CVW-5 in The Third World War

[Wolfman]

Question: what squadrons replaced VF-21 and VF-154 in CVW-14?

[Matt Wiser]

VF-191 and VF-194.

[Wolfman]

I thought they were with CVW-10?

[Matt Wiser]

I thought they were with CVW-10?

Disbanded in 1988 along with the rest of CVW-10, then reactivated in the early '90s after Gorbachev's ouster.

[Wolfman]

I thought they were with CVW-10?

Disbanded in 1988 along with the rest of CVW-10, then reactivated in the early '90s after Gorbachev's ouster.

I see…

[Matt Wiser]

And another day in the KTO:


The morning of 28 May dawned bright and hazy, as usual, as another flying day began. The first package on the cats was led by VA-115's Skipper, CDR Compton. He took four A-6s, four Golden Dragons Hornets, two Freelancers Tomcats, and the usual VAQ-136 Prowler to the Shayka Mazar Military Logistics Center. The facility had been repeatedly attacked, and though considerable damage had been done, the extensive nature of the installation meant it was still very much a going concern. With the PGM shortage still biting, the strike birds would have a mixed load: those going for warehouses would have six Mark-83s, while those targeted for revetted or open storage would have a dozen Mark-82s, with both -82s and -83s being Snakeyes for low-level drops. One thing the crews were not pleased with was being told in the prestrike briefing that an Air Force strike would be hitting the nearby air base complex just as they would be launching, which meant the defenses would be alerted for any kind of follow-on strikes. On that happy thought, the crews mounted their aircraft, with the first birds off at 0600.

After forming up, the strike package headed for the Saudi Tanker Track, which was turning out to be busy that morning. As the Navy package arrived, a USAF/RAAF package was just coming off the tankers, a mixed force of F-15Es and F-111s, with F-15Cs and Weasel Eagles, headed north. After tanking, the Navy birds headed north as well, making ingress into Iraqi airspace at medium level until passing Diwaniyah, where they got down low.

As the package approached the target area, the MEZ radars came onto the EW systems, and the Prowler climbed to assume its standoff jamming role, putting out electrons as it did so. The Tomcats also climbed, putting themselves between the target and the Prowler, APG-71 radars up and scanning.

The Hornets went in next, with LCDR Mark Brazelton's F/A-18Es going in on several flak and SAM sites. An SA-2 site between the airfield and the target came up, and Brazleton's wingmate, LT Jason Riley, put a HARM onto the site after it had launched two missiles. The SA-2 shut down to avoid the HARM, but Riley followed his own missile, finding the Fan Song radar smoking, and he put a pair of Rockeye CBUs onto the site, knocking it out. Brazleton himself, meanwhile, covered his wingmate, then he found an SA-8 radar from the still-active Shayaka Mazar AB defenses, and he put one of his HARMs onto that launcher, killing it.

The other two Hornets found the AAA sites around the target, spitting out 23-mm, 37-mm, and 57-mm flak. One of the F/A-18s found a 57-mm radar-guided site just north of the target's main gate, and a HARM, followed by a Rockeye drop, put the site out of business. Both Hornets also dropped on a pair of 37-mm sites on the egress route, with another 57-mm site, this one not radar-guided, also taking a Rockeye drop.

CDR Compton in 501 then brought the A-6s in, with his lead element packing Mark-83s with Snakeyes. The Eagles Skipper led his wingman in, LT Lowell in 511, and their respective B/Ns found several groups of warehouses still standing. Both A-6s bored in, ignoring the 23-mm flak and some sporadic 37-mm and 57-mm from guns still firing despite the CBU drops. The two Intruders deposited their Mark-83s on the warehouses, and as they pulled away, a number of secondaries came from warehouses whose contents disagreed with the Mark-83s. Both the Skipper and Lowell, despite the flak and several MANPADS shots, cleared the target area and headed south.

The second pair of Intruders came in thirty seconds later, with LT Morris and LT Caroll in 507, with Curtis and Tice in 512. They came packing a dozen Mark-82 Snakeyes, and both B/Ns picked out storage revetments. Morris and Caroll found a
line of revetments for their Mark-82s, and several erupted into fuel-fed fireballs as the revetments contained drumed fuel storage. Coming in behind, 512's crew found another set of revetments for their Mark-82s, with their drop also producing several secondaries, but these were the result of ammo cooking off. The second pair, too, drew flak and MANPADS on egress, but were able to egress south to join up with the Skipper's element.

