The Special Air Service in the Falklands War: A Critical Reassessment

Abstract

This article reassesses the contribution of the Special Air Service (SAS) in the 1982 Falklands War. Drawing mainly on primary sources, Argentine as well as British, it demonstrates that while the SAS performed valuable roles, particularly in intelligence gathering, their contribution elsewhere and especially in several direct actions was less impressive. It argues that this resulted from the difficulties the SAS experienced in working alongside conventional forces whose operations they little understood and whose ethos they did not share. The article thus serves as a corrective to celebratory accounts promoted since the war, not least by the SAS itself.