Tag: Operation Desert Storm
Stenciled on the tails of VF-1's Wichita 103 were the words “El Coyote”. This Tomcat scored the first recorded air-to-air kill against an Iraqi helicopter in Desert Storm. After a four-day port call at Subic Bay in the Philippines, the USS Ranger set sail on Jan. 3, 1991 for the Persian Gulf,...
Code named Operation Senior Surprise, aka Secret Squirrel, this 35 hour mission was the first combat use of the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile At 3:00 a.m. on the rainy morning of Jan. 16, 1991, Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) crews were awakened to the alert, “All Sierra crews report to the...
"I thought about my family a lot. I felt that if I was reduced to counting the bricks in the cell, I would have lost control," Lieutenant Larry Slade, former VF-103 F-14A(Plus) Tomcat RIO While Lieutenant Jones struggled to survive in the desert, his RIO, Lieutenant Larry Slade, had already been picked up....
"I had a moment of panic there. But, hey! the A-10s have those huge cannons. They opened up with their 30-mike-mike. By the time they each finished two runs there was nothing out there, just flames and dust, about 100 yd from me,” Lieutenant Devon Jones, former VF-103 F-14A(Plus) Tomcat driver Lieutenant...
"This is the first time to my knowledge that an airplane scored a kill while carrying four 2,000-lb bombs, then continued on to hit its target,” Lieutenant Commander Mark Fox, VFA-81 F/A-18 Hornet Pilot On Jan. 17, 1991 Lieutenant Commander Mark
Fox and Lieutenant Nick Mongillo launched with five other VFA-81 F/A-18 Hornets
as part...
"During Operation Desert Storm the B-52s heavily involved in CAS missions flew ten-hour missions from Diego Garcia. None had the external racks they used in Vietnam. They carried only 56 500-lb bombs. Two A-6s did more damage than a B-52" Capt Tom Uryga, former USMC A-6 pilot The Grumman A-6 Intruder was the ‘Main Battery’ of carrier aviation throughout the Vietnam...
VA-35's A-6E 'Ray Gun 502' was hit by an Iraqi Roland SAM just as it started dropping its six Mk 83 Snakeyes Taken on Jan. 18, 1991 the impressive photos in this post show VA-35's A-6E 'Ray Gun 502' BuNo 158539 sitting off the runway at Al Jouf, in Saudi Arabia, the morning after having been hit by an Iraqi...
"I'm certain Gen Layth Muneer, the H-3 base commander, saved our lives that night. He kept us safe through the night by keeping us in the base infirmary," Lt Bob Wetzel, Former A-6 Pilot The Grumman A-6 Intruder was the ‘Main Battery’ of carrier aviation throughout the Vietnam War, and it remained in service with the US Navy and US Marine...
'I looked at him more closely and saw that he had two missile pylons under each wing. Now I knew that it was not an F-15 or F-14. That was the moment I knew that my target was a "Foxbat". Then I started shooting' Rick 'Kluso' Tollini, F-15 pilot The F-15C Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit...
Remembering that there could be no friendly aircraft north of his F-14, Glaze cut the range to the target down to 20 miles and repeatedly told his RIO to lock up the target... On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded its southern neighbour Kuwait, provoking the affair that was to result in UN-sanctions and US-led Operation Desert Storm, aimed at liberating...
