The use of British helicopters in the Falklands War ■ Gao Kai, Zhou Wei In modern war, low altitude and ultra-low altitude air control has become one of the key factors determining the victory or defeat of operations. At low altitude and ultra-low altitude below 1000 meters to 100 meters, it is difficult for all kinds of fixed wing attack aircraft to display, and this is precisely the best activity airspace for helicopters. Especially at the altitude of "one tree high" below 30m above the ground, the helicopter can make full use of the cover of terrain and ground objects, change the speed and altitude according to the position and movement situation of the enemy's fixed and moving targets on the ground and in the air, fly close to the ground flexibly, make a rapid breakthrough in the enemy's gap and blind area, occupy a reasonable position, and grasp the favorable opportunity first, Win the initiative in ground operations. From April to June 1982, in order to compete for sovereignty over the Falklands, Britain and Argentina conducted the largest and most intense joint sea, land and air operation during the cold war. In this war, the British army sent more than 200 helicopters of various types, including "Gazelle", "scout", "zhinugan", "mountain cat", "Wessex" 3 "," Wessex "5", "Sea King" 4 "and" Sea King "5, to participate in the war to carry out diversified tasks such as anti submarine, ground attack, air transportation, material supply and island by island" frog jump ", which is" one tree high " The contest provides a practical sample. Concealed infiltration. In order to clear the outlying strongholds of the Falklands and establish a forward base to occupy the Falklands, the British Army adopted the method of small team formation and concealed infiltration. On April 21, the special Air Service Regiment organized two reconnaissance teams with a total of 30 people and secretly boarded South Georgia, about 1300 kilometers east of the Falklands, by helicopter. After landing on the island, the British reconnaissance found that the defense of the Argentine army on the island was lax. Therefore, when the Argentine "Santa Fe" submarine ran aground in the port of Gretel Viken on the island, the British Special Air Service Regiment launched an attack while the personnel on the boat were evacuated, and landed and attacked by helicopter 3 kilometers away from the port of Gretel Viken under the cover of artillery fire. The Marines also landed with the special air service regiment at the port of Gretel Viken. Airborne advance. The British Army's successful landing through San Carlos Bay on Falklands is inseparable from the cooperation of the landing advance detachment before the main action. Before the beach landing, the commando team mainly established by the British Special Air Service Regiment landed in Cape fanning by helicopter. The occupying Albanian army's surveillance post in the area overlooking the San Carlos Bay made it impossible for it to understand the dynamics of the British army in the waters near the San Carlos port. Then, the British army carried out simultaneous sea landing and vertical landing in multiple points and batches, occupied the favorable terrain of San Carlos port and its vicinity, and built fortifications. In particular, the vertical landing is not affected by hydrology, topography, beaches and obstacles in the water. The speed is several times faster than that of ships, which shortens the exposure time at sea and speeds up the battle process. In only four hours, the British army has established a landing site of 25 square kilometers. Continuous "frog jump". The complex terrain, climate and other natural conditions of Falklands are not only not conducive to the continuous and rapid advancement to land depth after landing, but also bring great difficulties to rear loading support. After landing, the British Army transferred some helicopters near the airport of San Carlos port, and under bad weather conditions, adopted the "leapfrog" tactics to quickly transport landing troops and weapons and equipment, crossing the key points of in-depth tactics on the occupied island. For example, in the land encirclement war against Stanley, the forty-second battalion of the British marines quickly captured the Kent mountain and the mount Charles chin by helicopter. In order to consolidate the line of defense, and advance the artillery, heavy equipment and operational materials with helicopters, the land combat speed was accelerated. Anti submarine and anti-ship. During the operation, British helicopters frequently moved at sea. In the anti submarine operation, the "Bobcat" and "Sea King" helicopters carried out anti submarine patrols over the sea of Ma Island day and night, expanded the scope of blockade operation and enhanced the marine operation effect of the British special task force. The British "Bobcat" helicopter found the Argentine "Santa Fe" submarine during the anti submarine patrol. When it surfaced close to the port of Gretel Viken, the helicopter wounded the submarine with deep-water bomb, anti submarine missile and machine gun fire, which caused heavy damage to the Afghan Navy. As British helicopters cooperated with other forces to attack the Afghan Navy and gained sea control, the threat faced by the British Task Force fleet was reduced. Vertical supply. British Expeditionary operations, supply is a problem. Therefore, in the whole process of land warfare, the British Army adopts the vertical supply mode, and always relies on helicopters to provide force mobility and supply transportation support, including artillery, air defense missiles, radar and most ammunition. With the support of transport capacity, the British ground forces can march lightly under the harsh terrain conditions of the Falklands, reach the predetermined combat area, and then obtain heavy weapons through vertical supply. Although the British Army used helicopters efficiently in the Falklands war, which promoted the combat process, there were also some problems, such as the poor survivability of helicopters. In the Falklands war, although the British "Gazelle" and "scout" helicopters completed the tasks of reconnaissance transportation and limited short-range fire support, their protection ability was poor and suffered great losses in operation. This shows that moderate armor protection is an important guarantee for helicopter safety and mission success rate. Above: the little antelope helicopter that spearheaded the British vertical landing in the Falklands war. (outlook new era)