The then prime minister, Menachem Begin, agreed to supply equipment - including gas masks, radar systems and fuel tanks for bombers - to Leopoldo Galtieri, head of the military junta, reportedly because of a long-standing hatred of the UK.

Meanwhile, Peruvian president Fernando Belaunde Therry authorised the transport of arms from Israel to Lima and Callao, a major Pacific port, before their transfer to Buenos Aires aboard Aerol?neas Argentinas aircraft.

Crucially, the Peruvian air force signed blank purchase orders during the 74-day conflict, enabling the Argentine dictatorship to request whatever it needed from Israel.