As the A-6s went in, the Tomcats and Hornets had assumed either a TARCAP or BARCAP, with the Hornets waiting on a possible scramble out of either Shayka Mazar or Al Iskindiriya, and they were not disappointed. Two MiG-21s from the reactivated 67th Fighter Squadron came out of Iskindiriyah New, headed right for the target area. AWACS gave a warning, which Brazleton and Riley responded to. Both Hornet drivers picked out the MiGs on radar, and after getting the “Clear to arm, clear to fire” call from an AWACS controller, both took their AIM-120 shots at roughly 30 miles, with the MiGs still well beyond visual range. Brazleton's shot scored and though he never saw the MiG, he did see the fireball as the Slammer found its target. Riley's first shot missed as the MiG did a Doppler Break or “Beaming” maneuver to break lock, however a turn back into the fight by the MiG drew a second shot at 14 miles. This shot scored, sending the MiG down. Neither Hornet pilot saw a chute.

After the MiG fight, the Hornets paired back up and headed south, meeting up with the other pair, while the Tomcats remained with the Prowler to cover the egress. Two MiG-23s and two more MiG-21s did scramble from Al Rashid and Al Taqaddum, but were not a factor as the F-14s, now beginning to run low on fuel, headed south, escorting the EA-6C on the way out.

CDR Compton reformed the package east of Diwaniyah, and after climbing back to altitude, headed for the border. After crossing the border and meeting up the the tankers, the post-strike refueling went off without a hitch. On the way back to the ship, they met another Navy package, and the crews noticed it was another one from their squadron leading the charge. Not long after, they made Feet Wet and got back to the ship, with recovery aboard CV-63 just after 1000.

The second package off the ship was VA-185's, and the Nighthawks' CO, CDR Lowry, led this one. Her package was targeted on a military compound west of the Highway 7/16 junction at An Nasiriya, which was the prewar HQ Compound for the 11th Infantry Division, but now being used as V Corps Headquarters. She took four A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, two VF-21 Tomcats, but had no Prowler as a Marine EA-6B would be orbiting south of An Nasiriya to provide standoff ECM support. With the PGM shortage, the A-6s were each loaded with six Mark-83s without Snakeyes, while the Hornets had their usual IRON HAND load. One thing the crews were pleased to know was that Jaliabah Air Base had been taken by the 40th ID and after both AF RED HORSE and Navy Seabees had been at work, the field was now open for emergency landings, as well as an A-10 FOL. Having an emergency field that close to the target area was a good thing, everyone felt.

After a 0615 launch, the package formed up and headed inbound via Kuwait, passing the Rumaila Oil Field and then Jaliabah airfield. As the package got closer to the Nasiriya area, the crews noticed the 40th ID on the move as they closed up on the Euphrates, while some units seemed to be moving closer to the city. CDR Lowry took the package west of the Freeway 1 bridge complex with both the highway bridges down and the pontoon bridges still wrecked. As they passed by, some flak came up from the north side of the river, but the AAA fell short.

A turn northeast found Highway 7, and then the target area came into view. CDR Paul Lazier, the Dambusters' CO, had the IRON HAND mission, and he took his four Hornets in. Two SA-6 radars came up, and both soon had HARMs coming in return. One of the SA-6s was able to shut down, but the second ate the HARM. Then two Firecan radars came up, both with 57-mm AAA batteries, and both also drew HARM shots. Both sites ate the missiles, then Lazier and his wingman came in with Rockeyes to knock the guns out of business.

The second pair of Hornets found a pair of 14.5-mm sites, with both being neutralized by Rockeye drops. As expected, both Hornet teams drew MANPADS shots, but none of them scored. Climbing back up, the Hornet drivers made some more “MAGNUM” calls to force any remaining SAM shooters to keep their radars off. With no Prowler other than the Marines to the south, keeping the remaining radar SAMs and AAA off the air was essential, and the ploy worked.

With the SAMs and flak suppressed, the way was clear for the A-6s. CDR Lowry in 531 came in with her wingmates Mason and Daniels in 535, and as they came in, there was still some flak coming up, but the crews ignored it as they concentrated on their bomb runs. Skipper Lowry's B/N, LT Dana Verell, picked out the largest building in the compound, and though not having LGBs, she used the laser designator to mark the target for the bomb run. Six Mark-83s came off the racks, smothering the target with bomb blasts and at least two of the Mark-83s finding the target building. Mason and Daniels in 535 came in trail right behind the Skipper, and they, too, put their bombs into the same building complex. Both A-6s pulled away, and made egress right over the city of Nasiriya itself, drawing sporadic small-arms and machine-gun fire as well as MANPADS shots, but both got clear without taking damage.

