Falklands War
On 2 April 1982, the Argentinian military junta declared possession of the Islas Malvinas and invaded the British Falkland Islands. At the time, Canberra was cruising in the Mediterranean. The next day, her captain Dennis Scott-Masson received a message asking his time of arrival at Gibraltar, which was not on his itinerary. When he called at Gibraltar, he learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had requisitioned Canberra for use as a troopship. Canberra sailed to Southampton, Hampshire where she was quickly refitted, sailing on 9 April for the South Atlantic.[13]
Nicknamed the Great White Whale, Canberra proved vital in transporting 3 Commando Brigade to the islands more than 9000 nmi from the United Kingdom.[13] Canberra was sent to the heart of the conflict.[13]
Canberra anchored in San Carlos Water on 21 May as part of the landings by British forces to retake the islands.[14] Although her size and white colour made her an unmissable target for the Argentine Air Force, Canberra, if sunk, would not have been completely submerged in the shallow waters at San Carlos. However, the liner was not badly hit in the landings as the Argentine pilots tended to attack the warships instead of the supply and troop ships. After the war, Argentine pilots said they were told not to hit Canberra, as they mistook her for a hospital ship.[15] Hospital ships must be painted white, as Canberra always had been, but must also fly a Red Cross flag.[16]
Canberra then sailed to South Georgia, where 3,000 troops were transferred from Queen Elizabeth 2. They were landed at San Carlos on 2 June. When the war ended, Canberra was used as a cartel to repatriate captured Argentine soldiers, landing them at Puerto Madryn, before returning to Southampton to a rapturous welcome on 11 July. Captain Scott-Masson, who had started his apprenticeship on the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line troopship SS Empire Deben in the late 1940s, was awarded a CBE and made an aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II.[13]
