50 free Falklands War trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Falklands War lasted just 74 days in 1982, from Argentina's Operation Rosario landings on 2 April to the surrender at Stanley on 14 June, yet it killed 649 Argentines, 255 Britons and three islanders, sank a Second World War cruiser and a brand-new Type 42 destroyer, and remade the politics of both countries. Britain's task force of 127 ships sailed 8,000 miles on the word of a First Sea Lord who told Margaret Thatcher it 'could and should' be done. This quiz follows the whole campaign: the scrap-metal men on South Georgia, Resolution 502, Haig's shuttle diplomacy, the requisitioned liners Canberra and QE2, the Vulcan flights of Black Buck, the sinking of the Belgrano and HMS Sheffield, the landings at Bomb Alley, H. Jones at Goose Green, the burnt-out Sea King in Chile, Sir Galahad at Port Pleasant, and the night battles on Longdon and Tumbledown. There are also questions on the junta, the 'Gotcha' headline, Prince Andrew's helicopter, 'Fortress Falklands', the 2013 referendum and the minefields cleared only in 2020. Fifty questions, four options each, with a short explanation after every answer. Play on your phone or print it for a history quiz night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many days did the Falklands conflict last?
74
It ran from the invasion on 2 April 1982 to the Argentine surrender on 14 June.
Q 02Besides the Falklands, which other islands did Argentina invade the next day, 3 April 1982?
South Georgia
A small British force recaptured it on 25 April, prompting Thatcher's 'Just rejoice at that news'.
Q 03How many Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities?
Three
Argentine losses were 649 military personnel and British losses 255.
Q 04The Falklands had been a British Crown colony since which year?
1841
Islanders are mostly descendants of British settlers and strongly favour British sovereignty.
Q 05Which British prime minister secretly sent two frigates and a nuclear submarine south in 1977?
James Callaghan
Operation Journeyman sent HMS Dreadnought after Argentina occupied Southern Thule.
Q 06Which minister pitched a leaseback scheme to islanders in 1980 and was savaged in Parliament?
Nicholas Ridley
Britain wanted a 99-year lease; Argentina pressed for just thirty. Ridley warned: 'If we don't do something, they will invade.'
Q 07Which general headed the Argentine junta that ordered the invasion?
Leopoldo Galtieri
Admiral Jorge Anaya was the main architect of the military option, betting Britain would never respond.
Q 08Who were the Argentine party that raised their flag at Leith Harbour on 19 March 1982?
Scrap metal merchants
The group had been infiltrated by Argentine marines; the act is seen as the war's first offensive move.
Q 09Which ice patrol ship was Britain's only naval presence in the South Atlantic before the war?
HMS Endurance
Defence Secretary John Nott's 1981 White Paper had planned to withdraw her, which Captain Barker felt signalled weakness.
Q 10What was the Argentine codename for the 2 April landings?
Operation Rosario
Governor Rex Hunt's 68 marines and 11 hydrographers fought briefly before he ordered a ceasefire.
Q 11Who was the Governor of the Falkland Islands at the time of the invasion?
Sir Rex Hunt
He and his family were flown to Montevideo that afternoon and later repatriated.
Q 12Which First Sea Lord told Thatcher Britain 'could and should' send a task force?
Sir Henry Leach
He ordered a Mediterranean exercise force to prepare to sail south on 1 April, the day before the invasion.
Q 13What was the British codename for military operations in the Falklands?
Operation Corporate
Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse commanded the task force; operations ran from 1 April to 20 June 1982.
Q 21The RAF staged its Vulcans and Victors from which mid-Atlantic island?
Ascension
The US diverted a supertanker to refill the island's empty fuel tanks with about two million gallons.
Q 22What was the codename for the British recapture of the island Argentina seized on 3 April?
Operation Paraquet
Major Guy Sheridan's 240 men included SAS and SBS; 190 Argentines surrendered without resistance.
Q 23Which Argentine submarine was crippled by British helicopters at King Edward Point on 25 April?
ARA Santa Fe
Wessex, Wasp and Lynx helicopters hit her with depth charges, a torpedo and AS-12 missiles; her crew abandoned her at the jetty.
Q 14Which UN Security Council measure, passed 10–1, demanded Argentine withdrawal?
Resolution 502
Panama voted against; the Soviet Union and China abstained. It gave Britain the diplomatic upper hand.
Q 15Which country cast the lone vote against the Security Council measure condemning the invasion?
Panama
Britain's ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons needed nine votes and no permanent-member veto, and got both.
Q 16Who was appointed Argentine Military Governor of the occupied Falklands?
Mario Menéndez
He surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore in Stanley on 14 June 1982.
Q 17Which US Secretary of State flew between London and Buenos Aires on a shuttle-diplomacy mission?
Alexander Haig
His mission failed; on 30 April the Reagan administration publicly backed Britain.
Q 18Which liner, fresh from a world cruise, was requisitioned and sailed with 3 Commando Brigade?
SS Canberra
The QE2 followed on 12 May carrying the 5th Infantry Brigade.
Q 19How many ships made up the British task force in total?
127
That was 43 Royal Navy vessels, 22 Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and 62 merchant ships.
Q 20Which two aircraft carriers led the task force out of Portsmouth?
Invincible and Hermes
Britain had 42 Harriers for air combat against roughly 122 serviceable Argentine jets.
Q 24Which bomber flew the 8,000-nautical-mile Black Buck round trips to bomb Stanley airfield?
Avro Vulcan
Only one of the 21 bombs on the first raid cratered the runway; Victor tankers refuelled the bomber repeatedly.
Q 25Which British missile, fired from Sea Harriers, proved decisive in air combat?
Sidewinder
The US supplied 200 of them; one downed a Mirage III in the first dogfight on 1 May.
Q 26The British Total Exclusion Zone around the islands extended how far?
200 nautical miles
It came into force on 30 April, replacing the earlier Maritime Exclusion Zone.
Q 27Which British submarine torpedoed the cruiser ARA General Belgrano on 2 May?
HMS Conqueror
Two torpedoes sank her in an hour; 321 crew and two civilians died, and the Argentine fleet never sailed again.
Q 28How many of the Belgrano's crew died when she was sunk?
321
More than 700 men were rescued after up to 30 hours in overcrowded life rafts in cold, stormy seas.
Q 29Which Type 42 destroyer was the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since the Second World War?
HMS Sheffield
An air-launched Exocet hit her on 4 May, killing 20; she sank under tow six days later.
Q 30Which French-made anti-ship missile became a household word in Britain during the war?
Exocet
Along with 'yomp', the word entered the British vernacular as a result of the conflict.