The second pair had LT Collett and LT Meridith in 534, with LT Wilson and LCDR Regan in 540. They were thirty seconds behind the Skipper's element, and they, too, drew light flak as they came in. Ignoring the flak as well as MANPADS shots, both A-6s bore in, and put their Mark-83s on two walled areas inside the compound. In the first compound, several buildings took damage with at least one blown apart, while the second, hit by 540's run, had a number of vehicles with raised antennae alongside the buildings. They, too, were ripped apart by the bomb blasts, and a couple of fireballs also erupted. As with the lead element, the A-6s egressed right over the city, with MANPADS shots along with machine-gun and small-arms fire chasing them. Both A-6s cleared the area without damage, and all four A-6s formed up south of Talil AB.

All four Hornets still had Rockeyes, and the pilots found military vehicles and even an artillery battery near the Highway 7/16 intersection north of the eastern Saddam Canal Bridge (Highway 7). After the drops, which resulted in a number of secondary explosions, the Hornets headed south, simply flying down Highway and out of the area.

The only ones disappointed were the Tomcat crews. They had expected MiGs or Mirages to come south, but none came, though there were radar tracks to the north. AWACS confirmed hostile aircraft, but none of the MiGs came down. Disappointed that no enemy aircraft came to challenge them, the two Tomcat crews turned south.

After meeting up south of Talil, the package reformed and headed back to the ship. This time, the crews did a post-strike refueling, then set course for the carrier. Once they got into the pattern, recovery began just after 0845.

VA-115's XO took the next launch, and this one took the Exec's package on a familiar target, the Ibin Sina State Facility south of Tarmiyah. Though VA-115 had hit it several days earlier, a number of engineering, R&D, and production buildings were still standing and assumed to be operational. With the target north of Baghdad and well within the MEZ, it would be the usual hairy ride in and out. On this occasion, the XO took four A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, four Black Knights F-14s, and a Prowler. After the usual warning about not going down in the MEZ, the crews mounted their aircraft for a 0645 launch.

This time, ingress was via the Gulf route. After meeting up with the tankers east of Khafji, the strike package flew in via the Shatt-al-Arab, passing close to the New Jersey, still engaged in tossing 16-inch shells against Iraqis west of Faw and also facing elements of the Multinational Division. After ingress, the Iranians, as usual sent two fighters to watch the strike group as it passed close to the Iranian border. This time, two F-4Es followed the package as it flew past Basra and then Amarra, before the strike birds turned northwest, and the Iranians turned back deeper into their territory.

East of Kut, CDR Wiser took the package down low as the MEZ radars were up and active. Coming in low at about 500 Feet AGL, the package flew east of Baghdad, towards Baqabah, before turning west just short of the city. The B/Ns picked up the Tigris River, along with an island in the river, then the city of Tarmiyah. That signaled the turn south for the target.

The XO gave the Strike Commit call, with the Tomcats climbing to assume their MIGCAP role, and the Prowler joining them in their orbit, putting out electrons to jam Iraqi radars, along with sending a HARM after an SA-2 site close to the target.

It was the Hornets' turn next, as LCDR Kathy Evison took the Dambusters in on the IRON HAND. The Dambusters' Exec put two HARMs in the air, one on an SA-3 site, the other a 57-mm Firecan AAA, before putting a pair of Rockeyes on the SA-2 site that the Prowler had HARMed. Evison's wingmate, LT Chris Roberts, put his two HARMs onto an SA-3 west of the target, near Highway 1 and another Firecan north of Taji. Both XO and Wingmate also found AAA sites for their Rockeyes, with the XO hitting a 57-mm site that had been struck on the previous visit, while Roberts found another 57-mm site northeast of the target, on the bank of the Tigris, and a pair of Rockeyes put that site out of business.

RAAF FLT Ron Fraser brought his pair of Hornets in, with both shooting single HARMs. Fraser's missile found an SA-2 north of Taji, which shut down to avoid the missile, but the HARM found it anyway. His wingmate put a HARM into a truck-mounted Roland that came up on the egress route, before the Exec called the A-6s in.

