Perfidious France
From Mr Michael Nicholson Sir: Peter Hammett's adoration of the French is touching (Letters, 26 April), but, as always, there is a story behind a story.
It is true that during the Falklands war the French government officially backed Britain. It is also true that the French imposed sanctions on Argentina. They also provided technical information about the French aircraft our enemy was flying, the Mirage and the Etendard, even allowing our Harrier pilots to fly practice combat against such planes over France.
But what was not generally known then, certainly not to those of us at the receiving end in the South Atlantic, was that a French team of specialist engineers was already in Argentina, at the Espora base, modifying both the Etendard and Mirage so that they could carry the French Exocet missile. The Argentines had originally bought the missile for their ships. That same team remained in Argentina throughout the war, and even volunteered to travel with attack squadrons wherever they were based in case further modifications were necessary. Such was French enthusiasm to ensure that their deadly weapons did their job effectively. And, as a witness to the Exocet attack on HMS Sheffield, I can assure Mr Hammett it was very effective indeed.
It was also an attack that the French armaments industry chose to ignore. A full-page advertisement in the weapons magazine Heracles appeared soon after, applauding the Exocet and the devastation it was capable of.
Yes, Mr Hammett, friends indeed!
Michael Nicholson By email From Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Armitage Sir: So Peter Hammett remembers that the support we received from the Americans during the Falklands conflict was distinctly hesitant. I do not know where he was at the time, but had he been present at the daily meetings of the British chiefs of staff in the Ministry of Defence, he would not be inflicting such arrogant nonsense on us. Michael Armitage Bath, Somerset
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