April 18th 1982: From a last-ditch 2am message from the junta through to an 11 hour session in the afternoon & evening, Al Haig sees movement in the Argentine position, but, he feels, not enough to guarantee or encourage peace....

April 18th 1982: RFA Olmeda sights a periscope. HMS Alacrity & Broadsword gain sonar contact and follow for two hours. They decide it isn't Argentine and break contact after it is far enough away. Just the Russians having a look...

April 18th 1982: Argentine aerial photo over Stanley, dated today. One curious point is that the first such post invasion aerial photos taken from the Argentine side were sent to the UK by Argentine Admiral Jose Lombardo, and presumably he sent intel as well...

April 18th 1982: Following his marathon session the previous day, Al Haig telegrams London to say that the junta have provided a potentially workable, though still 'unsatisfactory' plan for peace. It is a sign of crumbling Argentine resolve but will not go far enough...

Here, in another shot from this day 42 years ago, RFA Olmeda refuels HMS Glamorgan.

April 18th 1982: #OTD in the #Falklands war the Carrier Battle Group leaves Ascension, consisting of HMS Hermes, Invincible, Glamorgan, Broadsword, Yarmouth, Alacrity and RFAs Olmeda & Resource. Here's Hermes departing on the day...

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The flight crews yesterday had a tricky time landing at Heathrow Airport - their skill during these crosswinds is testimony to rigorous training & continual assessments. Whilst this Airbus #A350 go around might look dramatic, they are trained to do this as a matter of course...

April 17th 1982: As evening draws on, Alexander Haig telegrams the US Embassy in London, fresh from new talks with the junta: 'I threatened to break off this process. As a result, I was invited to meet with the junta and spent two hours with them this morning...'

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April 17th 1982: Late at night, Al Haig telegrams Washington DC: 'At 10.40pm local time, we received a very discouraging response which I have asked to discuss tomorrow morning with the Junta and the President... I will advise you of the results.'

However, he is invited back...

April 16th 1982: The British press on board ships are denied access to Ascension. BBC's Robert Fox recalled, 'We spent three and a half weeks at Ascension. We 30 journalists on Canberra were not allowed ashore. Some TV crews succeeded, using the most extraordinary subterfuges.'

April 16th 1982: A meeting at the MOD turns up some interesting new things. Argentina is trying to buy arms from around Europe and farther afield, to include Israel, and the UK speculates on Soviet Submarine activity in the area amongst other things...

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Rather spectacular #sunset over #hythe , #newforest & western #southampton tonight...

#lovewhereyoulive #hampshire #thesolent #stormhour @stormhour

This is the story which moved me to tears on the tv. Former Tesla engineer Cristina Balan is a single mother, currently in remission from breast cancer, and she’s been locked in a ten year legal battle with her ex employer

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

April 14th 1982: Alexander Haig tells President Reagan that he believes Thatcher wants a peaceful solution and is willing to give Galtieri a 'fig leaf' to pull out of the Falklands, but that 'Her strategy remains one of pressure and threat: by and large, it's working'.

'I was becoming impatient with all this. I said this was essentially an issue of dictatorship Vs. democracy. Galtieri wanted to be able to claim victory... The question was whether he could be diverted by economic sanctions or, as I suspected all along, only by military force.'

April 14th 1982: SS Atlantic Conveyor is requisitioned as a STUFT vessel by the MOD and work begins to convert her to a helicopter carrier and to accommodate Sea Harriers and GR3's, alongside taking vital equipment to the conflict zone.

April 13th 1982: Alexander Haig states that he has 'made it abundantly clear to Argentina that if conflict developed, the United States would side with the United Kingdom'.

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#ThrowbackThursday - 2019 Heathrow Airport with ex #FlyBe Bombardier #Q400 landing on 27R whilst Bahrain #Amiri Boeing Airplanes #B747 on approach for 27L
#avgeek

Not many airports where you will see 3 Airbus #A380 on final approach.
Wonderful sight at Heathrow Airport as dawn broke yesterday with 2 British Airways & 1 Emirates coming to their end of their long haul journeys...
#avgeek #canonphotography