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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
OPERATION BLACKLEG
Operation Blackleg (16 September 1982 – 28 January 1983) was the Royal Navy’s covert post Falklands operation to recover NATO sensitive cryptographic equipment and classified documents from the wreck of HMS Coventry. Lying on her port side more than 100 metres below the surface north of West Falkland Island, Coventry still contained material whose compromise posed a serious intelligence risk. To address this, the Royal Navy formed Naval Party 2200, drawn from its deep trials and saturation diving specialists and operating from the saturation diving vessel Stena Seaspread.
While the operation comprised five saturation dives, Dive 003 stands apart as the most dangerous and consequential phase. Beginning on 10 November 1982, the team was tasked with penetrating the ship’s Operations Room and Computer Room to recover remaining Ministry of Defence items. The dive was marked by multiple underwater blowback incidents during oxy arc cutting, including one that ruptured a diver’s eardrums and another that cracked the faceplate of a hard helmet. The confined, unstable interior of a battle damaged destroyer at depth proved unforgiving.
During Dive 003, a critical incident occurred when Petty Officer Diver Michael Harrison became trapped inside the Computer Room, entangled in cabling and wreckage while recovering cryptographic tapes. Under instruction from dive control, Leading Diver Ray Sinclair navigated the passageways to free him, preventing what could easily have been a fatal outcome. Harrison later received the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, underscoring the extreme risk faced by the team.
Canada’s contribution to this phase of Operation Blackleg deserves particular recognition. Charles "Chuck" Edwards, serving as part of Dive 003, entered Captain David Hart Dyke’s cabin alongside Leading Diver Kevan Daber. Their task was to clear the compartment so subsequent divers could access the Captain’s safe and recover highly classified documents. In the course of this work, Edwards and Daber also located and recovered the Cross of Nails, a powerful symbol linked to the wartime destruction of Coventry Cathedral. The discovery was unplanned, found by professional happenstance amid hazardous clearance work, yet it became one of the most enduring human moments of the operation.
Operation Blackleg concluded with the successful recovery of all classified material and the demolition of remaining missiles and sensitive equipment. It remains a largely unpublicized example of Cold War naval professionalism. Dive 003, and the role played by Lt Charles “Chuck” Edwards, stands as a reminder that allied naval history is often shaped quietly, in darkness and depth, by individuals whose contributions merit lasting acknowledgment.
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