Page 93 - Demo

93The smouldering hulk of the Atlantic Conveyor.Even so, the slow speed of the pipeline and the poor visibility of items intransit were never really resolved and it was perhaps fortunate thathostilities ended before the repercussions were fully felt.ABDRAn RAF ABDR kit was deployed on Hermes and, together withonboard facilities, proved more than adequate to repair the six Harriersthat suffered battle damage, all in the ground attack role. Much of thecredit was attributed to good training and peacetime preparation. Similarsuccess was achieved in repairing a Victor tanker that sufferedsignificant damage from the disintegration of a HDU. By comparison,RN ABDR training was rudimentary, if not non-existent, and nospecialist repair kits were available.17 Moreover, there was a reportedreluctance on the part of some maintenance staff to accept that BDR wassafe!Loss of the Atlantic ConveyorFinally, it would be remiss not to mention the unfortunate loss of theAtlantic Conveyor. Not only did it reveal the vulnerability of the lines ofcommunication but it also had a significant impact on logistic support.The loss of valuable aircraft apart, the destruction of tentage, equipmentfor the Harrier Forward Operating Base, spares, documentation,specialist tools and munitions proved almost as damaging. Air power hasbeen likened to %u2018a thunderbolt launched from an eggshell invisibly