British nuclear weapons and the Falklands War
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The British government did not seriously consider using its nuclear weapons during the 1982 Falklands War. Britain had ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco which established a nuclear-weapon-free zone across Latin America in 1969 and made a commitment in the United Nations during 1978 to not use these weapons against non-nuclear powers such as Argentina. The British War Cabinet never contemplated the use of nuclear weapons but Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher may have done so separately when considering options to respond to a potential serious defeat.
Four of the British Royal Navy warships which were sent to the South Atlantic following the invasion of the Falklands initially carried nuclear depth bombs as part of their standard armament. The head of the British military wanted to retain them on the ships in case the Soviet Union became involved in the war but this was opposed by civilian Ministry of Defence staff. The War Cabinet decided on 8 April 1982 to have these weapons removed before the ships departed. It had to reluctantly reverse this decision three days later due to the impracticality of rapidly offloading the depth bombs. On 28 May the War Cabinet decided that the weapons should be returned to the UK and many of them were shipped back before the end of the conflict. The presence of nuclear depth bombs in the naval task force was reported by journalists soon after the end of the war but not confirmed by the British government until 2003.
It has separately been alleged that a British ballistic missile submarine was sent to the South Atlantic to potentially attack Argentina. This has been denied by senior British government figures as well as the commander of the submarine in question. Historians have found no evidence of such a deployment. Nuclear-capable Avro Vulcan bombers were used in the war but were armed only with conventional bombs.
The British nuclear arsenal did not deter Argentina's invasion of the Falklands on 2 April 1982 due to the commitments the British government had made to not use these weapons. The Argentine government was also unconcerned about the deployment of nuclear-capable British forces during the war. Experts have debated the implications of the war on whether nuclear deterrence prevents conflicts.