"What about HMS Sheffield, the type 42 guided missile destroyer which didn't exactly destroy any missiles ! An Exocet missile saw to her." - Guest Egan.

A couple of points Guest Egan.
Point 1:
Type 42 Guided Missile Destroyers were designed and built to provide close anti-aircraft protection for Aircaft carriers, they were meant to replace the RN's County Class Sea Slug armed missile destroyers - They were not built specifically to destroy missiles

Point 2:
She was hit by an Exocet Missile that failed to sink her, she did not sink she was scuttled the following day.

"It was a failure in every respect, as it was designed to provide a naval fleet with defences against an attack from the air, it was even fitted with Sea Dart surface-to-air missile systems, which as you will be aware are useless."

Point 3:
Sea Dart's success rate against targets attacking towards (easy target) was 99.8%, it's success rate against crossing targets (hardest) was about 96%. That puts Sea Dart way above the USN Super Terriers in terms of performance. Sea Dart was never designed to chop a sea skimming missile like Exocet.

"Communications in the navy must have been poor as the first anyone knew that something had happened to the Sheffield was when a Lynx helicopter landed on the deck of HMS Hermes and verbally told them !"

Point 4:
Utter crap, the following is what was reported:

"At approximately 10 A.M. on the 4 May, HMS Sheffield was at defence watches, second degree readiness, as part of the British Task Force dispatched to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War. Sheffield had relieved her sister Coventry as the latter was having technical trouble with her Type 965 radar. Sheffield and Coventry were chatting over UHF. Communications ceased until an unidentified message was heard flatly stating "Sheffield is hit".

That Guest Egan was when the RN first knew something had happened to the Sheffield. To continue, because now we come to your bit -

"The flagship, Hermes dispatched the escorts Arrow and Yarmouth to investigate, and a helicopter was launched. Confusion reigned until Sheffield's Lynx helicopter unexpectedly landed aboard Hermes carrying the Air Operations Officer and Operations Officer, confirming the disaster."

Note Guest Egan it was Sheffield's helicopter with two passengers that landed on Hermes, serves as a good indication of how badly Sheffield had been hit, she could range her helicopter shove two passengers in it and launch it after the missile had struck.

"Sheffield boasted that it carried the type 965 radar system. It was so outdated even then. The Exocet missile that whacked the Sheffield had been fired from six miles away and she never saw it coming !"

Wrong again Guest Egan

"Sheffield picked up the incoming missiles on her ancient Type 965 radar (an interim fitting until the Type 1022 set was available), and the Operations Officer informed the Missile Director, who queried the contacts in the ADAWS 4 fire control system. The launch aircraft had not been detected as the British had expected, and it was not until smoke was sighted that the target was confirmed as sea skimming missiles (That is your six miles bit - but the 965 "double bedstead" had detected the missiles before that). Five seconds later, an Exocet impacted Sheffield amidships, approximately 8 feet above the waterline on Deck 2, tearing a gash in the hull. Whilst the other one splashed into the sea half a mile off her port beam. Such was the lack of warning, there was no time to engage in defensive manoeuvres, leading to a change in policy that all ships believing to be even possibly under missile attack would turn toward the threat, accelerate to maximum speed and fire chaff to prevent a ship being caught defenceless again.

The MOD report into the sinking of the Sheffield concluded that; "Evidence indicates that the Warhead did not detonate". Some of the crew and members of the Task Force believe however that the missile's 165 kilogram warhead did in fact detonate upon impact. Regardless, the impact of the missile and the burning rocket motor set Sheffield ablaze. Accounts suggest that the initial impact of the missile immediately crippled the ship's onboard electricity generating systems and fractured the water main, preventing the anti-fire mechanisms from operating effectively, and thereby dooming the ship to be consumed by the raging fire. It is also suggested that the ship's anti-missile radar was incompatible with the satellite communications link which reduced the chance of the Exocet being intercepted, although neither the Type 965 radar nor the Sea Dart missiles carried by Type 42s are particularly well suited to intercepts of low-flying missiles.

The burnt-out hulk was taken in tow by the Rothesay class frigate Yarmouth; high seas led to slow flooding through the hole in the ships side so she was scuttled (on Admiralty orders) at 53°04'S, 56°56' W on 10 May 1982.

Additional piece of information here for your pal Guest Windsor Knot - "Twenty of her crew (mainly on duty in the Galley-area) died during the attack." The wreck is a war grave and designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

The official report into the sinking of Sheffield, recently disclosed under UK Freedom of Information laws after an extensive campaign by ex-RN personnel, severely criticised the ship's fire-fighting equipment, training and procedures and certain members of the crew.

The Exocets were fired from two Super Étendards launched from Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Naval Air Base. Piloted by Lieutenant Armando Mayora and Captain Augusto Bedacarratz, who commanded the mission.

Here is the Argentine version:

"Sheffield was first detected by an Argentine Navy patrol aircraft Lockheed SP-2H Neptune (2-P-112) at 7:50 AM on May 4. The Neptune kept the British ships under surveillance, verifying Sheffield's position again at 8:14 and 8:43. Two Argentine Navy Super Étendards (3-A-202 and 3-A-203) both armed with Exocets took off from Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego at 9:45 and met with an Argentine Air Force tanker KC-130H Hercules at 10:00 hrs. At 10:35, the Neptune climbed to 1,170 metres (3,500 feet) and detected a large and two medium-sized contacts at the coordinates 52º 33 55 South, 57º 40 55 West map. A few minutes later, the Neptune contacted both Super Étendards with this information. Flying at very low altitude, around 10:50, both Super Étendards climbed to 160 metres (500 feet) to verify these contacts, but, not finding any, decided to continue. 25 miles (40 km) later they climbed again and, after a few seconds of scanning, the targets appeared on their radar screens. Both pilots loaded the coordinates in their weapons systems, turned back to low level, and after last minute checks, launched their AM39 Exocets at 11:04 from 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) away from their targets.

So much for - "The Exocet missile that whacked the Sheffield had been fired from six miles away and she never saw it coming !"