The intensity of Argentine air attacks led the Navy to disperse vulnerable merchant shipping from the anchorage, especially as Argentine crews corrected bomb-fuzing problems. Canberra had been intended to support a dressing station, carried 90,000 24-hour ration packs and much of the medical staff, but its departure forced the dressing station ashore to the old meat-packing factory at Ajax Bay. Troops landed from Canberra and Norland with only the equipment they carried, leaving roughly 3,000 men dependent on the logistic regiment. Fewer ships meant fewer targets and fewer restricted firing arcs where defenders risked hitting friendly vessels. Aircraft could exploit those no-fire areas by passing close to friendly shipping and forcing defenders to hold fire. The decision made tactical sense at sea, yet it created an immediate operational crisis ashore because medical personnel, rations, and other stores still had to be landed from ships ordered away.
Chapter · 37:02-39:40
Clearing San Carlos protects ships but disrupts the landing force
Moving vulnerable merchant ships out of San Carlos reduces targets and air-defence no-fire zones, but removes supplies and medical facilities before unloading is complete.