Moments Before the Exocet Storm HMS Sheffield Under Captain Salt Falklands War





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1 Large Historic Dramatic British Naval Marine Oil Painting HMS Sheffield Destroyer Ship Moments Before The Exocet Missile Strike Surprise Attack Storm Falklands War 1982 Captain Salt In Command.

Subject marine Royal navy destroyer ship HMS Sheffield steaming along in side profile facing towards the right in really rough treachorous waves of the south Atlantic high seas in very choppy seas.

Impress your clients & guests make an art statement with this breathtaking nautical masterpiece to display on your office wall space or home interior.

Signed in the bottom corner by the British artist A.E.Phillips.

Circa late 20th century 1990's.

Medium oil on board.

Set in original silver painted contemporary wood frame.

Large proportion sized frame being 84 cm wide and 48.5 cm high.

Title HMS “Sheffield” Falklands War Shortly Before Argentine Surprise Attack Exocet Missile.

HMS Sheffield D80 was a Type 42 guided missile destroyer and the second Royal Navy ship to be named after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. Commissioned on 16 February 1975 the Sheffield was part of the Task Force 317 sent to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War. She was struck and heavily damaged by an Exocet air-launched anti-ship missile from an Argentine Super Étendard aircraft on 4 May 1982 and foundered while under tow on 10 May 1982. The ships motto was Deo Adjuvante Labor Proficit (Latin) "With God's help our labour is successful"). Nickname Shiny Sheff. Length 125 m (410ft 1 in). Beam 14.3 m (46ft ft 11 in) & draught 5.8 m (19ft). Speed 30 knots, compliment 21 officers & 249 ratings.

The first of the Type 42 class, Sheffield, was initially fitted with the odd-looking "Mickey Mouse" ears on her funnel tops which were in fact exhaust deflectors – "Loxton bends" – for the Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines, to guide the high-temperature exhaust efflux sidewards and minimise damage to overhead aerials. As this provided a prominent target for then-new infrared homingmissiles, only Sheffield and the next two in the class, the Argentinian Hérculesand Santísima Trinidad, had these 'ears'. Sheffield was the only one of her class to not be fitted with STWS II triple anti-submarine torpedo tube. Ordered in 1968 Sheffield was laid down on 15 January 1970 and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness. An explosion during construction killed two dockyard workers and damaged a section of hull which was replaced with a section from an identical ship, Hércules, being built for the Argentine Navy. Sheffield was launched on 10 June 1971 by Queen Elizabeth II and was estimated to have cost £23,200,000 to build.

As the first of her class of Royal Navy destroyers, Sheffield spent her first years trying out the new systems and the Sea Dart missile system, particularly as the intended Sea Dart trials ship, HMS Bristol, suffered serious fires and problems with its steam systems restricting its use in the late 1970s. It was not until 1980 that Sheffield became effective, with Sea Dart and partial installation of electronic warfare Abbey Hill systems. Following a refit in the early 1980s, significant design issues with the ship's Type 909 radar (which was responsible for control and targeting of the Sea Dart missiles) were identified. The ship lacked an electronic countermeasures (ECM) jammer.

In June 1981 she participated in Exercise Roebuck, following which she fired five Sea Dart missiles. Following participation in Exercise Ocean Safari she sailed in November 1981 to undertake patrols in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. She was undergoing maintenance at Mombasa when Captain James Salt took over command on 26 January 1982. Both Salt (whose most recent service had been in submarines) and his second in command (who had been an anti-submarine helicopter observer) had little or no relevant experience in surface ships and little experience in air defence. In March 1982 the ship transited north through the Suez Canal to participate in Exercise Spring Train, which was held in the Atlantic Ocean.

Departing for the South Atlantic on 2 April, Sheffield reached Ascension Island on 14 April, accompanied by HMS Arrow, HMS Brilliant, HMS Coventry, HMS Glasgow to be later joined by RFA Appleleaf. They joined other vessels of the Task Force 317 and commenced operations in the Total Exclusion Zone around the Falklands on 1 May 1982. It was British policy that any Royal Navy vessel that suspected itself to be under missile attack turn toward the threat, accelerate to maximum speed and fire chaff to prevent the ship being caught defenceless. The codeword used to start this procedure was 'handbrake', which had to be broadcast once the signal of the Super E Agave radar of Super Étendard aircraft was picked up. Within the task force, the threat from the Type 209 submarine was seen as a higher priority than the threat from the air. Following the sinking of General Belgrano, Captain Salt had ordered the ship to change course every 90 seconds to counter any potential Argentine submarine threat.

In response to the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, Sheffield was ordered on 2 April 1982 to join the task force being assembled to retake the islands. Ammunition and supplies were loaded, loose fittings stowed, and unnecessary memorabilia disembarked. All carpets were removed except for those on Deck 1 and above (which subsequently caught fire when she was hit). To avoid her being mistaken for the Argentine Hércules and Santísima Trinidad, a vertical black marking was painted on the funnel and down to the side to her waterline to aid recognition. Departing for the South Atlantic on 2 April, Sheffield reached Ascension Island on 14 April, accompanied by HMS Arrow, HMS Brilliant, HMS Coventry, HMS Glasgow to be later joined by RFA Appleleaf. They joined other vessels of the Task Force 317 and commenced operations in the Total Exclusion Zone around the Falklands on 1 May 1982.

It was British policy that any Royal Navy vessel that suspected itself to be under missile attack turn toward the threat, accelerate to maximum speed and fire chaff to prevent the ship being caught defenceless. The codeword used to start this procedure was 'handbrake', which had to be broadcast once the signal of the Super E Agave radar of Super Étendard aircraft was picked up. Within the task force, the threat from the Type 209 submarine was seen as a higher priority than the threat from the air. Following the sinking of General Belgrano, Captain Salt had ordered the ship to change course every 90 seconds to counter any potential Argentine submarine threat.

The Exocet that struck Sheffield hit her on the starboard side at deck level 2, travelling through the junior ratings' scullery and breaching the Forward Auxiliary Machinery Room/Forward Engine Room bulkhead 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) above the waterline, creating a hole in the hull roughly 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) by 3 metres (9.8 ft) Of the 281 crew members, 20 (mainly on duty in the galley area and computer room) died in the attack with another 26–63 injured, mostly from burns, smoke inhalation or shock. Only one body was recovered. The survivors were taken to Ascension Island on the tanker British Esk. The wreck is a war grave and designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Provenance direct from the artist A.E.Phillips of Middlesex, Shire private collection & Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.

Hanging thread on the back ready for immediate wall display.

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Condition report.

Offered in fine used condition.

Painting surface is overall good condition, with some craquelure & foxing stains commensurate with usage & age. Frame which has various general wear, scuffs, chips, losses & repairs with some minor paint touch ups to the upper edges.

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Dimensions in centimetres of the frame

High (48.5 cm)
Wide (84 cm)
Depth (4 cm)






Reserve: $4,158.00

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