Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard

My Falklands War scale modelling project , which, be warned, is likely to last as long as the 1982 campaign itself, now focuses on the military inventory of the Argentines. 

This week’s build, is of the aircraft which carried the infamous anti-ship Exocet missile, the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard.

In 1979, the Argentine Navy placed an order to buy fourteen of France's new carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft, the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (French for battle flag). Between August and November 1981, Argentina took delivery of the first five aircraft, each supplied with a single anti-ship sea-skimming Exocet missile. 

In December, General Leopoldo Galtieri, with the support of Admiral Jorge Anaya, head of the Argentine Navy, seized the Presidency of Argentina. Just four months later, on 2 April, the now President Galtieri ordered the invasion the Falkland Islands. Galtieri's seemingly hasty action was driven, both by an urgent need to improve his downward spiralling popularity at home and in 'payment' to Admiral Anaya, for his earlier support in his presidential coup; the invasion proposal being one put forward by Anaya. Galtieri's expectation was that the anti colonial opinion of the international community would be behind him, and as an ally in their El Salvador operations, the United States would be firmly on his side. He also believed that the British would be powerless to intervene particularly in the face of the upcoming winter. On 5 April, however, the British government dispatched its largest naval task force since the Second World War with the order to retake the islands.

The Falklands had only three airfields. The longest and only paved runway was at the capital, Stanley, and even that was too short to support fast jets (although an arrestor gear was fitted in April to support Skyhawks). The Argentines had no option therefore, but to launch their Super Étendard from the mainland, severely hampering their efforts at forward staging, combat air patrols, and close air support over the islands.

Lt Mayora and Cpt Bedacarratz exchange notes after sinking HMS Sheffield

Four Super Étendards of the Second naval fighters strike squadron (2da Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Caza y Ataque EA32), armed with their Exocet anti-ship missiles, were stationed at the Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego naval air base. The threat posed to the British Task Force as it lay off the shores of The Falkland Islands led to the planning of the Mikado and Black Buck Operations. Operation Mikado was the proposed covert mission, led by a Sea King helicopter carrying SAS troops, to destroy the Super Étendards, and Operation Black Buck, was the long range Vulcan bombing mission against Port Stanley's paved runway; the objective being to make it unsafe, even if extended, for fast jets to land there.

Badge of the Second naval fighters strike squadron, 
nicknamed La Lora (female parrot)

The Super Étendards' first attempt to attack the British Task Force with was made on 2 May 1982, but this had to be abandoned due to in-flight-refuelling problems. A couple of day's later, on 4th May, the second attempt resulted in two Super Étendards, flown by Lt Mayora in 3-A-203 and Cpt Bedacarratz in 3-A-202. Mayora and Bedacarratz both released their missiles from about 12 miles out, then banked sharply for home. One missile fell harmlessly into the sea but the other hit the British destroyer, HMS Sheffield, amidships. Although the warhead failed to explode, the impact and resulting fire inflicted mortal damage on the ship and twenty of her crew. 

The infamous anti-ship sea-skimming Exocet missile 

On 25 May, the Argentines launched another attack. 3-A-203 was again one of the aircraft, this time flown by Cpt Curilovic, and Lt Barraza was flying 3-A-204. The primary targets for this mission were the two British aircraft carriers, HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible. Forty miles northwest of the lead carrier, HMS Hermes, the Super Étendards popped up and swept the ships with their radar. Picking the first target they saw, 20 miles from the ships, Curilovic and Barraza launched their missiles, then veered away, outrunning the Sea Harrier which was providing combat air patrol (CAP). The ships launched chaff and turned to bring their anti missile weaponry to bear on the Exocets. One of the missiles fell into the sea, the chaff having confused its targeting systems. The other flew past the carriers until its small internal radar found the Atlantic Conveyor. The missile drove well into its hull before exploding, igniting tons of fuel. Abandoned and left to burn, the transport ship sank several days later, taking with her the helicopters and other supplies that had been intended for the ground war just beginning.

Cpt Curilovic and Lt Barraza prepare for their mission against the British aircraft carriers

On May 30, two Super Étendards, flown by Cpt Francisco and Lt Collavino (3-A-202 & 3-A-205), Collavino carrying Argentina's last remaining Exocet, were joined by four Air Force A-4C Skyhawks of Grupo IV for an attack on carrier HMS Invincible. Two of the Skyhawks were shot down by Sea Dart missiles from HMS Exeter during their final approach, and while they were following the wake of the Exocet missile. 

With the European Economic Community, and thus France, having placed an embargo on fulfilling the Argentine order for their remaining nine Exocet missiles, Argentina looked to other markets to acquire the weapon, but it was fortunate for the British, that their search was in vein and the Super Étendards were to take no further part in the war, fortunate for the British, that only five AM.39 Excites had been delivered to Argentina.

Once the conflict was over, the rest of the Super Étendards shipment was delivered, however, Super Etendard 3-A-203 was lost in a fatal crash on 29 May 1996 while attempting to land on Punta Indio airstrip, in Northern Argentina.

This model of the Super Étendards is the 1984 Heller kit reboxed and distributed by Airfix in 1990. Now being a somewhat rare kit to acquire, I ironically purchased it second hand in September 2021 from Oxfam's online store for £20.00! Hannants after market Argentinian decals were then used to complete the build as aircraft 0753 which in March 1982 was with 2 Escadrille as '3-A-203'. Deployed to Rio Grande from Espora between 19-20 April 1982, it was used on the missions of 4 May and 25 May 1982 and subsequently marked with silhouettes to show the losses of HMS Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor.

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The model

Brand: Airfix

Title: Super Etendard
Number: 03060
Scale: 1:72
Released: 1990 | Rebox (Changed box only)