The LCVP

Explains the secondary role of the Landing Crafts in the Operation plans, shows pictures and video of the LCVP that proof that there's no battle damage in it, follows the procedure to identify this boat as one of the two captured in good condition by British forces after the cease fire.

LCVPs in Operación Rosario

No LCVP was used in the front line of the Argentine landing, and passing through the narrows was never an option for any of the possible landing schemes devised by the Argentine Navy:

Click on pictures to enlarge

All the schemes envisaged the use Zodiacs for the Navy Commandos, LVTP-7 for the Marines, and Helicopters for more Marines from BIM1 to cut the road between Moody Brook and Governor’s House, but they had a last-minute mechanical failure, missing the action. The LCVPs were simply used as material and personnel transports after the airfield beachhead was secured, and two of them were left in Stanley to serve throughout the conflict, numbers 9 and 23.

How was the LCVP sunk?

So this LCVP was supposedly sunk in Stanley, by anonymous British soldiers with a 84 mm. Carl Gustav HEAT munition, since Major Norman from NP8901 denies his troopers were responsible: (The Falklands War - There and Back Again: The Story of Naval Party 8901 (2019), page 149):

Phillips explains this discrepancy by mixing a lot of rumours from the scared Stanley inhabitants, to establish that there were a secret SBS squad in Navy Point and all around the town, citing multiple, mostly unnamed, witnesses; and even asseverates that one of the SBS was hidden so close to the action, that his fingers were run over by one of the Amtracs. (The First Casualty (2017), Appendix 4: Mystery Men)

Another incredible aspect of the story is that the only witness of the explosion is the fireman Neville Bennett, who was at his home, 2600 meters away from The Narrows, and in complete darkness, since it happened before the dawn. More on that in a future article.

How was the LCVP found?

The author teamed up with some islanders, and coordinated from London an underwater search with a sonar equipped boat, only to find out that the LCVP was apparently already dragged up by the Royal Navy in the previous years, and was abandoned in Moody Brooks. It’s opportune to clarify that the author has never been in the Falklands or in Argentina.

That was the only picture of the LCVP printed on his book, but he posted a picture of the other side in his Twitter account:

But this picture doesn’t show any sign of damage either, and let me say that this boat looks suspiciously good for being underwater for years. Thankfully, Phillips finally published a more detailed picture, showing what he says is the attempt to fix it and make the boat seaworthy again:

Despite the claim that it was found in Moody Brook, the LCVP currently sits in the southern outskirts of Stanley:

Here is visible from the air:

New Pictures of the LCVP

In December of 2019, I received pictures and video of this Landing Craft from two sources that traveled to the islands, and I noticed several points:

First, this “patch” has an exact counterpart at the other side of the boat, in the same location:

Second, this feature is also present in other Argentine and foreign boats:

What Phillips asserts is a repair patch, is in fact a reinforcement present in many other Higgins boats, at least the ones made of metal; the older wooden LCVPs have different “patches”:

Third, another thing my friend noticed about this abandoned LCVP is that it has two panels at the forward section of the sides:

If you look again at the pics of the other boats above, they only have a single panel in that section.

Now let’s take a look at this pic of the LCVPs #9 and #23 being lowered from the ARA Cabo San Antonio:

A double panel is clearly visible in #9 side, making pretty sure that the boat sitting in Stanley is in fact #9, but the numbers have been erased by weathering. Again, here’s more pictures of #9 and #23 moored in Stanley harbor after the end of hostilities, next to a RFA Round Table class transport, possibly L3036 Sir Percivale:

Not only they survived the conflict, LCVP #23 was modified and used to transport sheep afterwards:

New Post War Picture of the LCVP

A previously unseen picture of the LCVP surfaced in this Facebook group (picture is the 38th of that large collection) called 'Falklands History, The Facts', showing two British soldiers posing next to it. It is undoubtedly our LCVP in question, showing the 'double panel' distinctive feature discussed previously. [The picture disappeared from the collection, coincidentally, Ricky D. Phillips is one of the administrators of that group]

The distinctive beret of the second soldier is a Tam o' Shanter, used only by a limited number of Scottish regiments. One of those regiments were the Queen's Own Highlanders who arrived on July 1st, 1982. They were too late to participate in combat, so they ended up replacing part of the troops that fought on Operation Corporate. I asked in several Facebook QO HLDR groups, and one of the Sergeants of D Company helped me to obtain precise information:

"[We arrived on]1 Jul to 20 Jul 82. We were sent to take West Falkland but the garrison there surrendered before we got there so we ended up being the 'clean up' garrison who reburied the dead (both sides) and cleared as much of the debris of war that we could, until Dec 82, when we were relieved by the Royal Hampshire Regiment [1 R HAMPS].

Soldier at rear of photo is nicknamed 'Geordie' and the front soldier is called Sammy. Location confirmed as East Beach by Stanley Airport. i.e. if you look at Whalebone Cove then go NORTH there is a very wide beach (called Yorke Bay) which is where Sammy recalls there being the LCVP and a destroyed Panhard armoured vehicle. Locals in the Falklands have confirmed it and the vehicle are no longer there but unsure when they were removed/scrapped. This is all we can recall - sorry. [Picture was taken in] Mid July, 1982."

 From this picture and the information kindly provided, we can say a couple of things:

The double panel is present and the lack of ID number match with the one pictured in The First Casualty. If its LCVP #9 with the ID number erased, or a third landing craft previously unaccounted for, it's subject to further investigation.

It clearly shows that there's no damage or reparation signs on its side, and that 'welded and riveted patch' claimed by Phillips is just a structural feature of the boat. 

UPDATE FEB 23:

 I found another picture of the LCVP in the Facebook Group called "Comando Xma Brigada" (picture number 30 of the 'Moody Brook' album), uploaded in May 2012. The boat is clearly more weathered, suggesting it's from a few years after the war. The wider shot also permits to situate the LCVP in the vicinity of Moody Brook, as some islanders like Taff Davies and Gavin Short have commented in reaction to my posts in Facebook Groups.

I asked my contact in the QO HLDR about the discrepancy with his account:

"The Jocks said they were certain it was York Bay but that could be Moody Brooke in the background left side.. after 40 years all our memories are going I think. Could it have been moved for target practice or to tidy up the barracks area?"

Despite the location issue, the conclusions still stand: there's no sign of impact, the craft is the same pictured in The First Casualty, and the 'patch' is an integral structural feature.

 

Next: LVTP-7: Intro