CVW-5 in The Third World War

[Fusilier]

Wow! Marvelling at the research that goes into these, Matt. I just remember favourite TV shows and crack on!

[Jotun]

Wow! Marvelling at the research that goes into these, Matt. I just remember favourite TV shows and crack on!

I do put in quite a lot of research, but I have more fun just trusting the pinball machine that is my creative brain. My stories aren‘t full of off-color jokes, apropos nonsense and generous helpings of snark for nothing.

Which - if I do say so myself - lends itself well to writing about military personnel doing their jobs.

[James1978]

I do put in quite a lot of research, but I have more fun just trusting the pinball machine that is my creative brain. My stories aren‘t full of off-color jokes, apropos nonsense and generous helpings of snark for nothing.

Which - if I do say so myself - lends itself well to writing about military personnel doing their jobs.

What my father refers to as "Crew Dog Humor" when reminiscing about his B-52 days and sitting alert.

[James1978]

One good book that I use to get targets is On Point: Organizing and Executing the Strategic Air Offensive Against Iraq (Found it on Google Books). I use sites like Globalsecurity.org to get info on the WMD facilities for that target set. Bridges? JOG or TPC charts when the former isn't available online are mighty handy, as one can get road and rail bridges located easily. If I look at JOG maps and see "numerous storage bunkers/buildings" I can look at Google Earth and sometimes, those facilities haven't been dismantled, even after all this time and the new government, and OK, that was a major military logistics or ammo storage, that goes on the target list. Same thing for rail yards: even though most of Iraq's RR system is now nonexistent, rail yards still show up on GE imagery. So do Saddam's palaces-though they're repurposed for other uses now, they are mostly still standing. So that kind of target information is still useful-along with things like POL storage and refining. Skimming over Google Earth, one can find things like military barracks, power plants and substations (helps fill out that target set), or even faint outlines of what were SA-2 or SA-3 SAM sites.

I want to know what's so damn special about JOG NI-38-10 that you can't find it anywhere.

[Matt Wiser]

One good book that I use to get targets is On Point: Organizing and Executing the Strategic Air Offensive Against Iraq (Found it on Google Books). I use sites like Globalsecurity.org to get info on the WMD facilities for that target set. Bridges? JOG or TPC charts when the former isn't available online are mighty handy, as one can get road and rail bridges located easily. If I look at JOG maps and see "numerous storage bunkers/buildings" I can look at Google Earth and sometimes, those facilities haven't been dismantled, even after all this time and the new government, and OK, that was a major military logistics or ammo storage, that goes on the target list. Same thing for rail yards: even though most of Iraq's RR system is now nonexistent, rail yards still show up on GE imagery. So do Saddam's palaces-though they're repurposed for other uses now, they are mostly still standing. So that kind of target information is still useful-along with things like POL storage and refining. Skimming over Google Earth, one can find things like military barracks, power plants and substations (helps fill out that target set), or even faint outlines of what were SA-2 or SA-3 SAM sites.

I want to know what's so damn special about JOG NI-38-10 that you can't find it anywhere.

I'd like to know that myself.

[clancyphile]

I get stuff from a mix: there's quite a few accounts from those who flew in Southeast Asia, DESERT STORM-which also comes in handy when the PGM shortage really bites and it's back to dumb bombs (only 7% or so of ordnance used in 1991 were PGMs). I also have some back issues of The Hook magazine (my old high school library had a gift subscription for a while, and when it ran out, the librarian gave the issues to me), with articles on SEA, DESERT STORM, WW II, and Korea.

Some of the missions are based on real strikes in historical conflicts, as are the target sets. And I've used the Dogfights series for ideas on some of the air-to-air action. There are also books from Osprey that have also proven mighty useful. Along with some of Barrett Tilman's work on Naval Aviation in various conflicts.

One good book that I use to get targets is On Point: Organizing and Executing the Strategic Air Offensive Against Iraq (Found it on Google Books). I use sites like Globalsecurity.org to get info on the WMD facilities for that target set. Bridges? JOG or TPC charts when the former isn't available online are mighty handy, as one can get road and rail bridges located easily. If I look at JOG maps and see "numerous storage bunkers/buildings" I can look at Google Earth and sometimes, those facilities haven't been dismantled, even after all this time and the new government, and OK, that was a major military logistics or ammo storage, that goes on the target list. Same thing for rail yards: even though most of Iraq's RR system is now nonexistent, rail yards still show up on GE imagery. So do Saddam's palaces-though they're repurposed for other uses now, they are mostly still standing. So that kind of target information is still useful-along with things like POL storage and refining. Skimming over Google Earth, one can find things like military barracks, power plants and substations (helps fill out that target set), or even faint outlines of what were SA-2 or SA-3 SAM sites.

Shoot me a PM with your email. I have a Google Earth layover that shows active and retired SAM sites all over the world that I found online. I'll send you a copy.

[Matt Wiser]

Next chapter, and the A-6s take another hit:

24 May dawned in the Gulf, bright and clear. With a promise of good to excellent flying weather, a full day's schedule on the ATO beckoned, The first package, led by CDR Compton of VA-115, opened the day right at 0600. The VA-115 Skipper took four A-6s, four VFA-192 Hornets, two VF-21 Tomcats, along with a VAQ-136 Prowler to Al Hartha, north of Basra. The Logistical Center had been hit several times by both Navy and Air Force strikes, but the complex remained active.

After launch and form-up, the package went in via the Shatt-al Arab at medium level, overflying the Iranian airhead at Faw. On ingress, the crews noticed the Iranians had resumed their air activity after the sandstorm, with UH-1s and CH-47s shuttling back and forth between Faw and the Iranian side, while Iranian AF fighters were also in the air, staying on their side of the border. As the package skirted the Iranian border, two Iranian AF F-4s shadowed them as they headed north, and even watched the strike as it went in on the target.

CDR Compton led the package past the target, before doing a 180 and coming back in. As they did, several air-defense site radars came on, and LCDR Mike Brazleton's Dragons went in ahead of the strikers. An SA-8 came up, along with at least two Firecan radars for 57-mm AAA, and HARMs were soon in the air. The SA-8 shut down before it could launch, though HARMs did find both Firecans, knocking both radars out. Another SA-8 came up and that one also ate a HARM, exploding it. The Hornets then went down on the AAA sites, taking down both of the 57-mm sites with Rockeye, while two Hornets also took a 23-mm and a 37-mm site respectively.

With the way clear, the A-6s came in. Compton led the lead pair in onto the target. The Skipper put his load of sixteen Mark-82s onto a warehouse cluster, while LT Todd Eversole, his wingman in 511, struck a nearby motor pool and truck park, leaving multiple secondaries in both locations. Both A-6s drew machine-gun fire and MANPADS on egress, but the Skipper's pair egressed without incident.

The second pair, LCDR Morris and LT Carroll in 507 with Curtis and Tice in 510 came down as the Skipper's section drew off target. They drew more flak than the first pair, taking some 37-mm fire on the way in. Both A-6s had identical loads as the first section, with 507's crew planting their bombs onto revetted storage for ammunition, which sent off multiple secondary explosions in their wake. Curtis and Tice in 510 saw that, and put their bombs onto an adjacent fuel storage site. They, too, left multiple secondaries in their wake as they egressed, with both A-6s drawing heavy 37-mm and machine-gun fire as they cleared the target area.

After the A-6s cleared, two Hornets who still had dumb bombs or CBUs left added their bombs to what the A-6s had done, before clearing the area.

Once all aircraft were clear, the package reformed. Though the Prowler had been busy-jamming not just the radars at the target, but in the rear of the Iraqi III Corps, the Tomcat drivers were disappointed that no MiGs had come from Kut or An Numiniyah to contest the strike. The package then headed back, skirting the Iranian border, and the same two F-4s were trailing them on the Iranian side.

After clearing Faw, the Prowler broke off and began to orbit, so as to provide standoff ECM support to other packages in the area, while the rest of the birds headed back to the ship. The crews also noticed the New Jersey closing on Faw, before turning to bring her 16-inch guns to bear on targets not just near Faw, but east of Umm Qasr as well.

Recovery was normal at 0740, and as the crews were debriefed, the birds were turned around for the next package.

VA-185's CO, CDR Lowry, took the 0630 package out, with four Nighthawks Intruders, four Dambusters Hornets, two more VF-21 Tomcats, and another Prowler to the Kut area, targeting the garrison for the 37th Infantry Division, east of Highway 7 and south of the Tigris. After launch and forming up, the package, like the first one, ingressed via the Shatt Al Arab, and actually saw VA-115's package going to work on their target as they headed north. Again, the Iranian AF shadowed the strike birds as they passed along the border, with two F-5s having the honors on this occasion, breaking off when the strike birds turned west for Kut.

As the package approached the target, Kut's defenses came up, and to the crews' surprise, the SA-2 and SA-3, reported neutralized after previous strikes, lit up their threat receivers. The Iraqis, with help from their Soviet Advisors, brought the sites back online, though not with a full compliment of launchers. The Prowler began jamming, while Dambusters CO CDR Paul Lazier and his wingmate, LT Christine Langtry, took HARM shots, the CO taking the SA-3, while Langtry went after the SA-2. Both shut down after the “MAGNUM!” calls went out, with the SA-2 eating the HARM.

As the two heavy SAM sites went out, SA-8s defending Al Jarrah AB came up, with two launching. Both had HARMs sent their way, and at least one of them ate HARM as a result. At the same time, two radar-guided 57-mm sites and two optical 37-mm sites opened up, with Hornets coming down on all four. Both 57-mm sites ate HARM and then Rockeye, while the two 37-mm sites also took Rockeyes.

With the defenses suppressed, though scattered and inaccurate flak came up, the A-6s went in. CDR Lowry and LT Crandall in 531 came in and put sixteen Mark-82s on a walled supply area just inside the base and east of Highway 7. Several warehouses disagreed with the bombs, for they went up in secondary explosions. Their wingmates, LT Mason and LT Daniels came in trail and added their ordnance to the Skipper's and also left secondaries in their wake. Both aircraft took 23-mm and 37-mm flak on the way in and out, and MANPADS shots, but both A-6s were able to clear the target area.

The second pair of Intruders went in on another supply center just north of a dried-up canal east of Highway 7. LT Collett in 533 and newly-promoted LT Darlene Wilson in 540 came in, despite the 23-mm and 37-mm flak, and put their bombs onto warehouses and some revetted storage. This time, there were only a couple of secondaries, but several warehouses were torn apart by the Mark-82s, while a couple of revetments blew apart, signaling the presence of volatile cargo. Both A-6s drew flak on egress, and also MANPADS, though they were not hit, and both Intruders cleared the target, picking up the Skipper's section as they headed south.

While the A-6s went in, the IrAF responded from Al Jarrah AB. The Tomcats were out of position as they were on a BARCAP, waiting on a scramble out of An Numiniyah AB, but the Hornets were waiting as two MiG-23s that had redeployed from Jaliabah AB scrambled. CDR Lazier and LT Langtry got onto the Floggers' tails as they cleared the base, with the MiG-23s hoping to pick up the A-6s.

The Hornets came in, drawing flak and at least one SA-3 in optical mode as they lined up the MiGs, who broke upon being warned of the Hornets closing. CDR Lazier took the wingman and lined up a Sidewinder shot at less than a mile, with the AIM-9X tracking down the Flogger and exploding it. There was no chute, and the MiG tumbled down into some farmland east of Highway 7.

LT Langtry picked up the MiG leader, who tried to use the MiG-23's acceleration to get away from the Hornet before coming back in. She managed to lock him up with AIM-120 and shot at seven miles. The MiG leader then turned, which solved the problem for the missile, for it speared the MiG just behind the wing root, blowing it in half. As both halves of the MiG tumbled down in flame, Langtry saw a chute to her surprise as the hapless MiG Lead ejected.