CDR Wiser brought the A-6s in, coming in low and fast while giving the good citizenry in Tarmiyah a morning air show. His B/N, “Madge” Porter, found a production building just south of the facility's main gate, and she designated that for the XO's drop. Ignoring some light 14.5-mm and 32-mm flak, CDR Wiser came in fast and hot. Six Mark-83 Snakeyes came off 505's racks, and as the XO cleared out, the target building was engulfed in bomb blasts, with at least a pair of bombs landing right in the building proper. His wingmates in 509, LT Rivers and LT Fisher, came in just behind the XO, and as they saw his bombs go off, Fisher picked out a building with several small smokestacks that had been ID'd for missile production. Rivers put the bombs into that target, and their FLIR tape showed bombs smashing into the building, wrecking it. Both A-6s in the lead cleared the target, crossed the Tigris, then turned back southwest. The crews picked up the Al-Taji RGFC Complex and Army Airfield before turning south for the capital.

LCDR Tony Carpenter's two A-6s were thirty seconds behind the XO's and they, too, found targets. Carpenter's B/N, LT Jefferson, ID'd on FLIR a production building similar to what the XO had hit, with still-active smokestacks on the FLIR video. She designated the target for the bomb drop, and the Ops Officer planted their six Mark-83s onto the building complex, blowing it apart. Right behind Ops was 510 with LT Knapp and LT Shelton, and they found a pair of warehouses for their attention. The Mark-83s landed in the warehouses, and set off several secondary explosions, leaving Knapp and Shelton to wonder what had been stored there. The second pair of Intruders, despite the flak, got clear of the target and followed the XO out.

When the A-6s cleared, the shortest and quickest, but also most dangerous, egress was right over the Iraqi Capital. The Iraqi AAA came up fast as the gunners reacted, along with several SAMs, and both Fraser and his wingman shot both of their remaining HARMs, killing a Roland and an SA-8 as they did so. All four of the Hornet drivers, along with the A-6 crews, made several phony “MAGNUM” calls to get the SAM operators to shut down, and several of them did. The A-6s and Hornets followed the Tigris River until they got to a bend in the river just across from the University of Baghdad and the Dora RR Transshipment Yard, where they turned due south, directly overflying the Iraqi Air Defense HQ. The A-6s were able to get clear of Baghdad, threading a course between Highway 8 and Freeway 1 as they headed south, with the Hornets right with them.

The Prowler and the Tomcats also headed south, and as they did, came across two MiG-21s that had hurriedly scrambled out of Al-Muthena AB to try and catch up with the Intruders and Hornets. The lead Tomcat element engaged the MiGs, with the team of LT Patterson and LT Bradley in 106 taking a Sidewinder shot as Patterson neatly came in behind the MiGs, sending the leader down into the Tigris just south of the Al Sijud Palace. The second MiG, seeing his leader's fate, turned right, but with the F-14s in Combat Spread, got right in front of Conway and Freeman in 110, who did a quick AIM-120 shot at barely three miles, with the MiG turning into a fireball and crashing into Um Al-Khanzeer Island, just west of the Jadiryah Bridge over the Tigris.

After the MiG encounter, the Tomcats and the Prowler, the latter still putting out jamming, headed down the same course the strike birds had followed. All aircraft formed up near Hillah, before climbing back to altitude east of An Najaf. Once back to altitude, the package headed south for the border and the Western Tanker Track. After topping up, the package then set course for the Gulf and then CV-63. As the package approached the Saudi coast south of Khafji, an inbound Navy package attracted their attention, with this one VA-185 led. The birds found the ship and recovery began, with the last bird, one of the Tomcats, trapping at 1020 after just over three and a half hours in the air.

While the major packages were going in, BAI and CAS runs were maintained, with targets from the outskirts of Samawah, east to Al Khidr, then An Nasiriyah, and the southern approaches to Basra being hit. CAS runs were FAC-directed, but the BAI strikes were tuned to the ATO. One result that was a surprise was when a VQ-5 ES-3A, orbiting south of An Nasiriyah, picked up voice transmissions that were clearly Russian. They weren't Arabic-accented, but clearly Russian. The report gained significance later that day when Soviet ground forces were encountered at both Al Khidr and An Nasiriyah.

