Memorial service remembers 20 sailors who lost their lives when HMS Sheffield was sunk during the Falklands War

Royal Navy veterans have remembered 20 sailors who lost their lives after HMS Sheffield was sunk during the Falklands War.

Veterans gathered yesterday (Sunday, May 3) at the memorial in Old Portsmouth for an emotional service commemorating the sinking of the Type 42 destroyer. During the service they remembered those from the ships’ company who lost their lives after the ship was hit by a missile off Port Stanley in the South Atlantic on May 4, 1982.

Veterans were joined by cadets, civic dignitaries and family members at the memorial service where wreaths were laid and prayers were also said.

The destroyer was struck on her starboard side by an Argentine Exocet missile in an attack which left 20 personnel dead and another 26 injured. Approximately half of those who died did so on impact, with the remaining victims dying due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning as the fires spread through the ship’s decks.

The crew of the Sheffield fought for almost four hours to save the ship before Captain James ‘Sam’ Salt ordered them to abandon ship. Flooding caused Sheffield to roll over and sink on May 10, 1982.

She was the first British ship to be lost in enemy action since the Second World War, and the first of four British ships sunk by the Argentine air force in the Falklands War.

The loss of HMS Sheffield became a watershed moment for the Royal Navy. The lessons learned from this tragic loss improved firefighting systems, breathing apparatus, the removal of flammable internal materials and knowing your escape routes.