l4sfdrx

410 INTO THE THATCHER ERA
of 'bright green glow worms'. They returned to brief the whole
patrol, which departed an hour later in two helicopters so heavily
laden that they struggled to get airborne.
The excessive weight was caused by the fact that every second
member of the thirty-man SBS fighting patrol carried a beltfeed
General Purpose Machine Gun, in the hope that this massive
firepower, together with tracer ammunition, would allow them
to pretend to be a much bigger force than they really were. By
the time the patrol approached Fanning Head, the Argentine
heavy weapons company were already firing their artillery out
to sea. McManners immediately called in a heavy barrage from
Antrim which consisted of twenty salvoes set as airbursts,
exploding fifty feet above the ground. The massive explosions
turned night into day, and the Argentine guns quickly fell silent.
McManners then called in sporadic rounds to keep the position
busy while his patrol advanced. But Captain Bell's loudspeaker
failed, and efforts to persuade the remaining enemy to surrender
were only partly effective. With dawn fast approaching, an intermittent
fire fight developed, vast clouds of tracer bullets skimming
towards the {'nemy. Fanning Head was soon secure, and
the SBS patrol made its way down to the beach to watch the
main landing force heading up San Carlos Water towards its
landing points. Overhead, Argentine aircraft had already begun
to attack the landing ships and their escorts, extracting a high
cost. Mirage jets from the Argentine Air Force streaked by the
SBS patrol, only fifty feet above the water. 76
It was now the morning of 21 May, and the troubled landings
at San Carlos Water began in earnest. Brigadier Julian
Thompson had arranged for a diversionary attack to be put in
by D Squadron of the SAS at Darwin and Goose Green, where
there were large concentrations of Argentine troops. These
parties were able to call in gunfire from HMS Ardent and HMS
Glamorgan to make their attack look serious: 'Signals intercept
traffic afterwards revealed that the Argentineans believed they
were under attack from the main force, which was our intention:
77 Sigint continued to be fed in a steady stream to Admiral