Operation Paraquet

Operation Paraquet
Part of the Falklands War

Antrim's Wessex HAS3, nicknamed "Humphrey", preserved at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, played a crucial role in the operation
Date25 April 1982 (1982-04-25)
Location
South Georgia Island
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Argentina
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • 1 destroyer
  • 2 frigates
  • 1 submarine
  • 1 patrol ship
  • 8 helicopters
  • 250 ground troops[1]
  • 1 submarine
  • 90 ground troops
Casualties and losses
2 helicopters
  • 1 submarine
  • 1 killed
  • 1 wounded
  • 155 captured[2]

Operation Paraquet was the code name for the British military operation to recapture the island of South Georgia from Argentine military control in April 1982 at the start of the Falklands War.

The operation, a subsidiary of the main Operation Corporate—recapture of the Falkland Islands from Argentina—was successful, leading to the island being restored to British control on 25 April 1982.

Officially named "Operation Paraquet", an alternative spelling of parakeet, it was known among British troops as "Paraquat", after the industrial weedkiller.[3]

  1. ^ Rossiter 2007, p. 195.
  2. ^ Freedman 2005, p. 214.
  3. ^ "Captain Brian Young". The Telegraph. 12 Jan 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2019-12-13.