More 40 mm and other medium-calibre guns around San Carlos Water could have disrupted Argentine attacks. Their value was not limited to shooting aircraft down: evasive flying could spoil aim, consume fuel, and break an attack's geometry. An attacker forced to manoeuvre and reacquire its target could instead be caught by another defensive layer or distracted by chaff and decoys. This changes the peacetime evaluation of a weapon, because disruption and survival count even when no kill is credited. Layered air defence combines detection, evasive pressure, decoys, and destruction.
Notable Point · 20:55-23:27
San Carlos gunfire mattered even without a kill
Medium-calibre weapons could spoil Argentine attack runs, consume fuel, and make aircraft easier for missiles or decoys to defeat.