HMS Coventry


This painting by Charles David Cobb shows the attack by A-4 Seahawks on May 25th. She was struck by two bombs just above the water line on the port side. One of the bombs exploded beneath the computer room, destroying it and the nearby operations room, incapacitating almost all senior officers. The other entered the Forward Engine Room, exploding beneath the Junior Ratings Dining Room where the First Aid Party was stationed and the ship immediately began listing to port. The latter hit caused critical damage as it breached the bulkhead between the forward and aft engine rooms, exposing the largest open space in the ship to uncontrollable flooding. Given the design of the ship, with multiple watertight compartments, two hits virtually anywhere else may have been survivable. Nineteen crew were lost and thirty more were injured.


Falklands War | Falklands War Images



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by Stephen Luscombe