Helion & Company do a lovely range of military histories under the @War banner. I've reviewed their four volume set on the Iran-Iraq War in the Middle East@War series, and over the last year or so, picked up two volumes written by Mariano Sciaroni (translated by Andy Smith who gets an author credit on the second book) in Helion's Latin America@War series. Both books are worthy of attention.
A Carrier at Risk was published in 2019 and I believe I picked up at a wargaming show shortly after its release. This book covers Argentinian carrier operations and the anti-submarine ops conducted against the Royal Navy during the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982. At the time, I rather enjoyed it and found it extremely enlightening because it was a rare look at the "other" side in that conflict.
At 72-pages, it is long enough to tell the story without padding and there are plenty of photographs and maps to support the text, along with excellent artwork by Javier 'Javo' Ruberto. The author begins with the attempted carrier strike against the British Fleet on the 1st of May, followed by the sinking of the Belgrano. There is then a section detailing the basics of anti-submarine warfare that covers enough to give even the lay-person a good understanding, before detailing the forces arrayed against each other. The core of the book covers the period from the 3rd to the 8th of May and the activities of the Argentinian anti-sub forces compared to the Royal Navy's operations. The author writes well and tells an engaging tale evenly. This approach is supported by the resources he has consulted, including many war diaries and reports of proceedings of the vessels during the conflict. Overall, this is a lovely stand alone volume that covers a section of the conflict that, as far as I can tell, has not received any attention elsewhere outside of personal memoirs.
However, Mr Sciaroni has not stopped there and has had an accompanying volume published at the end of 2020: "Go Find Him and Bring Me Back His Hat". This 72-page book covers the Royal Navy's anti-submarine campaign of the same conflict as well as the Argentinian submarine ops of the same period. Once again, the author has had the benefit of both interviews with key personnel of the conflict (including the captain of the San Luis) as well as access to official diaries and reports of proceedings. Maps, photographs and artwork are of the same calibre as the prior release.
Starting off with a focus on the pre-war/early war activities of HMS Superb, we then move to a highly readable description of the forces used before the core of the book. The tale of the Santa Fe gets seven pages before we move onto the activities of both British and Argentinian forces on the 1st, 5th, and 11th of May. There is a separate chapter on the San Luis from the 8th of May to the end of the conflict.
This is another highly educational tome that combines perfectly with the author's earlier book. For fans of Cold War history, these give you a great insight into how opposing forces fought using weapons and technology that was either old and worked in a limited way, or new and not very reliable. That is something that really brings the bravery of those on both sides of the conflict to the fore. Neither side was really prepared for the conflict that followed the invasion and it shows in both the lack of knowledge and preparation, as well as the reliance on kit that was at best iffy and at worst, a liability. Indeed, having read other books on the conflict (including Jerry Pook's all too honest contribution), it seems to be that success favoured the side whose kit was the last to go unserviceable. What is also evident from these two volumes is that when reading about any conflict, it is vital to cover all of the combatants. Sciaroni does that very well here and as such, I highly recommend these books if they of your period or interest. These books will also being a ton of detail and realism to any Falklands naval game you may want to put on the table.
For those who wish to know more, there is also a Q & A style conversation with the author on YouTube due to be broadcast at 4pm UK time on the 19th March. Use this link here to check that out. I know I shall be.
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