A viewer recalls Operation Wedding from Shetland, where the exercise scenario required British forces to recapture the islands after a Soviet occupation. Harriers and Buccaneers operated overhead while HMS Ark Royal and her escorts remained offshore, and Army vehicles and Scorpion light tanks struggled in the local terrain. The exercise provided an excellent all-arms rehearsal for the sort of island recapture attempted in the Falklands four years later. It connected carrier aviation, escorts, landing forces, and the practical limits imposed by ground conditions.
Notable Point · 48:18-48:58
Operation Wedding rehearsed an island recapture
A memory of Operation Wedding connects a Shetland amphibious exercise, HMS Ark Royal, carrier aircraft, and bogged-down armor with the Falklands recapture four years later.