run. Sailors aboard Broadsword sprinted to action stations as the aircraft unleashed their bombs.

The thousand-pound unguided weapons struck the sea first—and bounced. Skipping across the waves like thrown stones, two bombs skimmed directly toward Broadsword.

One fell short.
The other punched into the ship’s hull, tore upward through the deck—
—and failed to explode.

Broadsword was spared by a technical malfunction, but the relief was short-lived. A second Argentine pair was approaching: Lt. Mariano Velasco and Ensign Jorge Barrionuevo, each carrying lighter but highly reliable bombs.

This time, the opportunity for defense narrowed dramatically.

A Failure of Timing and Technology

Coventry’s missile crew finally obtained a lock on the incoming aircraft. With the range closing fast, Hart-Dyke seized the moment.

“Shoot!”

A Sea Dart leapt from the launcher, streaking upward in a plume of smoke. But Velasco dropped radically lower, disappearing beneath the missile’s radar envelope. The weapon flew harmlessly on.

Meanwhile, Broadsword’s Sea Wolf operators fought to reboot their system after the previous failure. When the screens finally flickered to life, they achieved a lock—only to see Coventry slide directly in front of their launcher.

They could not fire without hitting their sister ship.

“Coventry is in the way!” a weapon operator shouted.

With seconds left, the Skyhawks bore in.

The Final Attack Run

Turrets on Coventry opened fire. Machine guns chattered across the deck. Sailors manned rifle positions—a desperate measure against jet aircraft moving at hundreds of miles per hour.

It was not enough.

Velasco closed on the destroyer, firing a long burst from his Skyhawk’s 20mm cannon. Tracers tore across Coventry’s superstructure. Then he released his bombs.

Two iron cylinders tumbled through the air, struck the hull, and punched deep inside before vanishing from sight.

For a moment, nothing happened. Sailors and officers alike believed they might have escaped.

Then the explosions came.

“Brace, brace, brace!”

Two massive detonations ripped through Coventry’s interior. One bomb exploded near the bridge, destroying communications and vital command spaces. The second erupted in the forward engine room, severing electrical power and starting fires impossible to contain.

Within minutes, Coventry began to list sharply.

Even amid the chaos, the crew responded with professionalism. Teams cleared smoke-filled compartments, ferried wounded men to the deck, and deployed life rafts. Training replaced panic; discipline replaced fear.

As the ship rolled further, Hart-Dyke ensured his crew evacuated. Only when the last sailor had departed did he step into the final raft, watching his command slip beneath the cold Atlantic waves.

HMS Coventry sank within 20 minutes. Nineteen members of her crew were lost.

Broadsword, though damaged, remained afloat and assisted in the rescue of 170 survivors.

A Daring but Costly Mission

All four Argentine Skyhawks returned home. Their attack, executed with precision, bravery, and extraordinary low-level flying, achieved what their planners had hoped: the destruction of a British Type 42 destroyer.

Yet Argentina’s tactical victory did not alter the outcome of the conflict. Within weeks, British forces regained control of the islands.

Still, the May 25 attack stands as one of the most dramatic air-naval engagements of the Falklands War—a collision of technology, terrain, skill, and fate.

Why the Battle Is Still Studied Today

Military academies around the world analyze the engagement for several reasons:

1. The Role of Terrain in Modern Warfare

Pebble Island’s geography allowed older jets to evade sophisticated radar, highlighting the limits of advanced systems under real-world conditions.

2. Split-Second Decision-Making

Captain Hart-Dyke’s dilemma—whether to fire with a friendly aircraft nearby—remains a case study in command pressure.

3. System Failures Under Stress

The malfunction of both Sea Dart and Sea Wolf systems underscored how complex technology can falter in the critical moment.

4. The Power of Low-Level Attack Tactics

The Argentine pilots demonstrated that determination and daring could overcome technical disadvantages.

5. Human Factors Above All

From the Skyhawk pilots who flew into concentrated fire to the sailors who organized an exemplary evacuation aboard a sinking ship, the battle was defined by individual courage.

A Legacy Written in Sea Spray and Fire

The sinking of HMS Coventry remains one of the most defining—and tragic—moments of the Falklands War. It is a story not only of loss, but of professionalism on both sides: pilots flying outdated aircraft into modern missile defenses, and sailors fighting to save their ship and each other under catastrophic conditions.

Forty years later, the events of that day still resonate. They remind us that technology alone does not determine victory, that bravery can emerge in unexpected ways, and that even in the heat of battle, the actions of individuals can illuminate the best of human resolve.