XZ460 was delivered to 800 NAS at Yeovilton on May 29, 1980, and coded '253'. Following radio modifications at St Athan in April 1981, it was given the code 126. Along with the majority of the squadron it embarked on Hermes on April 2, 1982. The tail badge which had previously been applied using stencils and masks was painted over. Possibly due to fading or the paint batch, the areas on the tail appear marginally darker. The code was repainted in black so it was now '26'. A Sea Harrier was kept on QRA warmed with Sidewinders and ready to launch. On the morning of April 21, a contact was picked up on radar about 150 miles south of the Task Force. Lt Simon Hargreaves was on standby in XZ460 and launched to intercept it. Although it was initially thought to be a civil flight, a potential threat could not be ignored and as Hargreaves closed to within visual range it became clear that it was one of three Boeing 707s belonging to Escuadron II, specifically TC-91, which had already had the opportunity to locate and photograph the Task Force 1,430 miles east north east of Rio de Janero. Hargreaves and the Argentine crew took the opportunity to photograph one another and Hargreaves returned to Hermes.
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