Bluff Cove Air Attacks The Bluff Cove Air Attacks occurred 8 June 1982 , during the Falklands War . British troop transport ships were bombed by the Argentine Air Force ( FAA ) whilst unloading , with significant damage and casualties . Background . By 1 June , British forces on the Falkland Islands were bolstered by the arrival of 5 , 000 new troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade . Major General Jeremy Moore now had sufficient force to start planning a full scale assault on Port Stanley . Advance parties of the 2nd Battalion , Parachute Regiment moved forward and occupied Fitzroy and Bluff Cove , when it was discovered to be clear of Argentine forces . Units of the Welsh Guards and Scots Guards were sent in to support them . After the sinking of the transport " Atlantic Conveyor " there was only one British troop carrying helicopter available , an RAF CH - 47 Chinook . Therefore , supplies and reinforcements would have to be transported by sea . Air strikes . While unloading on 8 June , the British ships were attacked by two waves of A - 4 Skyhawk s from the Argentine Air Force ' s 5th Air Brigade , each of them loaded with three 500 lb retarding tail bombs of Spanish design . The fighters departed from Rio Gallegos airbase , which at the time was monitored by the nuclear submarine HMS " Splendid " . The first package , originally made of eight aircraft , was reduced to five when three Skyhawks returned to base due to refuelling problems . The nuclear submarine HMS " Valiant " , on picket duty off Rio Grande , was able to track six Dagger fighters taking off from the airbase there for a complementary mission and sent an early warning signal , but the report from the submarine failed to reach the British forces at Bluff Cove . Another four Mirages carried out a decoy mission over the north of the islands , while the Argentine destroyer ARA " Santísima Trinidad " broadcast interference to jam the frequencies used by the Royal Navy ' s air controllers directing the Sea Harrier operations . First strike . At approximately 14 : 00 local time the ships RFA " Sir Tristram " and RFA Sir " Galahad " were badly damaged by five A - 4Bs of " Grupo 5 " . Three A - 4s targeted " Sir Galahad " , which was hit by three bombs from First Lieutenant Carlos Cachón . The second Skyhawk was unable to drop its bombs , and the third overshot the British ship . The remaining two aircraft attacked " Sir Tristram " , which was struck by two bombs released by package leader Lieutenant Daniel Gálvez ; the bombs of the last A - 4 fell short . The explosions and subsequent fires killed 48 men aboard " Sir Galahad " and two crew members from " Sir Tristram " . Second strike . At 16 : 50 a second wave , composed by four A - 4Bs of " Grupo 5 " hit and sank an LCU from HMS " Fearless " , ferrying the vehicles of the 5th Brigade ' s headquarters from Darwin to Bluff Cove in Choiseul Sound with the loss of six Royal Marines . However , the Sea Harrier combat air patrol was already on scene and responded ; three Skyhawks were shot down and their pilots , First Lieutenant Danilo Bolzan , Lieutenant Juan Arrarás , and Ensign Alfredo Vazquez , were killed . Bolzan ' s aircraft was shot down by Lieutenant David Smith , while the remaining Skyhawks fell victims of Flight Lieutenant David Morgan . The fourth aircraft suffered combat damage and lost a large amount of fuel , but returned to the mainland , assisted by a KC - 130 tanker . A third wave , by A - 4Cs of " Grupo 4 " , arrived minutes later and struck ground targets without visible success . Attack on HMS " Plymouth " . In a separate incident , the frigate HMS " Plymouth " endured the sudden attack of the six Daggers from Rio Grande , which struck her with four 1 , 000 - pound bombs . The warship sustained severe damage , and five crewmen were injured . Although all the bombs were duds , the attack caused the explosion of at least one depth charge on her flight deck . Aftermath . A total of 56 British servicemen were killed , and 150 wounded . BBC television cameras recorded images of Royal Navy helicopters hovering in thick smoke to winch survivors from the burning landing ships . These images were seen around the world . However , General Mario Menendez , commander of Argentine forces on the islands , was told that hundreds of men had been killed . He expected a drop in British morale , and their advance to slacken . " Sir Galahad " was damaged beyond repair , but her sister ship survived to be re - built post - war . American author Robert Bolia blames the disaster to the use of large LST ships instead of LCUs and other small vessels . Brigadier Julian Thompson blamed the lack of experience of the 5 Infantry Brigade men the main cause of the loss of lives Among the wounded was Simon Weston , who later featured in a BBC documentary showing his treatment for the appalling injuries he received . Weston endured 75 operations in 22 years , after 25 % of his skin suffered third degree burn s . In a subsequent documentary , filmed in Argentina , he met the pilot who bombed his ship , Carlos Cachón , then retired with the rank of Captain . After a later visit of Cachón and his family to Weston ' s home in Liverpool , they have become great friends . Carlos Cachón was born near Balcarce and raised in Mar del Plata , where he currently lives . He is the chief of the security staff in the local offices of the Argentina National Bank . Cachón was awarded the honorific title of " Illustrious Citizen " by the City Council of Mar del Plata on 25 February 2010 . After the war , a memorial for the British soldiers killed in the attack was erected at Fitzroy . On 8 June 2007 , Welsh Guards veterans of the Falklands War held a memorial for the Welsh Guards killed on board " Sir Galahad " .