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Argentinian helicopter wrecks on Mount Kent, East Falkland, Falkland Islands
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Mount Kent is a mountain on East Falkland, Falkland Islands. and is 1,093 ft (333 m) high It is located north of Mount Challenger.
The mountain saw action during the Falklands War during the Assault on Mount Kent, part of the larger Battle of Mount Harriet. Some of the location is still mined.
The mountain's top is occupied by the RRH Mount Kent (Remote Radar Head Mount Kent) of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI), part of an early warning and airspace control network including also RRH Mount Alice and RRH Byron Heights on West Falkland.
On the morning of Friday 21 May 1982, two Harrier GR.3 aircraft from Green Flight, 1 Squadron, RAF, took off from HMS Hermes, flown by Squadron Leader Jerry Pook (callsign Green 1) and Flight Lieutenant Mark Hare (callsign Green 2). Their mission was to provide close air support to the landings that had taken place across the island at San Carlos. For the previous 26 days, a 4-man patrol of the SAS had been in an Observation Post to the north west of Mount Kent overlooking the area. Due to the risk to aircraft taking off from the only airfield on the Falklands, at Port Stanley, the Argentinian air force decided to relocate their helicopter dispersal site inland, and selected this area of relatively flat land nestled between the mountains. But their fate was sealed.
On the ground that day were a Chinook CH-47C heavy lift helicopter, a Puma SA.330L medium lift helicopter, and a Huey UH1 all from CAB 601. Just after 0800 on the Friday morning, the two harriers flew in low towards their target, but on this first pass they spotted their targets too late and could not engage them. Making a risky second pass, they opted to drop one of their BL755 cluster bombs, but Green 1 was too low for the bombs to effectively spread their cargo of bomblets, and Green 2 failed to launch.
Determined to destroy a large proportion of the Argentine helicopter capability that morning, the harriers were to take 3 further passes, each one using their twin 30mm Aden canon, firing high explosive rounds at 40 rounds per second. On pass 3 Green 2 pilot Mark hare punctured the soft skin of the Chinook, causing it to ignite and explode in a ball of aviation fuel. The fourth pass saw damage caused to the Puma by Jerry Pook, but it wasn't yet destroyed. However, on the fifth and final pass, anti-aircraft fire hit and damaged Green 2, causing a non-fatal but serious fuel leak. The attack was over.
It was 5 days later that Squadron Leader Pook would return to the site and finally destroy the Puma in his Harrier GR.3.
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