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On 6 June 1982, during the Falklands War, the British Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer engaged and destroyed a British Army Gazelle helicopter, serial number ''XX377'', in a friendly fire incident, killing all four occupants. ''Cardiff'', on the lookout for aircraft flying supplies to the Argentine forces occupying the Falkland Islands, had misidentified the helicopter as an enemy C-130 Hercules. Although the helicopter's loss was initially blamed on enemy action, a subsequent inquiry found ''Cardiff''s missiles to be the cause. On the night of 5 June, HMS ''Cardiff'' was stationed to the east of the islands to provide gunfire support to the land forces and intercept enemy aircraft. At around 02:00 a radar contact was detected; a British Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopter was making a routine delivery of personnel and equipment to a radio rebroadcast station on East Falkland. From the contact's speed and course, ''Cardiff''s operations room crew assumed it to be hostile. Two Sea Dart missiles were fired, destroying the target. The Gazelle's wreckage and crew were discovered the next morning, and the loss was attributed to enemy fire. Although ''Cardiff'' was suspected, later scientific tests on the wreckage proved inconclusive. No formal inquiry was held until four years later. Defending their claim that the helicopter had been lost in action, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that they had not wanted to "cause further anguish to relatives" while they were still trying to ascertain how the Gazelle had been shot down. The board of inquiry finally confirmed that the soldiers fell due to friendly fire. It recommended that "neither negligence nor blame should be attributed to any individual", but identified several factors. A lack of communication between the army and the navy meant that 5th Infantry Brigade had not notified anyone of the helicopter's flight. The navy had not informed the land forces that ''Cardiff'' had changed position to set up an ambush for Argentine aircraft travelling over the area. The helicopter's identification friend or foe (IFF) transmitter was turned off, because it caused interference with the army's Rapier anti-aircraft missile system. The board of inquiry's findings prompted criticism of the MoD's initial response to the incident. == Background == On 2 April 1982, the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands was invaded by neighbouring Argentina. The United Kingdom, nearly away, assembled and dispatched a naval task force of 28,000 troops to recapture the islands.〔 The conflict ended that June with the surrender of the Argentine forces; the battles fought on land, at sea, and in the air had cost the lives of some 900 British and Argentine servicemen.〔 In early May, British troops landed at San Carlos on the western side of East Falkland, and from there moved overland towards the islands' capital of Stanley. To support the advance, logistical supplies were ferried to the troops by helicopter from San Carlos.〔 The Argentine forces occupying Stanley were supplied throughout the war by C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Argentine mainland. These "milk-runs", as the British termed them, were a source of concern to the Royal Navy, and various attempts were made to intercept them. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1982 British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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