While the CAS and BAI went in. major packages were also going. The next major one was one led by VA-185, and the one that the VA-115 mission had met on their return to the carrier. Led by the Nighthawks' XO, CDR Yoshida, this package went after the Karbala/Ukaydir Ammo/Missile Storage Area. Though hit several times, as with other similar facilities in Iraq, the extensive nature of the facility meant that what had been hit had only been a drop in the bucket in terms of the munitions and other materiel stored there. This strike had a mixed load, for despite the PGM shortage, two high-security bunkers identified as Scud warhead storage were targets, with GBU-24 Paveway LGBs being loaded onto two A-6s, and the other two were loaded with a dozen Mark-82s to go after either warehouses or revetted munitions storage. Along with the A-6s, four VFA-192 Hornets went for the IRON HAND mission, while two VF-21 Tomcats rode shotgun. After the usual reminder about not going down within five miles of the target area, the crews mounted their aircraft, launching at 0900.

Ingress was via Saudi, and on their way to the tanker track, the Knighthawks met the inbound Eagles package on their way back from the MEZ. After they met, it was on to the tankers, where the crews topped up, and as they came off the tankers, two RSAF Typhoons turned and headed north. A minute later a fireball in the distance appeared at high altitude and a Saudi voice in English shouted, “Splash one Foxbat!”

Once that excitement was over, the package headed north, past As Salman, where after the Saudis had taken the field and the town, AF RED HORSE Engineers were working to get the field ready for use by both CSAR and SOF, and A-10s as a FOL. After passing west of Najaf, CDR Yoshida took the package down to 10,000 feet, before reaching Lake Milh. There, they turned southwest, and LCDR Mark Brazleton, the Dragons Exec, went in on the AAA sites. With no SAMs coming up, the HARMs stayed on the rails as the Hornets went on the flak sties. Brazleton found a 37-mm site for his Rockeyes, while his wingman, LTJG Don Landers, put a pair of CBUs on a quad 14.5-mm site, knocking both out. The other pair of Hornets found another 37-mm site, with both Hornets putting Rockeyes on the battery, killing it.

Then came the A-6s, and CDR Yoshida in 532 with LT Laura Patterson led LT Ellis and LCDR Houston in 539. Both had the GBU-24s, and came in at 8,000 feet. The B/Ns had no trouble picking out their targets, as the bunkers in question were surrounded by security fencing. Although there were multiple bunkers in the security area, the crews could only hit two as they each only had two laser bombs per aircraft. The A-6s rolled in on their runs, and both released at about 4,000 feet. Both bunkers were hit, and both exploded in what were described as “high-order detonations.” The two A-6s then pulled clear and headed to the southeast.

The second pair, led by Ops Officer LCDR Michelle Garnett flying the CAG Bird, 530, with LTJG Mark Pope in the B/N's seat, and the veteran team of LT Shoemaker and LT Nichols in 542, came in. They had a dozen Mark-82s, and were targeted on either revetted storage sites or warehouses. Garnett came in, with some light flak from unhit 14.5-mm guns coming up, but she ignored it, putting her bombs on a line of storage revetments. Multiple secondaries followed in the A-6's wake as ammo began cooking off, and that provided a convenient target marker for 542's crew as they came in. Shoemaker and Nichols then laid their Mark-82s along a similar line of revetments, and their run produced multiple secondaries as well as their bombs found their targets. The second pair, with that same light flak chasing them, cleared the target and headed to catch up with the leaders.

After the A-6s cleared, the Hornets came in. With all four having unexpended Rockeyes, they put their CBUs down on revetments or on what appeared to be parked supply trucks. All four also had secondaries coming up as a result of their CBU drops, before the Hornets cleared out to meet the A-6s. Even the Tomcats got in on the strike, with no MiGs to concern themselves, both F-14 crews did high-angle strafing runs, with both aircraft expended their 20-mm against single revetments. Like the Hornets and A-6s, they, too, had their target revetments go up. Then the Tomcats cleared the area and headed southeast.

After meeting up west of Najaf, the package reformed and headed south for the border. They arrived at the tanker track and after drinking some fuel, headed back to the ship. After arrival in the pattern, the package had to wait while another one launched, before beginning recover just after noon.

