Falklands 40: Erskine veteran recalls ship being hit by four bombs
Mac McDade sailed on board the naval ship, HMS Plymouth.
Last updated 17th Jun 2022
An Erskine veteran who served in the Falklands War is recalling the moment his ship was attacked by four bombs on June 8 1982.
Mac McDade worked as a chef on board the naval ship HMS Plymouth when Argentine forces invaded the islands.
The conflict lasted for 74 days and killed 255 British military personnel and 3 civilians.
READ MORE: 40 years since the end of Falklands War marked with veteran portraits
He is speaking to Northsound 1 ahead of a parade and memorial service in Edinburgh tomorrow to mark 40 years since the ceasefire.
"One day we were attacked by five fighter bombers and we got hit by four bombs.
"Not one of them exploded, but if one of them did then I probably wouldn't be sitting here today.
"One of them skimmed across the deck, another went straight through the funnel and two ended up hitting the back end where our mortar guns were kept."
Whenever the ship was attacked, it was Mac's job to run to the upper deck to fire a 20mm gun.
He added: "When I was trying to track the passage of aircrafts shooting at us I had to forget about the fact there was somebody else inside.
"It was them or us and in my mind I was just shooting at a plane.
"In a way I had to just detach myself from the fact there was somebody I was potentially going to kill.
"I would not have liked to have been on the lower decks hearing all the noise and not knowing what was going on."
READ MORE: Falklands 40: Major General Alastair Bruce reflects on conflict 40 years on
IN PICTURES : Damage to HMS Plymouth following the attack on June 8th 1982
The 60-year-old recently caught up with a fellow veteran and claims he finds it cathartic to talk about his experiences of the war.
READ MORE: A Short History of The Falklands Conflict
"It tends to be forgotten a lot because it happened so quickly, but it needs to be remembered.
"People should still be educated about it because a lot of lessons were learned too and so it was a valuable experiene.
"It taught us about the conduct of ships, what made them vulnerable.
"We also learned about the endurance of troops on that type of scale."