Barcode: 0 89195 87133 6
Case Pack: 24 pieces per master carton
Box Size: 7.5" x 13" x 1.8"
Features:
- Photo-etched handrails add extra refinement
- Optional photo-etched rotor blades for on-board helicopter
- Antenna and radar reproduced with photo-etched parts
- 4.5-inch L/45 Vickers Mark 8 gun
It is exactly 30 years since the Falklands War broke out between Argentina
and the United Kingdom, a conflict initiated by the Argentine invasion of the
South Atlantic islands. To counter the occupation, the Royal Navy (RN) dispatched
a naval task force and one of its members was the Type 42 guided-missile destroyer
HMS Sheffield (D80). A total of 14 Type 42 vessels were built for the RN, and
ironically, two were also constructed for the Argentinian Navy. Commissioned
on 16 February 1975, HMS Sheffield was the first of class, and it is best known
as being one of the ships sunk during the Falklands War. Sheffield's demise
came about on 4 May 1982 when she was struck amidships by an AM39 Exocet sea-skimming
anti-ship missile. Caught totally off-guard by the attack, the Exocet had been
launched more than 30km away from a Super Etendard aircraft from the Argentine
Navy. Even though the missile failed to detonate, its impact holed the hull
and severed fire mains, which meant the crew could not extinguish the resulting
fires. HMS Sheffield eventually foundered on 10 May and 20 crewmen lost their
lives.