With the MiGs clear, the Tomcats joined up with the Hornets, before the package reformed southeast of Kut, climbing back to medium altitude as they did so. Again, the Iranians followed the package out from their side of the border, with two F-4s doing the shadowing, before the package cleared Faw and went out over the Gulf, overflying the North SAR station, before recovering aboard Kitty Hawk at 0815.

The next package belonged to VA-115, and the XO, CDR Wiser, took four A-6s, four Dragon Hornets, two Black Knights Tomcats, and a Prowler to the Diwaniyah area, with two targets again. The CO's element was targeted on the Rail Yard and adjacent warehouses, while LCDR Carpenter's element took a revetted storage area inside the Military Garrison on the south side of town. Their launch was delayed as LT Knapp and LT Shelton in 510 reported their nav-attack system was “No Go.” LTJGs Ryan Thompson and Marci Eaton in 512 took their place as the designated mission spare, with launch coming at 0700.

Ingress for this strike was via Saudi, and as the package refueled from USAF KC-135s or Saudi KE-3As, a returning strike caught the crews' attention as a joint USAF/RAF/RAAF mission into the Baghdad area had two damaged aircraft-an F-15E and a RAAF F-111 limped over the border and claiming priority for refueling from waiting KC-135s.

After crossing the border, the package passed the now-empty As Salman AB, though the flak batteries there did open up. Once into the Euphrates Valley, the strike birds got down low, going in between An Najaf and Diwaniyah, and actually going past the target before turning for a straight north-south run. There, the Tomcats and Prowler climbed to altitude, the fighters assuming a BARCAP to block any MiG scrambles out of the airfields in the MEZ, with Al Iskindiryah New and Shayka Mazar the closest, while the Prowler began jamming the radars not just in the MEZ, but close to the target.

The Hornets then went in, with LCDR Kathy Evison's Dambusters going after AAA sites. Evison and her wingman LT Chris Roberts had the HARMs, and they soon found the SA-2 site back up. Though with only two working launchers, the site launched with no radar, but in optical mode. Both Hornets easily avoided the SAMs, while putting HARMs on two Firecan-guided 57-mm gun batteries. The missiles killed the radars, while Evison found the SA-2 site and put a pair of Rockeyes on it for the second time, knocking it out of action-this time, she hoped, for good. LT Roberts, meanwhile, found a 57-mm site with a wrecked radar, and put two of his Rockeyes on the battery, knocking it out.

The second pair of Hornets came in, led by RAAF exchange officer FLT Ron Fraser, and he found a pair of quad ZPU-4 14.5-mm sites for his two Hornets, then following up with hitting a 37-mm site at the Military Garrison. All four Hornets drew MANPADS shots, but none scored. The Dragons then orbited the area, waiting to pounce on any flak site that revealed itself by shooting.

With the Hornets having suppressed the defenses, the A-6s came in. CDR Wiser's pair of Intruders each had six Mark-83 Snakeyes, and the XO came in on the rail yard, finding some rolling stock for his thousand-pounders as well as the switching station. The bombs tore apart the railroad cars, with one Mark-83 landing close enough to the switching station to wreck it. LT Rivers and LT Fisher in 509 followed up, adding their Mark-83s to a pair of warehouses and additional rolling stock. The two A-6s then flew out to the south, right between Highway 8 and the Military Garrison. Both drew flak from the latter, and MANPADS shots, but egressed without incident.

The second pair of A-6s wasn't so lucky. LCDR Carpenter's pair came in on the Garrison, and as 504 came in, there was “moderate” 23-mm and 37-mm flak. The Ops Officer watched as Fraser's Hornet came in and put a Rockeye on one of the 37-mm sites ahead of him, then the Hornet pulled away. Staying on the bomb run, Carpenter's B/N, LT Karla Jefferson, put their sixteen Mark-82s on the storage area, and 504's crew was rewarded with multiple secondaries as the A-6 cleared the target. Despite the flak, and MANPADS, 504's crew cleared the target and headed south.

It was 512's crew that wasn't so lucky. Thompson and Eaton came in right behind 504, and though they drew less flak than the Ops Officer had, it was still “moderate.” They made weapon release, putting their Mark-82s onto the storage area, and also had secondaries in their wake, but as they cleared the garrison area, “It all went to hell,” as LTJG Eaton said after the war. They took both 23-mm and 37-mm flak, with a 37-mm hit on the right wing, another in the tail, along with 23-mm. The killing shot, though, was a 37-mm hit to the left side of the cockpit, badly injuring LTJG Thompson. He told Eaton to eject, and she did, before the dying A-6 rolled left and plunged inverted into the ground, close to the Hillah River. Thompson either did not eject or was killed attempting ejection, and his remains were returned postwar.

The Hornet drivers saw it all, and both Evison and Fraser took their birds down on the offending flak sites, with the Dragons Exec taking her wingman with her onto the garrison area, hitting a 23-mm site and another ZPU-4 site with Rockeyes, while Fraser found a 37-mm site he thought had hit the A-6 for his Rockeyes. Evison also managed to get brief voice contact with LTJG Eaton, who said that she was okay but was about to be captured. With nothing that could be done, the Hornets turned south, with the Prowler and Tomcats-who had not engaged with MiGs, with Baghdad's CAP still staying within the MEZ, following the Hornets out to join with the A-6s.

In the A-6s, the mood was subdued, though they had hit their targets, two of their fellow crewmates wouldn't be coming home. The package reformed west of Samawah, before climbing back to altitude and the trip back to Saudi.

LTJG Eaton would've given anything to be making that trip, for just after signing off with Evison, she landed in a field and was promptly set upon by Iraqi soldiers. After a roughing-up, she was taken to the base lockup and interrogated, before having her dislocated left shoulder popped back into its socket. After that dubious medical help, she was taken to Baghdad. Fortunately, she made it through a rough captivity, spending the rest of the war as a POW.

After crossing the border, the package, minus one, hooked up with the tankers for the usual post-strike refueling. The trip back to CV-63 was a quiet one, and recovery was normal at 1030, after three and a half hours in the air. Despite the loss, there were still missions coming up, and the crews quickly got back into game mode.

The MEZ didn't escape attention, despite CAS and BAI runs, and CDR Compton opened the MEZ strikes with a strike against the Shayka Mazar Logistics Center. Though hit several times previously, the facility was still very much a going concern, and like the previous strike against the facility, it would be coordinated with a USAF/RAAF strike against Shayka Mazar Airfield. The same crews who flew the first package of the morning were up again for this one after a break for CAS. With the Prowler having returned in the meantime before the crews briefed and the strike launch at 1020.
Mission ingress was via Saudi, though as the package headed inland, the VA-115 Skipper saw the XO's package returning, minus one A-6. Both strike leads waggled their wings, but the CO would have to wait until returning from the strike to find out who had gone down. But the knowledge that he would be writing a pair of letters was a bitter pill to swallow.

The tanker rendezvous south of the Iraqi border went like clockwork, with the KC-135s and KE-3As providing their services. As usual, the crews looked around, and noticed the RSAF Typhoons and F-15s providing HVUCAP, and they knew that several Iraqi attempts to go for the tankers had met with a hot reception, while the RSAF had also splashed several Iraqi reconnaissance aircraft near the border as well.

After the refueling, the package entered Iraqi Airspace at medium level, again drawing ineffective flak from Al Salman before dropping down low as they approached the Euphrates River Valley. The birds flew up just east of Freeway 1, passing Diwaniyah and seeing the smoke from the fires left by the XO's strike. Once past Freeway 1, the package headed due north, before picking up the MEZ radars on their threat receivers.

Those radars became much more numerous as the Air Force mission went in, and both the Tomcats and the Prowler climbed to altitude, with the Prowler jamming radars as it did. The Hornets then went in to do their IRON HAND mission as the defenses began to react to both strikes, with multiple SAM and AAA radars coming up.

LCDR Brazleton's section went in on a pair of SAM sites, one an SA-2 east of the Supply Base, and the other an SA-3 south of the airfield. The latter site also drew attention from the Wild Weasels with the AF strike, with the SA-3 eating a pair of HARMs, one from the Navy and one from the Air Force. The SA-2 fired a pair of missiles, but the Prowler jamming, plus a HARM shot, took the Fan Song Radar off the air, before one of the Hornets put a pair of Rockeye CBUs on the site, knocking it out.

The Hornets also went in on a pair of flak sites, ripping up a 37-mm site south of the supply base, along with a 57-mm site south of the road between the airfield and the supply center. Then came another 37-mm site west of the target, which also drew a Hornet and a Rockeye drop.

With defenses at both targets suppressed, the respective strike birds went in. While the F-15Es and F-111s went in on the airfield, the Intruders came in on their target. Skipper Compton led the A-6s in, each with a load of sixteen Mark-82s, and he and his wingman in 511, LT Eversole, picked out clusters of storage revetments for their Mark-82s. Both drops left multiple secondaries in their wake, but as both the Skipper and LT Eversole both noted, the facility was so big, what they had taken out “was a drop in the bucket.” The two A-6s drew flak both on the way in and on the way out, along with MANPAD shots, but easily cleared the area.

The second pair of A-6s came in, with Morris and Carroll in 507 and Curtis and Tice in 510. They, too, had the Mark-82 load, and also drew the flak on the way in. Ignoring the tracers and the puffs from a 37-mm site east of the target, the B/Ns picked out warehouses for their bombs, and they put their bombs right on them. The Mark-82s disagreed with the contents of at least two, for there were secondaries following 507's strike, but none with 510's, though both runs hit multiple warehouses. Again, they took flak on egress, with several MANPAD shots, but both Intruders cleared the target and headed south to meet up with the CO.

As was usual for MEZ incursions, the IrAF came in, despite the losses they had suffered. Despite the jamming from both the Prowler and an AF EF-111, two MiG-25s came in from Northwest of Baghdad, while two MiG-21s and two MiG-29s came in from north of the capital, along with two more MiG-21s that had scrambled out of Al Iskandiriyah New. The latter ran into the Hornets almost immediately, with LCDR Brazleton getting the leader with a head-on AIM-120 shot almost as soon as he appeared on the Hornet's radar. The MiG fireballed, crashing into a field east of Freeway 1, while the wingman continued on out, climbing and running into Brazleton's wingman, LT Devon Shuler got on the MiG's tail before giving him an AIM-9 shot that sent the MiG down into a canal.

The Tomcats then faced the MiG-29s, with Freelancer 205 and LT Ken Rawlings and LTJG Dave Randall, having LTJGs Christine Perry and Gary Andersen in 211 on their wing. Both Tomcat crews picked up the Foxbats as they came in. Locking both MiGs up at 75 miles, the Tomcats shot a single AIM-54C each. The two MiGs soon did Doppler breaks, but the wingman's turn was too late, with Perry and Andersen's shot scoring. The leader then turned back into the fight, but 205's second shot scored at 42 miles, while the Air Force MIGCAP (four F-15Cs from the 60th TFS) dealt with the other two MiG-21s, while the Fulcrums orbited, hoping to draw the Tomcats or Eagles into Baghdad's SAM defenses. The fighter crews didn't bite, and once the strike birds were clear, the fighters turned south to join up with their respective packages.

The Navy package formed up north of the Euphrates, as did the Air Force and Aussies, before climbing to altitude and heading for the border. Post-strike refueling went off, before both packages headed for their respective bases. For the Navy, recovery aboard CV-63 came just before 1230, with the usual prompt turnaround to follow.

Baghdad was next, with VA-185's Skipper, CDR Lowry, taking the first run into the Iraqi Capital. This package's target was the Al Karama Missile Plant in the outskirts of Baghdad and not far from a VA-115 target a few days earlier, the Al Haytham Missile R&D Center. Four VA-185 A-6Fs with six Mark-83 Snakeyes each, along with four Dambusters Hornets, two VF-21 Tomcats, and a Prowler, with the same crews that had flown the 0630 mission comprised the strike package after a break for CAS.

Launch was at 1215, and after forming up, the package headed for the tanker track over Saudi. As they flew west, the package passed the returning VA-115 package from Shayka Mazar. Upon reaching the tanker track, refueling was routine, before ingressing into Iraqi Airspace.

The strike birds got down low as they flew north, west of Najaf and then Karbala, before overflying Lake Milh and then Lake Habbiniyah. After that came a cluster of buildings halfway between Habbiniyah and Lake Tharthar, before picking up the same quarry that VA-115 often used to get into Baghdad via the back door. The crews then found the two large radio masts that signaled the IP for Northern Baghdad, then CDR Lowry gave the Strike Commit call.

With that, the two Freelancers Tomcats and the Prowler climbed, with the latter putting out ECM as it did, for the MEZ's radars were all lit up. VFA-195 Skipper CDR Paul Lazier put two HARMs in the air, as did his wingman, and both the Hornet drivers and the Prowler crew saw many of the radars drop off as multiple calls of “MAGNUM!” came over the radio and the SAM and AAA radar crews shut down. Two of the HARMs did find targets, as the Al Taji SA-2 ate a HARM, as did an SA-3 site east of the Tigris. The other two Hornets, led by LT Randy Shea, found Republican Guard-manned mobile SAMs, killing a pair of SA-15s with HARM, while also finding two tracked Roland launchers and killing them with Mavericks, along with at least one Tunguska Gun/Missile vehicle.

The A-6s came in, and Skipper Lowry's Intruders each had half a dozen Mark-83 Snakeyes for the target. Her B/N, LT Crandall, lined up the target, and planted their bombs onto the largest building within the target compound. Mason and Daniels, their wingmates, followed right behind 531, the Skipper's bird, and added their Mark-83s to what the Skipper's bird had laid down. Both A-6s then banked left for the Tigris, and the two A-6s, drawing flak the whole way from the target through Baghdad before banking right and then headed southwest to pick up Freeway 1 and headed south.

The second team with Collett and Meridith in 533 and Wilson and Regan in 540 came in right behind the leaders. They, too, drew a lot of light and medium-caliber flak, before planting their own Mark-83s onto the target complex. Every bomb landed in the target area, except for one, which blew a hole in the compound's nine-foot walls. Both A-6s cleared the target, and like the Skipper's section, flew right down the Tigris, before banking right to pick up Freeway 1 once clear of Baghdad.

Unlike many previous strikes into the Baghdad area, the IrAF did not contest this incursion. For the capital's air defenses had been caught by two others. A USAF/RAF strike against the Baghdad South Military Garrison (the home of the RGFC Baghdad Division) was going in at the same time, along an Iranian AF RF-4E, which made a reconnaissance flight of Baghdad totally uncoordinated with CENTAF. CDR Lowry and her crews noticed the RF-4 as it made its run, and as it turned out postwar, not only did the Iranian crew get photos of both strikes and their targets, but caught the Navy strike birds on camera as they egressed. With no MiGs, the Tomcats, along with the Prowler and the Hornets, turned south, drawing medium-caliber flak as they came out at Medium altitude or lower in the Hornets' case.

The package reformed north of Hillah, before clearing the Euphrates Valley and climbing back to altitude. Once out of Iraqi Airspace, the Navy birds hooked up again with the tankers for their post-strike refueling. As the VA-185 package returned to the carrier, they met an outbound package that had just formed up and was headed north.

After two BAI packages led by VA-185's XO and VA-115's Ordnance Officer, it was time for the day's last MEZ package, though not to Baghdad. This time, the target was the Ibn Sina Facility at Tarmiyah, southwest of Baqubah on the west side of the Tigris River. Though no longer engaged in enriching uranium via Electromagnetic Separation, the facility was suspected of being involved in missile fuel production as well as missile R&D. The four A-6Fs would each be targeted on a specific building within the complex, with each bird having six Mark-83 Snakeyes for the target along with three external fuel tanks.

VA-115's Exec, CDR Wiser, took the four Eagles A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets led by LCDR Evision, plus two Blackknights Tomcats led by the ace team of LT Patterson and LT Bradley, along with the usual VAQ-136 Prowler. After noting that the MEZ was still very dangerous, and reminding the crews that a shipmate was on her way to Baghdad after the morning run, the package launched at 1445.

This time, the package tanked up in the East Tanker Track, just off the Saudi-Kuwait Border, then headed north with ingress via the Faw Peninsula. As usual, the crews were treated to a firepower demonstration as USS New Jersey tossed more 16-inch shells at the Iraqis west of Faw. Again, after passing the Faw Peninsula, Iranian fighters followed the package from their side of the border, with two F-4Es doing it this time. Only when the package got to a point east of Kut and turned deeper into Iraqi territory did the F-4s break off, and the strike birds got down low.

The MEZ radars were up and active as the strike package flew east of Baghdad before picking up Baquba. There, the package continued north, overlying the city and both the airfield and the RGFC Garrison, the prewar home of the 9th “Al Nida” Armored Division. The strike birds drew scattered light flak, but nothing that bothered the aircraft, before they turned southwest for a straight shot at the target complex.

As CDR Wiser gave the strike commit call, the Tomcats and Prowler climbed up, while LCDR Evison's Hornets went in on their IRON HAND mission. The radars in the MEZ came up again, and the Hornets put HARMS into the air. One site that did come up was the Baghdad North SA-10, neutralized on 28 April, but put back together with help from the Iraqis' Soviet advisors. The site came up and launched one missile before a HARM launch, and the Iraqis shut down the radar. The SA-2 at Al Jaddiah, right on the path the strike birds were coming in, also launched, and Evision put a HARM on that site, before coming in just ahead of the A-6s and put two Rockeyes on the site, putting it out of commission.

FLT Fraser and his wingman went in on the flak sites near the target. After the morning's strike, they made sure that the sites were covered, putting two Rockeyes on a site instead of one. They took out a 37-mm site just north of the complex as well as a 23-mm site just across the Tigris. An added bonus was hitting a heavy 100-mm KS-19 site northwest of the target, before LCDR Evision called the way clear.

CDR Wiser brought the A-6s in, and his B/N, LT “Madge” Porter found the assigned building, a former EMIS building, and the XO followed her cues, putting their Mark-83s onto the target building, ripping it apart. Their wingmates in 509, Rivers and Fisher, found their target building and also took it apart, with both crews leaving secondary explosions in their wake, as the suspicion that both structures were engaged in missile fuel production were apparently confirmed. The XO's section drew some light and medium-caliber flak, with both 23-mm and 37-mm fire coming from both riverbanks, and they drew more as they headed on the egress route-right over the Iraqi capital.

The second pair, with LCDR Tony Carpenter in the lead, with his usual wingmates, Knapp and Shelton in 510 back at it after the maintenance people had done their work. They, too, found their target buildings, with Carpenter's bombs wrecking one of the suspected production buildings, while Knapp and Shelton hit a warehouse area suspected of being used for propellant storage. Both crews left secondaries in their respective wakes, with 510's crew reporting multiple secondaries as the Mark-83s disagreed with the contents of the warehouses hit, either missile fuel or precursor chemicals going up. Again, the A-6s took flak on both the bomb run and egress, though this time, the gunners came up empty.

Egress from the target area and the MEZ was simple: a straightforward run south right through the heart of the Iraqi Capital. The A-6s and Hornets led the way, coming out at 600 Feet AGL and generally following the Tigris, all the while with flak being shot widely but inaccurately. The crews saw several SAM launches, which the Hornets responded to with HARM shots, while the Prowler kept jamming as it followed the strike birds out. Meanwhile, the Tomcat crews, orbiting at 16,000 Feet, did not encounter Iraqi aircraft initially as the CAP was out of position with two CAPs-one with MiG-25s and the other with MiG-29s, orbiting west of the capital in the Fallujah-Ramadi area, while another CAP with MiG-23s had moved east. That left Baghdad-and the path for the strike birds, wide open. After a taunt over the radio to the Iraqis, the “Tomcat Girls” put the nose of their aircraft down, and with their wingmates following, made a supersonic pass over the Iraqi Capital at 15,000 Feet doing Mach 1.6.

However, the IrAF did respond, with two MiG-23s scrambling out of Al-Rashid AB. These two MiG drivers hoped catch up to the A-6s and Hornets with the MiG-23's high speed acceleration at low level. However, their High Lark radars were turned to hash by the Prowler's jamming, and the two MiGs soon picked up APG-71 radars on their warning receivers as the Tomcats were closing. Breaking off from the A-6s and Hornets, the MiGs climbed to try and confront the F-14s.

In Blackknight 106, LT Patterson's RIO, LT Bradley, picked up the MiGs, and though she gained Phoenix lock, LT Patterson switched to AIM-120. Lock-on was quick, and Patterson shot a Slammer at 20 miles, with their wingmates, LT Conway and LT Freeman in 109, shooting their own Slammer at 18 miles. Patterson's Slammer scored as the MiG leader climbed out ahead of them, sending him down in a fireball.

The wingman was lucky, for he dodged the Slammer and turned hard right, trying to lure the F-14s back into the Capital's SAM defenses. He failed in that, for the Tomcats didn't bite. With fuel starting to run low, the Tomcats, job done, headed south.

Unknown to the crews, two neutral news crews had been out with their Iraqi “Minders” and had caught some of the air action on camera. An Algerian crew was near Tarmiyah when VA-115's strike went in, and the strike was put on tape-with the enterprising Algerians sharing their footage with the CNN crew. While most of the news crews were still in Baghdad, they had their usual front row seat to the air show put on by the A-6s and F/A-18s, a Chinese crew from CGTN on their way back to Baghdad caught the same strike birds as they cleared the capital. Again, the Chinese were happy to share their footage with their Western counterparts, but only after it had aired in Beijing first..

The package reformed south of Baghdad near Hillah, and climbed to altitude once the Euphrates Valley was in their rear view. Meeting up with the tankers over the Saudi border, the post-strike refueling was normal, before setting course east to the Gulf and the carrier.

The package recovered aboard Kitty Hawk shortly after 1730, bringing major flight ops to a close for the day. However, as usual, CAP and SUCAP were maintained until midnight, spelling CVW-9 aboard Nimitz. Aircrew got several hours of much-needed rest, while maintenance and ordnance crews got ready for the next day.

Morning on 25 May promised a normal day in the Gulf, though the dawn was a hazy one. Aircrew on the morning schedule were awakened as usual at 0430, and after breakfast, assembled in their ready rooms. The aircraft for the 0600 launch were ready, as the air wing got on with the war.

[Matt Wiser]

VA-115's MEZ target for the last strike: The Ibn Sina Complex at Tarmiyah

[Jotun]

Naming a uranium enrichment facility after one of history‘s most famous physicians (Ibn Sina = Avicenna) is a bit…irksome…

[jemhouston]

Big target

[Bernard Woolley]

Not good when two more aviators have to check into the Bahgdad Hilton. It certainly won't be getting a good review on Trip Advisor!

Naming a uranium enrichment facility after one of history‘s most famous physicians (Ibn Sina = Avicenna) is a bit…irksome…

That's almost a British level of understatement!

[Matt Wiser]

Not good when two more aviators have to check into the Bahgdad Hilton. It certainly won't be getting a good review on Trip Advisor!

Former POWs from 1991 give it Five Scars...

[Matt Wiser]

25 May and another day in the KTO:


The morning of the 25th found the Iraqis engaged in a withdrawal north of the Euphrates River and into Basra. CENTAF began to direct strikes onto the crossing points at Samawah, the An Nasiriyah area, and the Rumalyah Causeway, with the Basra bridges over the canal west of the city already blown by the Iraqis. CENTAF also intended to keep up the pressure with strategic strikes, which meant that for CVW-5, it would be a busy day.

The first package was led by VA-115's Skipper CDR Compton, taking four Eagles A-6Fs, four VFA-192 Hornets, a pair of Freelancer Tomcats, and a VAQ-136 Prowler to the Rumalyah Causeway. This was where I Guards Corps was pulling back north, and with the Iraqis concentrating the corps, targets would be plentiful. However, the air-defense threat would be increased as the various division and corps-level air defense units would be ready and waiting.

The package launched right on time at 0600, with ingress over Warbah and Bubiyan Islands. The crews noticed the New Jersey, still engaged with her 16-inch guns shelling not only the Iraqis on the Faw Peninsula, but also engaging several pockets of Iraqi die-hards between Umm Qasr and Zubayr. As they approached the target area, numerous SAM radars came up, from not only the Hammurabi Division's brigade and divisional air-defense assets, but also the Corps-level SAM brigade, as SA-8 and SA-11 radars began lighting up, along with an SA-2 site.

VFA-192's LCDR Mike Brazleton took the Hornets in, with the Prowler now actively jamming the radars, and the Hornets began taking HARM shots. The SA-2 was the first to fire, with three missiles going up. It was also the first to be shut down, for it drew a HARM, putting it out of business. Two SA-11s also drew HARM shots, as did an SA-8, with one of the -11s and the -8 being knocked out.

Two of the Hornets then went in with Mavericks. They found two ZSU-23-4s with radars on, and both were killed with single shots. Two SA-13 launch vehicles were also found, and both also were taken out. Though the threat was still serious, LCDR Brazleton called in the A-6s.

CDR Compton came in 501 with his wingmate, LT Eversole in 511, and the Skipper picked out a number of trucks headed north to the causeway. The two A-6s each had a dozen Rockeyes, and the Skipper's element smothered the trucks, leaving numerous vehicles burning and multiple secondaries in their wake. That brought in the second element, Morris and Carroll in 507, with Curtis and Tice in 510.

The second pair of Intruders found some armor north of the town of Rumalyah proper, and just as the first element had, came in with Rockeyes. Both A-6s dropped, and the crews saw numerous secondaries as they pulled clear. Unknown to the strike crews, the Iraqis had gathered a number of wrecked tanks, salted them with fuel drums loaded with gasoline, so that when hit, they would go up in fireballs It turned out after the British Brigade arrived that 507's drop had hit decoys, while 510's actually hit serviceable T-72s, wrecking several.

While the A-6s went in, the Hornets were still busy. HARM shots took care of at least one SA-11 launcher, while phony “MAGNUM” calls meant that many of the SAM or AAA radars shut down to avoid taking a missile. Two of the Hornets had both Maverick and Rockeyes instead of HARMs, and those two, after expending their Mavericks on either ZSU-23-4s or SA-13s, went after additional vehicles, killing a number of trucks and APCs.

Once the Hornets were Winchester, they cleared the area and met up with the A-6s. While the Hornets and Intruders headed back to the ship, the Tomcats stayed to provide a CAP for other strikes coming into the area, while the Prowler stayed for standoff EW support.

The next package at 0630 had CDR Lowry taking four of her VA-185 Intruders, four Dambusters Hornets, a pair of VF-154 Tomcats, and a Prowler to the Samawah area. That was where II Guards Corps had elements crossing, and though two of the bridges in the city had been dropped, one of them had been repaired. However, with the PGM shortage, the strike would go after an assembly area just off of Highway 8, southeast of the city.

This package, after launch, ingressed via Kuwait Bay, and generally followed the 40th ID's advance until Jaliabah Airfield, then entered enemy territory. The crews noted an Air Force strike going in on Talil Air Base and An Nasiriya, before approaching Samawah.

As the strike approached the target area, several SAM radars came up as air-defense assets from II Guards Corps came up. The Corps-level SAM brigade as well as those from both the 2nd “Medina” Armored Division and the 4th “Al-Faw” Motorized Division came up. The bulk of the Medina had crossed the river, and the Al Faw Division was in the process of crossing, as CDR Paul Lazier's Dambusters went in on the IRON HAND as multiple SA-6s and SA-11s came up.

The Dambusters' skipper took his element in first, putting HARMs in the air as the missile radars went active. HARM shots took care of an SA-6 and two SA-11s that came up, along with a mobile air-search radar, then the Hornets went in on flak sites, putting Rockeyes onto a 57-mm site, two 37-mm sites, and at least one with quad ZPU-4s.

After that came the second element, with LT Randy Shea's two Hornets finding ZSU-23-4s and SA-13s for their Maverick shots, killing two each, before hitting another 37-mm site, a ZU-23 site, and two more with ZPUs.

CDR Lowry then brought the A-6s in, and though the Hornets were still engaged, making “MAGNUM” calls to discourage SAM and AAA radars from coming up, the Intruders came in. The Eagles Skipper came down on one of the assembly areas with her wingmates, Mason and Daniels in 536, right with 501. Both A-6s each packed a dozen Mark-82s, and LT Crandall, her B/N, found a number of tanks and APCs belonging to the Al Faw's 43rd Brigade. Despite moderate flak, three SA-13 shots, and MANPADS, the Intruder crews pressed home the attack, putting their Mark-82s right onto the armor, with several T-72s and APCs being blown apart or in the case of some APCs, being tossed aside like trash by near-misses from the five-hundred pounders. Despite the flak, and more MANPADS shot at the A-6s as they cleared the target, both aircraft cleared the target area and headed southeast.

The second pair of A-6s came in on the heels of the first. LT Collett and LT Meridith in 533 brough LT Wilson and LCDR Regan in 540, and they, too, drew the flak on roll-in. Collett and Meridith picked out another cluster of vehicles, a mix of armor, APCs, and trucks, and put their Mark-82s in the middle of the cluster. Wilson and Regan followed suit, and their bombs fell in the same area, with both crews reporting many secondaries in their wake. Unknown to any of the crews, some elements of the same brigade attacked by the Skipper's element were busy replenishing fuel and ammunition, and a number of bombs set off fuel and ammo carriers, with “very visual” results.

Once the strike birds cleared, the Hornets followed, then came the Tomcats-who had had nothing to do, and the Prowler, the last in the area, followed. When the package approached Kuwait Bay, they met an outbound strike from Kitty Hawk. Recovery was routine, with the package trapping at 0815.

The package the VA-185 Skipper encountered was VA-115's XO, heading to An Nasiriyah. CDR Wiser had four Eagles A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, two Black Knights F-14s, and a Prowler going after elements of V Corps, which was using the various bridges in the An Nasiriyah area to get across the Euphrates. Much to the disgust of the XO and the other A-6 crewers, laser bombs were not on the agenda for this strike, so the package was to hit the Freeway 1 crossing over the Euphrates. Though the main bridges had been dropped earlier, pontoon bridges were up and operating, despite a number of strikes on the bridges. Having had a crew go down the previous day, and knowing full well this was the same area where his girlfriend, LCDR Lisa Eichhorn, had been shot down and captured, he reminded the crews about the flak danger. The XO emphasized the need for weapon release above 4,000 feet, and telling LCDR Tony Carpenter's element following behind to hit any vehicle parks if the lead pair took out the pontoon bridges.

Launch was at 0745, and after forming up, ingressed via Kuwait Bay. Passing Faylaka Island, the crews saw the New Jersey still at work, tossing 16-inch into Iraqi positions west of Faw. After going Feet Dry, the package went into Iraq, following the lines between the 40th ID and the Multinational Division, before passing Jaliabah Airfield and entering hostile territory. As the package approached Talil Air Base and the An Nasiriyah area, the base defenses around Talil opened up with flak, but the SAMs around the base held their fire. Giving the base a wide berth, the package approached the Euphrates, where more radars came up.

The radars were from V Corps' Air Defense Brigade, along with divisional air defense for the 12th Armored Division, which was in the process of crossing the river. LCDR Kathy Evison's Hornets went in on IRON HAND, with SA-6s coming up from north of the river, while the flak sites on both sides were shooting. HARMs were soon off the rails, with LCDR Evision taking two shots at an SA-6 along with a Firecan 57-mm site, while her wingman taking his shots at another SA-6 that had launched at his lead, while also shooting at a mobile air-search radar. The first SA-6 shut down to avoid the HARM, while the second ate the missile. Two more HARMs went after a Firecan and one of Talil's SA-2s that came online and decided to engage.

The second pair of Hornets, led by RAAF FLT Ron Fraser, came in on the AAA sites. They found two 57-mm sites for some of their Rockeyes to hit, while also finding several ZSU-23-4s and engaging with Mavericks. Four of the Shilkas were taken out, and though the Hornets drew MANPADs, the way was pronounced clear for the A-6s.

CDR Wiser's lead element came in northwest to southeast, still taking some flak, but not radar-guided. Though flak was moderate, it was not accurate. He and his B/N, LT “Madge” Porter, picked out the pontoon bridges to the east of the wrecked Freeway 1 bridges and though the A-6s were not carrying LGBs, Porter used the laser designator for precise aiming of their dozen Mark-82s. They put their bombs onto the east bridges, and though two of the Mark-82s exploded on the wrecked Freeway 1 bridges, most of the bombs landed on and among the pontoon bridges, blowing them apart. They were followed by LT Rivers and LT Fisher in 509,who put their Mark-82s onto the west pontoon bridges, ripping those apart. Though both A-6s drew MANPADS shots as well as flak, the two A-6s cleared the target area, egressing to the southeast, threading a corridor between An Nasiriyah and Talil AB.

LCDR Carpenter, the Eagles' Ops Officer, took his pair of Intruders in on the vehicles south of the river. They found numerous tanks, APCs, and trucks from the 12th Armored Division backed up and waiting to cross the now-wrecked pontoon bridges. Carpenter's A-6s put their Mark-82s into vehicles, tearing and blowing trucks and APCS apart and leaving numerous secondaries in their wake. The second element too, drew MANPADs shots as well as the flak, but they, too, cleared the target without incident.

After the A-6s cleared, the Hornets went in to expend any remaining Rockeyes and Mavericks, adding their CBUs to the carnage below, and taking out several tanks in the process, before they,too, egressed. The Tomcats and Prowler followed, with the package meeting up southeast of An Nasiriyah. The package reformed and egressed via the same route they had taken in, going Feet Wet over Kuwait Bay. Soon, it was back to the ship, a trap, and a turnaround.

BAI and some CAS runs continued throughout the day, but strategic strikes were not neglected on the ATO this day. First out of the gate for a strategic run was CDR Lowry, with the Nighthawks skipper taking four A-6Fs, four VFA-192 Hornets, Two Blackknights Tomcats, and the usual Prowler back into the MEZ with a repeat visit to the Shayaka Mazar Military Logistics Center. Although hit repeatedly, the facility was still very much a going concern, with not only bunkered storage, but also warehouses and revetted storage still operational. On this occasion, the first two A-6s would carry a pair of GBU-10I laser bombs, while the second pair would follow up on either warehouses or revetted storage with six Mark-83s each.

Launch was at 1000, with strike ingress via the Saudi route. After topping up from the tankers south of the Iraqi-Saudi border, the package penetrated into Iraqi airspace, getting down low once into the Euphrates River Valley east of Najaf. The strike birds maintained the low level penetration as they approached the MEZ, but once the package cleared Freeway 1 and turned northeast towards Shayka Mazar, the MEZ radars began to come up on the EW receivers.

Once that happened, the Prowler climbed to altitude and began jamming the radars now coming up. The Tomcats also climbed to altitude to assume their TARCAP, while the Golden Dragons' Hornets went in on the IRON HAND mission.

CDR Lazier, the Dragons' skipper, took his wingmate, LT Christine Langtry, put HARMs in the air, with the Skipper putting a HARM into an SA-2 site near Shayka Mazar AB that had launched two missiles, and another HARM into an SA-3 near the target that had also fired. . LT Langtry then put a HARM on the As Suwayah SA-2 east of the target area, then putting another HARM into a 57-mm Firecan radar right at the target complex. The Shayka Mazar SA-2 shut down to avoid the HARM, while the SA-3 ate its HARM, while both of Langtry's missiles found their targets.

They were joined by the second pair of Hornets, and all four found AAA sites that were shooting. LT Langtry followed her HARM strike on a Firecan with Rockeyes, wrecking the site, while the second pair found another 57-mm site and two ZPU-4 sites for their own CBUs.

After the second pair of Hornets called off target, the way was clear for the A-6s, while the Hornets assumed a CAP to block any scrambles out of Shayka Mazar. CDR Lowry's lead element came in with GBU-10Is as there were bunkers that were believed to house Scud warheads. Skipper Lowry and her B/N, LT Crandall, found their target and put their two laser bombs right into their target bunker. The result was a large sympathetic detonation, with a large fireball and cloud rising. LT Mason and LT Daniels in 536 were right behind the Skipper, and their laser bombs also found their target bunker, and they, too, were rewarded with a large secondary explosion with resulting cloud as they egressed. Postwar, it was found out that the bunker did contain Scud warheads, but of the Fuel-Air Explosive variety, and they blew with a “high-order of detonation.” Both A-6s cleared the target area, drawing both flak from ZU-23s and ZPU-4s along with MANPADS, but they cleared the area without incident and headed south.

Two of the Hornets, in between the A-6 elements, found the flak sites that had only now revealed themselves, with a ZU-23 site and a ZPU-4 site both taking Rockeyes, while another HARM found an SA-8 from Shayaka Mazar AB and knocked it off the air as it fired two missiles.

Then came the second pair of Intruders, with Collett and Meridith in 533 along with Wilson and Regan in 540. They had six Mark-83 Snakeyes each, and despite the secondaries from the strikes on the bunkers, they pressed in. Collett and Meridith found a line of storage revetments for their Mark-83s, while 540's crew targeted a line of warehouses. Both crews laid down their Snakeyes, being rewarded with multiple secondaries as LCDR Regan said, “The bombs disagreed with the contents.” Both A-6s, just as the lead pair did, drew MANPADs and some flak, but the Intruders cleared the target and headed south.

While the A-6s were going in, the IrAF responded. The Iraqis had decided to hold back their remaining MiG-25s, but two MiG-29s on CAP Southwest of Baghdad did respond, as did two MiG-21s out of Shayka Mazar and a pair of MiG-23s from Al Rashid. The Fishbeds scrambled to the northwest before turning back south, then southeast, and flew straight into the waiting arms of CDR Lazier and LT Langtry. Both Hornet drivers waited until the MiGs closed to within eight miles before shooting their AIM-120s, and the MiGs, seemingly unaware that they were being engaged, both ate Slammers, becoming fireballs. Two more MiG-21s launched, only to run into not just their own flak, but LT Langtry. She watched as the MiG wingman was hosed by a 57-mm site southeast of the airfield and promptly crashed, and the leader, turning to avoid the friendly fire, went right for her. Langtry fired another Slammer, and the MiG leader, seeing the missile launch, broke to avoid. It was too late, and the AIM-120 speared the MiG in the middle, blowing it in half, with both pieces “resembling miniature nuclear fireballs” crashing to earth.

As the Hornets were engaging the MiG-21s, the F-14s were challenged by two MiG-29s out of Saddam IAP. Both Fulcrums initially tried to lure the F-14s into the teeth of the Capital's air defenses, but when the Tomcats refused to bite, the two MiGs came in. LCDR Ken Griffin in Blackknight 103 with LT Dana Winchester led Blackknight 109 with LT Dan Holland and LT Ben Blakemore ito the fight. Both RIOs soon had the MiGs on radar, and though both had the 2-3-3 load of two Phoenix, three AIM-120, and two Sidewinder, neither took Phoenix shots. With the Prowler now also jamming the MiGs' Slot Back radars, the MiGs were forced to close in, all the while being tracked by the TCS systems on the F-14s. At twelve miles, Griffin locked up the lead MiG and shot just after lock-on, with Holland following suit at ten miles. Both MiGs suddenly found themselves engaged by the Tomcats, and tried to break. The MiG leader took his Slammer and fireballed, while the wingman, as he broke, was hit by Holland's missile that took off part of the right wingtip as the warhead either failed to detonate or only partially detonated. His reprieve was short, for Holland gained lock again and fired a second Slammer, which found the MiG at fifteen miles and turned him into a fireball.

More MiGs were coming in, with two more MiG-23s from Al Rashid and the two Floggers that had been on CAP, but the F-14s' fuel situation decided things. One of the Floggers actually gained lock on one of the Hornets southeast of Shayaka Mazar and fired two AA-7s before the High Lark radar was turned to hash by the EA-6B jamming. Though the MiG pilot claimed a kill, none of the Hornets were hit, and they began to egress, getting down low and following the A-6s. The Tomcats and the Prowler, too, also turned south and got down low, heading south.

The package reformed east of Najaf, and climbed back to altitude for the rest of the trip to the border. After meeting up with the tankers, the post-strike refueling went off, before the trip back to the ship, with recovery beginning at 1330.


While the VA-185 mission was out, VA-115 Skipper CDR Compton took a strike package deeper into the MEZ. He took four Eagles A-6s, four Golden Dragons Hornets, two Freelancer Tomcats, and a Prowler to Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad. Northeast of the city, and just west of Freeway 1 was a large field POL storage facility, with revetted fuel storage, parking and staging for fuel trucks, and located adjacent to a Military Logistics Center as well as a civilian grain elevator. When briefing crews, CDR Compton emphasized that if bombing visually and the target was obscured by smoke clouds, the logistics center was a valid secondary target, but the grain elevator, which could be mistaken for something military, was to be avoided. After a reminder about the MEZ being “No-Go” for CSAR forces, the mission launched at 1145.

Ingress was via Saudi, as usual, and the package met the returning VA-185 mission before joining up with the tankers. The refueling went off normally, and as the crews took their turns, they noticed the RSAF F-15s and Typhoons providing the HVUCAP, with not only the tankers, but AWACS and Rivet Joint as well being protected.

After topping up, the package went into Iraq, dropping down low once into the Euphrates River Valley near Najaf. CDR Compton led the strike birds past Highway 8, staying between that highway and Freeway 1, and avoiding the air bases at Al Iskindiriyah New and Shayka Mazar. Only when the strike birds reached Mahmudiyah did the Tomcats, Hornets and Prowler climb, with the latter putting out electrons to jam the MEZ's numerous radars, while the Tomcats assumed the TARCAP mission and the Hornets went in on their IRON HAND tasking.

LCDR Brazleton's Hornets went in, with his element putting HARMs off the rails as radars came up Two SA-2s and one SA-3 managed to launch, before “Magnum” calls came over the radio. One of the SA-2s and the SA-3 did shut down in time, but one of the SA-2s ate a HARM after sending three missiles up. The second element came in with Mavericks and Rockeyes, finding a pair of ZU-23 sites and a pair of ZPU-4 sites for Rockeye drops.

While the Prowler continued jamming, the A-6s came in. CDR Compton led LT Eversole in 511 as the lead element went in on the target. Sure enough, they found revetted fuel storage for their ordnance, and each A-6 had six Mark-83 Snakeyes for the target. Their bombs landed in the storage revetments, leaving multiple secondaries in their wake. Both crews still had some light flak, mainly manually aimed 23-mm and 14.5-mm, along with MANPADS, but both Intruders easily cleared the target area and turned back south.

The second pair with Morris and Carroll in 507 and Curtis and Tice in 510 came in, and they found the truck park and additional fuel storage. Morris and Caroll put their bombs into the truck park, and a number of secondaries resulted, as a number of the fuel trucks were loaded. Then came 510, and Curtis and Tice found some unhit revetments for their Mark-83s, and they, too, left a number of secondaries in their wake. Both 507 and 510 drew light flak and MANPADs on the way out, but they, too, got clear and turned south towards the meetup point.

As the A-6s went in, the IrAF responded, with a MiG-29 CAP west of Baghdad coming in, and a MiG-23 CAP to the east turning in as well. Brazleton's element of Hornets were vectored by AWACS on the Floggers coming in, and he and his wingmate, LTJG Don Landers, picked up the MiGs on their APG-73 radars almost immediately. Brazleton shot AIM-120 at 22 miles, just at the MiGs lit up the Hornets with their own High Lark radars. The MiGs tried to lock up the Hornets, only to be surprised as a Slammer found the MiG wingman and turned him into a fireball. The MiG leader broke away just as Landers fired his first Slammer, then he fired a second as he lost track of his first missile. The first Slammer found the MiG leader's belly, blowing the MiG-23 in half, with the second missile flying through the fireball. Neither Hornet driver saw a chute before they turned back to avoid the storm of flak that was starting to come up in the Capital's outskirts.

With the Hornets taking the MiG-23s, the Freelancer Tomcats took on the Fulcrums. LCDR Trent Powers and LT Shannon Mitchell in 205 led LT Shane Vansen and LT Dave “Taco” Bell in 208 in against the MiG-29s. Both gained AIM-120 lock fairly quickly, but both chose not to shoot until the RIOs had lock with their TCS cameras. Bell reported he had twin rudder aircraft in his camera, and that was enough. Both Powers and Vansen shot their AIM-120s from 32 miles, as the MiGs were trying to lock up the Tomcats for their own AA-10 shots. This time, both MiGs took nearly-simultaneous strikes, being blotted out of the sky in fireballs, with an added bonus of the Radiniywah SA-2 firing a missile that slammed into the wreckage of the MiG leader as it crashed to earth.

More MiGs were coming, with two MiG-25s scrambling out of Al Taqaddum and two more MiG-29s out of Habbiniyah. However, with the strike birds now clear, the Tomcats broke away, got down low, and headed south, following the Prowler and the Hornets.

The package formed up east of Hilah, but remained at low level until past Najaf. There, they climbed back to altitude and headed for the border. Once clear of Iraqi airspace, the package found the tankers and handled their post-strike refueling. After the tankers, and as they headed back to the ship, CDR Compton and his crews noted a strike package outbound from the ship, headed in. After feet wet, the strike birds found CV-63, with the last bird trapping just after 1500.

That outbound package was the Eagles' XO leading four A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, two Black Knights F-14s, and a Prowler against the Musaybb NW SAM Support Facility, northwest of the town and on the west bank of the Euphrates, not far from the nearby Rocket Test Center and the Chemical Facility-both of which had been hit previously. The XO emphasized in the brief the fact that the target was in the MEZ “No-Go” area for CSAR, with the squadron having lost a plane and crew the previous day, “So don't go down.” After that piece of news, the crews manned up their aircraft, with the birds on the cats and away at 1400.

Ingress was via Saudi, as usual for MEZ strikes, and just south of Kuwait, they met the Skipper's package on its way back. After joining up at the tankers, the strike birds topped off, before ingressing into Iraq.

The strike package went past Al Salman on the way in, and the crews noticed the lack of activity on the airfield, which had been repeatedly hit. Always glad to see no MiGs on the field, the crews headed on north, getting down low as they entered the Euphrates River Valley west of Najaf.

After getting down low, the package headed north, going in at 600 Feet AGL before reaching and crossing Lake Milih. The crews maintained altitude until just before reaching the north shore of the lake, before turning right, and then turning southeast, threading the needle between the Chemical Facility on their left and the Rocket Test Center on the right, before the Tomcats and Prowler climbed to assume their TARCAP and EW mission.

Within the MEZ, radars lighting up were a given, and this time was no exception. The Prowler began putting out electrons to blind radars, while the Tomcats were ready to block a MiG scramble out of Al Iskindiriyah New or any MiGs on CAP. Then LCDR Kathy Evison's Hornets went in on the IRON HAND portion of the strike.

LCDR Evison found the Musaybb SA-2 was not active, but it did fire one missile in optical mode. She did find another SA-2 and an SA-3, putting HARMs in the air, killing the SA-3 radar while her wingmate, LT Chris Roberts, did the same. He found another SA-2 and a Firecan AAA radar for his HARMs to go after. The Firecan ate the HARM, while the SA-2 managed to shut down before taking the missile.

FLT Ron Fraser, the Dambusters' RAAF exchange officer, came in and found the Firecan that had been hit-and the 57-mm battery it controlled. The gunners kept shooting despite the HARM strike, so he put two of his Rockeyes on the site, silencing it for the time being. His wingmate found a 37-mm site for a Rockeye drop, knocking it out.

With the flak largely suppressed, CDR Wiser took the A-6s in. He and LT “Madge” Porter, his B/N, picked out the target and found both a missile maintenance building and a couple of warehouses for their six Mark-83 Snakeyes, and with Madge designating the target, the XO put their Mark-83s right onto the maintenance building, walking the bombs across the facility. Two of the buildings blew apart as the bombs clearly disagreed with the contents, while the missile maintenance building was also torn apart. LT Rivers and LT Fisher in 509 came in right behind the XO, and they found additional warehouses for their Snakeyes, blowing two of them apart. Both A-6s drew some fire from a ZPU-4 site that had not been hit, but both A-6s easily cleared the area and headed southeast, right over the town of Al Musaybb and then Highway 8 before turning south.

LCDR Tony Carpenter's second element came in thirty seconds later. His B/N, LT Karla Jefferson, found an unhit missile maintenance building and an admin building for their Mark-83s, and the Ops Officer expertly walked their bombs across both buildings, blowing both of them apart. Their wingmates in 510, LT Knapp and LT Shelton, found the outside missile storage, with SA-2s and SA-3s either awaiting servicing or shipment to launchers. Their bombs landed in the storage yard, with multiple secondaries resulting, with missiles flying in all directions out of the facility. The second element, too, drew some 14.5-mm fire and even a couple of MANPADS shots, but both crews cleared the area, following the XO's element out.

Just as the A-6s went in, the IrAF responded. Two MiG-21s scrambled right out of Al Iskindiryah New, and they launched straight to the northwest, before turning to confront the F-14s. The Tomcats were led by the formidable team of LT Jacqui Patterson and LT Debbie Bradley in Blackknight 106, with LT Conway and LT Freeman in 109, and they quickly picked up the MiGs. Both MiGs closed in as they were locked up, and two snap AIM-120 shots from both Tomcats sent them down in fireballs, with the leader crashing into the Euphrates, and the wingman going into the ground just short of the river.

Things weren't over just yet for the F-14s, for two MiG-25s thundered in from Al Taqaddum at Mach 2.2. This time, the RIOs locked the Foxbats up with AIM-54C, with both Tomcats taking shots at 40 miles. Patterson and Bradley's shot scored, sending that Foxbat down in a fireball with no chute seen on the TCS, while 109's missed. That MiG then turned hard left, hoping to lure the F-14s deeper into the MEZ. Neither Tomcat crew took the bait, and with the strike birds clear, and the Prowler getting down and away, following the A-6s and with the Hornets right behind, it was time to go. For both Tomcats broke off the engagement and headed south as well.

The package reformed southeast of Najaf, before climbing back to altitude and the trip to the border. After a normal post-strike refueling, the strike birds headed east to the Gulf. Once Feet Wet, the crews found the carrier, with recovery beginning just before 1730.

After two BAI packages returned just before 1800, most flight ops ended for the day as CVW-9 on Nimitz took over with the Night ATO schedule. As usual, low-intensity ops continued until Midnight, with CAP and SUCAP to back up CVW-9.

For those aircrew not involved, several hours of well-deserved sleep followed, before aircrew wakeup at 0430. Another day in the KTO beckoned, with aircraft being armed, fueled, and ready to go with the first package on the cats at 0600 as CVW-5 went on with the war.

[Matt Wiser]

Finally managed to get Ni-38-10 in the JOG series, and it's been mighty helpful for targets in the Baghdad area. And yes, a new chapter is in progress.

[Matt Wiser]

And another day in the KTO:


26 May dawned with the usual haze as flight ops resumed. The first package of the day came from VA-115, with Skipper Compton taking four A-6Fs, four Golden Dragons Hornets, two Black Knights Tomcats, and the usual Prowler to Kut-Al Haay East Airfield. The Iraqis had based aircraft there during the first weeks of the campaign, and not only were aircraft still there, but several transport flights had been detected going in and out since the sandstorms. It had been hit the day before by the AF, but CVW-5 drew it this morning.

Launch was at 0600, and after forming up Skipper Compton took the package in via Faw and the Shatt al-Arab. As was by now usual, the crews noticed the New Jersey, tossing shells inland as she had now gotten close to the Peninsula thanks to the efforts of USN and RN minesweepers, and as they approached Faw proper, the Iranian helo activity had picked up with the dawn, with CH-47s and Bell 214s going in and out on their own supply, reinforcement, and CASEVAC missions, with a number of AH-1s escorting the transport helos. Again, the Iranian AF picked up the Navy strike package, with two F-5Es following the package from the Iranian side of the border.

After passing Al-Amarra, the package turned west, losing their Iranian tails, before turning south to the target. Upon approach to the target, the F/A-18s went in on their IRON HAND mission, with VFA-192's LCDR Mike Brazleton leading the Hornets in.

When the Hornets went in, several SA-8s and radar-guided AAA radars came up. While the Prowler began jamming to get the soft kill, the Golden Dragons sent HARMs off the rails. At least one SA-8 launcher managed to fire, before a HARM shut it down, while two others shut down to avoid HARMs. One of the Firecan AAA radars also ate a HARM, while another HARM found and killed an early-warning radar as well.

The Dragons then came in on the AAA sites, with Brazelton finding a 37-mm site for two of his Rockeyes, while his wingman found a 57-mm site, radar knocked out, for his own Rockeye drop. The second pair of Hornets, with AGM-65s as well as Rockeyes, found and killed two of the remaining SA-8 launch vehicles as well as killing a mobile air-search radar and a support vehicle.

With the way clear, Skipper Compton led the A-6s in. CDR Compton's pair of Intruders each had six Mark-83s, and both the Skipper and his wingmate, LT Todd Lowell, picked out hangars and support facilities for their bombs, with Compton and Paul in 501 planting their Mark-83s into a pair of hangars. Right behind them came Lowell and Eversole in 511, putting their Mark-83s into revetted storage for fuel trucks and bowsers, leaving a number of secondaries in their wake. Despite the Hornets' best efforts, there was still quite a bit of light flak, mainly 23-mm and 37-mm, but both Intruders cleared the target area and headed southeast.

The second pair of A-6s, LCDR Morris and LT Carroll in 507 with Curtis and Tice riding 512 this day, came into the area with a dozen Rockeyes each. They picked out the alert shelters at the northwest and southeastern sides of the field, and found parked MiGs. Morris and Carroll in 507 went in on the northwest side, putting a dozen Rockeyes onto four MiG-23s, while Curtis and Tice found four more parked at the Southeast side. To the crews' disappointment, no secondary explosions followed, which led them to believe that they had wasted ordnance on decoys. Both aircraft in the second pair cleared the target area, despite moderate fire from both 23-mm and 37-mm AAA.

With the A-6s clear, the Hornets then went in on opportunity targets, with one Hornet driver finding a pair of parked BO-105 helos for her Rockeye drop, with both going up in fireballs. LCDR Brazleton found several parked fuel trucks that the A-6s had missed, and he put his remaining pair of Rockeyes on those, adding to what the Intruders had torched. Other Hornets put their CBUs down on the ramp area, ripping many small holes in the ramp, while the control tower ate a Maverick. Once their leftover ordnance was expended, the Hornets then headed southeast for a meetup with the A-6s.

The only ones who had been disappointed were the Tomcat crews. No MiGs or Mirages had come down from Ubaydah Bin-Al-Jarrah at Kut proper, though both their own radars and AWACS had picked up a scramble. But when the Hornets cleared, both the Tomcats and the Prowler turned to follow.

After the post-strike rendezvous, the package headed back out, finding the Tigris River south of Al-Amarra and also being found by the Iranians, with a pair of F-4s this time following the package as it followed the Iranian border down to Faw and going feet wet, then clearing both Faw and the North SAR Station before arriving at the ship. Recovery aboard Kitty Hawk followed, with the last trap at 0830.

The next package was VA-185's, with CDR Lowry taking four Nighthawks A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, two Freelancer Tomcats, and another Prowler to the Kut Military Logistics Center. Though the facility had been hit repeatedly by previous strikes, it was still a going concern. With the PGM shortage, the strike birds would be loaded with Mark-82s instead of LGBs, meaning either storage buildings and either open or revetted storage was the target. An added complication was the Ubaydah-Bin-Al-Jarrah Air Base just to the east of the target, and the IRON HAND would be busy with the air defense threat from the base defenses. While the Tomcats would be handling the MiGs. After a reminder about not going down within five miles of the target area, the package launched at 0615.

As with the first launch, ingress was via Faw and the Shatt-al-Arab, with the crews getting a view of not just the ships on the North SAR Station, but also the New Jersey as she executed a fire mission. Upon ingress, the crews also noticed the Iranian activity, as not just transport helos, but gunships, went about their business. As usual, once getting feet dry, Iranian fighters shadowed the package, with two F-5s again on that duty.

The package continued ingress, with the Iranians monitoring. When the strike birds passed Al-Amarrah and turned west, the F-5s broke off and turned back into Iran, while the package headed west towards Kut.

As the package approached Kut, the Prowler began picking up radars from not just Kut, but airborne as well. Two MiG-23MLs on a CAP had their High Lark radars active, and as soon as they were picked up, the Prowler began jamming them. This time, the MiGs did not disengage, coming in to confront the strike.

The Tomcats shot ahead, with Hornet backup, as LCDR Trent Powers and LTJG Shannon Mitchell in Freelancer 205 brought 208 with LT Shane Vansen and LT Dave “Taco” Bell into the engagement. The Tomcats did have Phoenix on this occasion, but the RIOs worked to get lock for AIM-120, with 208's crew taking the first shot at 16 miles, killing the MiG wingman. The leader then broke left, avoiding the shattered remains of his wingman, but as he did, the MiG-23 slowed, which solved the problem for 205's shot at 12 miles, which blew the MiG in half. As the Tomcats flew past, they saw a single chute.

With the Tomcats engaged, the Hornets, led by VFA-195 Skipper CDR Paul Lazier, came in on the IRON HAND. Two SA-8s came up along with a previously undetected SA-6, and all three drew HARM shots. The SA-6 shut down almost immediately without shooting, as did one of the SA-8s, though one of the -8s took a HARM and fireballed. Two AAA radars came up, and both ate HARMs. Skipper Lazier and his wingmate, LT Christine Langtry, then came in on a pair of gun sites, with the Skipper's Rockeyes taking care of a 37-mm site north of the target, and Langtry finding another 37-mm battery near the egress route for the A-6s.

The second pair of Hornets came in, finding not just a 57-mm site with its radar down, but also what looked to be either SA-9 or SA-13 launchers. The former ate a pair of Rockeyes, while four of the presumed SAM vehicles ate Mavericks. It turned out that the Iraqi 3rd Armored Division was refitting in and around Kut, and the divisional air-defense assets added their fire to what was already there.

Then came Skipper Lowry with her A-6s, and the lead pair found some additional flak, mainly 14.5-mm machine-gun fire and both 23-mm and 37-mm. Ignoring the flak, CDR Lowry in 531, with LT Mason and LT Daniels in 536 both found revetted storage for their Mark-82s,with both drops landing in multiple revetments. The resulting secondaries indicated ammo storage, and those secondaries continued even after the two A-6s had cleared the target. As they did, not only did the supply area's guns keep shooting, but the defenses around the air base added to the fire. Fortunately, Skipper Lowry's two Intruders cleared the target without loss or damage.

The next pair, Collett and Meridith in 533 with Wilson and Regan in 540, came in. Collettt and Meridith picked out a cluster of warehouses for their drop, but as they pulled away after bomb release, there were no secondaries despite several of the warehouses taking bomb strikes. Wilson and Regan followed, with 540's crew taking a truck park, with several trucks blowing apart and others tossed aside by the Mark-82s. Both A-6s, as with the lead pair, drew flak as they cleared, however, both aircraft cleared the target and headed for the rendezvous.

As the A-6s went in, the Tomcats orbited after killing the CAP, expecting a response from Al Jarrah AB. They got one as two MiG-21s, reactivated from the IrAF's war reserves, scrambled. Both MiGs were headed for the A-6s, and the Tomcats dropped down to pursue, literally buzzing Al Jarrah as they did. The Tomcat crews ignored the flak while the Hornets pounced on the offenders, sizing up the MiGs. LCDR Powers in 205 locked up the wingman with a Slammer, but the shot, at only three miles, for some reason missed. The MiGs then split up, with the leader breaking left with 205 in pursuit, while the wingman, who broke right, had 208 on his tail.

Powers switched to Sidewinder, shooting an AIM-9X, and the “Super Snake” found its mark, the MiG-21 fireballing and cartwheeling to the ground just south of Kut. As 205 passed by the crash site, neither pilot or RIO saw a chute.

LT Vansen in 208 picked up the wingman, shooting a Sidewinder which also missed as the MiG made a hard right turn. The MiG pilot would've been advised to maintain that turn, but for some reason he reversed. Vansen put 208 into a right yo-yo, got in behind the MiG, and gained Sidewinder lock at less than a mile. The AIM-9 flew up the MiG's tailpipe and exploded, with the MiG-21 smashing into the ground not far from the pyre of the lead MiG. This time, 208's crew saw a chute before heading out.

The Hornets and Prowler cleared the target area at almost the same time, meeting up southeast of Kut, before climbing back to altitude and forming up for the trip out. Again, the Iranians picked up the strike flight on its way out, with two F-4Es doing so until the strike package cleared the Faw Peninsula. After going feet wet, the strike flight passed the North SAR station, then found CV-63. Recovery began, with the last trap at 0850.

Then it was time for the next strike to launch, and the first one into the MEZ. CDR Matt Wiser, the VA-115 XO, took four A-6s, four VFA-195 Hornets, four Tomcats from VF-154, and the usual Prowler against the Fallujah III Castor Oil Plant, northwest of Fallujah on Highway 23. Though the facility had been hit, both in DESERT STORM and again in DESERT FOX, the Iraqis had rebuilt it. Now it was time to make it go away, and hopefully for good. With the target north of both Habbiniyah AB and Al Taqaddum AB, and still in the MEZ, some additional help was called for. The RAF joined the mission with two Tornados with ALARM missiles for SEAD, and would meet up with the Navy birds at the tankers. While with the LGB shortage, the A-6s would be carrying six Mark-83s each to service the target. After a reminder that the MEZ was still a “No Go Zone” for SAR forces, the package launched on time at 0645.

Ingress was via the Saudi route, and as the Navy strike elements arrived at the tanker track, the RAF was already waiting. And again, the RAF's Air Commodore John Blair was leading the two-ship of Tornados, each with two ALARM missiles. The RAF's senior officer had done this on a previous occasion, and again, told CDR Wiser that the strike was his to lead. With that exchange done, the strike birds topped up from the tankers, with the crews noting the RSAF F-15s and Typhoons providing the HVUCAP. Then it was time to ingress into Iraq.

Ingress was initially at medium altitude, as usual, before passing An Najaf and getting down low. The package flew along the west side of Lake Milh, coming in at 500 Feet AGL, before bypassing both Lake Habbiniyah and Ramadi, heading for a hill on their TPC charts as Hill 292. After turning east at the hill, it was a straight shot to the target, just north of the intersection of Highway 23 and the Samarra Highway.

As the package approached the target area, the four Tomcats climbed to assume their CAP mission, the Prowler followed and began jamming, while the Hornets went in on the IRON HAND. At the same time, the Tornados climbed to start launching ALARM. The Tornados each had two ALARMs, and Blair's crews each launched a single missile in loiter mode.

Iraqi radars in the Western area of the MEZ began going active, with an SA-2 north of Habbiniyah and another at Fallujah coming up. The former site attracted both of the loitering missiles, and went off the air, while the Fallujah SA-2 drew HARM shots from two Hornets, and shut down to avoid eating the missiles, though it did manage to launch a single SA-2.

LCDR Kathy Evison's Hornets took HARM shots at not just the Fallujah SA-2, but also another SA-2 near Al Taqaddum airfield, and that one also shut down to avoid the HARM. Several AAA radars and then an SA-3 south of Fallujah also drew HARM shots, while one 57-mm radar also took an ALARM in direct-fire mode. The other ALARM left found a height-finding radar near the Fallujah SA-2 and killed it.

With their ALARMs expended, the Tornados broke away and headed back south for the border while the Hornets went in on AAA sites. LCDR Evison found a 37-mm site near the target area and put a pair of Rockeyes on it, while her wingmate, LT Chris Roberts, found a 57-mm site whose radar had been taken out, and added to the destruction with a pair of his own Rockyes.

RAAF FLT Chris Fraser, their exchange officer, soon found a radar-guided 57-mm site that had not taken a HARM, and made a Rockeye drop, knocking it out. His wingmate then struck a 14.5-mm site next to the target, killing it, before putting two more Rockeyes on another site. With that, the Hornets climbed to back up the Tomcats.

After the Hornets got clear, the A-6s came in. CDR Wiser, flying the “new” 502 on this occasion as his regular mount, 505, was down for maintenance, came in with LT Rivers and LT Fisher in 509. His B/N, LT “Madge” Porter, picked out the part of the plant that dealt with Castor Oil, and lined up a drop. Six Mark-83s came off 502's racks, tearing into the plant and leaving two secondaries in their wake. Rives and “Indy” Fisher followed the XO, adding their Mark-83s to what 502's crew had dropped, and they, too, had a couple of secondaries as they cleared the target. Both A-6s drew small-arms fire and some 23-mm fire from a battery across the road, but managed to egress without damage.

With 506 leading, LCDR Tony Carpenter's element then came in, with LT Karla Jefferson, his B/N, marking the west side of the production facility. Their Mark-83s tore that section of the plant apart, and they, too, reported secondaries. LT Knapp and LT Shelton in 508 followed, hitting the east side of the plant, with their Mark-83s tearing it apart. This pair also drew fire as they cleared the target area, but like the XO's, no one took hits.

The Tomcat crews expected a reaction from both Habbiniyah or Al Taqaddum, and got one from the latter, as Habbiniyah's runway had been hit by both USAF and RAAF F-111s the night before. Two MiG-29s came up out of Taqaddum, and though they had to have seen the A-6s coming out, the Tomcats were closing and so the MiG drivers had to honor the F-14s.

LT Jacqui Patterson and LT Debbie Bradley in Blackknight 106, their “regular' mount, picked up the MiGs and led LT Conway and LT Freeman in 109 into the fray. They picked up the MiGs almost immediately as the Fulcrums climbed out, and despite the EA-6B jamming, had Slot Back radar emissions on their RWRs. Patterson managed to quickly lock up the lead MiG, shooting two AIM-120s at 15 miles. Both missiles tracked the MiG and exploded it, sending the wreckage crashing into the west bank of the Euphrates.

Conway and Freeman then picked up the fight, picking up the MiG wingman as he turned to avoid his leader's demise. A single AIM-120 found the MiG, and as he plunged to earth, both F-14 crewers saw the canopy come off, and the hapless MiG driver was hanging in his chute.

The second pair of Tomcats, moving to cover Patterson's two, turned to meet a CAP coming from the Baghdad area. Blackknight 105 with LT Mike Sanchez and LT Rick Schrader led LT Dan Holland and LT Ben Blakemore in 112 onto two MiG-21s that came from just north of Baghdad The two Fishbeds came in at just over Mach 1, radars on. Both RIOs worked their controls, setting up AIM-120 shots. After lock-on, Sanchez in 105 shot a Slammer at 17 miles, with the missile quickly eating up the distance and turning the MiG into a fireball.

Then it was 112's turn, with Blakemore getting a Slammer lock for a shot at 14 miles, as the remaining MiG, seeing its' companion's demise, began to turn away. That made the problem easier for the shot that Holland took just after lock-on, and that MiG was seen on TCS to be speared amidships and blowing apart.

AWACS advised of more MiGs inbound, with two out of Al-Asad and two more coming in from Samarra East. However, fuel dictated the terms of this fight, and with the A-6s and now the Prowler clear of the target, both the F-14s and the Hornets turned southeastwards.

The strike birds flew past Fallujah, the Prowler right behind, before they turned south to pass the Euphrates. Both Hornets and Tomcats followed, before meeting up at Lake Milh. The package reformed and climbed to altitude, heading south for the Saudi Border and then the tanker track.

Post-strike refueling was routine, and CDR Wiser was informed the Tornados were safely headed home, having tanked a few minutes earlier. The package then headed across Saudi back to the ship. The strike birds reached CV-63 shortly after 1100, with recovery shortly thereafter.

While the big strikes were out, CAS and BAI missions continued throughout the day, covering the Euphrates river area from Samawah all the way to Basrah. Most crews reported “light to moderate” flak, though MANPADS was a major concern, though radar SAMs were not being encountered as they had been previously. CVW-5's intel people took those reports, and concluded that the Iraqis were conserving their radar-guided missiles, with no reloads coming from the Soviets. This was duly passed up the line, where CENTAF Intelligence would later agree with that assessment.

After a Noon MEZ strike by VA-185 to a RGFC garrison south of Baghdad that was the prewar home of the Medina Armored Division, two more MEZ strikes were on the agenda. VA-115 had both, with Skipper Compton taking four A-6s, four Golden Dragons Hornets, two Feelancer Tomcats, and the usual Prowler, to the Saddam Fedayeen Training Center southeast of Al Mada'in and close to Salman Pak. This target was southeast of Baghdad, on the north bank of the Tigris and not far from the Salman Pak Presidential Complex that had been hit earlier.

Launch was at 1300, and after tanking up on the Gulf Tanker Track, the strike package headed in past the North SAR Station and the New Jersey, still tossing shells inland. Ingress into Iraq was via the Shatt-al-Arab and the Faw Peninsula, and again, the Iranian AF sent fighters up to monitor the strike package, with two F-4Es handling things on this occasion. Once the package cleared Al-Amarra and turned northwest, the Iranians turned back.

Once past Amarra, the strike birds got down low, coming in at 600 Feet AGL; low enough to avoid radar detection for the most part, but high enough to avoid power lines. When the package approached the MEZ, the radars were still up and going after not just the first two Navy strikes, but a pair of Air Force missions into the area around the capital, while AWACS warned of MiGs on CAP west and north of Baghdad proper. While there were additional MiGs airborne near Balad AB and also at Al Taqaddum.

As the package approached the MEZ, the Prowler climbed and began jamming the numerous radars in the MEZ, while CDR Lazier and his wingmate, LT Langtry, began picking SAM sites for HARM shots. LT Langtry picked out an SA-3 just across the Tigris from the target, and put a HARM in the air just as the SAM site also launched two missiles. This time, the SA-3 didn't shut down, and the Low Blow radar ate the HARM, causing the two missiles to go ballistic. CDR Lazier, meanwhile, picked out an early-warning radar and an SA-2 for his two shots, with the former shutting down and the latter shooting two missiles at the F-14 TARCAP that had just climbed. The Tomcats easily avoided the SAMs, while the HARM went after the SA-2's Fan Song radar, killing it.

The other two Hornets then went down on a couple of flak sites near the target, killing two ZPU-4 batteries, but also shooting a HARM each at SA-8s near Shayka Mazar AB. Both SA-8s shut down to avoid the HARMs, but one of them was taken out nevertheless.

It was then the A-6s' turn, and CDR Compton brought his lead element in on a Northeast to Southwest run. Both 501 and 511 had a dozen Mark-82s, and the Skipper walked his ordnance across the Main Admin Building and a couple of barracks, while LT Lowell in 511 put his bombs on the training area, tearing apart, among other facilities, a 707 fuselage reportedly used for training airline hijack teams. Despite a hail of small-arms fire and two MANPADS shots from either SA-7 or SA-14, both A-6s were able to clear the target and egress to the southwest, clear of the airfield. CDR Compton led both birds all the way to Freeway 1, before turning south to Hillah and the rendezvous point.

The second pair, with Morris and Carroll in 507 leading Curtis and Tice in 512, came in next. Both A-6Fs had a dozen Rockyes on their outer pylons, and both Intruders put their bombs onto the compound, tearing up buildings, wrecking vehicles, and inflicting numerous casualties on the faculty and their fanatic students. They, too drew fire and flak on egress, and to their surprise, had a pair of MiG-21s from Shayka Mazar fly right over them on their way out. Both A-6s were able to clear the area and follow the Skipper to the rendezvous point.

The two MiGs that overflew both 507 and 511 scrambled as soon as the jamming began, and they launched direct to the northwest. Instead of turning to go after the A-6s, the MiGs picked up CDR Lazier's pair of Hornets and turned into them. That turned out to be a first-class mistake.

LT Langtry picked up both MiG-21s, and CDR Lazier gave her the “press to engage” call, meaning she was now lead and he would support. She managed to lock up the MiG wingman for a close-in Slammer shot, taking it at just under ten miles. The AIM-120 flew right to the MiG, smashing into the left wing, but it failed to detonate, but took off half of the wing. The MiG continued to turn, but as it did, it exposed its belly, where a second Slammer shot from Langtry's F/A-18 smashed into the aircraft. This time, it turned into a fireball and crashed into the Tigris. Neither Langtry or CDR Lazier saw a chute.

The MiG leader, seeing the end of his wingman, turned to the left, trying to draw Lazier into range of an as-yet unhit SA-3 site. Unable to lock up the site for a HARM shot, Lazier called “MAGNUM!” and the SA-3 shut down, fearing a HARM was in the air. He then got in behind the MiG-21, taking a Sidewinder shot at six miles. The MiG tried to avoid the missile, making a hard right turn, but the AIM-9X exploded just behind the tail, shredding the tail but not killing the MiG. A second AIM-9 shot at two miles finished off the MiG, and as the tail became a mass of flame, the canopy came off, and Lazier watched as the seat fired, leaving the hapless MiG leader in his chute.

While the Hornets were engaged with the MiGs out of Shayka Mazar, two more MiG-21s on CAP came in from north of Baghdad, while two MiG-23MLs scrambled out of Al-Rashid AB in Baghdad proper. The MiG-21s headed right for the Tomcats, with Freelancer 204 with LCDR Kevin Schmitt and LT Bill Watkins leading 211 with LTJG Marc Walker and LT Dana Tyler into the fight. With fuel starting to run low, the Tomcat crews decided to end things quickly, with both RIOs locking up both MiG-21s at around 20 miles, and Slammers were soon off. Schmitt and Watkins scored first, with a kill at 16 miles, but 211's first shot missed. LT Tyler in 211's back seat worked fast, and got a lock-on for a second shot at ten miles. That shot scored, turning that MiG into a fireball. With fuel approaching Bingo, the Tomcats broke away and turned south, declining combat with the MiG-23s. The Prowler had already turned south to follow the A-6s, and the Hornets joined up on the Tomcats.

After reforming just south of Hillah, the strike birds climbed back to altitude. They soon cleared the border, and met up with the tanker track. As they cleared the tankers, the crews noticed another package from the ship arriving for their own prestrike refueling. After the strike leads exchanged words, the package then headed back to the ship, clearing the Saudi coast and then meeting up with the carrier. Recovery then began, with the last trap at 1525.

The package they had met up with on the way out was the last MEZ strike of the day for the air wing, and VA-115's XO took it. CDR Wiser led four Eagles A-6Fs, four Dambusters Hornets, two Black Knights Tomcats, and a Prowler to Baghdad, and the Daura State Establishment for Heavy Engineering. This was a CW and BW related target, as it was a facility for warhead fabrication, located southwest of the Dora Oil Refinery. With the facility being an area target, dumb bombs were authorized with fabrication buildings and the Admin Building being targeted, as each A-6 would carry six Mark-83s on the strike. After a reminder about not going down in the MEZ, especially Baghdad itself, the crews launched at 1345.

Ingress was via the Saudi route, meeting the returning Al Mada'in strike as they came off the tankers. After a quick exchange between the CO and XO, the strike birds lined up at the tankers for their refueling. Once that was finished, the crews began to ingress into Iraqi Airspace at medium altitude.

Their route took them to the west of Al Salman, which the Saudis had reached, though it would be a while before anyone could use the airfield, either for CSAR or for emergency landings. Once they reached the Euphrates River Valley, the package got down, going in low at 500 Feet AGL.

Najaf went by, then the package hit Lake Milh, and everyone noticed the now-numerous radars in the MEZ that were up and running, both ground and air. For not just the Navy, but the USAF, RAF, and RAAF had been active in the MEZ, and the Iraqis were very active this afternoon. The radars were still very active as the package cleared Lake Milh and then went over Lake Habbiniyah, with air activity noted at Al Taqaddum, with an Il-76 coming in and also a pair of MiG-29s also in the landing pattern.

After clearing Habbiniyah, the package continued north, until reaching a power substation south of Lake Tharthar. Then they turned east for the quarry that had served various strikes as a checkpoint. Once there, the strike birds turned southeast for a pair of radio antennas that were the Initial Point for the run on Baghdad. After reaching that, CDR Wiser gave the Strike Commit call, and LCDR Evison's Hornets shot ahead to handle the IRON HAND, while LT Patterson's two F-14s climbed for their TARCAP, and the Prowler joined them, putting out electrons to jam Iraqi radars.

This time, the Tomcats drew first blood. For as they climbed to assume their TARCAP mission, LT Patterson's two F-14s picked up two MiG-23MFs over North Baghdad, and both Tomcats rolled in behind their quarry. Patterson and Bradley in Blackknight 106 got a Sidewinder lock on one of the MiGs and shot at barely one mile. That AIM-9 flew up the MiG's tailpipe, turning the MiG into a fireball.

They were followed by Conway and Freeman in 112, who picked up the second MiG-23 as that MiG reacted to the sudden demise of his wingman. The Flogger turned left, then right, before Conway acquired with AIM-9 and shot at just over a mile. The Sidewinder scored just below the tail, shredding the rear fuselage, blowing off the right stabilizer. As 112 closed in to finish the MiG off with guns, Conway and Freeman saw the canopy come off, the seat fire, and the pilot was soon hanging in his chute. While his aircraft plunged into a cluster of houses norht of the main rail yard.

While the F-14s were dealing with the CAP, LCDR Evison's Hornets went in on their IRON HAND mission. Evison and her wingmate, LT Roberts, put HARMs in the air, with one of Evison's finding a Roland near the Presidential Palace and killing it, while her second HARM found an SA-3 between the Dora Oil Refinery and the Tigris River, forcing it to shut down after launching two missiles at one of the Tomcats. Both SA-3s missed their mark as they “went dumb” after losing radar guidance, but Conway and Freeman had a little scare as a result.

LT Roberts found a Firecan AAA radar near the oil refinery and put a HARM into the site, knocking it out, with his second shot also finding a Roland in the Presidential Area, killing it as well. Both Hornets then found targets for Mavericks, putting AGM-65s into a pair of SA-15 launchers, a damaged Roland, and a single Pantisir missile/gun truck.

RAAF FLT Ron Fraser then brought two more Hornets in, as Evison and Roberts assumed a CAP south of Baghdad to watch for a scramble out of Al-Rashid AB. The Aussie and his wingman both found a pair of gun radars right at the Highway 1 interchange with the Mosul Road, knocking out both. Two more HARMs also found targets, with one SA-3 at Sabiyat and an SA-15 near the Presidential Area taking hits. Both Hornets then went in with AGM-65, killing a Pantisir along with a pair of ZSU-23s and an air-defense command vehicle. With that, Fraser's pair of Hornets then assumed a TARCAP south of Baghdad to watch for any threats to the A-6s as they came off target.

Then it was the turn of the A-6s. Unlike previous strikes, the strike birds had to overfly most of Baghdad before hitting their target, but that was not a concern to the crews. Flying through Baghdad's AAA was, and to both CDR Wiser and his B/N, LT Porter, it felt like the flak gunners were trying to expend as much ammo as possible as the practice would be outlawed in the next few minutes. His pair of A-6s flew right down the Mosul Road and the 14th of July Street, coming in at 500 Feet AGL, as usual giving the good citizenry an air show while doing so. After buzzing the Presidential Area, and crossing the Tigris, a slight course adjustment before crossing the river again brought them to the target, southwest of the Dora Refinery. LT Porter lined things up, and the XO walked his Mark-83s across two of the factory buildings, blowing them apart. Right behind the XO's bird was 509 with Rivers and Fisher, and they, too, put their Mark-83s into factory buildings. Both A-6s were able to get clear of the target, turning to the right after weapon release and heading south, drawing flak and MANPADS while doing so. They picked up Freeway 1 and adjusted course to get between Freeway 1 and Highway 8 on their way out.

LCDR Tony Carpenter's two A-6s then came in, thirty seconds behind the XO's. Carpenter and his B/N, LT Karla Jefferson in 506 saw the smoke and flame from the bomb blasts, and adjusted their course. LT Jefferson designated the Admin Building as their aimpoint, and the Ops Officer walked his Mark-83s across that structure, wrecking it and also putting a bomb into one of the production buildings. It was then 508's turn, with LT Knapp and LT Shelton putting their bombs into the same production building 506 had hit, along with another, tearing both apart. The second pair also drew flak and MANPADS fire, but took no hits as they egressed, following the same path as the XO's element.

Right behind the A-6s came the Prowler, still putting out electrons to confuse radar, then the Hornets joined up on the EA-6C for their egress. The Tomcats turned to follow, flying above most of the light- and medium-caliber flak, but still dodging some 85-mm and 100-mm fire. The F-14s came out supersonic, egressing to pick up the rest of the package while leaving a pair of sonic booms for Baghdad's citizenry.

The package reformed south of An Najaf as the strike birds climbed to altitude to meet up with the F-14s. The egress to the border was now routine, then they found the tankers. After topping up for the trip back to the ship, the package headed east. After crossing the coast and getting into the traffic pattern for the carrier, recovery began aboard CV-63. It was 1740 when the last aircraft, Blackknight 112, recorded its trap.

Major flight ops were now over for the day, but low-intensity CAP and SUCAP continued until Midnight, as CVW-9 on Nimitz took over. For those not flying those missions, several hours of sleep were in store, while maintenance and ordnance crews got aircraft ready for the next day.

The morning of 27 May dawned bright, but hazy. After aircrew wakeup and breakfast, crews on the morning flight schedule assembled in their ready rooms, while their aircraft were brought up to the Flight Deck. A FOD walkdown followed, before the first package of the morning was ready to go. Launch was at 0600, as another day in the KTO began.

[jemhouston]

Once again tankers play a key role in the day's events

[Matt Wiser]

The CW target north of Habbiniyah (Code-named Fallujah III):