Sure, but the task group probably would have had some of the following.
- 2x Invincible class Carrier. (Invincible & Illustrious)
- 2x Centaur class Carrier. (Hermes & Bulwark)
- 2x Tiger class Cruiser. (Tiger & Blake)
- 11x Type 42 Destroyer (possibly with CIWS) - An additional 2 units commissioned in 1982 + 1 in 4/1983.
- 1x Type 82 Destroyer
- 4x Type 22 Frigate (3 OTL, 1 additional unit commissioned 6/1982)
- 2x Sea Wolf Leander (1 OTL, 1 additional unit finished conversion July 1982)
Thats just what I can think of off the top of my head, there were additional units in War Reserve that could be pulled out to cover the Atlantic ASW mission in the short term. Other then the additional Sea Wolf and Sea Dart ships, another thing is that by December 1982, quite a few more Sea Harriers could have been produced to fill up those flight decks, in 1982 it was still in the process of being introduced into service, which is part of the reason why so many Harrier GR's got sent south. Of course, a November/December task group would also have had Sea King AEW, and if the arms embargo on Argentina could be kept up, they might be having trouble finding parts for their French Aircraft by then.
If the British had waited until December 1982 they would have been able to deploy a maximum of 33 Sea Harriers, which is only 2 more than the number available on Monday 5th April 1982.
Sea Harrier Production for the Royal Navy
According to notes that I made several years ago from the Harrier Story by Davies and Thornborough a total of 57 Sea Harrier FRS Mk 1 were ordered as follows:
24 in 1975 (including 3 pre-production aircraft). The first fight date was 30th December 1978, but I did not record the delivery dates
10 in 1978 which were delivered 16th November 1981 to 22nd April 1982
14 in 1982 which were delivered 27th March 1985 to 20th June 1986
9 in 1984 which were delivered 13th November 1987 to 31st September 1988 (which I presume was a transcription error for 30th September 1988). These aircraft were ordered to increase the squadrons from 5 to 8 aircraft
For completeness the contract for the 32 Sea Harrier F/A Mk 2 rebuilds was not placed until December 1988, 5 years later than expected. 10 new build aircraft were ordered in March 1990, which was increased to 15 in 1992 and 18 in 1994.
The 1982 order was placed after the war was over so unless production could be speeded up the Royal Navy is not going to get any more Sea Harriers between 22nd April 1982 and the end of the year.
Sea Harrier Production for the Indian Navy
23 Sea Harrier FRS Mk 51 ordered according to the book against a requirement for 48. Orders and deliveries were as follows:
6 in 1978 which were delivered from 13th December 1983 to 5th October 1984
10 in 1985 - but 5 delivered 14th December 1989 to 24th June 1990
7 in 1986 - but 12 delivered 10th April 1990 to 7th March 1992.
So even if the British Government had requisitioned the aircraft building for India in April 1982 and was able to complete all of them by the end of they year they would only have acquired 6 extra aircraft.
Sea Harrier Availability in April 1982
According to the same source 30 Sea Harriers were built by Monday 5th April 1982 (the day the task force sailed). One was lost in 1980 and 28 went to the Falklands. However, when I went through the detailed notes I counted 32 as follows:
5 with 800NAS on Invincible
5 with 801NAS on Hermes
3 with 899NAS
4 with the Ministry of Defence (Procurement Executive)
7 in the attrition reserve at RAF St Athan
2 in maintenance at the Sea Harrier Support Unit at Yeovilton
4 not known, but I think they were with 899NAS
1 being rushed to completion on the British Aerospace line
1 lost in 1980
Total 32
The 28 aircraft that went to the Falklands were distributed as follows:
- 12 in 801NAS aboard Hermes. That is 5 from 801NAS; 3 from 899NAS; 3 more were flown in at the weekend of 3rd-4th April 1982 and the 12th arrived on 5th April 1982 when she was in the Bay of Biscay. I did not make a note of where the last 4 aircraft came from, but its likely that they came from 899NAS;
- 8 in 800NAS aboard Invincible. That is 5 from 800NAS, plus 2 from the attrition reserve and one from the Ministry of Defence (Procurement Executive). This aircraft was being used for Sea Eagle trials and 2 of the other 3 development aircraft went to 899NAS;
- 8 in 809 NAS which flew to Widewake on 30th April 1982. It embarked on the Atlantic Conveyor and the notes I made said that on 18th and 19th May 4 Sea Harriers transferred to Invincible and the rest to Invincible. However, that must be a transcription error so I presume half went to Invincible and the rest to Hermes. These aircraft were absorbed by 800 and 801NAS.
- The source also says that the 3 squadrons exchanged their AIM-9G Sidewinders with AIM-9L at Ascension Island.
My notes say that 809NAS was authorised the day after the task force sailed and was to be formed by the end of the month. At that time 11 Sea Harriers were available as follows:
· 3 were with the MoD (PE) but one of them was written off on the Yeovilton ski-jump
· 5 were at RAF St Athan
· 2 were in maintenance at the Sea Harrier Support Unit (SHSU) at Yeovilton and one was being rushed to completion on the BAe line.
809NAS had acquired 8 of the above aircraft, which left 2 with 899NAS for training. 8 Sea Harriers were lost from all causes in the Falklands and the serviceability rate for the Sea Harrier and Harrier GR Mk 3 in the Falklands War was 90%.
The Cancelled Sea Harrier Order
My notes also say that 802 NAS was to have been formed in 1981 according to a 1978 announcement. The squadron would have been equipped with the 10 aircraft of the projected third order, but this was cancelled in the 1981 Defence Review.
However, as the aircraft ordered in 1982 weren't delivered until 1985 I think that if the third order had been placed in 1981 the aircraft would not have been delivered until 1984 AND to have been of use in the Falklands War they would have had to have been ordered in 1980 at the latest.
RAF Harriers in the Falklands War
The RAF Harriers were cleared for aircraft carrier operations in 1971. 3 went to Ascension Island for air defence and 6 embarked on the Atlantic Conveyor. The latter aircraft transferred to Hermes which operated 15 Sea Harriers and 6 Harriers. The RAF joined in part because of the Sea Harrier shortage. 3 replacement Harrier GR Mk 3 flew from Ascension to Hermes on 1st and 8th June 1982 (total 6?) and 3 replacement Harrier GR Mk 3 arrived from the 14th June 1982 from the Contender Bezant. On 4th July 1983 the Harrier Detachment at RAF Port Stanley had a Unit Equipment of 10 Harrier GR Mk 3. The last 4 Harrier GR Mk 3 were ordered in 1983 as Falkland attrition replacements.
The Atlantic Conveyor went down with 3 out of 4 Chinooks and all the Harrier support equipment. E.g. the FOB at Port San Carlos had an 850ft runway, a VTOL pad and parking for 4 Harriers, there would have been parking for 10 but the material required went down with the Atlantic Conveyor.