More CAS and BAI strikes went in as the day progressed, but there were two MEZ missions still on the schedule. The first one was also VA-185's to lead, with Skipper Lowry taking four A-6s, four Golden Dragons Hornets, four VF-21 Tomcats, and a Prowler to Mahawil and the garrison area for the 223rd Missile Brigade. Though previously hit, the facility was still a going concern, with missile reloads, fuel trucks, and launchers going in and out. Unlike the previous strike, the LGB shortage applied, and CDR Lowry's crews would have six Mark-83s to deal with missile maintenance shops, vehicle parks for missile launchers and support vehicles, and a suspected warehouse for missile storage. After the usual reminder about not going down in the MEZ, the crews got ready, then launched at 1200.

Ingress was via the Saudi route, and following the meetup with the tankers, Skipper Lowry led the package into Iraqi Airspace. Like the previous strike, the crews passed As Salman, before getting down low east of Najaf. The package then picked up Freeway 1 to their right, then crossed the freeway and followed it to the east, before the Tomcats broke away to climb for their TARCAP mission, with the Prowler joining them, putting out blasts of ECM to blind the MEZ radars, many of which were now up and active. One of which was the Baghdad West SA-10, which had finally been reactivated after BAGHDAD THUNDER, and the Prowler shot its single HARM at that site, which promptly went off the air.

VFA-192's Skipper, CDR McMurphy, took her Hornets in, and several SAM and AAA radars began coming up. HARMs were soon coming off the rails, as the Dragons went after the SAM and AAA sites. McMurphy herself put two HARMs in the air, putting one into the Musaybb NW SA-2, which had been repaired at least twice, and shut down to avoid a third HARM, and another into a 57-mm Firecan AAA radar right on the A-6s' ingress. She followed up the latter strike with a Rockeye drop onto the site, with two of the CBUs knocking the site out. Her wingman, LTJG Ellison, found another Firecan radar-guided 57-mm site, which ate the HARM, while he also shot a HARM at an SA-3 near the Iskandiriyah New airfield. He then followed up on the Firecan strike by putting a pair of Rockeyes onto the battery, knocking it out of action.

The second pair of Hornets followed the Skipper's element in, finding an SA-3 that drew a HARM after launching, and just as quickly shut down. An SA-2 near Shayka Mazar airfield also drew a HARM, with this site eating the missile, but not before shooting three at the TARCAP, forcing the Tomcats to evade. Both Hornets then found 14.5-mm sites near the target, and those sites earned Rockeye drops, knocking them out. Both pairs of Hornets then climbed to assume their part in the TARCAP.

CDR Lowry in 531 then brought the A-6s in. Despite the Hornets' efforts, some flak still came up, with scattered 57-mm and 14.5-mm fire coming up. The Skipper ignored the flak, coming in on the bomb run as her B/N, LT Verell, picked out the motor pool and two large Soviet-style missile transporters. CDR Lowry laid down their six Mark-83s onto both transporters, blowing them apart, while taking out a garage and a small fuel storage area for good measure. They were followed by Mason and Daniels in 535, who were right behind the Skipper, and put their bombs onto what was identified as a missile maintenance hangar and wrecking it and two adjacent buildings. The two lead A-6s then headed southeast, crossing Highway 8 before turning south.

Hard on the Skipper's heels was the second pair, with Collett and Meridith in 534, and Wilson and Regan in 540. Collett and Meridith found several buildings close together, and one of them was a warhead maintenance facility. Their six Mark-83s tore the buildings apart, with two of the bombs landing in the warhead facility. Last on the target was Wilson and Regan, and 540's crew laid their bombs into a fenced-off area that was missile propellant storage, with not just storage tanks, but several missile fuel transporters in the process of being fueled up. The resulting secondaries not only impressed Wilson and Regan, but also the Hornet drivers and even the Tomcat crews, who saw the cloud go up to at least 10,000 feet. Like the Skipper's element, the second pair cleared the target and headed out to the southeast,before turning south for the rendezvous point.

While the A-6s were making their runs, the IrAF responded. Two MiG-21s scrambled out of Al Iskindiryah New, and as the two MiGs climbed out, ran right into the Golden Dragons. Skipper McMurphy and her wingmate, Ellison, picked out the MiGs on radar as they turned south for the target area as they climbed away from the airfield. Both Hornets quickly locked up the MiGs, taking Slammer shots at just under ten miles, well within the AIM-120's “No Escape” range. Both Fishbeds crashed north of the target, and neither Hornet driver saw a chute.

