Aircraft of the Falkland Islands - Malvinas War      Picture Index. 

   Mariano Valasco describes how his plane was hit and who shot him down. 

  A Special Letter from Mariano Valasco,
  the pilot of the Argentinean A-4 Skyhawk 
  Inviting Neil Wilkinson to come and visit in 2009 

Dear Mr. Neil Wilkinson

First of all I want to greet him warmly and apologize for not having answered your e-mail promptly.

I would also like to thank your concepts and manifestarte has wholeheartedly despite the difficult times we live in, not going through my mind any restrictions that would prevent increasing dialogue with you, that would be good until one day we can meet in person. Now the doors of our house are open to welcome you and your family.

We combine bit like my life was going beyond the year 1982

Until 86 years A4 continued flying, make the School of Command and General Staff, Chief of Squadron and Chief of the Air Group IV Air Brigade (Mendoza), Assistant Commander in Chief of the Air Force and was in addition to the Deputy | Embassy of Bolivia (where I play a professor of various subjects at the School of Command and General Staff of the Bolivian Air Force).

In 2000 move to retirement status and I lie in a very quiet place on a mountain, Villa Las Rosas, Córdoba (where my family built a comfortable house rustic, which share a lot with family and friends .

Related to that May 27 will combine little that I lived and appreciated.

After getting around the small hill around San Carlos saw clearly ships landed and materials for your forces.

Before launching armaments (4 bombs braking parachute) land on the goal, I began to feel the impacts on the plane (on the left wing and fuselage), several lights were lit alarm system and hydraulic fuel and saw the jet smoke coming down the left wing through the rearview mirror. I turned west, crossing the channel of San Carlos and on land in Grand Island Malvina I ejected at 1000 feet tall and about two hundred knots.

Then on the ground, I felt at the sound of two planes that turned the plane in flames, and shortly after that left heading east. Prepare the elements for survival and began the march toward the interior of the island, to avoid falling prisoner. Walk slowly around. from 21:00 on 27 because I had an ankle esquinzado to reach land, approximately sixty kilometers left to a post, which arrives on June 29 in the early hours of the morning, where I stayed until three days I was rescued by Argentine troops. The day before I met my rescue three men (villagers) that passed near the shelter, which we exchanged different concepts without any drawbacks.

I was brought up in a car port where Howard spent a few days until I was transferred to the mainland on a hospital ship and then to my home with my family. The sprained my ankle I was a little complicated with tendinitis, so I enyesaron about 45 days. After doing a little physical therapy, I recovered well and here I am enjoying the outdoors, taking care of the park and doing maintenance on a system of trade in parts of my brother, a few hours a week.

In different ways aware that shooting down my plane had taken place by the firing of cannons HSM Fearless, which seems highly unlikely because the vessels were quite right in my career and the flying height was almost impossible shots of the ship that will impact on the left wing, where the fire occurred.

This is a very tight summary of events, I am at your disposal to share other details that serve to clarify the story that we were actors, I repeat again, there is no limitation on my part, each of us and our comrades fulfilled their duty and what happened to us does not establish a genuine friendship.

Possibly for the month of May is likely to have Internet in my house which accelerate the link.

I take this opportunity to welcome you and your family with my highest consideration, an affectionate hug for everyone.

MARIANO