Guns of the Falklands War

Plaza Islas Malvinas in Ushuaia, Argentina. The Argentine flag flies from the flagpole that was captured at Stanley when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982.

Memorial to the 1982 Malvinas/Falklands War at Plaza Islas Malvinas in Ushuaia, Argentina.

A bumper sticker seen in downtown Ushuaia, Argentina that says “After 25 years it's the same feeling: they were, they are and they will always be Argentine! MALVINAS”

Two sailors of the Armada Republica Argentina (Navy of the Republic of Argentina) stand guard at the memorial to the 1982 Malvinas (Falklands) War in Plaza San Martin in the Retiro district of Buenos Aires on November 23, 2008. They are armed with the Fusil Mauser Argentino Modelo 1891 (Model 1891 Argentine Mauser). The Argentine military used Model 1891 and Model 1909 Mauser rifles through the 1950s.

A display in Museo de Armas de la Naciôn (National Arms Museum) at Circulo Militar in central Buenos Aires featuring a .303-caliber Bren Mk. II light machine gun surrendered among the weapons of Naval Party 8901 at Stanley on April 2, 1982.

A display case in Museo de Armas de la Naciôn (National Arms Museum) at Circulo Militar in central Buenos Aires featuring the various firearms manufactured by Argentina’s Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares (the General Directorate of Military Manufacturing or “DGFM”). These include the various military and civilian firearms, notably several versions of FM’s Fusil Automatico Liviano or Light Automatic Rifle.

One of the many minefields that Argentine troops planted in the hills surrounding Stanley harbor in the Falklands. Because of the use of plastic mines like the Italian SB33, these mine fields can neither be detected nor cleared and remain to this day.

An example of the new type of mine warning sign authorized by the 1997 Ottawa Treaty—formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines. This one is on a marked mine field at the base of the northern slope of Mount Longdon, Falklands.

A copy of the M1919A4 machine gun produced by Argentina’s Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares (the General Directorate of Military Manufacturing or “DGFM”) at the state-owned Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles (Military Small Arms Factory or “FMAP”) “Domingo Matheu” in Rosario, Santa Fe. Chambered for the 7.65x53 mm cartridge, this firearm is on display in Museo de Armas de la Naciôn (National Arms Museum) at Circulo Militar in central Buenos Aires.

A sign saying “Bernardo A. Santos fought here” left at a position on the northern face of Mount Longdon on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas conflict. From the city of La Plata near Buenos Aires, Santos served with the Argentine 7th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Regimento de Infanteria Mecanizado 7).

The simple monument built at the site where Sergeant Ian J. McKay of B Company/3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment lost his life and earned the Victoria Cross on Mount Longdon during the pre-dawn hours of June 12, 1982.

A DGFM/FMAP Model 1968 Czekalski 105 mm Recoilless Rifle (“Canon Sin Retroceso”) sits abandoned near the summit of Mount Longdon.

The abandoned pintle of an Argentine M63 mount for the M2HB .50-caliber heavy machine gun lies in the grass on Wireless Ridge.

The abandoned components of the mount for an Argentine M2HB .50-caliber heavy machine gun along with some .50-cal. accessories sit amid the rocks of Wireless Ridge.

An abandoned Argentine sustained fire mount for the FN MAG machine gun sits amid the rocks of Wireless Ridge 26 years after the war.

An Argentine FN MAG Model 60-20 machine gun on the sustained fire mount of the type used during the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict.

A pair of Argentine 7.62x51mm NATO shell casings found by the author on Wireless Ridge 26 years after the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict.