Op. Desert Storm

[Benner]

thought it would be an interesting read to post day by day summaries of what happened in ODS. I think I'll post one every 4 or 3 days. It's stolen from another site (I'll footnote later:), but I've cleaned it up a bit and only included air war stuff; I've left out some interesting air war stuff to to keep this relatively short.

JANUARY 17th, 1991

General Information

Task Force Normandy strikes 2 air defence radars to open corridors at 2:38 AM Baghdad Local or 1850 Eastern Standard Time

51 out of first 52 Tomahawks fired hit their targets, 132 launched the 1st day

Iraqi artillery starts the Saudi refinery at Khafji burning; USMC Harriers hit the Iraqi artillery in turn

Turkey authorizes its bases for use by US/NATO forces to attack Iraq, 48 aircraft arrive in Incirlik with the 7440th TFW(Provisional)

The USAF utilized ground launched BQM-74C Target Drones in the first wave of the War to bring up Iraqi Radars for pre-emptive HARM launches; USN also launched ADM-141 decoys. This part of the plan is known as "Puba's Party" after officer who planned it,

The Iraqi Air Force flew 116 sorties

668 x strikes for participating allied fighter bombers during 1st evening

200 + HARM's fired by the USAF & USN during the 1st Wave, also ALARM's fired in combat for the first time

v The first F-111F to drop bombs on Libya (70-2391), also led the first Desert Storm mission. Of all F-111 sorties only one aircraft received damage with a bullet hole in the tail.

v 160 x KC-135 and KC-10A tankers were on station

v USN launched 228 combat sorties from six carriers, 90 on ATO

- (4) airfields around Iraq

- (30) Static SCUD launching sites at H2 and H3 airfields

v There were 31 total NBC Targets on the first night: 3 nuclear targets,10 biological targets,18 chemical targets

- The Saratoga Air Wing hit Al Taqaddum aircraft hangers with LGBs

- The Kennedy Air Wing followed hitting the MiG Maintenance Depot

- Marine A-6's from Shiek Isa hit a rail yard SE of Basra

- 38 x USAF/Navy/RSAF a/c package hit Shaibah Airfield near Basrah

- 53 x F-111F's, flying in flights of 4 and 8, hit chemical bunkers at H3, Salman Pak,

and Ad Diwaniyah Airfields

- Other packages hit airfields and control towers at Jalibah and Balaad Southeast in Iraq and Ali al Salem and Ahmed al Jaber in Kuwait.

- half of the attack force on Ali al Salem veered away due to intense AAA

- (8) SCUD's impact in Tel Aviv and Haifa area, 7 injured.

- (1) SCUD launched at Dhahran and intercepted by Patriot

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (17Jan/Day 1):

v At 02:51 local, the 1st bomb from an F-117 flown by Maj Greg Feest

(who later also droped the 1st bomb in JUST CAUSE) hit the Radar Integrated

Operations Center, also called Iraqi Air Force Interceptor Operations Center

(IOC), 65 miles SW of Bagdad or 150 miles inside Iraq. The IOC was a key link

between border radar sites and the Air Defense Headquarters in Bagdad.

- target was housed in a hardened bunker in a town called Nukhayb

- Maj Feest used 1 x GBU-27 penetrator 2000 lbs bomb

- watching the 1st bomb impact the bunker, he noted that the doors blew off

- his second bomb was used on a target in Western Iraq, his wingman followed

- F-117's attacked targets in sequential streams of one after one, each

with an allowed time over the target area (around one minute trail)

- After their targets were hit, sections of F-117's would rejoin for

post attack tanking and the long track home to Khamis Mushait

AIRCRAFT KILLS: (8) Kills recorded: 3 x F-1 Mirage and 5 x MiG-29 and 2 x MiG-29's from Fratricide

1 - MiG-29 Fulcrum by Capt. Jon K. Kelk

F-15C 85-125,. 58th TFS, 33rd TFW

Engagement logged by AWACS at 03:15 am local time

PENZOIL FLIGHT

v #1 Capt Rick Tollini

v #2 Capt Larry Pitts

v #3 Capt Jon Kelk

v #4 Capt Mark Williams

... A second fourship led by Capt "Cheese" Graeter was West of them.

Total of 20 x F-15's were sent up as a large sweep wall, 8 x from the 1st TFW, 4 x from 36th TFG, and 8 x from 33rd TFW.

They were on line from Kuwait to Jordan and set to go in 20 minutes behind the exiting first wave of strikers.

... Tollini's fourship was part of a plan to capitalize on the "confusion" caused by the Stealth F-117's first impacts on targets, which would cause the Iraqi AF to scramble their air defense alert pads. As the Command & Control was breaking down it would leave many MiGs vulnerable and they could be taken out by the F-15's.

... Sent North early, got 100 nm ahead of Gaeter's flight, location was Northeast of Radif al Khafi Highway Strip, Southeast of Mudaysis AB, and North of Wadi al Khirr (New)

... Patrolling at 30,000 ft, picked up target at 40 nm as they were around 60 nm North of the Saudi-Iraqi Border, target at 8 to 9 Kft

... Wasn't sure that it was hostile, but target was climbing steadily

... headed directly towards the F-15 PENNZOIL Flight

... Around 35 nm RWR indications verified that the MiG was locked on and the AWACS was still unable to confirm it was a "Hostile"

... Kelk interrogated the target and did not get a "Friendly" reply

... At 15 to 18 nm Kelt fired a single AIM-7 then manoeuvred into his wingman popping chaff.....he still was locked-up by the MiG

... Williams was also getting RWR indications for 20-25 nm's, so they both weaved and dropped chaff

... Kelk then attempted to jettison his external tanks, but they did not go.

... Kept the target within the radar FOV for illumination, but never heard an AWACS ID of the target as HOSTILE.

... Pitched back at 10 nm, saw purplish streak on the horizon, that began to sparkle, which could have been a missile launched or a fireball

... RWR indications stopped and no radar targets left on scope, continued on mission towards Baghdad, turned west and recovered

2 x F-1EQ Mirage's by Capt Robert E. "Cheese" Graeter

F-15C Eagle 85-0105, 58th TFS, 33rd TFW

... achieved 2 KIlls, the second one was a maneuvering suicide engagement time of 03:30 am local

... Western positioned four ship on Eagle Wall with Rick Tollini's Flight

v #1 Capt "Cheese" Graeter

v #2 1/Lt Scott Maw

v #3 Lt Col Bill Thiel

v #4 1/Lt Robert Brooks

... Activity called 50 nm North, Radar contacts at 26-27 nm.

... Simultaneous call by AWACS that Bandits were taking off and now Southwest of Mudaysis AB......figured out that it was same group

... Target just took-off, climbing, accelerating, and turning left

... Sort at 20 nm netted 2 x targets, locked-up on Lead TGT at 15 nm

... Graeter was at 20,000 ft, the target was at around 7,000 ft which was around 4,000 ft AGL with second target in Trail

... Fired 1 x AIM-7 inside of 10 nm, timed ot at 4 nm, KILL

... Head-On Night Shot, HO(N), with look-down, big explosion and long flash at right 2:00, and a second big explosion around 15 seconds later

... Turned out to be 3 x F-1's, thought to be a raid package heading for

Dhahran Air Base. Middle F-1 hit the ground after lead was Killed

... Ended up in-trail with third escaping F-1, elected to not use burner and let him go to be safe from ground fire and SAM's

1 x Mirage F-1 downed by suicide attacking an EF-111A

... 66-0016, 390th ECS of the 48th TFW(p)

... Capt James A. "JD" Denton (pilot), and Capt Brent D. "Geat Brandini"

Brandon (30) (EWO)

... Mirage gave chase to EF-111A over Western Iraq, fired 1 missile, as the Raven headed for the deck, but an F-15 was after it

... EF-111A evasive break to low altitude using chaff/flares

... hard right turn to supersonic speed

... Mirage tried to follow and crashed

... but, the KILL, was awarded to Graeter

... John Deur reports that the USAF now feels that the F-1 that crashed is the same one awarded to Graeter in a maneuvering suicide

1 x F-1 Mirage by Capt Steven Wayne "Tater" Tate

F-15C Eagle 83-0017, 71st TFS/1st TFW ("FF")

... Took off as a four-ship at 01:30 am, 1 hr to border & tanker

v Capt Steve Tate #1.....Low CAP

v Capt Bo Merlack #2

v Capt Daman Harp #3.....High CAP

v Capt Mark Atwell #4

... Air-to-Air Mission Commander for a SEAD/Strike Package of

F-111F/F-15E/B-52's that had both F-4G Weasel and EF-111A support and the F-117's were also involved in front

... 50 nm South of Baghdad set up counter-rotating CAP with sections stacked at 30,000 ft and 10,000 ft. with CAPs oriented towards two known threat axes, 1st contact SE but was an F-111

... External Tanks were jettisoned before AWACS ID'ed the F-111

... AWACS called targets to the NE heading towards the High CAP and

the Strike Package....it was 03:20 am

... AWACS alerted him that F-1's were chasing his #3

... Locked Up on a F-1 at 8,000 ft., at 16 nm and confirmed by EID

... Target was heading west, at 12 nm, heading straight for the F-4G's

... met all ROE conditions, then fired Fox 1 at 12 NM, (1) AIM-7 and it became a KILL with F-Pole at 4NM, target didn't manoeuvre

... Head-On Night Shot HO(N) that resulted in huge fireball

... AAA/SAM's, bombings, HARMs, etc. all lighted the night

... I-Hawk had targeted Tate and he was manoeuvring to avoid it

2 x MiG-21 Fishbed C/J-7A's

- by a USN F/A-18C's fromVFA-81 "Sunliners" of CVW-17 deployed aboard USS Saratoga

... LCdr Mark "MRT" Fox, number three in a division of F-18's

... AA401/163508 with the engagement at 14:00 in the afternoon

... flight under E-2C (#600) control from VAW-125 after an

ESM cut was achieved by an EP-3E from VQ-2 that was on

station in the Red Sea, 40 miles north of the border

... division package configured with (3) Mk-84's, CL Tk, (2)AIM-9M, FAMMO Gun, + an ALQ-167 Pod

... Fox was launched as an airborne "spare", but six plane strike ended up as a division launch with 3 x aborts and 1 x spare

> Cdr Bill "Maggot" McKee (XO of VFA-81) DIV Lead

> Lt Nickolas "Mongol" Mongillo (pilot VFA-81)

> LCdr Chuck "Bouncer" Osborne (OpsO VFA-83)

> LCdr Mark Irby "MRT" Fox (OpsO of VFA-81)

- launched as Spare with (4)Mk-84's & no-ALQ pod

> LCdr Callaghan, VF-103, F-14 TARPS Post Strike Recce

... as they approached target area the (4) Hornets were near line

abreast with Mongo/Maggot/MRT/Bouncer (L to R), set A/G

switches an encountered a 100 kts jet stream westery

... VAW-125 "Tiger Tails" control from the Saratoga

... "400 Bandits on your Nose at 15", call from E-2C

... MRT radar lock-on supersonic MiG-21 Head-on, Selected SW

... 1 x AIM-9M good tone, FOX, HIT, and KILL

... lost sight of AIM-9 and quickly fired AIM-7, seconds later

the AIM-9 HIT and obtained the KILL and a few seconds later

HIT again by the AIM-7

1 x MiG-21 Fishbed C/J-7A by a USN F/A-18C

VFA-81 (same mission)

... Lt Nick "Mongol" Mongillo

... locked-on trailing targetv at 8 NM, EID at 4.5 NM as MiG-21

... 1 x AIM-7, FOX at 4 NM, HIT, KILL

... Forward Quarter Day Shot

... After Kills Division got more contacts at 20NM but decided to

continue to their primary target

1 x MiG-29 Fulcrum by Capt Charles (Chuck) J. "SLY" Magill

F-15C 85-0107, 58th TFS/33rd TFW (Eglin AFB)

engagement logged at 16:30

... led an eight-plane fighter sweep the day after the first night of the war

... engagement occurred West of Baghdad in heavy SAM area

... "Sly" was Leading (2) Four-ships on the 1st Day Strike

UNION Flight (lead four-ship)

v Capt Charles Magill #1

v 1/Lt Mark Arriola #2

v Capt Rhory Draeger #3

v Capt Tony Schiavi #4

... 1400 launch, (2) four-ships, tanker rdv, and AWACS control

... escort mission for an F-16 Strike Package targeted on the Baghdad

... AWACS advised that a section of MiG-29's were on CAP south of the target, which was Al Taqaddum Airfield

> three lakes on the West side of Bagdad, they were SW

of the southern most lake, 80 NM distant from them

... Magill took (3) other F-15's to south of the airfield and

directed the other division to Sweep north, was at 13,000 ft.

... "Sly's" fighters pushed after the MiG-29's, AWACS confirmed only two bandits and they had four good radars

... during run to target airfield several SAM's were fired, the

smoke trails were sighted and the aircraft jettisoned their external fuel tanks, manoeuvred (steep break), with no-hits

... Fulcrum's turned south towards "Sly's" formation, picked them

up on radar and assessed them in echelon formation with one

stacked high, bit both were below the F-15's altitude

... "Sly" descended low, so they were worried about hand-held SAM's and AAA, but passed the threat area with high speed

... MiG's turned North together, "Sly" accelerated towards them,

at this time they are around 40 NM away, and Draeger thinks

that they might be low on gas

... MiG-29's appeared turn back towards the F-15's

... "Sly" fires 2 x AIM-7's just as #3 fired 1 x AIM-7

v did "feel" the missile eject with a "clunk"

v 17 NM lock-ups

v Draeger locks-up on the Western MiG

v Draeger noted they fired AIM-7M's

v MiG's had gone from 13,000 ft to 500 ft

v Draeger see's MiG's and Sparrows come together

v executed a defensive beam-turn after Fox

... 1/Lt Arriola covered the formation

... Sly was able to see the MiG's as the AIM-7's closed, watching Draeger's missile his target, creating a massive fireball

... Sly's 1st Sparrow hit the second MiG's right wing, the 2nd Sparrow impacted the firball

... (#1) AIM-7 HIT right wing from Head-On and KILL

... (#2) AIM-7 went into the fireball from Head-On, HIT

... MiG pilots were not seen to eject

... more SAM's were fired on egress, F-16's hit target

... Sly cleared the second four-ship to continue home on their own

... had to go directly through F-16 package, feared fratricide

finally jettisoned their CL tanks

... used all of their chaff and decoys, final egress at low altitude

... this was the second engagement for the 58th TFS, at around the

same time of the day

1 x MiG-29 Fulcrum downed by an F-15C

... Capt Rhory R. Draeger (33)

... had 1800 hrs in fighters, 275 combat hrs in 50 missions

... #3 wingman to Capt "Sly" Magill,

... 85-0119, based at Tabuk AB in Western Saudi Arabia

... A morning mission for a noon strike West of Bagdad

... AWACS control by Capt Sheila G. Chewning, called 2 x MiG-29's CAP'ed just Southwest of Bagdad

... first contact 60° Right at 60 nm, checked turned them to 20° Right

... overflew SA-8, got indications, maneuvered and jettisoned tanks

... re-formed on vector, maneuvered from 15,000 ft to 5,000 ft

... target apparently on a CAP, hot at 40-50 nm, then cold

... target continued descending to 500 ft, Draeger now supersonic at 20K,

just South of Al Taqaddum Airfield and targets turned back into them

... 1 x AIM-7 KILL, Head-On (Day), Look Down

... Draeger shot first, Magill fired two missiles 5 seconds later

... could see all missiles at 10 nm, checked turn, impact at around 7 nm

... by this time Draeger was at 200 ft looking up at the MiG-29's

... Draeger hit the Southeastern guy, Magill hit the Northwestern guy

... Kill verified by CENTCOM and Officially awarded by TAC

COALITION AIRCRAFT LOSSES:

Iraq claimed that (44) coalition aircraft were downed

F/A-18C 163484, VFA-81, CVW-17, USS Saratoga

-piloted by Lt. Cdr. Micheal Scott "Spike" Speicher

- Wingman saw impact and aircraft go down, 1st US Combat Loss

- F/A-18's carried ALQ-126B internal jammer, ALR-67 RWR, and ALE-39 Chaff/Flare dispensers

MiG-25 Foxbat using an AA-6 ACRID Missile.

... 16Sep92, story surfaced again in the news media out of a New York Times article written by Mark Crispin Miller (a professor of media studies at Johns Hopkins University) where a "senior Navy Intelligence Officer, Capt Carlos Johnson, said "we were pretty sure at the beginning" that the F-18 flown by Speicher was downed by an Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat. Furthermore, Commander Mike Anderson, and USN pilot in the area of the downed F-18, said that permission was not granted by AWACS for his flight to attack the Foxbat that was under surveillance prior to Speicher being hit. This might have something to do with Horner's insistance that the F-15's be the only air-to-air players and all other aircraft refrain from seeking out any Iraqi aircraft.

British GR-1 Tornado ZD971/B

- on a Runway Strike in Iraq

- Flt Lt John Peters (Pilot), POW

- Flt Lt Adrian Nicholl (Nav), POW

- Downed after dawn (in daylight) on a 8 x aircraft Loft Bomb Attack against Ar Rumaylah Southwest Airfield

- Carrying 8 x 1000 lbs Bombs

- 200 ft ALG, 600 kts, 4 miles from target, 4-G pop-up, 1500 ft release, pull towards egress tightly and down

- After drop, heading outbound HIT by Shoulder fired IR SAM

- Engine Fire after hit and crew ejected

British GR-1 Tornado ZA391/EK

- was lost on JP233 attack on runway

- No 3 aircraft in flight of four

- Lost during the evening of the 17th January

- This crew had just completed their attack against Al Shaibah when 40 to 50 seconds into the egress a fire-ball was seen on the ground

- Wng Cmdr Nigel Elsdon (pilot), KIA

- FltLt Max Collier (nav), KIA

- no other flight members saw enemy fire, assumed he hit the ground

- this was the only Tornado that was killed delivering JP-233 and the cause appears to be disorientation

- RAF GR-1 Tornado ZD744

- Bird Strike, aircraft recovered and was repaired

talian GR1 Tornado downed

- Capt Maurizio Cocciolone, POW

- Capt Mario Bichirloni, POW

- on an air interdiction mission in Southern Iraq

- 8 x Italian Tornado's took off, one aborted before the refueling rendezvous, 6 x more could not refuel and returned with bombs, one went to the target and was shot down

A-6E Intruder 161668, VA-35 "Black Panthers", CVW-17, USS Saratoga

- 6 x Intruder strike to attack H3 runway in Western Iraq

- strike was planned at low altitude all the way at night

- was loaded with 10 Mk.20 Rockeyes

- H3 was light up with thousands of flares

- avoided at least 2 x SAM's but the 3rd hit behind the cockpit

- became the 2nd US Combat Loss

- Lt Jeffrey N. Zaun, pilot, POW

- Lt. Robert Wetzel, WSO, POW

A-6E VA-35 "Black Panthers", CVW-17, USS Saratoga

- A-6E initially reported missing after combat damage

- flew in the same package in which Wetzel and Zaun were shot down

Kuwaiti A-4KU 828

Maj Muhammed Sultan Mubarak was captured

Lt. Col. Mubarak was part of the KAF's third attack wave of the opening day of the air war, which consisted of eight A-4KU Skyhawks. Their target was a Frog missile site approximately 7 miles east of Ali Al-Salim Air Base in occupied Kuwait. The weather on that day was a very low cloudy, and bearing a strong southernly winds. The wave reached its target at about 0824. Lt. Col. Mubarak had run his first two attack runs successfully. But while climbing after his third bombing run, while almost at 8,000 ft., an AAA bullet (presumably from ZSU-23-4 "Shilka") penetrated his port wing, and penetrated his hydraulic lines causing his aircraft to spin slowly, but out of control. Due to KAF standard operating procedures, which states that an aircraft out of control below 10,000 feet should be left and ejected from, and due to the aircraft proximity from the ground, pilot followed those orders. His Douglas ejection seat worked excellently, sending him out of his aircraft in less than 0.30 seconds. After reaching the ground safely, he was pulled by his chute as the strong winds howled. Unfastening his chute he got up only to find Iraqi troops over his head ordering him not to move. He was later taken as a POW to Baghdad where he was imprisoned with downed British Tornado pilots. He was brutally tortured and beaten. He was also put on Iraqi TV to condemn Coalition military operations under the watchful eyes of his Iraqi prison guards. He was later returned to Kuwait as a part of a POW exchange.

4 x French Jaguar's

- damaged on their strike against Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, out of a small package of eight.

- one hit by an SA-7, both engines caught fire, but pilot landed at Jubail

- engine hit by shell frag and caused divert to Jubail

- canopy penetrated by 14.5mm round, pilot recovered wounded

- flight control system hit, pilot returned to Al Asha

Edited March 4, 2007 by Benner