New book reveals how Argentine soldiers created extraordinary, but deadly, weapons from scrap metal during the Falklands War.
Trapped on the islands and running low on conventional supplies, the Argentinians lashed a rocket launcher to a children’s slide, created a bizarre ‘missile tractor’ and even resorted to medieval stake pits in their attempt to defeat the British task force.
Historian Ricky D. Phillips, 42, who spent years researching the previously untold story about the 1982 conflict, said: ‘These weapons had been spoken of in hushed tones, but it took years of digging to confirm the existence of many of them and to find photographic evidence.
‘The Argentinians have an expression, “atar con alambre”, which means “tied with wires” and dates back to gaucho cowboys in the wild, relying on their wits to fix things.
Trapped on the islands and running low on conventional supplies, the Argentinians lashed a rocket launcher to a children’s slide, created a bizarre ‘missile tractor’ and even resorted to medieval stake pits in their attempt to defeat the British task force
‘There is a widespread misconception that Argentine soldiers in the Falklands were conscripted kids who gave up easily. Although there were some exceptions, our forces faced an army of well-trained men, who are skilled at thinking on their own and using great resourcefulness.
‘Weapons were cobbled together using whatever they could find. Some were ingenious. Others, like the booby traps, pure evil.’
It was home to a treasure trove of agricultural equipment, vehicles, and other items that could become weapons of war.
A rocket launcher was attached to an apple crate with rope and then lashed to the top of a children’s slide on Goose Green. It was powered from a 12-volt car batteries.
The ‘missile tractor’ was used as an improvised artillery unit. A Pucara rocket pod was welded to the top of a tractor and launched rockets using the tractor’s own battery, fired via a switch in the cab. The invaders dug stake pits – deep holes filled with wooden spikes pointing up – covered with branches and leaves intended to give way and impale the victim. It is unknown if soldiers or other locals were killed or seriously injured in this manner.
Argentine troops also rigged boobytraps inside homes and buildings. Coca-Cola cans packed with nails and explosives were one popular ‘bomb’. On kitchen tables, live grenades could even be hidden underneath upturned teacups. The grenade had been placed in a hollowed-out, but was later replaced on a bookshelf. And a mother discovered her daughter’s doll had been booby-trapped with wires leading to a makeshift explosive device.
Pictured: British troops give up to Argentinian soldiers in April 1982
Stanley’s King Edward Memorial Hospital was home to pressure mines.
The vegetables of one woman were dug up, and the anti-personnel mining equipment was hidden underneath. Other ‘dirty tricks’ included shipping napalm bombs to the island (they were never used) and concealing two Exocet weapons on a hospital ship, in violation of international rules of war.
At the end of the conflict, 649 Argentinians were killed and 255 British soldiers died. Three islanders also lost their lives.
- Tied With Wires, by Ricky D. Phillips, is available on Amazon at £9.99.