Battle of San Carlos ( 1982 ) The Battle of San Carlos was a major battle between aircraft and ships that lasted from 21 to 25 May 1982 during the British landings on the shores of San Carlos Water ( which became known as " Bomb Alley " ) in the 1982 Falklands War ( ) . Low - flying land - based Argentine jet aircraft made repeated attacks on ships of the British Task Force . It was the first time in history that a modern surface fleet armed with surface - to - air missiles and with air cover backed up by STOVL carrier - based aircraft defended against full - scale air strikes . The British sustained severe losses and damage , but were able to create and consolidate a beachhead and land troops . Background . After the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands the United Kingdom initiated Operation Corporate sending a Task Force 12000 km south in order to retake the islands . Under the codename Operation Sutton the British forces planned amphibious landing s around San Carlos , on an inlet located off Falkland Sound , the strait between East Falkland and West Falkland . The location was chosen as the landing force would be protected by the terrain against Exocet and submarine attacks , and it was distant enough from Stanley to prevent a rapid reaction from Argentine land troops stationed there . The landing took the Argentines completely by surprise ; Argentine Navy officers had considered that the location was not a good choice for such an operation , and had left the zone without major defences . Argentine aircraft . Argentine forces operated under range and payload limitations as they had limited refuelling resources and were operating at maximum range . British amphibious force . British air cover was provided for the first time by " Harrier carriers " . These small carriers deployed only short - takeoff , vertical - landing Harriers , subsonic aircraft with less range and payload than land or conventional carrier - based aircraft . Engagements . This is a list of the main sorties carried out by Argentine air units showing approximate local time , Aircraft and Call sign al . 21 May . The Argentine Army force on site was a section from the 25th Infantry Regiment named " Combat team Güemes " ( ) located at Fanning Head . The British fleet entered San Carlos during the night and at 02 : 50 was spotted by " EC Güemes " which opened fire with 81mm mortars and two recoilless 105mm rifles . They were soon engaged by British naval gunfire and a 25 - man SBS team and forced to retreat , losing their communications equipment but shooting down two Gazelle helicopters with small - arms fire , killing three members of the two aircrews . 1st Lt Carlos Daniel Esteban from " EC Güemes " informed Goose Green garrison about the landings at 08 : 22 ( he was finally evacuated by helicopter on 26 May ) . The Argentine high command at Stanley initially suggested that a landing operation was not feasible at San Carlos and the operation was just a diversion . Finally , at 10 : 00 , a COAN Aermacchi MB - 339 jet based on the islands was dispatched to San Carlos on a reconnaissance flight . In the meantime , the FAA had already started launching their mainland - based aircraft at 09 : 00 . 22 May . Bad weather over the Patagonia airfields prevented the Argentines from carrying out most of their air missions ; only a few Skyhawks managed to reach the islands . The British completed their surface - to - air Rapier battery launcher deployments . 24 May . On 24 May night there was a kind of mutiny between the Argentine pilots on the continent , who said they would refuse to continue flying if the Army and Navy did not join the battle . General Galtieri , acting president of Argentina , decided to visit Comodoro Rivadavia the next day , 25 May ( Argentina ' s National Day ) , to try to convince them to keep fighting , but when he arrived in the morning the pilots had changed their minds and were already flying to the islands . Aftermath . In spite of the massive air defence network , the Argentine pilots were able to attack their targets but , although undoubtedly brave , some serious procedural failures prevented them from getting better results – most notably problems with their bombs ' fuses . Thirteen bombs hit British ships without detonating . Lord Craig , the retired Marshal of the Royal Air Force , is said to have remarked : " Six better and we would have lost " . The British warships , although themselves suffering most of the attacks , were successful in keeping the strike aircraft away from the landing ships , which were well inside the bay . With the British troops on Falklands soil , a land campaign followed until Argentine General Mario Menéndez surrendered to British Major General Jeremy Moore on 14 June in Stanley . The subsonic Harrier jump - jet , armed with the most advanced variant of the Sidewinder air - to - air missile , proved capable as an air superiority fighter . The actions had a profound impact on later naval practice . During the 1980s most warships from navies around the world were retrofitted with close - in weapon system s and guns for self - defence . First reports of the number of Argentine aircraft shot down by British missile systems were subsequently revised down .