How the Royal Navy accidentally took nuclear weapons to the Falklands War on Prince Andrew's warship
- WE.177A nuclear depth charges were on aircraft carrier HMS Invincible
- Prince flew sorties from the Invicible as a Sea King helicopter co-pilot
- The presence of the weapons was not officially confirmed until 2005
The Royal Navy mistakenly took nuclear weapons to the Falklands War, storing them aboard the ship on which Prince Andrew served.
The WE.177A nuclear depth charges were taken aboard aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, from which the Prince flew sorties as a Sea King helicopter co-pilot with 820 Naval Air Squadron.
The Nuclear Information Service report estimates that there were ten warheads aboard Invincible, 16 on the second British carrier, HMS Hermes, and more aboard support ships in the task force dispatched by Margaret Thatcher in 1982.
![Prince Andrew returns from the Falklands War on September 17, 1982, on board HMS Invincible](http://web.archive.org./web/20170223055823/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/18/22/3D64BFAB00000578-0-image-a-43_1487458679345.jpg)
Prince Andrew returns from the Falklands War on September 17, 1982, on board HMS Invincible
![The Nuclear Information Service report estimates that there were ten warheads aboard Invincible](http://web.archive.org./web/20170223055823/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/18/22/3D64BD7400000578-0-image-a-44_1487458687387.jpg)
The Nuclear Information Service report estimates that there were ten warheads aboard Invincible
According to the report, the Royal Navy should have removed the ordnance from the warships before the fleet sailed to the South Atlantic, but the task was not performed since offloading the weapons would have given the Argentinians more time to dig in.
The presence of the weapons aboard British ships in the Falklands War was not officially confirmed until 2005.
An MoD report that year acknowledged the risks involved but added: ‘The operational imperative to dispatch the task force as rapidly as possible was judged by admirals and Ministers to take precedence over the safety advantages of returning the weapons to a home base.’
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