My dad’s terror as HMS Coventry sank

TV star Miranda Hart has told how her father was “convinced he was going to die” when his ship HMS Coventry was sunk by enemy fire during the Falklands War. David Hart Dyke was captain of HMS Coventry when the Royal Navy destroyer was hit by Argentine war planes on May 25, 1982, with the loss of 19 lives. Miranda, who was just ten at the time of the conflict, revealed he never really spoken about what happened. “He didn’t speak at all when he got back but he put everything on tape,” she said. “And then when I was in my early 20s he allowed me to type them all up which was amazing and quite emotional listening to his voice, going through it so close to the event because he was absolutely convinced he was going to die. “And then he just heard a voice saying ‘Go to your left’ and he thought rationally that makes so sense because the ladder isn’t to the left but the ship went down in 15 minutes, so it was at such a strange angle at that point that actually it did make sense to go to your left and he got out, and he was so lucky to get out alive.” HMS Coventry had shot down or hit several enemy aircraft, but during another air raid she was hit by three bombs, causing her to list and sink. Read more HERE