Two more MiGs, this time MiG-23s on CAP east of Baghdad, also responded. Two Freelancers Tomcats took on the MiGs, with XO CDR John Waite and LT Christine Wagner in 201 leading 207 with LTJG Allan McIrney and LT Paul Bates onto the bandits. Saving their Phoenixes for any MiG-25s or any Soviet-flown MiGs, both RIOs locked up the inbound Floggers at forty miles, while at the same time the EA-6C was actively jamming the MiGs' High Lark radars. Once locked, Slammers were in the air at 35 miles, with CDR Waite's missile taking down the MiG wingman, sending him down in a fireball that the crew was able to see not just on the TCS camera, but visually as well.

The MiG leader, engaged at 33 miles by McIrney and Bates, was more fortunate. He managed to avoid the Slammer, which exploded in his wake nonetheless, and made a turn to try and lure the F-14s into Baghdad's still lethal air defenses. The F-14s didn't bite, and though two MiG-25s launched from Al Taqaddum, both Tomcat elements were running low on fuel, and with the strike birds clear, they turned south, with the Prowler following and still putting out blasts of ECM to blind both airborne and ground radars as the strike birds egressed.

The Hornets followed the A-6s out, with the package reforming southeast of Hillah before climbing back up to altitude and heading for the border. After clearing the border, the birds drank fuel from the tankers, before setting course for the Gulf. It would be 1545 when the strike birds entered the pattern for CV-63, with recovery following soon afterwards.

One more package would launch that afternoon, and VA-115 drew it. The Eagles' XO took four A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, four Black Knights Tomcats, and a Prowler to the southern outskirts of Baghdad, and a target just to the northeast of the Osirak Nuclear Reactor at Tuwathia that the Israelis had struck in 1981. This was the Ash Shaykill Warehouse Complex, which had stored nuclear components prior to the Gulf War, and was still being used as a suspected missile storage site, either for missiles themselves, or spares for production equipment and tooling. With the target right in the heart of the MEZ, the crews were well aware of the area's “No-Go” for CSAR forces, and were again advised to get any crippled aircraft out of the MEZ before ejecting if at all possible. With that in mind, the crews mounted their aircraft for a 1430 launch.

Ingress was via the Shatt Al-Arab route after tanking east of the Saudi-Kuwait border, not far from the North SAR Station. This time, the strike ingress was east of the New Jersey, but the crews did see the battleship tossing shells inland, with a destroyer in attendance. Upon ingressing Iraqi airspace, the crews also saw they had Iranian shadows, as usual, but this time was a twist. In a first, two F-14s followed the package while they flew just inside the border. The Iranian Tomcats kept pace until a point northeast of Al Amarra, where the Navy birds turned northwest, and the Iranians broke away, heading back deeper into Iran.

The turn was the signal for the strike birds to get down low prior to MEZ penetration, with the A-6s, F/A-18s, and the Prowler getting down to 500 Feet AGL, with the Tomcats slightly above. CDR Wiser took the package west after reaching a quarry east of Baghdad, just south of a military garrison, and after that, everyone's threat receivers began lighting up as someone sounded the alarm. The Tomcas and Prowler climbed to assume their TARCAP and ECM orbits, with the Prowler not only actively jamming, but putting a HARM onto a very close target: the Baghdad East SA-10 site, which had been one of the first to come up. The HARM found the Flap Lid radar trailer for the site, knocking it out just as one of the two operational launchers fired a missile at one of the F-14s. The single SA-10, with no guidance, “went dumb” and flew away harmlessly.

The rest of the MEZ radars came up, and LCDR Kathy Evison's Hornets were busy on the IRON HAND mission. The Dambusters began making “MAGNUM” calls even when not shooting HARMs, hoping to frighten SAM and AAA radars off the air. LCDR Evison found an SA-2 east of Highway 6, several miles east of the target, and she put her first HARM onto that site, killing the Fan Song Radar. She then found a Roland truck near the nuclear site and put her second HARM onto that vehicle, killing it. Her wingmate, LT Roberts, followed up his leader's strikes with a Rockeye drop on the SA-2, then found a 57-mm Firecan radar just east of the nuclear facility for a HARM shot, killing the radar before putting his second pair of Rockeyes on the flak site, knocking it out. A second HARM from Roberts went after an SA-3 site west of the Tigris River, which shut down to avoid eating the HARM.

Right behind the Dambusters' XO came FLT Ron Fraser, their RAAF Exchange Officer. He put two HARMs in the air, one forcing an SA-2 to shut down before it could fire, while the other also found a Roland and exploded it. He and his wingmate, LTJG Ashley Cabot, then went after flak sites near the nuclear facility, killing a 37-mm site and a 57-mm site with Rockeyes, before climbing to assume a CAP against a scramble out of either Al-Rashid AB to the north or Shayka Mazar to the south, with LCDR Evision's pair joining them.

It was then time for the A-6s, and the Eagles' XO took his lead element in. CDR Wiser and LT Porter noted the flak,which both called “heavy but inaccurate” as they bored in. The A-6s each had six Mark-83 Snakeyes, and LT Porter soon ID'd the target on both her radar and FLIR, and used the laser to designate the drop point. CDR Wiser found it, and walked their Mark-83s along several warehouses inside the walled compound. As they egressed, the FLIR showed not just the bomb blasts, but two secondaries as well. The XO then took 505 right over the nuclear research center, before crossing the Tigris and picking up Freeway 1 and heading south. Their wingmates, Rivers and Fisher in 509, came in thirty seconds later, seeing the effects of 505's run, then deposited their bombs along the east side of the compound, blowing several warehouses apart. They, too, egressed over the nuclear facility, before getting across the river and finding Freeway 1.

Right on their heels came LCDR Carpenter's element, and they, too, saw the explosions left by their squadron mates. Carpenter and his B/N, LT Karla Jefferson, were able to pick out the target via radar and then FLIR, and noticed on the latter several buildings near the entrance to the compound. Jefferson designated one of those as the target, and the Ops Officer's bombs were walked across the buildings, with one bomb even blowing down a section of the compound's wall. Knapp and Shelton in 510 were close behind, putting their Mark-83s on a couple of warehouses that were still intact as well as what was believed to be the Admin Building. Both A-6s, just as with the XO's lead element, egressed over the nuclear center, before crossing the Tigris and picking up Freeway 1, then turned south.

As the A-6s went in, the IrAF responded. Though busy with a USAF/RAF attack on both the Military Side of the Saddam International Airport as well as the Radwinyah Presidential Complex, two MiG-23s scrambled out of Al-Rashid AB as did two MiG-21s out of Shayka Mazar. The two MiGs out of Al-Rashid found the going tough as they had to thread between their own flak, only to run into two of the F-14s. The pair of Patterson and Bradley in 106 launched against both, sending AIM-120s their way. One of the Slammers found the MiG leader, turning him into a fireball and sending him crashing into the west bank of the Tigris. The wingman turned to avoid the missile, only to be engaged by his own AAA and then a Roland, which fired on the MiG and sent him down just south of the nuclear site. Both Patterson and Bradley, busy dodging the flak that did come to their altitude, were not able to see a chute before the Tomcats disengaged from the Baghdad area and headed out to catch up with the A-6s.

The F/A-18s handled the two that had scrambled out of Shayka Mazar. FLT Fraser and his wingmate, LTJG Cabot, both picked out the MiGs on radar as they cleared their field. Fraser locked up the MiG wingman and shot first at 12 miles, spearing the MiG and turning him into “flaming confetti” that came down into a canal just east of Freeway 1. The leader turned, realizing he was now on the poor end of a 2v1 fight, only to have Cabot roll in behind him as the MiG leader finished his turn. She got lock with AIM-9 and sent a single Sidewinder into him at half a mile, blowing his tail off and sending him crashing into farmland between the canal and Freeway 1. Neither Fraser or Cabot saw a chute.

With the A-6s clear, and the Hornets following, the Tomcats and Prowler did so as well, with the EA-6C still putting out electrons as it cleared the MEZ and headed south. The package reformed northeast of Diwaniyah, with the Hornets and Intruders climbing up to altitude and a meetup with the Tomcats and Prowler for the trip to the border.

After crossing the border, the package made the tanker rendezvous, drinking up some fuel to get back to the carrier. After the refueling, CDR Wiser led the package back to the Gulf, where they found both CV-63 and CVN-68. They formed up in CV-63's pattern just as the first launch from Nimitz was going, with recovery at 1740.

As usual, major flight ops were ended for the day, but low-intensity ops continued, with Tomcats and A-6s launching for CAP and SUCAP to back up CVW-9 until midnight. For those not on the night schedule, aircrews and maintenance people got several hours of well-deserved sleep, before wakeup at 0430. After breakfast, a busy hour followed, then the usual FOD walk, before the first package was prepped and on the cats at 0600 to start another day on the line.

[Matt Wiser]

And the last target: