History, Politics And Current Affairs

Excerpts from “The U.S. Navy’s Foreign Legion: CVW-5 in the Third World War”
By CAPT Matt Wiser, USN (Ret) and CDR Lisa Eichhorn-Wiser, USN (ret), Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2015.

Carrier Air Wing 5 was, and is still today, considered the U.S. Navy’s Foreign Legion, being the only carrier battle group that is permanently homeported outside the continental United States. Home station for the battle group is at Yokouska Naval Base, Japan, with the air wing based at NAS Atsugi, only a half-hour’s drive away. At the time of World War III, CVW-5 was centered on the carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk (CV-63), and was primarily oriented towards Korea and the Soviet Far East as its primary Area of Responsibility in the event of war. However, due to an engineering casualty (namely an engine room fire) aboard U.S.S. Constellation (CV-64), which required her to put into Yokouska for repairs, the Kitty Hawk battle group sailed for the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf to take “Connie’s” place until the repair job was completed and “Connie” relieved Kitty Hawk on station. The Battle Group sailed on 18 March, three days after Connie and her group arrived at Yokouska. This turn of events led to CVW-5 fighting an enemy that, while they had been prepared for contingencies, they hadn’t expected to fight.

During the Polish crisis, as Kitty Hawk and her escorts steamed towards the Indian Ocean, it became apparent to many aboard the various ships that this time, there would be war. F-14Ds from VF-21 and VF-154 had encountered Tu-95 Bear-Ds out of Cam Ranh Bay during the passage south to the Straits of Malacca, and aircrews had noticed that the usual banter between the Tomcat drivers and Bear crews over GUARD was noticeably subdued, and in the final intercept, absent completely. Two intercepts, by both Tomcats and F/A-18Es from VFA-192 or VFA-195, had the Bears escorted by Soviet Naval Aviation MiG-29s also based at Cam Ranh. It was obvious that the Soviets were expecting trouble in the air. VS-21’s S-3Bs and the SH-60Rs of HS-12 detected several Soviet submarines during the trip south, and even tracked an Indonesian Type 209 during the Malacca Straits passage. Clearly, the Soviets and their allies meant business, and the battle group began to do the same. The A-6Fs of VA-115 and VA-185, along with the EA-6Bs of VAQ-136, practiced War at Sea strikes, exercising with the Thai, Malaysian, Singapore, and Philippine Navies, and maintaining an armed Surface Combat Air Patrol (SUCAP) at all times. The busiest aircraft were the E-2Cs from VAW-115, detecting and tracking aircraft, and when necessary, vectoring fighters (either F-14s or F/A-18s) to intercept. Not all intercepts on the trip out were Bears or Indonesian Air Force aircraft (Su-30s, or 737MPs), as commercial airliners were encountered over the South China Sea and in the Indian Ocean. Backing up HS-12 were the helo dets from HSL-51, with their SH-60Rs from the cruiser, destroyers, and frigates assisting in tracking both submarines and surface craft. Not every small radar contact was a sub periscope, as many local craft have similar characteristics as sub periscopes! Needless to say, once the battle group arrived in the IO, and gained maneuvering space, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, notably the CAG, CAPT Charles Seavey.

In the ready rooms, aircrews were brushing up on war-at-sea ops, as well as for strikes against potential targets in Iraq. The changeover from U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68) and her battle group was routine, and as the carrier group entered the Straits of Hormuz, the first-timers saw Iran to starboard and Oman to port. Unlike a cruise three years earlier, this time the Iranians were not potential enemies, and though Iranian air and naval units did follow the operations of the battle group, they kept a respectful distance, and there were no incidents. Operations in support of the Southern Iraq No-Fly Zone (Operation SOUTHERN WATCH) began on 10 April. While Iraqi MiGs and Sukhois were active north of the 32nd Parallel, the Iraqis were clearly up to something, as an F-14 TARPS mission by VF-154 revealed that the bases at Talill, Jaliabah, and Shoiabah were active, with numbers of ground personnel, trucks, and maintenance equipment arriving at all three bases. The same mission also revealed elements of the II Guards Corps had arrived in the area, and heavy elements of the III Corps had also begun moving towards the Kuwaiti border area. After DEFCON-2 was declared, the battle group began moving to a full war footing, with war shots becoming common loadouts aboard CVW-5’s aircraft.

The men and women who made up the aircrews of CVW-5 were, as usual in the Navy, a mixed group. Some, like LT Brad Whitefield, or the CAG, were graduates of Annapolis. Others, like LCDR Lisa Eichhorn (who was VA-185’s Operations Officer), were out of the Navy ROTC program. Still other aircrew, such as LCDR Eichhorn’s opposite number in VA-115, LCDR Matt Wiser, came from the Aviation Officer Candidate School at NAS Pensacola. All had been through flight training at NAS Pensacola, and whether fixed-wing or rotary-wing, trained hard to get their wings, and then trained harder once they reached the Fleet. The enlisted sailors and Petty Officers ranged from kids just a few months out of high school, to Senior Chiefs with over twenty years’ service. They worked 12- to 16-hour days to keep the ship going and the aircraft maintained and in the air. While the aircrews (and the SEAL platoon embarked aboard to provide muscle for CSAR missions) would earn the glory and the media attention during and after the war, it was the enlisted mechanics, avionics technicians, plane captains, catapult operators, fuelers, parachute riggers, and others, whose work enabled CVW-5’s aircraft to fly and fight, 24/7. As CAPT Seavey commented to CNN’s Joanne D’Angelo during a replenishment period:

“They (the enlisted sailors) keep us flying and fighting. We can’t do our jobs if they don’t do theirs. These kids are amazing; all they care about is getting the job done right so that the aircrews can go out and do theirs.”

Early morning on 22 April 2005 found the Kitty Hawk Battle Group at sea between Kuwait and Bahrain. CAP was airborne, and a SUCAP from VA-185 was following a Soviet AGI (spy trawler) which was about 20 miles south of the carrier, and based on intercepts of her radio transmissions, no doubt keeping Moscow informed of the carrier’s activities. LCDR Lisa Eichhorn, with LTJG Susie Porter-Flinn as her B/N, was following the AGI at 0330, they noticed on FLIR the AGI slowing down and a large cylindrical-shaped object shoved over the side. They reported this to Kitty Hawk’s CIC. The CAG himself was in CIC, when a message was handed him from Com5thFLT in Bahrain:

EXECUTE UNRESTRICTED WARFARE AGAINST ALL WARPAC FORCES.

As CAG reached for a radio headset to inform airborne aircraft, Knighthawk 534 called in that the AGI had dropped a second object overboard. CAG’s response was immediate:

“Knighthawk 534, Tarheel, AGI is now designated hostile. Kill him.”
“Say again, Tarheel?”
“Knighthawk 534, Tarheel. AGI is now confirmed hostile. Take him out, NOW!”
“Roger that, Tarheel. Knighthawk 534 in hot.”

The AGI crew, busy dropping a third mine overboard, never heard or saw the A-6 rolling onto them. Coming in at 15,000 feet, LTJG Porter-Flinn locked the AGI in the center of her FLIR and lit her up with the laser designator. She flipped a couple of switches, and told LCDR Eichhorn, “Your pickle is hot.”

Immediately, an AGM-123 Skipper-II dropped from the A-6 and its rocket motor ignited. The FLIR tape showed the rest; the Skipper-II following the laser beam right down to the target, right beneath the AGI’s aft superstructure and burying itself in the engine room. Then a large explosion followed as the Skipper’s 1,000 pound warhead detonated, and a sympathetic detonation immediately followed, as the mines being carried aboard the AGI were set off. Pieces of the Soviet trawler flew in all directions as the fireball and smoke cloud rose into the air, and splashed down into the warm waters of the Arabian Gulf. The destroyer U.S.S. O’Brien (DD-975) was directed into the area to have her helos search for survivors and mark the area for possible mines. No survivors were found, and 5th FLT directed an HM-15 detachment at Sheikh Isa, Bahrain, to begin airborne MCM, and Saudi MCM forces put out from Ad Damman to conduct operations. Eichhorn and Porter-Flinn landed back aboard Kitty Hawk at 0350, having fired the first shots by CVW-5 in the Third World War.

Immediately, CIC began picking up activity downlinked from AWACS: the Iraqis were in the air. Although this was the initial staging of Iraqi Air Force squadrons to fields in the No-Fly Zone, the battle group commander ordered CAP to be augmented, and a hold on SOUTHERN WATCH missions until the situation became clear. An Iraqi attack into Kuwait was highly likely, and every aircraft would be needed once that kicked off. At 1300, AWACS picked up unusual air activity over Southern Iraq, as Iraqi AF Su-22s, Su-24s, and Su-25s, with their MiG-29 and Mirage Escorts, began forming up into their strike packages and heading south. One package, consisting of four Su-22s, four Su-24s, and eight Mirage F-1s, headed south over the Faw Peninsula, headed for what was designated as the North SAR station, where the AEGIS destroyer U.S.S. Mustin (DDG-89) manned not only a SAR station, but provided the first line of defense against air attack targeting Gulf shipping as well as the battle group. An E-2C, call sign Sentinel 602, picked up the bandits as they formed up and headed south. Mustin CIC had the bandits on AEGIS, but the duty CAP, four F-14Ds from VF-21, was vectored in for the interception. Freelancer 202, flown by CDR John Waite, with LT Christine Wagner in the back seat, led the CAP into the fight. Sentinel 602 directed the Tomcats via voice and datalink, and the Iraqis never knew Tomcats were in the area.

“Freelancer 202, Sentinel. Bandits now 340 for 55. Warning Red, weapons free.”

“Copy 340 for 55. Warning Red, and weapons free.”

“Roger that Freelancer. Splash ‘em.”

Freelancer 202 and 207 warmed up their APG-71 radars, and got lock on the strikers. Both Tomcats launched Phoenix missiles at 40 miles, and the Iraqis hardly had time to react. Two Su-22s and a Su-24 went down, and as the Mirages turned into the Tomcats, Freelancer 204 and 210 launched against the Mirages. The Mirage pilots, who knew the AWG-9 radar on the F-14A from the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, had never faced the F-14D, with its APG-71 radar and its LPI (Low Probability of Intercept) feature. This salvo of Phoenixes left three Mirages falling towards the Gulf, and a fourth turning back damaged. A third Salvo directed at the Strikers killed a third Su-22, and then it was AEGIS’ turn.

With AEGIS now in Full Automatic Mode, the AEGIS computer determined the optimum range to shoot, and SM-2 missiles began launching out of Mustin’s VLS system. The Iraqi Su-24 crews had never faced AEGIS before, and though they had been briefed on it by the Soviets, the briefings were a poor substitute for experience. The first indication the Fencer crews had they were under attack were missile trails descending on them, and then the lead Su-24 blew apart. The two remaining Fencers jettisoned their ordnance, and turned back on afterburner. However, the remaining Su-22 pilot pressed his attack, whether out of dedication or a desire to die at the hands of the enemy rather than the Iraqi Secret Police, he continued in. The CIC crew watched as another SM-2 left its VLS launcher and arched skywards. The Fitter’s symbol merged on radar with that of the missile, and then dropped off the screen.

As for the four remaining Mirages, they never were able to close with the F-14s, and when the two surviving Su-24s radioed that they were aborting the mission, the Mirages turned to join them. One of the F-1s, though passed too close to Mustin, and as AEGIS was still on Full Auto mode, an SM-2 was launched at the aircraft. The Mirage pilot never knew he was under SAM fire, and his aircraft was blown apart by the SM-2’s 214-lb. warhead. The CAP Tomcats remained on station until Knight 100, VF-154’s CAG bird, and flown by the CAG himself, led three other -154 Tomcats in to take over the CAP station. Mustin, meanwhile, launched an SH-60R to search for any Iraqi aircrew in the shark-infested waters of the Gulf, and in fact did recover Capt. Ibrahaim al-Sahaf, an Su-24 pilot, and as it turned out, the youngest brother of Iraq’s Information Minister! Grateful for the rescue, the Captain proved to be a valuable source of information after he was flown to the Kitty Hawk. While no other survivors were found, another SH-60 sortie did recover the bodies of two Iraqi airmen, and they were given proper burials at sea after their bodies were checked for any items of intelligence value.

CVW-5’s Intelligence Staff interrogated Capt.al-Sahaf, and he proved to be a gold mine of information. He indicated that his squadron, the 8th Strike-Bomber Squadron, had been trained in anti-ship operations by advisors from Soviet Naval Aviation, and said that his weapons loadout included the Kh-35 missile, known to NATO as the AS-20 Kayak. Captain al-Sahaf also stated that the Iraqis were to use chemical weapons against Kuwait, and that he had heard that after the first use, Army and Republican Guard forces could use them at their discretion and the Air Force was to be prepared to fly missions using chemical bombs and rockets “as requested by ground forces.” He also provided some information about his brother, and some of the gossip associated with Saddam’s inner circle. When asked if he was a Su-24 pilot due to connections, al-Sahaf replied in the negative.

“You have to prove yourself in the air if you want to fly Su-24s. It’s not just loyalty to the government, but ability to fly and fight in the air that puts you in a Sukhoi’s cockpit.”

His information was passed up the line to CENTCOM’s J-2 once his initial interrogation was completed.

As the Tomcats and the San Diego-based Mustin were engaging Capt. al-Sahaf’s strike package, four F/A-18Es from VFA-195 and four VA-115 A-6Fs flew the first BAI/CAS mission of the war for CVW-5. CDR Chad Runyan, VFA-195 CO, led the package. While loaded for air-to-ground, both Hornets and Intruders had AIM-9s and AIM-120s loaded, as all aircrew expected to encounter Iraqi aircraft. They were not disappointed. While a VAQ-136 Prowler jammed, and launched a HARM at, the al-Faw SA-2 site, Package 1A penetrated Iraqi airspace. They received a call from an AWACS orbiting over Eastern Saudi Arabia, call sign Yukon, of bandits inbound their location. Expecting MiG-23s, MiG-29s, or Mirages, the Hornets turned to intercept, and found themselves nose-to-nose with four Su-25 Frogfoots of the Iraqi AF’s 109th Squadron. The Dambuster Hornets launched AIM-120s, killing two of the Sukhois, while a third fell to a Sidewinder fired by the CO. CDR Runyan was chasing the survivor when his threat receiver went off, warning of an SA-11 in the area, and he broke off as a smoke trail rose from the desert floor. All were surprised to see the SA-11 track not the CO’s bird, but homed in on the surviving Su-25, and blew it out of the sky. The Hornets picked up SA-11 emissions, and promptly sent HARMs back down, knocking out several Gadfly launch vehicles, and clearing the way for the Intruders. LCDR Matt Wiser, VA-115’s Ops Officer, led the Eagle Intruders down onto a mass of armored and soft-skinned vehicles jamming Highway 8, the main Basra-Kuwait City highway. Each A-6 carried a dozen Rockeye CBUs and two Maverick missiles. The Mavericks were launched against ZSU-23s and SA-13s that were spotted below, and once the missiles were expended, each Intruder made a single pass, dumping the Rockeyes on the Iraqi armor and supply vehicles. As the Intruders cleared off target, the Hornets came in and each deposited eight Mark-83 1,000 lb. bombs into the mass of vehicles. Package 1A then returned to Kitty Hawk without loss. However, Package 1B, which had launched right after 1A, was not so fortunate.

Package 1B was identical to 1A, four Dambuster Hornets and four Eagle Intruders, with the Prowler still on station to jam enemy radars. The package was led by CDR John Compton, VA-115 CO, with LT Craig Paul as his B/N. Though 1B did not encounter enemy aircraft, they did notice several Iraqi aircraft falling to either Patriots or Kuwaiti F/A-18Cs off to the west and south. Package 1B was directed by a ground FAC to hit the same armored column that 1A had struck. However, as CDR Compton led the Intruders down, two SA-6 batteries lit up everyone’s threat receivers. The Dambuster Hornets promptly put HARMs in the air to kill the SA-6s, but one of the Gainfuls tracked a Hornet, and despite ECM and evasive maneuvers, exploded close to the aircraft. Dambuster 411 exploded almost simultaneously, and no one saw a chute. LT Todd Sawyer was initially reported MIA, but sadly, his body was returned by the Iraqis postwar.

The remaining three Hornets were out for blood, and after the HARMs had killed the Straight Flush radar tracks, LCDR Kathy Evision led the Hornets down on the SAM batteries. Each battery was hit by a single F/A-18, receiving eight Mark-83s, and putting the SA-6 batteries out of action. LCDR Evision held onto her bombs, and found what was later found to be the SA-6 brigade’s CP. She planted her bombs on the target, and was rewarded with a large secondary explosion as one of the Mark-83s landed in a revetment where a number of reload missiles were stored. Other bombs wrecked the brigade’s command vehicles, and the brigade commander was killed, along with many of the HQ staff and technicians.

While the Hornets were exacting revenge for the loss of one of their own, CDR Compton led his Intruders onto the armor that 1A had struck. Most of the vehicles were packing the four-lane freeway, and as before, ZSU-23s and SA-13s were priority for Mavericks. Not finding any, the Intruders sprayed the armor with their Rockeye CBUs, and held onto the Mavericks. As the last Intruder cleared off target, the same Ground FAC asked if they still had ordnance. Replying in the affirmative, CDR Compton was tasked against a battery of SP 152-mm howitzers. The four Intruders each launched their Mavericks, killing six 2S19 howitzers, a re-supply vehicle, and the battery command track. After hitting the artillery battery, Package 1B reformed and returned to the ship, minus one.

Further packages went out all through the day, and while no further losses of aircraft or aircrew occurred, one VFA-192 Hornet came back with an unexploded SA-16 in its afterburner feathers. An EOD crew was able to remove the missile and then threw it overboard. While plans had been drawn up for night ops for the Intruders and Hornets, CENTAF had F-15Es from the 366th TFW handle night interdiction and CAS. The Air Force would handle night ops on even-numbered days, while CVW-5, and as they arrived, Marine Air Group 24, on odd-numbered days, unless a maximum effort was called for at night. (This happened on several occasions, such as the retaliatory raid for Iraq’s CW use, among others.)

There was very little air activity during the night of 22/23 April, though a single MiG-25RBT (identified postwar as from the Iraqi AF’s 17th Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron), approached the North SAR Station at 0450. The CAP, two F-14Ds from VF-154, was again vectored in for the intercept. LT Jacqui Patterson and LT Debbie Bradley in Blackknight 104 gained Phoenix lock at a range of 55 miles. Calling “Fox Three”, a single AIM-54D dropped from the Tomcat’s fuselage and ignited. The Phoenix rapidly accelerated to Mach 5, and then smashed into the target. 104’s crew then watched as a fireball erupted high and to the right of their Tomcat, and a trail of fire plunged into the Gulf. In the darkness, no one saw a chute.

The CAP was still on station when another Iraqi strike package was picked up by both AWACS and E-2 at 0515. This package consisted of four Mirage F-1s, four Su-22s, and two Su-24s. Calling for help, Patterson and Bradley, along with LTJG Chris Conway and LT Damon Freeman, charged into the Iraqis. Blackknight 104 launched their single remaining Phoenix at 40 miles, and watched with satisfaction as a Mirage was blown apart. Conway and Freeman in Blackknight 109 locked onto two Su-22s and then launched at 45 miles. Both Fitters were blotted from the sky in orange fireballs, but unlike the previous raid, both remaining Fitters continued in.

Mustin CIC then activated AEGIS in full automatic mode, and SM-2s began launching almost at once. Both remaining Su-22s, seeing SAMs coming up at them, attempted to evade, but one was killed, crashing into the Gulf, and his wingman was damaged and forced to abort. The two Fencers, though, continued to close in, and ESM began picking up Iraqi radars hunting for the destroyer. However, both Fencers never stood a chance, as AEGIS locked them up and sent SM-2s their way. This time, one of the Fencers gained lock and fired two AS-20s at the destroyer, just before the plane and crew were blown apart by two SM-2s. The other Fencer was killed by SM-2 just before he could launch. For the first time in the Gulf, the Vampire call went out, but neither AS-20 found its target. One fell to SM-2, while another, overwhelmed by Mustin’s formidable ECM suite, flew on by and then into the water.

The three remaining Mirages pressed to confront the CAP Tomcats. Patterson remarked to her RIO that these Iraqis were different from yesterday, wanting to press the fight rather than run. Bradley gained lock and sent an AIM-120 at the nearest Mirage, and the Iraqi, caught in the AIM-120’s “no escape” cone, never had a chance as the Slammer caught up to him and exploded the Mirage. The other two Mirages decided to turn back, going to afterburner and escaping. The CAP Tomcats, running low on fuel, did not pursue, and were relieved by Blackknight 101 and 111, who had been sitting Alert 5 on Cats 3 and 4. The two Black Knights landed back at 0600, having scored not only the squadron’s first kills, but Patterson and Bradley were the first female pilot/RIO team to score in either WestPac or the IO/PG. For this action, they were both awarded the DFC.

Strike ops resumed at 0600, and packages launched throughout the day. While Iraqi aircraft had learned not to get close to F-14Ds, they were still unfamiliar with the F/A-18Es, and continued to suffer the consequences. One Hornet driver, LT Brad Whitfield of VFA-192, ran into two MiG-23s southeast of Tallil AB that morning, and both Flogger pilots discovered that a Super Hornet was just as dangerous as a C or D Hornet. Both MiGs, from the Iraqi AF’s 84th Fighter Squadron, jumped Dragon 310 and Dragon 312, believing both Rhinos, laden with ordnance, were easy targets. Whitfield in Dragon 310 turned into both attackers, and fired an AIM-120 at nearly minimum range. The Slammer flew into the MiG’s intake and exploded, turning the MiG-23 into a fireball. The second MiG had fired his two AA-7 Apex missiles at LTJG Curtis Blair in 312, missing with both. This MiG driver didn’t live to regret missing, as Whitfield in Dragon 310 rolled into the MiG’s six o’clock and got a “good tone” with his AIM-9X and fired at two miles. The MiG never saw his attacker, and the Super Snake flew up the MiG’s tailpipe and the MiG-23 disappeared in a fireball. Neither Iraqi pilot survived. Both Dragons then proceeded to their target, a concentration of dug-in artillery belonging to the Iraqi III Corps, and planted their Mark-83s on target.

VA-185 hadn’t been left out of the action, flying several packages the first day, but skipper CDR Amanda Lowry felt the CAG, an F-14 pilot, was partial to VA-115 in assigning missions such as SUCAP and ASR (Armed Surface Reconnaissance) to her squadron, letting VA-115 handle missions into Kuwait and Iraq solely. She made sure that her squadron proved itself, leading two packages that day, killing the Al-Faw SA-2 and the Umm Qasr SA-3 sites for good on the first, and hitting an ammo dump near Al-Zubayr on the afternoon package. CDR Lowry, who had become the first female VA skipper in PACFLT six months earlier, was assured by CAG that there was no favoritism, but that since VA-115 had won the Battle E, he gave some of the more hairy missions to the Eagles. CDR Lowry’s squadron during the war, though, proved that her confidence in the squadron was not misplaced, though there was some grumbling about missing the H-2 mission. Given what happened on that mission to VA-115, those grumbles were soon quieted.

The night went uneventfully, though A-6s and Hornets flew numerous sorties, mainly armed reconnaissance, on the night of 23/24 April. One VFA-195 Hornet, flown by LT Chris Blake, found an Iraqi SA-342 Gazelle near Samawa just before dark and, after failing to gain both AIM-120 and Sidewinder lock, managed to hose the Gazelle with 200 rounds of 20-millimeter HEI and API. The French-made helo fell apart in midair, crashing close to the bank of the Euphrates River in a fiery rain of debris and burning jet fuel. LCDR Kathy Evision led three other Hornets to a military compound north of An Nasiriya on Highway 16, and each Hornet was able to orbit outside of AAA range and put GBU-24s on target. There were numerous secondary explosions, and it was identified postwar as the HQ compound for III Corps’ 33rd Engineer Brigade.

Two VA-185 Intruders, on a night recon along the Euphrates, found a number of barges and pontoons, where the Iraqis were prepositioning bridging equipment in the event of river bridges being dropped, and pontoon bridges being needed as replacements. The Soviets had done the same along the Elbe and Saale Rivers in East Germany, and had suffered as NATO aircraft, not content with dropping the bridges, blasted the bridging equipment. VA-185 taught the Iraqis a similar lesson, as the lead aircraft dumped a dozen Mark-82s into the mass of GSP pontoon vehicles. The wingman followed with Rockeyes, and both departed the area, leaving a Republican Guard engineer unit scrambling to find replacements for damaged or destroyed equipment. Replacing a number of trained engineers and boat operators who had been killed or wounded, though, was a different matter.

Major strike ops were set to resume at 0600, with two packages set to go into Kuwait for on-call CAS and BAI. This would continue throughout the day, however, planning was well underway for major strikes against pre-planned targets in Central Iraq as a reprisal for Iraq’s use of WMDs. A FLASH message from the JCS put such plans aside, as two C-2s began shuttling back and forth between Bahrain and Kitty Hawk. Ordnancemen were wondering what kind of munitions the C-2s were carrying, and why there was tight security around the bombs. Rumors flew aboard ship that they were nukes; however, those rumors were scotched when the Captain came on the 1MC to announce that since the Iraqis had used Chemical Weapons, it was time that the favor, with interest, was returned. The bombs were BLU-80/B Bigeye binary chemical bombs, and they had an Iraqi air base as their delivery address. The target selected was the air base at H-2, in Western Iraq. It would be a long trip there and back, and one A-6 B/N helping plan the mission remarked that the aircrews would have to be lifted out of the cockpits when they recovered. LCDR Matt Wiser, helping plan the A-6 side of the mission, asked the senior ordnance CPO for the squadron if JDAM kits could be attached onto the bombs. The CPO came back to him and replied in the negative, the kits wouldn’t allow the binary chemicals to mix and become lethal. Shrugging his shoulders, the ops officer told the Skipper immediately and the crews in the final brief. After Ops and Intel had given their parts of the brief, CDR Compton led the squadron in a brief prayer, and then closed by saying “Let’s hope this is the only chemical strike we ever have to fly. Good Luck, Eagles. Godspeed, and hit your three wire when you get back. I’ll be leading you there, and I’ll lead you home.” Similar pep talks were given in the other ready rooms as the men and women of CVW-5 prepped for the most important mission they had ever flown up to that time. CAG himself would lead in Blackknight 100, flying the MIGCAP.

The H-2 package consisted of a dozen F-14s (eight from VF-154 and four from VF-21), a dozen F/A-18Es (eight from VFA-192 and four from VFA-195), ten A-6s (all from VA-115), three EA-6Bs from VAQ-136, and four VS-21 S-3Bs in the tanker mode. While most of the refueling was provided by USAF KC-135s or KC-10s, an RAF VC-10 and two Saudi KE-3As also tanked CVW-5 both en route to the target and on the return trip.
The strike was also coordinated with Tornado IDSs of the RSAF’s 66 Squadron, which provided six Tornados for SAM-suppression with the submunition variant of the Storm Shadow missile. The remaining aircraft, which included all of VA-185’s Intruders, were held for on-call CAS and BAI, as well as maintaining both CAP and SUCAP. Given the range to the target, CSAR was provided by the Air Force, with both Pave Lows (MH-53J) and Pave Ospreys (HV-22A). The RSAF provided an emergency field at Al Arar, where any aircraft with battle damage could recover if damage prevented a shipboard landing. The H-2 mission was one of the longest ranged missions of the war, and the one B/N was right: there were crews who needed assistance getting out of their aircraft after they trapped.

Launching began at 2245, and the strike package formed up and headed west over Saudi Arabia. Two additional A-6Fs, launched as airborne spares, turned back and recovered aboard CV-63 after all aircraft completed their first refueling over Saudi. The normal banter between aircrews during the flight, and also between the crews of the strikers and the tankers, was noticeably subdued, given the nature of the ordnance carried. The second refueling was carried out over Western Saudi Arabia, and then the package turned right and headed into Iraqi Airspace. Many aircrews noticed the streaks of cruise missiles from ships in the Gulf, the Red Sea, and from B-52s, as they flew along the Iraqi-Saudi border, and threat receivers went silent as Iraqi radars were either jammed or destroyed. Still, no one expected the ride past H-2 to be an easy one.

H-2 was fairly well defended: there was an SA-2 brigade (three batteries), an SA-3 brigade (four batteries), plus Air Force-manned SA-8s and -9s for base air defense. In addition, there were numerous 23-mm and 57-mm AAA sites on and around the base, as well as squad-sized detachments equipped with MANPADS, most likely SA-16s. All of the SAM sites were priority for the IRON HAND element from VFA-192, armed with both HARM and JSOW, while the VFA-195 element went in with Mavericks and CBUs to deal with AAA sites or SA-8s as they came up.

As the strikers and the -195 Hornets came in low, the MIGCAP came on in at 16,000 feet, looking for the Iraqi CAP. AWACS (call sign Buckeye), came on with a call of six MiG-25s inbound to the strikers. CAG, leading the F-14s, gave the strike commit call at 0740, and then it was time to go to work.

Knight 100 was the first to launch, with other Tomcats following in quick succession. These MiGs hadn’t faced the AIM-54D/APG-71 combination, and although two turned north at Mach 2.5 after realizing they had been fired upon, four MiGs fell to the first salvo. CAG, CAPT Seavey, splashed one, while CDR Kevin McAlister/LCDR Rick Meyers in Knight 101 splashed two. The pair of LTs Patterson and Bradley, flying Knight 106, splashed their fourth kill (and second MiG-25) as well. The other two MiGs then turned around and came back, leading six MiG-29s (IrAF 23rd Fighter Squadron) from H-1 into the fight. Patterson and Bradley led their wingmen, Conway and Freeman, after this group of bandits, with two VF-21 Tomcats backing them up. Conway and Freeman in Knight 110 hadn’t had a chance to fire their Phoenixes, and they made up for it, killing a MiG-25 and a MiG-29 with their Phoenix launch. Patterson and Bradley tried to get the other Foxbat with their last Phoenix, but missed, but Freelancer 204 (LCDR Kevin Schmitt/LT Bill Watkins) splashed him with AIM-54.

Despite this, the five remaining Fulcrums closed in, and soon it was down-and-dirty, with AIM-120s and AIM-9Xs coming into play. Patterson and Bradley locked up a MiG-29 at 24 miles and fired a Slammer that missed, but a second at 16 miles didn’t, making Patterson and Bradley the first female Aces in U.S. Navy history. Two MiGs tried closing in with the Freelancers, one falling to Freelancer 204 and AIM-120, while Freelancer 211 (LTJG Marc Walker/LT Dana Tyler) was able to maneuver around and shot an AIM-9 from dead six. The MiG exploded and crashed. The remaining two MiGs then promptly turned and headed back towards H-1, pursued by several AIM-120s.

As the MIGCAP cleared the sky of MiGs, the IRON HAND flight went to work, unleashing HARMs on H-2’s SAM sites as they came up. While EA-6Bs from VAQ-136 jammed the missile radars, VFA-192’s Hornets put HARM and JSOW into the air to kill the SAM sites. They were assisted by Scimitar Flight, six RSAF Tornado IDSs from the RSAF’s No. 66 Squadron, armed with a submunition variant of the Storm Shadow missile. None of the fixed SAM sites came up after the SAM-suppressors did their work. One of the RSAF Tornadoes was hit by SA-16 as it cleared the target area, but the crew made it across the border before punching out, and were promptly picked up by a USAF HV-22 Pave Osprey.

With the fixed SAM sites, as well as some of the triple-A sites, knocked out, the A-6s, with their Hornet strike escort birds, came into the picture. The Bigeyes were equal to a B-61 or B-83 nuclear weapon in terms of delivery mode, and given the threat, a toss-bomb delivery was necessary. CDR Compton in Outlaw 501 called “Intruders in hot” at 0810, and the Eagle Intruders went into their attack runs.

Compton and Paul in 501 were first in, and they noted several AAA sites still firing, but LCDR Kathy Evison’s Dambuster Hornets shut them down with toss-bombing of CBUs. The VA-115 Skipper released his bombs and headed back south, with the chaff/flare program set to automatic. As it turned out, it was a wise precaution, as several SA-16s came up to greet the Skipper as his A-6 headed south. His wingman, Outlaw 511 (LTJG Todd Lowell/LT Jon Eversole) had a similar experience on and off target.

The XO in Outlaw 502, CDR Don Gilfry and LTJG Stacy Ryan, went in parallel with Outlaw 505 (LCDR Matt Wiser/LT Lucy Porter) and that element. Unfortunately, the XO ran into trouble after weapon release, as an SA-16 came up after them. Despite the flare/chaff program, Outlaw 502 took a hit, and the explosion rocked Outlaw 505 so much the Ops Officer and his B/N thought they’d been hit. CDR Gilfry managed to get the wounded Intruder not only clear of the target, but away from the lethal zone of the VX gas, before ordering LTJG Ryan to eject. She punched out at 500 feet, breaking her left collar bone and spraining an ankle on landing. CDR Gilfry, however, stayed with his aircraft until impact. He was awarded a posthumous Navy Cross as a result of his actions.

The XO’s wingman, Outlaw 508, also didn’t make it after weapon release. LTJG Christopher Larson and LT Mark Collings released their bombs, but as they headed away from the target, Dambuster 404 called a SAM warning. An SA-8, guided optically, came up and smashed into Outlaw 508’s port side. Both stayed with the crippled A-6 as long as they could before punching out, however, LT Collings died in the ejection, and LTJG Larson had a broken leg as a result of a hard landing. He was found by Bedouins and later turned over to the Iraqi Army, spending the rest of the war in captivity. LT Collings’ body was returned by the Iraqis postwar.

Outlaw 505 came in at almost the same moment as the exec. LCDR Wiser and LT Porter led their element into the bomb run at 0812, and released their weapons. Not seeing the XO’s aircraft, they felt the exploding SA-16 as it hit the XO’s bird, and there was some choice invective on the intercom as both aviators thought they’d been hit. LT Porter looked around and saw nothing, but LCDR Wiser scanned to the left, and saw Outlaw 502 going down. Neither of them saw a chute, and originally thought neither crew member survived. 505 made it out of the target area without further incident.

505’s wingman was Outlaw 509 (LT Bryan Rivers/LT Sarah “Indy” Fisher). 509’s run was the same as the Ops Officer’s, and they too were rocked by the XO’s plane taking the hit. However, LT Fisher did see a chute from 502, and called it in. They did have a close call as an SA-16 passed right over their canopy on the way out, but made it clear without further incident.

The last pair into the target was led by LCDR Brad Morris and LT Dave Carroll in Outlaw 507. Their weapons release and egress was as clean as one could expect, with no SAMs or AAA bothering them, or their wingman, Outlaw 510 (LTJG Travis Cooper/LCDR Andy Mathews). Apparently, the defenders had been overcome by the VX gas, and were too dead to fire at the last pair of A-6s.
The VFA-195 Hornets protecting the strikers had a busy time, either tossing CBUs at AAA sites, or putting Mavericks into SA-8 launchers that had suddenly revealed themselves. None were lost, however Dambuster 403, flown by LCDR Kathy Evision, took an SA-16 in the left engine on egress. She was able to shut down the engine successfully, and although she could have ejected once across the border, chose not to. LCDR Evision put down at Al Arar airfield in Saudi Arabia on one engine, taking up the Saudis on their offer of a recovery field. While landing, she noticed four A-10s, an HC-130, and two MH-53M Pave Lows heading north. After landing and shutting down, she asked one of the USAF helo pilots still sitting alert what was going on, and he replied that a downed A-6 crew member had called in and was waiting for a pickup. The RSAF officers at the base rolled out the red carpet for their USN visitor, and she used a USAF radio to send a message to the carrier, verifying she was down at Al Arar and “they’d better send a COD or two with some maintenance guys and a spare engine if we want this Hornet back in the air.” AWACS relayed the message to CV-63, and 195’s CO, CDR Runyan, sent his maintenance officer and a crew with a spare engine out immediately on two VRC-50 C-2s.

While CVW-5’s package was egressing back into Saudi airspace, the USAF sent in a CSAR package to go after the downed A-6 crewer. LTJG Ryan was able to get clear of the immediate area of the crash, despite a sprained ankle, and she was in pain due to the broken collar bone. Not intending to take up a suite at the Baghdad Hilton, she was able to evade two parties of Iraqis in trucks that came to the crash site. After three hours on the ground, and two contacts with Buckeye, Sandy 31 came on the radio. After verifying her ID, and giving her condition, Ryan was able to talk in the A-10s. Soon thereafter, she heard the WHOP-WHOP of rotor blades, as the Pave Lows came into the area. Sandy 33 came over, and Ryan popped a flare to show her location. Marking her location, Sandy 33 relayed it to Jolly 71, the lead Pave Low. As the Jollys came in, Jolly 71’s pilot noticed two more trucks coming into the area, and he called Sandy in on the targets. Sandy 32 was in position, and he fired a Maverick into the lead truck, killing it in a ball of fire, smoke, and debris. Sandy 31 came in right after, and hosed the second truck with some 200 rounds of 30mm HEI, shredding the truck and its occupants. With the threat clear, Jolly 71 came in and lowered two USAF PJs, who located LTJG Ryan and assisted her to the waiting helo. As Jolly 71 headed out with the survivor, who was being attended to by the PJs, Jolly 72’s right gunner noticed movement around the second truck. Not wanting to take a chance with an RPG or MANPADS, the gunner hosed the truck with his minigun, and Sandy 32 came in and deposited a CBU-87 on the vehicle to make sure. The CSAR package then cleared the area, and returned to Al Arar at 1355 with a grateful survivor on board.

The return trip to CV-63 was just as long as the inbound one, with the same number of tankings needed on the way back. Everyone was stiff and sore from the long time spent in the saddle, but the most dangerous part was still to come: the trap. It was 1535 by the time the first aircraft came into CV-63’s pattern, with the Super Hornets coming in first. The A-6s and Prowlers came in right after, along with the S-3s that had flown as backup tankers. Finally, the F-14s came in, with recovery complete at 1600. The mission wasn’t over yet, as the CODs went to Al Arar, and the maintenance folks went to work repairing LCDR Evision’s Hornet. She launched at 2300, and escorted the C-2s back to CV-63, bringing back the maintenance folks, along with a very relieved LTJG Ryan, who was glad to be going back to VA-115, and not on her way to the Baghdad Hilton.

RADM Roger Freeman, CTF-77, watched the recovery of the H-2 package from start to finish, and he noted with some amusement, as did the others watching from Vulture’s Row, that many of the aircrew had trouble getting out of their cockpits. Many simply couldn’t stand to get up, and had to be assisted by their plane captains and other deck crew. Others tried getting out on their own, and promptly fell on their backs onto the flight deck, with many a bump and bruise resulting. Even the CAG himself needed help getting out of his Tomcat, as did CDR Compton in his A-6. After the debriefs, though some aircrew made it to their cabins for a few hours’ rack time, many others simply laid back in their ready room chairs and promptly fell asleep.

While the H-2 package had been off and away, there was plenty of action for the stay-behinds of CVW-5. The Iraqis tried yet again to go after the North SAR Station, which had been reinforced by U.S.S. Chandler (DDG-996) at 0515. This time, it was two Su-22s and two Mirages, with the Iraqis reasoning that while large packages had been mauled, a small strike element might make it. Again E-2C and AWACS picked up the inbound Iraqis, and the CAP, Freelancer 201 and 209, was vectored in. The team of CDR John Waite and LT Christine Wagner, with three kills so far, led LTs David Wagner and Larry Forrest into the fight. 201’s first launch at 55 miles targeted the Mirages, and both Mirages fell to the AIM-54D salvo, making Waite and Wagner CVW-5’s second ace pair. The two Su-22s, coming in low, were picked up by AEGIS, but 209 launched AIM-54Ds at 35 miles. However, both missiles were targeted on the same aircraft, and the Su-22 disappeared in a fireball. The second striker kept on coming in, and Chandler gained a solution for SM-2, shooting at 20 miles. Both SM-2s connected, and the Fitter blew apart in the air and fell into the Gulf. A quick launch of an SH-60B from Chandler to search for survivors came back negative, although one body was recovered, and the Iraqi airman was accorded a burial at sea after his body was checked for any items of intelligence value.

Strike ops into Kuwait and Southern Iraq resumed at 0600, with small packages built around VFA-195 and VA-185 being launched throughout the day. Most were CAS, supporting Allied troops in contact, though some BAI was conducted. VA-185 skipper CDR Amanda Lowry led one package to Safwan Airfield, where the Iraqis were basing Mi-17 Hip and Mi-24 Hind helos. Four Hornets and two A-6s came in at 0745, just as the Iraqis were beginning to launch helos for their own missions that day. While GBU-16s rained down and blasted the fuel dump, the Hornets went after the Iraqi helos like ducks on a pond. Four Hips and two Hinds fell to either AIM-9s or 20-mm gunfire from the Hornets, and one Hind also fell to an A-6F, becoming the Intruder’s first air combat victory ever, with LTs Cory Snyder and Darren Lewis in Knighthawk 537 putting them into the A-6 record book, killing the Hind with an AIM-9R as they pulled out of their bomb run.

Most of the missions were without loss; however a mission requested by CENTAF just after 1200 brought VA-185 its first loss of the war. Two bridges on the eastern fringe of An Nasiriya, one over the Saddam Canal, and one over the Euphrates River, had to come down, and Skipper Lowry led four A-6s and four Hornets, two from VFA-192 and two from VFA-195, with one of VAQ-136’s Prowlers, against the bridges. CDR Lowry in Knighthawk 531, with LTJG Pete Crandall her B/N, led Knighthawk 535 (LT Paul Mason/LT Melissa Daniels) against the Saddam Canal bridge, while 185’s Ops Officer in 534 (LCDR Lisa Eichhorn/LT Susie Porter-Flinn), went after the Euphrates River Bridge along with 538 (LTJG Julie Grant/LCDR Michael Cole). While An Nasiriya was only 20 miles from Tallil AB and its defenses, the cruise missile salvoes from the previous night had severely degraded the SA-2 and SA-3 batteries around the base, but some SAMs, either SA-8 or SA-11s from Army and RGFC air defense, were expected, along with the usual AAA.

The package launched just after 1400, and ingressed into the target area with no radars or SAMs lighting up their threat receivers. However, due to some clouds at 10,000 feet, the strikers had to get down below the clouds to get good locks on the bridges for their laser designators, and that brought them into AAA range. While the Hornets went after the AAA sites, the Intruders went for their target bridges. It wasn’t an easy ride, as 57-mm AAA and some MANPADS did come up to greet them.

Skipper Lowry led her element into the strike at 1455, and her GBU-24s slammed into the north side of the Saddam Canal Bridge, sending the North span into the canal. Her egress was jarred by AAA fire, and LTJG Crandall involuntarily ducked inside the cockpit as a SAM, probably an SA-14, flew past the canopy. Her wingmates in 535, Mason and Daniels, went after the south side of the bridge, and their bombs connected, sending the span into the Saddam Canal. They also had some AAA come up after them, but they got off to the southeast and out of the target area without damage. However, the second flight, going after the Euphrates River Bridge, was not so lucky.

LCDR Eichhorn brought her flight of two Intruders and two Hornets in right after the Skipper called in off target. Due to the clouds, neither B/N could acquire the target bridge, so they had to go down below the cloud deck as the Skipper’s flight had. Again, there was moderate flak from 57-mm and even two SA-8s came up to meet the strike birds, though the SAMs never connected. LCDR Eichhorn released her GBU-24s and pulled away, and just as her bombs hit the bridge, their A-6 was rocked by AAA fire, and then a 57-mm shell smashed into the tail of the aircraft. She immediately lost control of the plane, and gave the command to LT Porter-Flinn: “Eject, Eject, Eject!” Both were able to eject successfully, and landed in or near the river, close to the Taykar Military Hospital.

While both the Ops Officer and her B/N were descending in their chutes, their wingmates in 538, Grant and Cole, went in on their bomb run, also being rocked by AAA as they released their GBU-24s on the bridge. Their bombs also struck, and the Highway 7/8 Bridge over the Euphrates River was well and truly dropped. On their egress, they saw 534’s crew eject, and despite the AAA and SAM threat, were able to watch as the survivors landed. 538’s crew called in to AWACS of a crew down, and requested a SAR mission at once. Skipper Lowry, orbiting nearby, also saw 534 go down, and had also called it in. A CSAR package was quickly organized, this time out of King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia, with two A-10s, an HC-130, and a pair of HV-22 Pave Ospreys launching almost immediately.

The Hornets, some of which still had ordnance, went in after a number of military vehicles that had been spotted moving in close to the survivors. LCDR Eichhorn was able to call in, saying that both were OK, but her B/N had lost her radio in the ejection. However, the Hornets soon were “Winchester” (out of ordnance) and running low on fuel, and they had to depart. King 65, the HC-130, was in contact with the survivors until 1530, when LCDR Eichhorn noticed numerous Iraqi soldiers and civilians closing in on their location by the river. Realizing that she and LT Porter-Flinn were about to be captured, she called to King 65, telling them to abort, as they were about to be captured, and “tell them on the carrier we’ll see ‘em after the war.” She destroyed her radio right after that, and then several Iraqi soldiers found them, and both aircrew put their hands up. One part of the war was over for both, but another, more frightening part, was just beginning. Both were kicked and beaten, but when the Iraqis took off their flight helmets and gear and saw they were female, the two were left alone. As LCDR Eichhorn remarked after the war to her boyfriend and soon-to-be fiancé, “Acts of kindness in Iraq could be counted on one hand, and this was one of them.” Both POWs were taken to the nearby Taykar Military Hospital, where they were briefly filmed by an Iraqi TV crew, and then, bound and blindfolded, were put on a truck and sent to Baghdad, there to spend the rest of the war in captivity.

After this package launched, one more package did launch before the H-2 mission began to recover. This package, consisting of two VA-115 Intruders that didn’t fly the H-2 mission, and two VFA-195 Hornets, went to the Faw Peninsula at 1330. A coastal SSM site, either for Chinese-made Silkworm or Seersucker missiles, had been identified by a UAV pass, and RADM Freeman wanted it taken out. Outlaw 500, the CAG bird, was flown by Deputy CAG CAPT Shaun Riley, with LT Ron Reynolds in the right seat, and Outlaw 512 (LTJG Dean Cramer/LTJG Steve Denton) backing them up. This strike happened to be this day’s “Milk Run,” as there was no SAM activity, since both the Al Faw SA-2 and Umm Qasr SA-3 sites had been taken out, and only light flak from 23-mm guns, and not even any SA-7s or -14s. This time, both Intruders and Hornets could concentrate on servicing the target, and the SSM battery, four launchers, a control vehicle, and a radar van, fell victim to GBU-16s from the A-6s, while the Hornets followed up with a shower of Rockeye CBUs, putting the battery out of commission for good. Both RADM Freeman and the Kuwaiti Chief of Staff were pleased, as this battery had been shooting Seersuckers at random into Kuwait City, as well as being a threat to both naval vessels and merchant traffic still coming into and out of Kuwait Bay.

Finally, one other flight did arrive aboard Kitty Hawk as the H-2 mission was out. A VRC-50 C-2 had flown to Bahrain shortly after 0700, taking routine cargo and mail (the first sent out since the war began), and on the return trip brought CV-63 some members of the news media to be embedded with the ship’s company and air wing. CNN’s Joanne D’Angelo and her crew, the Dallas Morning News’ Joe Taylor, Dave Schuler of the Los Angeles Times, and the AP’s Richard Stark. All were familiar with the embed ground rules, and they would get their first interviews with some of the aircrew who had flown the H-2 mission the next day. They arrived just in time to witness the H-2 mission’s recovery. Naturally, there was a desire to be the first to interview the first female Aces of the U.S. Navy, and CNN’s crew won the draw. A crew from Fox News Channel would arrive the next day, via Bahrain and an HC-11 MH-60.

Following the recovery of the H-2 strike package, CAG had a meeting with RADM Freeman, and then was informed by the air wing maintenance officer that a stand down of 24 hours was necessary, as aircraft maintenance needed attention, with the aircraft that had flown the H-2 mission needing priority. CAG then informed RADM Freeman, and accordingly, CV-63 and her battle group then turned in the direction of Bahrain. The squadron maintenance officers and their CPOs and enlisted mechanics went to work immediately on getting the aircraft up and ready, with a deadline of 0600 on 27 April. Though most of CVW-5's aircraft were being worked on throughout the day, there would be sufficient F-14s for CAP, and several each of Hornets and Intruders available for SUCAP.

CAG then went down to the various ready rooms shortly after 2000, intending to give his personal thanks to the crews who had flown the H-2 mission. His first stop was VA-115, but he encountered Senior Chief Dwayne Riley, and several other petty officers standing outside the ready room, with orders from the Skipper, CDR Compton, to admit no one. When CAG asked why, Senior Chief Riley quietly opened the ready room door and showed him. Almost all of VA-115's aircrew who had flown the H-2 strike were leaning back in their chairs, sound asleep, even the Skipper, the new XO, LCDR Wiser, and everyone else who'd been to H-2. Several had staggered back to their cabins, but the vast majority of aircrew had simply sacked out in the ready room. Closing the door softly behind him, CAG told Riley to “carry on.” He then went to VFA-195, where most of the pilots were still awake, but were waiting on LCDR Evison's return from Al Arar. Still, several had staggered off to their cabins, following CDR Runyan's order to “sack out, and remain confined to your racks for at least twelve hours.” CAG then took CDR Runyan's advice and sacked out in his cabin, deciding to wait on visiting the squadrons until later the next day.

While the aircrews in most squadrons slept, VF-154 had a “rather mild” party in Ready Room 3, celebrating not only the Navy's first female Aces, but the first female aces in American history. LTs Patterson and Bradley were being toasted by their squadron mates with several bottles of “medicinal alcohol”, under the watchful eye of the flight surgeon. While a proper celebration would have to wait until shore liberty (hopefully in Bahrain or Jebal Ali in the UAE, if not Australia), VF-154's CO, CDR Rick Davis, reminded everyone that “this was a mission for the history books, with the nation's first female fighter aces being crowned.” He then informed the two that CNN's crew had won the draw to be the first to interview them, and they'd best be beside their aircraft in Hangar Bay 2 at 1100. CDR Davis then took the maintenance officer aside and reminded him to paint five silhouettes of Patterson and Bradley's kills on the side of Blackknight 106, their regular aircraft.

Meanwhile, LCDR Evision was on her way back to CV-63 from her unintended layover at Al Arar airfield. She had welcomed LTJG Ryan back when the Pave Low recovered, and cooled her heels while waiting for the C-2s to arrive with the maintenance folks, -195's maintenance officer, and a spare engine. The C-2s arrived at 2100, and the crew got to work at once. Some small holes in the port side of the aircraft were patched up, and the dead engine was quickly switched out for the new one. The old engine, being a total loss, was simply taken to the base dump and tossed in with the rest of the junk. After a fifteen-minute check flight to see if the engine changeover had been successful, Dambuster 403 launched at 2300, escorting the two C-2s back to CV-63. It was 0400 by the time the final aircraft from the H-2 mission recovered, and LTJG Ryan was hustled right into sick bay, where her broken collar bone was set. She would remain grounded for at least a month, but returned to VA-115 on 27 April on light duty, taking a daily turn as Squadron Duty Officer.

While most aircrews did fall asleep after the debriefings, or VF-154's party, some were out on CAP or SUCAP, with some VS-21 S-3s taking over from the Hornets and Intruders. One Viking, Redtail 703, detected a surface contact coming out past the Faw Peninsula at 0120. The S-3 closed in on the contact, and also notified Mustin CIC of the target. Mustin and Chandler began spooling up their SH-60Rs with Hellfire (Mustin) or Penguin (Chandler), with Chandler's helo launching first.
Redtail 703 used its ISAR radar to identify the target as an oil rig utility boat, but this was no civilian craft. As the S-3 closed in, tracers from ZU-23s mounted on the deck of the boat came up as the Iraqi crew opened fire. The S-3B then turned away, and then attempted a AGM-65G shot after getting some distance from the improvised gunboat. Just as Redtail 703 fired, Chandler's helo came in on the scene and not only acquired the target, but also fired its Penguin. Both the Maverick and Penguin smashed into the gunboat, which erupted in a fireball. Mustin's SH-60 arrived to see the explosion and search for survivors. None were found, and the boat's mission remained a mystery. The burning hulk drifted for several hours before Chandler closed in at 0650. A further search for survivors turned up negative, and the wreck was then sunk by 5-inch gunfire. Meanwhile, 703 recovered back aboard Kitty Hawk at 0200, having scored the squadron's first kill of the war.

RADM Freeman expected the Iraqis to try again for the North SAR station, and he wasn't disappointed, as shortly after Chandler returned to station at 0830, four bogeys were picked up outbound from Shoiabah AB,headed for the ships. Again CAP was vectored in, with Freelancer 207 (LT Chris Macintyre/LT Paul Dunlap) and Freelancer 212 (LTJG Alex Van Kirk/LCDR Dave Shelton) coming into play.
The bogeys were soon ID'd as bandits, with two MiG-23s (IrAF 84th FS), and two Su-25s (IrAF 109th FS). While none of the bandits had radar-guided ASMs, the Su-25s were more than capable of carrying the AS-10 or AS-14 EO or laser missiles, and were still a potent threat to any ship. E-2C vectored in the Tomcats, and the CAP closed in to intercept.

Calling “Fox Three” at 0841, LT Macintyre launched a AIM-54D at 40 miles, with Van Kirk in 212 doing the same. Both had targeted the MiG-23s, and both Phoenixes obliterated the Floggers, blotting them from the sky in orange-red fireballs. The two Frogfoots, though, dropped down low and continued in. A second Phoenix shot missed from 207, but 212's second shot scored, sending the Su-25 into the Gulf. The surviving Su-25 jettisoned his ordnance and turned back. The Tomcats let him go, returning to their CAP station to await relief. That came at 0900, as the first pair of F/A-18Es from VFA-192 came in to take up a CAP station, with four Slammers (AIM-120s) and two Sidewinders (AIM-9Xs). This was the first attempt by the Iraqis against the North SAR station where the ships never took a shot at the attackers.

RADM Freeman's intelligence people were puzzled by the Iraqis' repeated attempts at the ships on the SAR station, and the prevailing opinion was that the IrAF was under political pressure to at least hit, if not sink, an American ship. Loosely translated, that meant the IrAF Command was under, as one senior Iraqi AF officer remarked after the war, “intense pressure from Saddam, as he was demanding that an American warship be hit, if not sunk. And when he sent Qusay and some of Qusay's people from the SSO (Special Security Organization) to Air Force HQ, we had no choice but to comply, despite what our squadron commanders were reporting as 'prohibitive losses' in going after the ships.”

While many of the aircrews on Kitty Hawk were resting, two aircrew had their moment in the sun, as LTs Patterson and Bradley gave their interviews to the press in Hangar Bay 2. CNN's Joanne D'Angelo drew the first interview, and the two aces showed her their regular mount, Blackknight 106, with its five kill silhouettes freshly painted on the port side of the Tomcat. Bradley remarked that their first three kills came in a different bird, but since this one was theirs, so...LT Patterson remarked that the Iraqis were very determined, and they weren't the turkeys many made them out to be as a result of the Gulf War. When asked how it felt to be the first American female aces, they replied that “it could easily have been someone in Europe, out with Strike Fleet Atlantic, Korea, or even NorPac. It just happens that we drew that card.” They were also asked how the Iraqis might feel that “infidel women” had made ace against them, and Bradley remarked, “What's the difference between an American woman racking up five kills at their expense, or an Israeli woman doing the same thing? Either way, they'll be either angry, humiliated, or both. I call that, 'tough luck, Saddam.'” The print media then came next, and following that, Fox News Channel's Laurie Curtis and her crew got their turn. While the two aces didn't make the first wartime issue of People, they did make the second one, and while some in the air wing staff felt the two should be grounded for a while, as it was likely the Iraqis would get a hold of pictures of the two, CAG left that decision to CDR Davis, who rightly decided that the two aces ought to keep flying. It was a decision he didn't regret.

Later that day, two squadrons held memorial services for aviators killed in action. VFA-195 remembered LT Todd Sawyer, KIA on Day one, while VA-115 paid homage to its XO, CDR Don Gilfry, KIA on the H-2 strike. RADM Freeman, CAG, and CAPT Charles Miller, the ship's captain, were in attendance at both. LTJG Ryan, despite her injuries, insisted on attending the service for CDR Gilfry, as she rightly felt that she was alive because of him. In addition, prayers were offered by the ship's chaplain for the safe return of those aircrew reported MIA.
Later on, most of VA-115's aircrew visited LTJG Ryan in her room in sick bay, offering their best wishes for a speedy recovery, and joking about her choice of a few hours' liberty-the Western Iraqi Desert! She and the rest of the squadron had some other business to take care of, as they contacted the AF Special Ops people at Al Arar, and made arrangements for a postwar delivery of “whatever they drank” to their home station as a thank-you for bringing LTJG Ryan back.

At 1605, the CAP was just being relived as two VF-154 Tomcats were taking over from two VFA-195 Hornets when bandits were detected inbound over Kuwait Bay. The Iraqis were bypassing the North SAR station and were headed south. Both CAP elements were vectored in to cut off the Iraqis, as two groups of bandits were ID'd. The first was two MiG-25RBTs from the IrAF's 17th Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron, loaded with bombs, and the second was two Mirage F-1s from the 92nd Fighter Squadron. Blackknight 103 (LCDR Ken Griffin/LTJG Dana Winchester) and Blackknight 111 (LTJG Paula Mobley/LT Kara Wade) went into the interception. Blackknight 103 acquired the Foxbats at 75 miles, and noted that the Iraqis were pressing on despite having been locked on. Again, AIM-54s came off the Tomcats, and then the Iraqis tried to evade. The lead MiG was lucky, as the Phoenix exploded behind his aircraft, but his wingman wasn't as lucky, falling victim to Blackknight 111's first shot. A second shot from 103 hit the lead Foxbat, blowing the tail off the aircraft, and the pilot ejected from 65,000 feet, a “long way to skydive” as LCDR Griffin put it. Mobley and Wade in 111 locked onto the Mirages and fired their second Phoenix at 55 miles, and watched as not one, but both F-1s, exploded and fell into the Gulf. Apparently, the Phoenix exploded between both aircraft, and hot fragments sliced into the Mirages' fuel tanks. While it had been reported that Iranian F-14 drivers had made similar kills in the Iran-Iraq War, this was the first time (but not the last) that USN Tomcat crews would experience similar results. The lone Iraqi pilot to eject was found by the San Diego-based PC U.S.S. Zephyr (PC-8), and transferred by helo to Bahrain, where 5th FLT's intelligence people had a chat with him. The Iraqi AF pilot, Major Mohammed Abdallah, told his interrogators that his target was the Saudi tanker terminal at Ras Tamurah. The major was a good catch, as he was the 17th FRS's operations officer, and he proved to be very cooperative, revealing some of the Iraqis' frustrations with the pace of the war so far, and a rumor that the chief of the Iraqis' 2nd Air Defense Sector had been shot for allowing the base at H-2 to be put out of action. Meanwhile, the two F-14s remained on station until they were relived at 1800 by two additional Tomcats from VF-21.

During the day, most aircrews not flying caught up on sleep, took care of squadron paperwork not tended to since the outbreak of war, and generally took the day off.
The various ready rooms had been very quiet, especially since nearly everyone who had flown the H-2 mission hadn't made it to their cabins to hit the sack. CAG came by each ready room to visit with the crews, have a few words with the squadron COs, and then visit the maintenance people as they worked to get the birds ready to fly by 0600 the next day. CAG also took some time to make himself available to the media reps now embedded aboard, and let them know that he and most aircrew would be available to the press, unless a particular crew member chose not to do so. The media were quite pleased, as this was quite a difference from the Gulf War, where many military personnel still had a distrust of the press.

The carrier had the ability to pick up satellite TV, with CNN, ESPN, and the various movie channels being popular favorites among the air wing and ship's company. The intel staff actually preferred CNN, as it often happened, CNN reported on events before the staff got word via official channels. VA-115 had their ready room TV tuned to an NBA game on ESPN, when the squadron's intelligence officer, LTJG Dean Cramer, came in and switched the channel to CNN, despite howls of protest from several aircrew who were watching the game. The howls turned to angry silence when the screen showed CNN's broadcast of “footage supplied by Iraqi TV” of several downed Allied aircrew, along with a number of U.S. Army maintenance people whose unit had been overrun in northern Kuwait on the first day of the war. Those in the room looked on in silent anger as several of the POWs made statements for the camera, mostly basic questions as name, rank, branch of service, etc. CDR Compton watched as he saw LTJG Chris Larson give his name, rank, and serial number for the camera, and was disappointed that LT Mark Collings wasn't shown. The new XO, LCDR Wiser, came into the room, and he glared with anger as he saw LTJG Porter-Flinn, and then his girlfriend, LCDR Eichhorn, being interviewed for the camera. The Skipper and several others had to hold the XO back, as he wanted to kick the TV right then and there, but the XO settled down and started thinking. He would let the skipper and CAG know the next day, as stories of several Vietnam POWs came back to mind, and how they felt hearing or seeing American planes buzz their prisons after a bombing run. LCDR Wiser wanted to give these POWs a similar morale boost, and he would find ready listeners in both the Skipper and CAG, along with CDR Lowry, VA-185's CO. As it turned out, CDR Lowry had to be restrained by her regular B/N, along with her XO, when the footage aired in 185's ready room.

While CV-63 was cruising back and forth North of Bahrain, the two destroyers on the North SAR station were engaged again, this time by a surface craft. The Iraqi Navy had undergone some reconstitution since the Gulf War, and while Soviet advisors and some surplus vessels had arrived, the Iraqis had not been able to acquire what Saddam wanted: a Sovermmeny-class DDG. The Iraqis made do with a pair of Neustrashimy-class frigates, and a number of Tarantul I-class FACs.
One of the FACs came out of Umm Qasr at 2345, skirted Bubiyan Island, and set a course for the North SAR station. E-2 detected the contact, and passed it on via datalink to Mustin CIC. While both destroyers began spooling up their helos, the target kept closing in. Mustin's ready helo launched at 0002, armed with Hellfire, and Chandler's SH-60R went up a minute later, armed again with Penguin. However, the helo crews would be left out, as Chandler's CIC gained a solution for a Harpoon shot at 0008, and fired two missiles. Both Harpoons skimmed the warm waters of the Gulf, and the Iraqis tried spraying the incoming missiles with 76-mm and 30-mm gunfire, while launching SS-N-2s down the bearing of the incoming Harpoons. One of the Harpoons found its mark, eviscerating the Tarantul, and leaving it a flaming wreck. The Styx missiles were engaged by both destroyers, and due to either SM-2 or ECM, none found a target. The helos still proceeded to the target, and used their FLIR to search for survivors. One raft was found, and Chandler came in and picked up seven Iraqi sailors. All were enlisted men, and while they happily talked, none knew anything really important. The wreck of their missile boat was sunk at 0235 with 5-inch gunfire.

At 0400, aircrew on CV-63 began waking up. During the night, the carrier had turned north, and was returning to her station halfway between Kuwait and Bahrain. The various squadron maintenance officers reported in that aircraft would be ready for the day's ops, and after breakfast, pilots and other aircrew began filing into their respective ready rooms. Another day of missions over Kuwait and Southern Iraq was laid on, with strikes being not only the packages for BAI/CAS, but a number of missions tasked by CENTAF. The first packages launched at 0600, and CVW-5 was back in the war.

The first package was a CAS/BAI mission into NW Kuwait, with four A-6s from VA-185 and four Hornets from VFA-192, backed up by a VAQ-136 Prowler. Launching at 0600, and led by Knighthawks Skipper CDR Lowry, the package went after a brigade-sized force of RGFC armor from the Al-Nida Division. While the EA-6B jammed the SA-11s nearby, the Intruders and Hornets went after the armor. Each Intruder had a dozen Mk-20 Rockeye CBUs and a pair of AGM-65s. As usual, there was heavy AAA from ZSU-23s and from nearby 57-mm sites just across the Iraqi border, but the Hornets, acting as flak suppressors, put their own Rockeyes onto a pair of 57-mm sites, and, as LT Brad Whitfield of VFA-192 put it, “cured the flak batteries of their bad habit.” While the F/A-18s were busy killing the flak batteries, the four Intruders went down on the T-72s and BMPs of the Republican Guard, showering the tanks and IFVs with Rockeyes. As the A-6s pulled off target, a USAF OA-10 FAC asked if the Intruders still had any ordnance. CDR Lowry replied in the affirmative, and the OA-10 vectored the Intruders down onto a FROG-7 missile battery that had been spotted just west of the original target area. The A-6s rapidly ID'd the FROG launchers, and Mavericks promptly left the rails. The Knighthawks killed four FROG-7s, a pair of trucks hauling reloads, and a pair of command tracks. All aircraft were able to egress the target area, and returned to CV-63 at 0715.

While that mission was underway, the first CENTAF-tasked mission was prepped for launch at 0730. VA-115's XO, LCDR Wiser, would lead four Eagle Intruders and four Dambuster Hornets against the Highway 8 bridge at As Samawah, on the Euphrates River. Remembering the shootdown of Knighthawk 534 two days earlier, 115's Skipper, CDR Compton, reminded the aircrews to stay above 10,000 feet unless absolutely necessary. LCDR Wiser replied that he, for one, “had no intention of joining 534's crew in Baghdad,” and everyone else echoed that sentiment. Due to the range to the target, the package would head over Saudi airspace before turning north to the target, and would refuel from USAF KC-135s. As insurance against any MiGs from Al-Salman airfield, two VF-154 Tomcats, led by the ace pair of LTs Patterson and Bradley, would act as escort, while a Prowler would go along for ECM support and to put HARMs down on a nearby SA-2 site should it come up. The mission launched at 0730.

The flight over Saudi airspace was uneventful, and the tap dance in the sky known as midair refueling went off without a hitch. As the package entered Iraqi airspace, a single Iraqi radar lighted the aircraft up, before the Prowler was able to shut it down, and the Iraqis scrambled four MiG-23s (IrAF 63rd FS) out of Al-Salman to intercept. AWACS (Buckeye) called the threat, and both Tomcats went out ahead of the strikers to engage. Patterson and Bradley in Blackknight 106 led their wingmates in 110, LTJG Conway and LT Freeman, into the fight. Both Tomcats acquired the MiGs on radar at 60 miles, and rapidly gained Phoenix lock. Calling “Fox 3” at 45 miles, Patterson and Bradley launched two AIM-54Ds against the Floggers, and Conway and Freeman followed suit. Two MiGs fell to AIM-54, one to each Tomcat, but the other two continued in. The VAQ-136 Prowler began jamming the MiG-23 radars, as two Dambuster Hornets moved in to back up the Tomcats if needed. However, the two Hornets weren't needed, for as the MiGs closed in, both Tomcats sent AIM-120s their way. One MiG fell victim to 106's Slammer at 14 miles, and the other MiG-23 escaped 110's missile, and escaped back to Al-Salman. As it turned out, the IrAF lost one of its foreign “advisors” that morning, as it was revealed postwar that East German AF Major Hans Freytag was leading the MiG flight, and was killed when Patterson and Bradley's Phoenixes blotted his MiG out of the air.

It was 0925 when the package arrived in the target area, and all four B/Ns easily identified the highway bridge. While LCDR Kathy Evison's Hornets went after the 57-mm sites west of the bridge, the A-6s went into their attack runs. Remembering CDR Compton's advice to stay above 10,000 feet, LCDR Wiser and LT Porter in Outlaw 505 led their wingmates in 509, LTs Rivers and Fisher, into their bomb run. Each Intruder carried four GBU-24s, and released their weapons at 11,000 feet. This time, there were no clouds obscuring the bridge, and the bombs slammed into the two eastern spans of the bridge, dropping it into the river. Though there was AAA, and several shoulder-launched SAMs, none of the enemy fire came close to the Intruders and both headed out of the target area to the southeast.

As the XO's flight pulled off target, the SA-2 site suddenly came up as its operators realized the bridge was under attack. They launched one missile as the second flight of A-6s was prepping to come into the target, but it would be for naught, as the Prowler jammed the SA-2's Fan Song radar, and put a HARM right back down onto the site, obliterating the radar and its crew. Dambuster 406 then came in with a pair of CBUs to finish off the missiles, reloads, and vehicles. After the site was neutralized, Outlaw 507, flown on this mission by LT Ron Davies and LTJG Jeff Parker, led Outlaw 511 (LTJG Travis Cooper and LCDR Andy Mathews) down onto the bridge from 15,000 feet, and releasing their weapons at 11,000. Again, GBU-24s slammed into the bridge, and the western spans of the bridge fell into the Euphrates. AAA and MANPADS came up after the A-6s, but the AAA at least was less than what the XO's flight had encountered, but a dozen SA-7s or -14s came up after the Intruders. Fortunately, the A-6s' chaff/flare programs were on automatic, and the flares did their job of decoying the SAMs away, and all aircraft regrouped east of the city of Al Samawah, and headed back south towards Saudi. The flight back to Saudi airspace was uneventful, as the MiGs at Al-Salman stayed on the ground, and the package met up with its tankers inside Saudi airspace at 1015, before heading back to CV-63, with recovery at 1145.

Further CAS/BAI packages continued throughout the day, along with several CENTAF-assigned missions. CAG Seavey led one of the latter to a C3I site outside Al-Zubayr, flying in VA-185's CAG bird with LT Karla Jefferson in the right seat (she was one of several B/Ns “flying a desk” in CVW-5's Ops section, and was eager for a combat hop). CAG led a pair of Intruders and four Golden Dragon Hornets to a site SE of Zubayr where a UAV had spotted what appeared to be a concentration of command vehicles. Again, a Prowler from VAQ-136 supported the strike, and several SA-6s came up to meet the inbounds. While the Dragons went after the SA-6s with HARMs and CBUs, the CAG in Knighthawk 530 led Knighthawk 538 (LTJG Julie Grant/LCDR Michael Cole) into the bomb run. CAG's A-6 dumped four GBU-24s into the parked vehicles, the explosions either ripping them to shreds or tossing them around like toys. After the CAG had made his run, 538 came in and followed up with twenty Mark-20 Rockeyes, further ripping up the target. Both Intruders and all four Hornets made it out of the target area and returned to CV-63, but they were unsure of just how much damage they had inflicted, or who had been targeted. After the war, it was learned that LTGEN Yousef al-Sattar, commanding the I Guards Corps, had been meeting with his division commanders at the site, and was amongst several general officers killed in the attack.

After recovering the Al-Samawah mission, the crews who had flown it had just finished their debriefs when word came down for another strike, this time against the Umm Qasr Naval Base. Two targets were identified at the base, the fuel tank farm and one of Iraq's two Neustrashimy-class frigates. If the frigate was not there, then any Tarantul-class FAC(M)s were fair game. Everyone who had flown the Al-Samawah mission did a quick brief, and launched just after 1400. This mission was expected to be a hairy one, as the FFG, known by its Iraqi name al-Hammurabi, had its own SA-N-9 SAMs, which made up for the Al-Faw SA-2 and Umm Qasr SA-3 sites being permanently out of action. To give them some added antiship punch, LCDR Evision's Hornets packed AGM-65Gs instead of Rockeyes, while the A-6s going after the frigate packed a pair of GBU-24s, and the two hitting the tank farm had a dozen Mark-83 1,000-pound bombs.

As the package approached Umm Qasr, the Prowler picked up SA-N-9 emissions, and immediately began jamming the radars, while both Hornets and the Prowler put HARMs in the air. The HARMs did their work, as the SA-N-9 signals went off the air, and one of the HARMs also found one of the FACs, which had its radar on. LCDR Wiser led the A-6s in, and noticed the frigate tied up alongside the main pier, with two FACs moored aft. He let LCDR Evision's Hornets launch against the FACs, while his A-6s rolled onto the frigate and the tank farm.

Though the SAMs had been knocked out, the frigate's crew spewed 100-mm and 30-mm gunfire back up at the Intruders as they made their runs, and there was additional AAA from ZU-23s at dockside. The A-6s, remaining above 10,000 feet, rolled in and the XO and his wingmates launched against the ship, while LT Davies and his flight rolled in on the fuel dump. The XO's bombs smashed into the frigate,one of which blew the stern off, and the other smashed into the funnel. LTs Rivers and Fisher put one of their bombs in the bridge, but the second bomb lost laser lock and fell short of the ship, but it was enough, for the 2,000-lb bomb's explosion was like a mine going off nearby, springing hull seams and inflicting serious shock damage. As a result, the Iraqi vessel began to sink, and with the captain killed on the bridge, the executive officer ordered Abandon Ship, and the surviving crew went over the side, as their ship sank right at the pier.

After the al-Hammurabi was hit, LCDR Evision led her Hornets after the FACs. Her element launched against both vessels, and single AGM-65 hits were enough to rip the Tarantuls apart and send them down. The second pair of Hornets held their Mavericks, and looked for opportunity targets. LT Casey Roberts in Dambuster 412 found the munitions storage area at the base, and all four Hornets expended their remaining Mavericks against the weapons storage bunkers. Closing in,the two remaining A-6s went in after the fuel tank farm, and unlike the XO's element, Davies and Parker in 507 and their wingmates in 511, Cooper and Mathews had a dozen Mark-83s on their birds, and right after the Hornets left, they went in hot on the tank farm. All of their ordnance landed within the tank farm's perimeter, and several tanks exploded in orange-red fireballs. As the package reformed and headed back to the carrier, the aircrews noticed the smoke cloud rising up past 10,000 feet, and going higher. The fires burned for three days, and during that time, Allied aircrew flying into that area of Southern Iraq and Northern Kuwait used the smoke cloud as a visual navigation aid. The Umm Qasr mission recovered aboard Kitty Hawk at 1530.

RADM Freeman had in the meantime decided to reinforce the North SAR Station, and thanks to her having been equipped with the necessary datalinks, HMAS Ballarat (FFH-155) joined Mustin and Chandler on the station. The Aussies arrived just in time, as the Iraqis attempted to retaliate for the sinking of one of Iraq's two major warships. Four Su-22s and Four Mirages were picked up by both E-2C and by AWACS out of Tallil, and headed for the ships. The CAP, four VF-154 Tomcats, was vectored in for the interception, and Blackknight 103 (LCDR Ken Griffin/LTJG Dana Winchester) led the first element, with Blackknight 111 (LTJG Paula Mobley/LT Kara Wade) on their wing. Blackknight 105 (LT Mike Sanchez/LT Richard Schrader) and Blackknight 112 (LTJG Dan Holland/LT Ben Blakemore) were both right behind the lead element.

103 gained Phoenix lock at 55 miles, and thanks to NCTR, targeted the Mirages. Both Phoenixes went after their targets, and both connected, blotting two Mirages out of the sky, and distracting the other pair long enough for 111 to lock onto the strikers and fire. Again, AIM-54Ds went after their targets, and both Fitters that were targeted went down, making Mobley and Wade VF-154' s second all-female ace team. The two remaining Mirages turned into the F-14s and tried to close the distance, but were locked up by 105 and 112. Sanchez and Schrader launched at 30 miles, and were rewarded with the lead Mirage being turned into a fireball and falling into the Gulf. As 112 was preparing to fire, the remaining Mirage turned and ran north, out of the fight. The Tomcats did not pursue.

While the F-14s were killing the Mirages, and splashing two of the incoming strikers, the ships went to General Quarters and readied to fight off the attack. AEGIS on Mustin went into automatic mode, and soon SM-2s were launching out of the VLS launchers. The lead Su-22 was coming up to fire his missiles when a pair of SM-2s smashed into the aircraft, sending what remained of the Fitter into the Gulf, and as the wingman pulled up, an SM-2 smashed into the tail of his aircraft, and the pilot ejected into the shark-infested waters of the Gulf. The newly-arrived Ballarat launched its SH-2G(A) on the SAR after the downed Iraqi airman, only to return empty-handed, for as the Aussies were preparing to rescue the pilot, the rescue swimmer noticed the fin of a large shark approaching the Iraqi and tried to warn him. As the after-action report put it, “He was not successful, and the helo crew watched in horror as the shark attacked the downed Iraqi and pulled him under.” Later on, Mustin's SH-60R, on a mission to search for any free-floating mines, found the remains of the Iraqi airman, and he was recovered, checked for any items of intelligence interest, and accorded a proper burial at sea.
As sunset approached, CVW-5's aircrew were pleased with their day's efforts, and with the arrival of MAG-24 the previous day, not on CENTAF's night flying schedule. The Marine Intruders and Hornets would work this night, leaving the aircrew on Kitty Hawk to rest and prepare for what was coming the next day: a low-level strike against two Baghdad airfields, and as it turned out, crashing Saddam's parade of Allied POWs past his reviewing stand in Downtown Baghdad.

The Baghdad low-level was the idea of LCDR Matt Wiser, VA-115's new XO. While angry about his girlfriend's shootdown and capture, he noticed that, except for F-15Es going to the outskirts of the capital, no allied aircraft had hit targets in the city proper. Although cruise missiles had taken out several key targets, including the HQ of Iraq's Intelligence Service, the GID or Mukhabarat, the two air bases in the Baghdad area, Al-Rashid and Al-Muthena, had not been hit. And neither had Saddam IAP, which had a military section, with transport and MiG squadrons based there. LCDR Wiser further noted that Iraqi propaganda had called the Allied Air Forces cowardly for not testing the capital's air defenses. So he took the preplanned mission folders that had been meant to be executed when the H-2 strike was substituted in their place, and presented a strike plan to CDR Compton, his CO. After going over it, both went to see CDR Lowry, the CO of VA-185. After some further discussion, both COs went to see CAG Seavey. CAG then sent the plan to CVW-5's staff for discussion and refinement, and during the stand-down, LCDR Wiser was talking with the “staff weenies and whiz kids” for four hours, going over everything. The Wing Operations Officer, CDR Gene Denton, remembered that 115's XO had been an instructor at NAS Fallon's Strike Warfare Center before going to 115, and wasn't known for half-baked planning. After dissecting and reassembling the plan, RADM Freeman was briefed on the plan during the evening of the 26th, and after he approved it, the plan was sent to CENTAF for final planning and approval by CINC-CENTAF.

As things turned out, there were other interested parties who wanted in on the mission. The USAF and RAF both wanted in, as did the newly-arrived Marines. A decoy strike against the air base at Kut al-Hayy was laid on for the Marines, while the USAF's F-15Es, F-15Fs, and F-16s would strike Saddam IAP. The RAF would handle some of the SEAD activities, using their ALARM antiradar missiles and the Storm Shadow-B with the submunition warhead to put Iraq's SA-10s and -12s out of business. CENTCOM's J-2 provided additional intelligence on where the POWs were being held, and the fact that Saddam was planning on a parade of POWs in Downtown Baghdad, to be broadcast live on Iraqi TV. CENTAF decided that it would be appropriate that this particular party be crashed, and with the parade planned for 1300 Baghdad time, the strike was planned for a 1305 time-over-target, right when the POWs would be passing Saddam's reviewing stand, and the Navy aircraft would egress right over not only the POW prison at Al-Rashid, but buzz the parade itself. The F-15s and F-16s would be right behind them. And knowing Saddam's temper, he would make a number of Iraqi Air Force and Air Defense Command officers pay. Dearly. Regardless of whether or not they were at fault for the intrusion. And not only would the regime suffer a major embarrassment, but the POWs would have a big morale boost as well. CINC-CENTAF gave final approval to the mission on the afternoon of the 27th, and all involved began to prepare to, as several aircrews on Kitty Hawk put it, “Go Downtown.”

As afternoon turned to evening on the 27th, the maintenance and ordnance crews began to get the aircraft assigned to the Baghdad mission up and ready, for a 0900 launch. While the maintainers went about their chores, the ordnancemen brought up the weapons from Kitty Hawk's magazines, and began the job of loading the weapons. LTJG Stacy Ryan, just out of sickbay, and still recovering and in pain from her broken collar bone, went to where the bombs for 115's birds were being prepped. She went to LCDR Cole, the ordnance officer, and asked if she could contribute some graffiti for a bomb. Cole happily obliged, and took her to where the bombs for the Skipper's bird were being assembled. Ryan, who knew LT Porter-Flinn from NAS Pensacola and NAS Whidbey Island's A-6 RAG, VA-128, wrote “This one's for Susie. When you got her, Saddam, you bit off more than you can chew.” Other air and ground crew from both A-6 squadrons contributed their own, and those who weren't on the schedule the next day were envious of those who were going downtown.

When 115's XO went down to Hangar Bay 3, where the A-6s were being prepped, he noticed that there were a number of ship's company, who weren't assigned to the air wing, watching the proceedings of getting the aircraft up and ready. He asked Senior Chief George Zander, the senior Ordnance CPO, what all the excitement was about, and Zander replied, “This is the first time in the war you guys are going to Baghdad, sir. They can't go themselves, but the crew wants to be with you guys in spirit. Those videos on CNN got everyone pissed, and folks want some payback.” LCDR Wiser replied, “Saddam's going to be paid back, and this is the first installment, so spread that around, Chief.” He then went to where his mount, 505, was being prepped, and talked with his Plane Captain, PO 2/C Wayne Pearson, and Pearson assured the XO that his bird would be up and ready, 100%.
LCDR Wiser then found the ordnancemen bringing the GBU-24s to his aircraft, and he chalked on one of the bombs: “For LCDR Lisa Eichhorn; Payback time for Saddam's hospitality.”

While the air and ground crew went about their preparations, CAP and SUCAP were still being flown. VF-21's CAP was south of the North SAR Station at 2124, when a low and slow contact was picked up. E-2 and Mustin CIC both had the contact, and when the contact turned towards the SAR station, Freelancer 206 (LT Darrel Rodgers/LT Chris Collins) and Freelancer 210 (LTJG Brian Grant/LCDR Sean Baker) went down for the intercept. The contact continued on towards the ships, and at 30 miles, was ID'd on TCS as an Mi-8 Hip. Since the Hip could easily deliver combat swimmers, the AAW controller in Mustin CIC declared the bogey hostile, and cleared the CAP to fire. 206 quickly locked up the Hip, and at 12 miles, fired a Slammer. The AIM-120 ate up the distance, and the Hip flared into a fireball, plunging into the Gulf. Not knowing what the helo's mission was, the CAP crews shrugged their shoulders, and returned to their station. As it turned out postwar, the Hip was an EW variant, and this particular Hip had a Soviet crew. Their mission was to try and ferret the radars the ships on the SAR station were using, to see if Iraqi tactics against the ships could be improved.

As the air and ground crews on CV-63, and at bases in the Gulf, were preparing for what became known as BAGHDAD THUNDER, the objects of their concern were going through a living nightmare. After the war, a history of both the 1991 and 2005 POW experiences was compiled, and there was little to differ between the two, except for that this time, the female POWs' treatment was almost as harsh as the male POWs was. Although some Iraqis were kind to their prisoners, others were the exact opposite, and LCDR Eichhorn remarked on her return, “some Iraqis I'd thank for what they did, but others...well, let's say I'd take them out to the woodshed with an ax, and only one of us would come back.”

The experience of the aircrew shot down on the H-2 and Nasiriya missions was similar, yet different. LTJG Chris Larson, shot down on the H-2 strike, and unable to evade due to his broken leg, was found by some Bedouins. Although he tried to use his blood chit, the nomads took him to a nearby Iraqi Army post. The Iraqis were in a foul mood after they found out the hard way that H-2 had been “slimed”, and Larson was the first object of their fury. He got a severe beating, despite his broken leg, and the Iraqis broke his left wrist as well. Only then did they interrogate him, and he played the role of a “dumb airplane driver”, telling his captors that the crews flying the mission didn't know the bombs they were carrying were chemical, only that they were told the specific delivery mode to use, and that the type of bombs being carried was none of their business. To Larson's surprise, his captors believed him, and he was put on a truck and taken on a five-hour drive to a hospital in Ramadi, where his leg and wrist were set, and his other injuries were treated. While in the hospital, an Iraqi TV crew filmed him, and asked him a few questions. Larson replied with just name, rank, service branch, and that was it, refusing to answer any others. After a few minutes of this, the crew got up and left, and Larson was then put on a truck and taken to Baghdad, winding up at the Al-Rashid Military Intelligence Center, at Al-Rashid Air Base. The interrogators asked the same questions that he'd been asked after his capture, and he gave the same answers. After several hours of this, the Iraqis gave up and sent him to the Rashid Military Medical Center, where he was put in a POW ward, and missed the parade on 28 April.
For LCDR Lisa Eichhorn and LT Susie Porter-Flinn, the reception they got after their shootdown was very similar to what the male pilots shot down in 1991 received. After signing off to King 65, and throwing her radio into the Euphrates, LCDR Eichhorn was found by about a dozen Iraqi soldiers and civilians. She and her B/N promptly put their hands up, and they were dragged up onto the riverbank, and the Iraqis took out their fury on the two aviators, beating and kicking them mercilessly. As the two were beaten, an Iraqi took LCDR Eichhorn's flight helmet, and saw her blond hair fall out of its bun. He shouted in Arabic, and the soldiers took off Porter-Flinn's helmet, and saw her cropped brown hair. The Iraqis then stripped the remaining flight gear off the two, and padded them down, and their being female was confirmed. The two aviators then noted the Iraqis talking amongst themselves, and both feared the worst was about to happen. Instead, both were taken under heavy guard to the Taykar Military Hospital, where their injuries were treated, and after that, were filmed by a TV crew from Iraqi State Television.
While the two did give their names, ranks, and service branch, neither Eichhorn or Porter-Flinn would ID their unit or type of aircraft, or their ship. After the filming, both were bound and blindfolded, and put on a truck for the ride north.

To both prisoners' surprise, the truck stopped at Kut, south of Baghdad, and the two were taken to an Army base, which was being used as a POW staging area. Fifteen American prisoners, and four British, were locked up in a barbed-wire compound about the size of a tennis court. Most of the prisoners were from an Army Maintenance Company that had been overrun on the first day of the war, but two were U.S. Army helo crew members, and five were USAF aircrew, A-10 and F-16 pilots, shot down in Kuwait or Southern Iraq. The British were a Tornado crew, shot down the previous day, and two others were SAS, whose patrol on the Kuwaiti side of the border had been overrun the first day. The two VA-185 aviators joined the group of prisoners, and noticed that the Army prisoners from the maintenance unit were very frightened, especially two young women, and LCDR Eichhorn asked one of the Army helo pilots what had happened to them. He told her that there had been about a dozen of them taken prisoner originally, but the Iraqis, before moving them north, took five of the prisoners at random, and summarily executed them in front of the others. None of the eight others had any SERE training at all, and were going by their wits and common sense, he added. One of the two women, a young blonde PFC, had been taken from the compound that morning, and brought back a few hours later, battered, bruised, and crying.

When asked what the Iraqis had done to her, the helo pilot, CWO-4 Don Anderson, replied that the Iraqis had found a letter from the young woman's boyfriend on her, and it was written on a battalion's letterhead. The Iraqis thought the young woman knew more than she did, and went after her viciously. Anderson, offering his survival training, offered to treat the young PFC, and though she was very frightened, the young woman agreed. The PFC told him that the Iraqis wanted to know about troop locations in Kuwait, where the Patriot missile batteries were, and so forth. She told them that “I'm just a supply clerk. I don't know any of that.” The Iraqis told her “You lie!” and told her to strip. She was then beaten and trussed in ropes, similar to what the North Vietnamese had done in the Hanoi Hilton, and assaulted. After several hours of this, the young woman had convinced the Iraqis that she really didn't know what they wanted to know, and they put her back in the compound. The PFC was still afraid, and though another woman in the group was trying to console her, not having much luck. LCDR Eichhorn then went over to the young woman and introduced herself.
The young woman smiled and asked Eichhorn to “please sit down, ma'am.” The aviator and the PFC talked for a while, and they shared what had happened to each other. Finding out the young woman's name was Jessica, Eichhorn smiled and said, “My sister's named Jessica. We have something in common.” That broke the ice, and the aviator from California and the PFC from West Virginia talked, sharing what had happened to each other, how their families and friends might be taking the news, and bracing for what might come next.

Later that evening, all the POWs were loaded onto two trucks and taken on a several hour truck ride to Baghdad, and the Al-Rashid Military Intelligence Center. Three of the Army POWs from the maintenance unit were taken right to the base hospital, and there their injuries were treated. To their surprise, the doctors and staff treated them as ordinary patients, even going so far as to require the prisoners to sign consent forms before surgery! The other prisoners, the two VA-185 aviators among them, were all taken to the Intelligence Center and interrogated. The two naval aviators had worked out a cover story while at Kut, and they stuck to it as best they could. The Iraqis asked the two who had flown the H-2 mission, whether any additional chemical strikes were planned, how AEGIS worked, what were the ships in the Gulf, and of course, the obligatory Anti-American propaganda statement. The two told their inquisitors that they didn't know who flew the H-2 strike, as they'd only arrived on the carrier the day before their shootdown. As for whether or not there were additional chemical strikes planned, LCDR Eichhorn responded “You guys should've thought of that before using your stuff on Kuwait and Saudi.” And LT Porter-Flinn told her interrogators,
“Didn't you think somebody would return the favor?” As for AEGIS, neither one of them knew how it worked, as they were aircrew and not surface warfare, only that it was computer-controlled and directed. They refused to identify the ships in the Gulf, but did admit they flew from Kitty Hawk, as the Iraqis had probably found their A-6's wreckage, with “USS Kitty Hawk” painted on the side. And neither agreed to write and videotape a statement. The Iraqis were not pleased, and both experienced the same thing the young PFC had gone through back in Kut. After several hours, both gave their captors some answers, but nothing classified, about AEGIS (basically what one could find in Jane's, for example), but not identifying anyone on the H-2 mission, saying that that mission had launched before they had helicoptered out to the carrier. When asked again about chemical strikes, the answer was “Use your imagination.” And both aviators gave a statement on video that was dictated by their interrogators. Both were then taken to the Al-Rashid Military Prison, and thrown into solitary confinement. The two aviators, along with the other POWs from Kut not in the hospital, made the parade on 28 April.

While their fellow aviators were enduring their first days of captivity, the aircrew of CVW-5 were busy with mission prep for BAGHDAD THUNDER, as CENTAF had named the strike. A last-minute change had brought an additional EA-6B into the strike profile, so that there would be two standoff jammers and two strike escort EW birds, along with the pair of USAF EF-111s making the strike. The CSAR would be handled by the Air Force, with a 25-mile “No-Go Zone” around the Iraqi capital, as the threats were simply too high to risk the rescue aircraft and helos in the Baghdad area. And the Saudis, while not going to Baghdad, would take over the CAS/BAI missions that the Navy and Marines would normally be handling, as well as fly several strikes in support of the main mission, with a Tornado strike against Al-Salman airfield and IOC (Intercept Operations Center) and an F-15S strike on the Najaf IOC being at the top of the list.

As mission planning and preliminary briefings went on, the SUCAP was taken over by the Redtails of VS-21. Redtail 704 was north of the SAR station when it picked up a contact on radar at 2335, proceeding out of the Shatt al-Arab waterway and heading for the SAR station. The duty E-2C also picked up the contact, and alerted Mustin CIC. All three ships went to GQ, and alert helos on Mustin, Chandler, and Ballarat began to spool up. Chandler's alert helo, armed with Penguin, launched at 2340, and the other two helos were soon off right afterwards, Mustin's alert SH-60R was Hellfire-armed, while Ballarat's SH-2G(A) packed an AGM-65. The S-3 closed the target, and using FLIR, identified it as a Tarrantul-I class FAC. The Iraqis then turned the 76-mm turret on the FAC towards the S-3, and the Viking banked to avoid the AAA fire that came up after them. Mustin CIC declared the contact hostile at once, and this time, Ballarat's helo fired first, with Chandler's and Mustin's right behind. The AGM-65 smashed into the Tarrantul, blowing it apart, and the Penguin from Chandler's helo, along with the four Hellfires from Mustin's, then ripped into the blazing hulk. All three helos searched for survivors, but found none. Redtail 704 then finished off the flaming wreck with three Mark-82 500-lb bombs, sending the FAC to the bottom of the Gulf. Kitty Hawk then launched the alert S-3, Redtail 706, to replace 704, which returned to CV-63 at 0015. The Aussies of HS-805 det 6 had scored their first kill of the war, and their squadron's first combat since Korea.

Aircrew aboard CV-63 were awakened at 0500, and after breakfast, filed into their ready rooms. The atmosphere was tense, but everyone knew that the mission, if pulled off correctly, would show the Iraqis that they weren't invincible, that any target in Iraq was fair game, and that the POWs would know that somebody cared about them, and someday that somebody would come get them out. At VA-115's ready room, aircrews went over their target, the Al-Rashid Air Base. Each crew had an individual target, either a hangar, aircraft shelter, the control tower, or the runway, as their aimpoint. The same process was going on at 185's ready room, where maps and photos of Al-Muthena AB were marked with individual aimpoints. Aircrews were reminded of the “No-bomb” areas at both targets, with the Muthena Military Hospital ID'd at that base, while 115's crews memorized the location of the Military Medical Center and the POW prison at Al-Rashid. VA-115's crews would overfly the POW prison before buzzing the parade ground, and 185's egress was over the parade ground and then the prison, before CVW-5's package regrouped south of Baghdad and headed south to Saudi Airspace. The Air Force package: F-15Es for strike, F-15F Wild Weasels for SEAD, F-16s as backup to the Weasels and to carry decoys, and F-15Cs for MIGCAP, would go after Saddam IAP, and then buzz the parade before passing within sight and earshot of the POW facility and egressing south. And the RAF Tornado SEAD flight would take care of the four known SA-10 or SA-12 sites around Baghdad as a warm-up before the main event. Not to be left out, 8 Marine A-6Fs from VMA(AW)-121 and 8 F/A-18Cs from VMFA-235 would fly a decoy strike to the air base at Kut Al Haay East, to draw any airborne MiGs or Mirages their way. Everyone would tank from the USAF, the RAF, and the RSAF on the way in and on the way out. It promised to be, as numerous Navy, Air Force, and RAF participants put it, “an exciting five minutes over Baghdad.” And as it turned out, everyone involved would be pleased-except Saddam and his inner circle.

Before the launch from CV-63, all the A-6 crews from both squadrons got together below Vulture's Row. The ship's chaplain met them and offered a prayer not only for the safe return of all the aircrew involved, but for the eventual safe return of the POWs. LTJG Stacy Ryan came to CDR Lowry, the VA-185 Skipper, and gave her a picture of her and LT Porter-Flinn after both had received their NFO wings. Ryan asked CDR Lowry if she would take the photo along on the mission, since Ryan couldn't fly herself, but wanted to be along in spirit. Deeply moved, CDR Lowry took the picture and put it in the cockpit of Knighthawk 531. The two Skippers than gave some final instructions related to both squadrons, and then, CDR Compton of 115 asked his XO to say something, since there was a connection to all three POWs from CVW-5, and the whole mission was his idea to begin with: LTJG Chris Larson was from VA-115, LCDR Eichhorn was LCDR Wiser's girlfriend (and future fiancé), and LT Porter-Flinn was Eichhorn's B/N. The XO's remarks reminded some of the pep talk Danny Glover's character in the movie Flight of the Intruder gave: “All of us, either from the Eagles or the Knighthawks, have shipmates in Baghdad right now. They're probably in pain, cold, afraid. They don't know when they're going home, and what we do today is motivated by them. We're going to make that SOB in Baghdad know that our POWs aren't his toys to show off on TV. And that one of these days, we're going to come and get them out of there. It may be a few weeks or months before we can do that, but we're going to do it! Are you guys ready to go?” When the aviators responded “YEAH!” LCDR Wiser told the A-6 drivers, “THEN LET'S GO DOWNTOWN!” And there was applause not only from the assembled aircrew, but from those not making the mission watching from Vulture's Row, and even from the Admiral and the media, who were also looking on. After that, the order came on the 1-MC: “Aircrews, man your planes!”

Operation BAGHDAD THUNDER began right on time at 0900, with CVW-5's aircraft beginning to launch from Kitty Hawk. Simultaneously, Air Force, Marine, RAF, and RSAF aircraft began to launch from their bases in the Gulf Region. As CVW-5 launched, one Navy Lieutenant watched from U.S.S. Cushing (DD-985) with serious interest. He was LT David Flinn, the husband of LT Susie Porter-Flinn, and he watched as his wife's shipmates in CVW-5 formed up and headed off towards Saudi Airspace. He had seen his wife shown as a POW on CNN, and though Cushing's skipper had offered to send him home, he declined, saying “I can't do Susie much good sitting around. I've got a job to do here, and if it helps in a small way to bring her home, I want to do it.” Flinn was a SH-60R pilot in HSL-51, and had flown several hops to check for any drifting mines, as well as being on local SAR alert. He watched as the Intruders, Prowlers, Hornets, and Tomcats headed west, he wished them good luck and Godspeed, as did everyone, American and Allied alike, in the battle group.

The RSAF strikes on Al-Salman and Najaf went off like clockwork at 1030. Four Tornados from the RSAF's No. 83 Squadron went after the IOC at Al-Salman with GBU-10E penetrator LGBs, while four others sprayed the runway with JP-233 submunition dispensers. The runway was cut in four places, and the bunker housing the IOC was turned into a heap of rubble. The last Tornado in the flight hitting the runway was shot up by 57-mm AAA as it came off target, but the crew managed to get across the border before punching out. Fortunately, an RSAF Cougar SAR helo recovered the WSO, the pilot having been killed in the ejection.
While that strike went in, four F-15S Strike Eagles from No. 92 Squadron at Taif went after the Najaf IOC, which was co-located with the Najaf Civil Airport. Again, LGBs tore apart the bunker and its occupants, wrecking the IOC completely. This time, there were no losses, and the RSAF strike birds made it back across the border. The way was now clear for the two main packages, with their accompanying USMC and RAF elements, to enter Iraqi airspace.

While the preliminary moves in BAGHDAD THUNDER were underway on the Allied side, the Iraqis were in the middle of preparing for the POW parade that Saddam had demanded. At Al-Rashid Military Prison, twenty-two American and British POWs, all those who were not seriously injured, were going to be in the parade through what many called “The Green Zone” after the war. While most members of the public were not allowed in this area, Baath Party members and their families were, and it would be these faithful that would line the streets to jeer the captives before they passed in front of Saddam's reviewing stand north of the Victory Arch. The POWs were all issued yellow POW pajamas, and were told to bathe and “be clean.” The POWs were then taken from their cellblocks, the male prisoners from one and the women from another, and handcuffed in pairs. They were taken to a park which would serve as a staging area before the parade began. LCDR Lisa Eichhorn was handcuffed to the PFC she had befriended at Kut, and the two were able to talk, as long as the guards were out of earshot. The pair looked for their friends, and noticed that the three injured Army prisoners from Kut were not making the parade (as things turned out, they were still recovering from surgery, and the doctors refused to clear them medically). Another POW, LTJG Chris Larson, was also not in shape for the march, but he and the three Army prisoners had a ringside seat to the raid that came at 1305.

The two main packages headed into Iraqi Airspace, and the two advance elements went on ahead, with the RAF and Marine flights separating and heading into their respective target areas, The Marines were actually not even carrying any ordnance, other than decoys and HARM antiradar missiles, their job being to decoy any Iraqi CAP towards the Kut area and away from Baghdad, with the Marine Hornets around to deal with any CAP that got too close. At 1130, the Marines went into the Kut IOC's region, and two Mirages from the 91st Fighter Squadron scrambled to intercept. Two Hornets from VMFA-235 closed on the bandits, and locked on with their AIM-120s at 25 miles. Despite the lock-on, both Mirages continued in, and the Marines fired their Slammers at 20 miles. The Mirage leader was able to evade the Slammer that came his way, but the wingman was not so lucky, being hit by CAPT Ron Evertson's AIM-120 at 17 miles. The Hornet lead, LCOL Rob Satriano, fired his second Slammer at 12 miles, and this time, the Mirage lead wasn't lucky, with the Slammer blowing his aircraft apart. Neither Marine saw a chute, and the way was clear for the Intruders to come into play.

The VMA(AW)-121 Intruders came in and released their decoys, some of which were directed into the southern outskirts of Baghdad to get the SA-10s and -12s to come up for the RAF. Most of the decoys continued on in towards Kut Al Haay AB, mimicking a large strike package headed for that target. Just as planned, four MiG-29s came out of the Baghdad area and headed to the southeast, and AWACS called “Bandits inbound Kut.” With that call, the Marines dropped to the deck, and headed out of the area, skirting Najaf, and all noticed the two packages headed in. All USMC aircraft egressed safely, and met up with their tankers.

As the Marines were playing their role, the RAF Tornados came into the party, and each launched a single Storm Shadow-B at the known SA-10 and -12 sites around Baghdad. After firing the first Storm Shadows, each fired two ALARM antiradar missiles. These weapons would climb high and be slowed down by parachute. Their seekers would hunt for any SAM or AAA radars, and if one was detected, a rocket motor would fire, sending the ALARM right down to the radar's source. The weapon proved itself in DESERT STORM and had done so again in this war so far, and the weapons didn't disappoint their owners. Two SA-10s and an SA-12 came up, and the ALARMS went after them. All three radars went off the air before any missiles could be fired from the ground, and in any event, all three sites were smacked by the Storm Shadows. That left five ALARMs to drift slowly down on their parachutes, seeking radars. The Tornados then launched their second Storm Shadows against previously identified SA-3 and SA-5 sites around Baghdad, and then broke away and headed back south to Saudi. None of the Tornados had so much as a scratch, and all made it back to the tankers.

The Iraqi Air Defense Command had noticed the Allied activity, and as Allied officers talked with their Iraqi counterparts postwar, began to believe that a strike on Baghdad was a possibility. However, as Col. Hossein Jaber, the operations officer for the Baghdad sector IOC put it, “no one wanted to inform Saddam or his advisors of the possibility, as Saddam wanted nothing to interfere with the parade, since it had been highly publicized.” In a nutshell, Saddam only wanted to hear good news today, and though he was told of the strikes at Al-Salman and Najaf, and that “a raid on Kut had been turned back,” neither he nor his inner circle were informed that a Baghdad raid was likely sometime that day. The Iraqi leader's reaction would likely ensure that the officer delivering the news would probably be shot, and no one wanted to anger their leader. It was a decision that several senior Iraqi AF and ADC officers would regret, albeit briefly.

As 1200 passed, two additional radars came up, one an SA-2 and another an SA-3. Both were picked up by ALARM, and were quickly knocked out. The way was now clear for the Navy and Air Force packages to drop down to the deck, except for the MIGCAP and TARCAP, and move in for the run on Baghdad. In the Navy package, the decoy-armed Hornets of VFA-192 began their run, launching their TIALD decoys and then assumed a BARCAP station south of Baghdad, expecting MiG-23s out of Al-Rashid AB to come out after the Hornets. To their surprise, no MiGs appeared. IRON HAND, again from VFA-192, went in at the same time, launching their JSOWs at known SAM and AAA sites in the Baghdad area, and waiting to see if any additional SAM radars would come up for HARM shots. Simultaneously, the WILD WEASEL flights came into the area, with F-16s on their heels, and began “trolling for SAMs.” While the F-15Fs went SAM-hunting, the Vipers launched their own MTALD decoys, and then took up a BARCAP station SW of Baghdad, waiting on a MiG scramble out of Saddam IAP or Habbiniyah AB.

At 1245, CAG Seavey, flying in Knight 100, gave the strike commit call, and it was time for the strikers to begin their run-ins to their target areas. The Knighthawks skirted around Baghdad to the east and north, before lining up for their runs on Al-Muthena AB, while the Eagles headed for their IP to make their run-ins on Al-Rashid AB.

On the ground in Baghdad, the POW parade started on the dot at 1300, and the Iraqi guards began marching the POWs along the parade route to the Victory Arch and the parade ground. LT Porter-Flinn, cuffed to Air Force CAPT Kristen Moore, an F-16 pilot shot down on D+1, observed that while the guards seemed nervous because of the civilians, the civilians were nervous because they kept looking around in between their chants. CAPT Moore grinned and told her navy colleague that “they don't know who's an informer, so they have to be angry for the camera.” Translation: if someone's not sufficiently zealous, they may get a midnight knock on the door from the secret police. Some of the crowd waved their soles of their shoes at the prisoners, an extreme insult in the Arab World, while others were shouting phrases in praise of Saddam-in English. Obviously, the Iraqis wanted their prisoners to know just how they felt about their leader and the war. Some of the POWs had to dodge rotten fruit, but they noticed that the crowd was more behaved than the prisoners expected. The prisoners made a right turn, and headed under the Victory Arch. LCDR Eichhorn stole a glance at a guard's watch and noticed the time: 1305.

At that moment, both Intruder leaders, CDR Compton and CDR Lowry, called “Intruders in Hot.” BAGHDAD THUNDER was now fully underway.

Southeast of Al-Rashid AB, CDR Compton in Outlaw 501, with LT Craig Paul again as his B/N, led Outlaw 511 (LTJG Todd Lowell/LT Jon Eversole) into the target. The VA-115 Skipper had the Al-Rashid control tower as his aimpoint, while 511 had picked out two An-26 transports right in front of the hangar that was his aimpoint. Both A-6s released their bombs, and banked left, screaming over the prison, and aiming right for the parade ground. The TRAM turrets' camera and laser designator showed the result, as the control tower fell in a mass of smoke and flame, while 511's bombs exploded between the hangar and the two transports, ripping the latter apart, and shredding the hangar as well.

The XO's element went right in behind the Skipper, with LCDR Wiser and LT Porter in Outlaw 505, with LTs Rivers and Fisher riding in 509. The XO's aimpoint was an alert HAS, containing a MiG-23, and the same was true for 509's crew. Both Intruders planted their GBU-24s into the target shelters, and both crews were rewarded with secondary explosions, which meant the two crews each had a grounded MiG kill to their credit. Both aircraft banked over the prison, waggling their wings, and headed for the parade ground.
Next up was Morris and Carroll in 507, with Cooper and Mathews in 510. This element was targeted on two large hangars north of the apron on the north side of the base, and they popped up and released their laser bombs. Both hangars took direct hits, with large secondary explosions as a result, and the two Intruders went over the prison and headed for the parade.

115's last pair were crews who had not flown the H-2 mission. Outlaw 500, the CAG bird, was flown by LCDR Don Cole, the squadron's ordnance officer, and had LTJG Kevin Greer in the right seat. On their wing was Outlaw 512, with LTJG David Kennedy as pilot and LT Nathan West as B/N. Both Intruders were targeted on the runway, and their run-ins were as clean as the others, and their GBU-24s slammed into two runway/taxiway intersections, putting the Al-Rashid runway out of action for three days, while repairs could be made. As before, they buzzed the prison and headed for the parade ground.

As Al-Rashid was being hit, VA-185 went in hot against Al-Muthena AB. Skipper Lowry in 531, with her regular B/N LT Dana Verell, led her wingmates in 535, LTs Paul Mason and Melissa Daniels, into Al-Muthena. Again, the first aimpoint struck was the control tower, the Skipper's target, while Mason and Daniels put their weapons into a nearby maintenance hangar. As the weapons hit their targets, both Intruders banked south and headed for the parade ground, and they would get there right after the Eagles had made their passes.

Right behind the Knighthawks Skipper was her XO in 532 (CDR Ken Yoshida/LTJG Laura Patterson), paired up with 539 (LTJG Duncan Ellis/LCDR James Houston). Both 532 and 539 picked out their aimpoints, the alert shelters for MiG-29s. This time, there were no secondary explosions, and thus no MiGs inside, but the shelters themselves had been wrecked. The Knighthawks XO led his element off target and right for the parade ground without even seeing a single shot come up at them.

The third element in on Al-Muthena was led by 533 (LT John Collett/LT Joe Meredith), and 540 (LTJG Darlene Wilson/LCDR Trina Regan). The element aimed right for a pair of hangars to the left of the runway, one of which was seemed to be meant for helos. Both hangars erupted in fireballs, leaving LCDR Regan to wonder “What in hell were they keeping in those hangars?” It turned out that several armed and fueled helos were in the small hangar, in the event of a revolt or insurrection in Baghdad, while the large hangar was being used by the Soviet Military Advisory Group to house a pair of An-26s used by the Russians to fly about the country, along with a pair of Mi-17 Hips. Both A-6s then banked south for the parade ground.

The final pair into Al-Muthena was led by Knighthawk 537 (LT Cory Snyder/LT Darren Lewis) with 538 (LTJG Julie Grant/LCDR Michael Cole). As at Al-Rashid, the final target was the runway, and both Intruders picked out where the taxiway and runway met. The GBU-24s left nice, deep craters, leaving Al-Muthena out of action for the time being. Only as 538 pulled away for the parade ground did anyone look back and see the first AAA of the day start to come up.

At the parade ground, everyone, Iraqis and prisoners, heard the explosions. LCDR Eichhorn and the PFC looked at each other, and then around, and saw that the guards had dropped down, and so did most of the prisoners. Eichhorn looked towards the reviewing stand, and saw that the Iraqi dictator had a look of shock on his face, and he seemed to be tearing into some poor Iraqi AF officer who had been right behind him. Just at that moment, the lead Eagle A-6 element came right overhead, and everyone dropped to the ground. The PFC asked, “What's happening, Commander?” And LCDR Eichhorn replied, “I think my shipmates just spoiled Saddam's party, Jessica.” And she was right, as the second element came over the parade ground, and she noticed this element was waggling its wings for the POWs. After the war, when LCDRs Wiser and Eichhorn talked about this day, she told him that “I had a gut feeling it was you in that second pair of 'truders. Was I right?” And he replied, “How'd you guess?”

The Intruders kept on coming, waggling their wings as they flew over the parade ground, and the sound from the F-404 engines was, as one POW put it, “the sweetest sound we heard that day.” The two remaining 115 elements came right over the parade, with their Hornet and Prowler Strike Escort birds right alongside them. LT Porter-Flinn looked at her mate, CAPT Moore, and then at the reviewing stand. Both saw Saddam's face red with fury, and several of his associates were just as mad. And then the Knighthawks and their escorts came in from the North, and the whole thing started all over again. By this time, the guards had their weapons pointed not at the prisoners, but towards where the civilian spectators were. Again, the sound of F-404 engines was loud, and 185's birds left a thundering roar in their wake, with their escorts right behind them. And then, just as suddenly as it happened, the Navy flyby was over and done. As the POWs picked themselves up, a guard pointed to the west.

Just after the Navy package called in hot, the Air Force package went in, with a dozen F-15Es targeted on Saddam IAP's control tower, MiG shelters, main military hangars, the runway, and the POL storage area. The blue-suiters put their laser bombs mostly on target, though one bomb “went stupid” and blasted a compound adjacent to the airport. None of the Air Force strikers encountered so much as “a BB” coming up after them, and the Strike Eagles went in towards the Parade Ground. Again, the POWs hit the dirt, and the Iraqi VIPs just stood there in anger, watching with their mouths open as the F-15Es, with a pair of Wild Weasels, blew past the reviewing stand and headed east. And just as the last of the Strike Eagles blew by, the Baghdad defenses began to react, sending AAA into the sky in all directions with no real coordination.

VA-115 and their escorts regrouped west of Baghdad, and headed for the rendezvous point with VA-185 and their escorts. 185 had buzzed Al-Rashid on their way out of Baghdad, and as things turned out, LTJG Chris Larson and the Army POWs in the military hospital had a ringside seat. He had recognized the A-6s as 115 made its strike on Al-Rashid, and his roommate, an Army Specialist from the maintenance unit, asked him what was happening, and he replied, “The Navy's just paid old Saddam a visit.” A couple of minutes later, they heard and saw more A-6s as VA-185 blew over the area, and then the F-15s, and only just after that, did the prisoners hear and see AAA fire.

Back at the parade ground, the guards began to hustle the POWs out of the area, and as they did so, LCDR Eichhorn looked back at the reviewing stand. Saddam's face was full of fury, and she noticed several Iraqi AF officers talking to the dictator. Just before she and the PFC were out of sight of the stand, she saw two IrAF generals suddenly seized by the Iraqi leader's bodyguards. The POWs were then put aboard the same trucks that had brought them into Downtown Baghdad, and were taken back to Al-Rashid Prison and tossed back into their solitary cells.
Later on, after their repatriation, they would say that of all the days in captivity, there were only two “good days.” The first was 28 April. The second was release day.

The respective Navy and AF strike packages regrouped and headed back south towards Saudi Airspace. The Iraqis did not challenge, as the Iraqi Air Defense Command was still in a state of shock about what had happened. By 1500, all aircraft were out of Iraqi Airspace and meeting up with their tankers. After tanking, the packages headed back to their bases, with a feeling of a job well done running through them. The AF elements headed for their base in Qatar, while CVW-5 made their way back to Kitty Hawk. Like the H-2 mission, while not as long as that one, everyone was tired and sore from the time in the saddle, and as CVW-5 came into the pattern, CAG came up on GUARD and told the Air Boss to run an open deck, to let aircraft trap as they came in. Despite the tanking, many aircraft were running low on fuel, and thus the Air Boss came back and said “Open recovery. Anyone low on fuel has priority.” Intruders, Hornets, Prowlers, and Tomcats came in, first a Hornet, then a Prowler, it would be another Hornet, then an A-6, and so on, until CVW-5's last trap was logged in at 1707. BAGHDAD THUNDER was over. It had been the most complex mission of the war so far, on par with the H-2 strike, and the results had been worth it. All three main airfields in the Baghdad area had been hit, and the Iraqi regime had lost a tremendous amount of face. CENTAF had demonstrated that Baghdad's defenses were not invincible, and that CENTAF could fly anywhere in Iraq it wanted, attacking whatever it wanted. And the POWs in Baghdad, as they confirmed after the war, had something they hadn't had since their capture: hope. Hope that someday, somebody was going to come and get them out. As LT Porter-Flinn remarked after the war, “I knew after the first Baghdad strike that we weren't forgotten. That was a big fear, with Germany getting most of the attention, that no one would remember us in Baghdad. That low-level on April 28 gave us a feeling that someday we'd be going home.”

After all was sorted out, it was discovered that not a single Allied Aircraft that penetrated Baghdad's Air Defense Sector had so much as a scratch. Two major strike packages had penetrated the most heavily defended target in the Middle East and come away scot-free. Nobody was foolish enough to suggest a repeat strike anytime soon, but that time would eventually come. About the only ones who were disappointed were the fighter crews, both Air Force and Navy, who had been on MIGCAP, TARCAP, or BARCAP. Not a single MiG or Mirage had come up after them, and the four MiGs that went to Kut after the Marines would wind up landing there after Baghdad's fields were closed.

For those who planned and executed BAGHDAD THUNDER, there were accolades all around. CVW-5's staff were presented with the Navy Commendation Medal for their work, and the joint planners at CENTAF were awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for their efforts. RADM Freeman wanted the initial architect of the raid recognized, and through his efforts, LCDR Wiser was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal after the war. He was also recommended for early promotion to Commander. In addition, numerous aircrews were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their success in the operation. For the Iraqis, things were much, much different.

It wasn't fully known until after the war, but Saddam was furious as a result of BAGHDAD THUNDER. LCDR Eichhorn had been right: General Hamid Al-Gafur, the Commander of the Iraqi Air Force, and his deputy, Lt. General Mustafa al-Salih, had been arrested right then and there on Saddam's personal orders. After the war, it was revealed by one of Qusay Hussein's aides that both officers were tortured, and made to confess that they had not had their forces on alert and waiting for any eventuality. Both were liquidated later that same night. General Amir al-Maruf, Commander Iraqi Air Defense Command, was also arrested at the Baghdad National ADOC, and shot that night. His deputy, who should have been on duty at the Sector IOC, Lt. General Hussein al-Ghfar, was also arrested and liquidated, for dereliction of duty (he had been with his mistress that midday) and negligence. In all, 12 officers with the rank of Colonel and above in the Iraqi AF were liquidated as a result of BAGHDAD THUNDER, and it was worse in the Iraqi ADC, where twenty officers were executed, and it would've been more had the Al-Salman and Najaf IOCs not been bombed, as several who had been killed at both locations would have certainly been targets of Saddam's wrath. To their surprise, the POWs suffered the least. Their rations were cut for two days, and all were handcuffed behind their backs and blindfolded during that time, but no one not in the hospital was tortured, and all felt that they had gotten off pretty easy, considering what had happened.

When the crews got back to Kitty Hawk, the intelligence people were already beaming. The parade had been, as advertised, broadcast live on Iraqi TV, and the intel types had been tuned to an Arabic-language channel out of Qatar that had been rebroadcasting the Iraqi TV feed. And the Iraqi cameramen had gotten everything, from the POWs to Saddam's furious expressions, and the various strike aircraft as they made their low-level passes over the parade ground. Only when the F-15Es made their pass did the Iraqis cut the feed, but the damage had already been done. There had also been several Western news crews in Baghdad, and while the CNN crew had been invited by the Iraqis to the parade, the other networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Sky News, CBC, and NHK), had put their crews on the roof of the Palestine Hotel on the east bank of the Tigris. All of them had a front-row seat to the raid, and much to the Iraqis' displeasure, the raid had been sent live by NBC and Sky News to Europe and the U.S. The CNN crew sent their footage later that afternoon, and in fact that footage had proved very useful from an intelligence standpoint. Not only had the intel folks identified all 22 POWs on the parade, but the CNN crew had caught Saddam's security men hauling off not only the two senior AF officers, but several others as well. The Battle Group's Intelligence Officer, CDR Christine Rendino, along with RADM Freeman, were very pleased with the result they had gotten from the TV broadcasts, and they had every reason to: not only was the intel staff watching, but many of the ship's company not on watch had their TVs tuned to CNN or Fox News (Fox showed Sky News' coverage of the raid live for American viewers), and the crew had watched the air wing go in and do its job, live. The embeds aboard ship talked with many of the ship's company and air wing personnel that afternoon, and in the evening, CAG would allow interviews with many of the aircrew who had flown BAGHDAD THUNDER.

That night, all aircrew got several hours of well-deserved sleep. The aircrew were awakened at 0400, and after breakfast, reported to their respective ready rooms. More strikes into Kuwait and Southern Iraq were on the schedule, and everyone, from CAG on down, expected that Saddam would try and strike back, with both a renewed ground offensive in Kuwait, and another attempt to sink an American ship. As things turned out on 29 April, whoever made the initial prediction was right. Saddam really wanted to strike back.

Saddam's anger, as his Presidential Secretary noted to Allied interrogators after the war, was intense. In a fury, he demanded that the Iraqi AF attempt another strike on the ships east of Kuwait Bay, as the Iraqis referred to the North SAR Station. Saddam also ordered his Defense Minister to draw up a plan for a renewed ground offensive in Kuwait, as the original offensive by the Army and Republican Guard had stalled, mainly due to Allied air interdiction of Iraqi lines of communication and dropping of a number of key bridges. The Iraqi dictator also ordered a renewed missile attack on Kuwait City, as well as Dhahran and Ad Damman in Saudi Arabia, but without chemical weapons. A meeting with the Soviet Ambassador that evening had been a tense one, as the Soviets informed Saddam that, should he strike again with chemical weapons, they had already notified the Americans that if there were additional chemical strikes, the Americans would be fully justified in a nuclear response. And that there would be no Soviet counteraction if that happened. The Iraqi leader paused, and gave the necessary orders that rescinded chemical weapons release authority, and stated that any further use would be in the hands of the Revolutionary Command Council, or RCC. The Soviet Ambassador then announced that “for reasons of safety,” the Ambassador and several senior staff members were leaving by road for neutral Iran on 29 April, leaving a Charge d' Affaires to run the Embassy. The Soviet Military Advisory Group would remain in-country, and both the GRU and KGB stations would remain operational and would continue to pass on intelligence to their Iraqi counterparts. What this would mean to CVW-5 and the ships of TF-77 was that 29 April would be a very eventful day.

RADM Freeman and VADM Stan Neal, Commander of 5th FLT in Bahrain, expected that Saddam would retaliate and made their plans accordingly. The destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) left Kitty Hawk and moved north to reinforce the SAR station, and CAP was increased from two F-14s to four at night. The close escort for the carrier would be taken over by HMS Despatch (D-43), while the frigate USS Reuben James (FFG-57) took station between the SAR station and the carrier group, along with the French frigate Surcouf (F-711). By 0300 on 29 April, every ship was in place and ready. By 0600, CVW-5 had its first strike packages on the cats, and began sending aircraft over the beach. And the Iraqis began to respond.

The initial strikes were from SCUD and FROG missiles into Kuwait City and several coastal towns south of the capital. While the SCUD launchers were in Iraq and largely untouchable (for now), the FROGs and the Iraqi derivative, the Al-Sammoud, were just behind the front lines, and ground radars in Kuwait, along with AWACS, E-2, and even AEGIS, picked up the missiles and it was easy for aircraft to be vectored in on them. The initial package, four VA-185 A-6s and four Dambuster Hornets, with the usual Prowler in support, was originally tasked to hit a newly-discovered ammo dump west of Safwan, but was retasked in the air to go after several FROG launchers north of the original target. VA-185's XO, CDR Yoshida, led the package, and found the FROG crews in the middle of reloading for a second salvo. While the Hornets went after several nearby flak batteries and an SA-13 battery, the A-6s went down on the missile trucks and reload vehicles. The Knighthawk A-6s each dumped a dozen Mark-82s on the FROG battalion, wrecking several launchers and reload vehicles, and inflicted numerous casualties. Coming off the target, a ground FAC asked if they had additional ordnance, and getting an affirmative response (each Intruder still had a pair of AGM-65s), tasked the A-6s on a tank battalion spotted moving south from Safwan. Each Intruder took their shots, and seven of eight tanks engaged ate Mavericks. The Hornets, having shed their Rockeyes against the flak sites and SA-13 vehicles, also took AGM-65 shots, killing a half dozen T-72s. This package then returned to CV-63 at 0745.

The second strike from Kitty Hawk went after a bridge west of An Nasiriyah, and again it was VA-185 that went after it. They launched at 0630, and took advantage of the already airborne Prowler from VAQ-136 and its EW support. Four A-6s, led by the Skipper, CDR Lowry, and four Dambuster Hornets, went for the bridge.
All four Intruders each had a pair of GBU-24s, and a pair of HARMs, as on BAGHDAD THUNDER, with a single AIM-9R and AIM-120 for self-defense. The four Hornets, led by the Dambusters Skipper, CDR Runyan, had flak and SAM-suppression as their tasking, and they expected to be busy. And the Dambusters were right.

Coming out of the morning sun, 185's Skipper in Knighthawk 531, with LT Dana Verell again in the right seat, led Knighthawk 535 (LT Paul Mason/LT Melissa Daniels) down on the bridge. Both A-6s targeted the northern spans of the bridge, and again, GBU-24s rained down, dropping the two northern spans. Only when the bombs hit did the Iraqi defenders realize the bridge was under attack, and the flak sites south of the bridge began sending up “heavy barrage AAA”, and a nearby SA-3 site (part of Tallil AB's defenses) came up. CDR Runyan led his element down on the SAM site, putting a HARM in the air. This time, the SA-3 crew shut down, but a nearby Army-manned SA-6 battery came up almost at once. Though the HARM did explode near the SA-3's Low Blow radar, the site wasn't fully taken out, and Dambuster 408 (LTJG Craig Newsom) went down to hit it with Rockeyes. Just as he did that, the SA-6 battery came up, and launched against 408. LTJG Newsom had just released his CBUs when the SAM came up on his threat receiver, and he attempted evasive action. However, it was too late, and Dambuster 408 exploded in a fireball. No chute was seen, and this time, no SAR mission was requested. Later on, as American and Allied ground forces moved to the Euphrates, the U.S. Army's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (TN NG) came across 408's wreck, and the body of LTJG Newsom was found in the wreckage.

Angry at losing another of their own, 195's Skipper led the remaining Hornets down on the SA-6 battery, and two Hornets put HARMs in the air. Both missiles struck the SA-6's Straight Flush radar track, killing it, and all three Hornets each dumped eight Rockeye CBUs onto the battery site, killing the SAM tracks, several trucks carrying reloads, and blasting the command track for good measure.

While the Hornets were busy, the two other A-6s went down on the bridge. Knighthawk 533 (LT John Collett/LT Joe Meredith) and Knighthawk 540 (LTJG Darlene Wilson/LCDR Trina Regan) went after the southern end of the bridge. Again, GBU-24s landed on the bridge, with the southernmost span going down, and the remaining spans badly damaged. After hitting the bridge, and regrouping, the A-6s and Hornets prepared to head back to the carrier and were advised to head south to Saudi and meet up with USAF tankers over the border. When they asked why, they were advised “Bandits inbound North SAR.” After diverting into Saudi airspace, the package met up with the KC-135s, and after refueling, returned to CV-63. When they landed shortly after 1100, several of their fellow aviators kidded them for “missing all the excitement.”

At 0830, AWACS picked up sixteen radar contacts headed for the North SAR station. This was the retaliation the IrAF had promised Saddam, although several officers, including Lt. Col. Mustafa al-Raif, CO of the 8th Strike-Bomber Squadron and Iraq's main anti-shipping specialists, privately felt the end result would be valuable planes and crews lost for no reason. Major General Rashid Hadi, who commanded the 4th Composite Bomber Wing, said after the war that newly-promoted General Said al-Ubadi, the new Commander of the IrAF, was so eager to please Saddam that he didn't consult with the 4th Wing's Operations and Intelligence people, relying only on the HQ staff in Baghdad. Despite several political hacks being appointed to replace those who had been executed after the Baghdad raid, at least the mission planning had been done professionally at Air Force HQ. The problem was that the planners hadn't taken into account that the strike plan was essentially the same as that flown on the first day of the war. And both General Hadi and Colonel Raif were proven correct in their doubts.

The Iraqi package consisted of four Su-24s from the 8th SBS, four Su-22s from the
44th FS, and four Mirage F-1s from the 102nd FS. The Fencers were each armed with two AS-20 Kayak ASMs, while the Fitters packed four 1100-lb bombs. The four Mirages were flying escort, and each packed two Magic and two Super 530 AAMs. Backing up the Mirages were four MiG-23MLs from the 39th FS, with two AA-7 Apex and four AA-8 Aphid AAMs. Colonel Raif was in overall command, and he led the lead Su-24 element on the mission.
At 0835, the incoming package was picked up by both E-2 and AEGIS. This time, the Yokouska-based Fitzgerald had taken over AAW command from Mustin, as Fitzgerald's VLS launchers were full. Again, the Iraqis came in, and AEGIS, taking in the picture from both AWACS and E-2, saw the incoming strike clearly. And the CAP was coming into play.

Again, the Black Knights had the CAP this morning, with a twist: both elements were led by ace teams. The first element in Knight 106 was led by the redoubtable pair of LTs Jacqui Patterson and Debbie Bradley, with their usual wingmates in 110, Conway and Freeman. The second pair was led by Knight 111, with now-LT Paula Mobley and LT Kara Wade leading Knight 112 (flown this day by LTJG Patrick O'Gara and LTJG Darrel Simmons). And the AAW team vectored the CAP in on the intercept.

Acquiring their targets at 65 miles, Patterson and Bradley picked out the strike birds thanks to NCTR, and locked the Fencers up at 55 miles. Seeing the Iraqis continue to close in, they called “Fox 3” right after lock-on, and again, AIM-54Ds went after targets. They had targeted no. 2 and no. 4 in the Su-24 flight, and watched on TCS as the Phoenixes flew to the targets.

Colonel Raif was about to call the strike in hot when his threat warning receivers lit up with APG-71 radars, and he ordered the break. He and his WSO watched as two Phoenixes came down on his wingman and the fourth Fencer, and the strike lead was horrified to see his wingman's Su-24 be blown in half by the missile impact and slam into the Gulf. He asked the second element lead if they had seen any parachutes, and not only did they get a negative reply, but the No. 3 said that his wingman had been hit, blowing the tail off that aircraft, and the crew had ejected. Still, Colonel Raif called in hot, just as the second pair of Phoenixes came in.

Knight 110, Conway and Freeman, launched their Phoenixes at 45 miles, and they were aimed at the Su-22s. Two Fitters blew apart and fell into the Gulf, and then the MiGs and Mirages turned into the Tomcats. This cleared the way for 111 and 112 to take their shots at the strikers. Mobley and Wade in 111 took their shots at 45 miles, and they targeted the Su-22s. One Fitter took a hit and crashed, and the remaining Su-22, though damaged by a near-miss, was forced to jettison his ordnance and abort. But the two remaining Su-24s continued in, and it was time for AEGIS to take over.

Fitzgerald's AAW officer put AEGIS into Full-Auto mode at 0845, and SM-2s began coming out of the VLS launcher almost immediately. Thanks to the datalinks, Mustin, Chandler, and Ballarat were able to contribute as threats developed. Two SM-2s from Fitzgerald slammed into the second Su-24, sending him into the Gulf, and everyone in the various CICs expected the remaining Fencer to abort. To their surprise, he didn't, and two AS-20s came off the Fencer, just before two SM-2s took that plane apart.

Again, the Vampire call went out, and SM-2s took care of one missile, while the other AS-20 was overwhelmed by the massive blast of ECM from all four ships. The missile staggered away to the Southeast, and unfortunately for the Iraqis, the Indian tanker Star of Mumbai had just left Iran's main tanker terminal at Kharg Island when the Iraqi missile came in and slammed into the tanker's superstructure, killing seven crewmen and injuring six others. The Indians protested loudly, via their Ambassador in Baghdad, and when the Iraqi response was deemed lacking, the Indians pulled all but a token staff out of Baghdad. The Iranians also protested, and put their 61st TFW at Bushehr AB on an increased alert status.

While AEGIS was taking on the Su-24s, the Tomcats were in a fight with the Mirage and MiG-23 escort birds. Knight 112 still had Phoenixes, and they took their shots at the Mirages at 35 miles. Again, two AIM-54Ds went after targets, and both Mirages were blown apart. While that was happening, Patterson and Bradley in 106 locked up two MiG-23s at 25 miles with AIM-120s and sent two Slammers out after the Floggers. Both connected, and the two MiGs fireballed and fell into the Gulf. Their wingmates in 110, Conway and Freeman, locked up the other pair of Mirages at 22 miles, killing one, and shooting their last Slammer at 17 miles, watching as the AIM-120 slammed into the Mirage's cockpit and blew it clear of the rest of the aircraft. Their four kills this morning made them officially aces, giving the Black Knights their third ace team. As for the final pair of MiG-23s, Mobley and Wade in 111 were locking them up at 20 miles when the two Floggers turned and ran for Iraqi Airspace on afterburner. As the CAP was starting to run low on fuel, they did not pursue, and they were relieved by four F-14s from VF-21.

While waiting for their relief, the Black Knights covered the SH-60s from Mustin and Chandler that went out to search for any downed Iraqi airmen. Only one live survivor was found, though four bodies were also recovered. The survivor was a prize catch: Lt. Colonel Mustafa Raif of the 8th SBS. The Colonel was flown to Mustin, where he was checked for any injuries, and then choppered over to Kitty Hawk for what CDR Rendino, TF-77's Intelligence Officer, put it, “an extended Q&A session.” While initially angry about being questioned by a woman, Colonel Raif was more angry with the IrAF leadership, and with Saddam himself. He asked CDR Rendino how many Iraqi aircraft had been destroyed that morning, and when she told him, he replied, “All those pilots are dead because of one man and his zeal for revenge,” meaning Saddam. Colonel Raif was also asked about the reaction to both the H-2 strike and the Baghdad mission. He blasted the Iraqi leadership for not considering the possibility that there would be retaliation for Iraq's use of chemical weapons, and those who told the leadership that there would be no consequences for such use. As for BAGHDAD THUNDER, while feeling that the Iraqi AF and ADC could've done more to make the raid more costly, he praised the bravery of the aircrews who had flown the mission, and regretted that he hadn't been able to fly a similar mission-over Tehran. The four bodies recovered along with Colonel Raif were checked over for any items of intelligence value, and accorded honors burial at sea.

The morning had been as what RADM Freeman had expected, and the Iraqis hadn't disappointed him. The ground offensive demanded by Saddam had kicked off again, with III Corps sending two mechanized divisions and an armored brigade to try and take Ali Al Salem AB in Central Kuwait. Fortunately for the Allies, the various Kuwaiti and USAF squadrons based there had redeployed to Kuwait IAP after the base came within range of Iraqi artillery and MRL fire, and the defenders of the base, the 35th Armored Brigade, had priority of air and artillery support, and the 2nd Brigade of the 40th ID(M) had just become operational, and tied in with 1st Brigade on the Kuwaiti left. The Kuwaiti 35th had been honored to go to the U.S. Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA the previous year, and had learned just exactly how to take on Soviet-style armored forces, and win. The Iraqi III Corps attack ran into a hornet's nest of dug-in infantry, M-1A2 Abrams tanks, and a swarm of Allied aircraft, waiting to pounce on the Iraqis as they came towards the base in full attack formation.

CVW-5 sent several packages in support of the 35th, guided in by U.S, British, and Kuwaiti FACs on the ground, along with USAF OA-10s in the air. The first package, led by VFA-192's CO, CDR Phil Hutton., consisted of four Golden Dragon Hornets and four VA-115 Intruders, led by the XO, LCDR Wiser. They arrived on-scene shortly after 1030, just as the Kuwaitis made their first air support requests. The package had been originally tasked to go north towards Safwan, but was redirected west towards the air base. Seeing a brigade of the Iraqi 1st Mechanized Division in attack formation was too good a target to pass up, and the Hornets and Intruders went down on the armor. While the Dragon Hornets went after the SA-9s and ZSU-23s of the brigade's ADA, the A-6s came down on a mechanized battalion as it was approaching the Northwest side of the base. All four Intruders dumped sixteen Rockeyes on the BTR-60 APCs and T-62 tanks, and were rewarded with numerous fireballs as the submunitions impacted the thin top armor of the tanks and APCs. Other vehicles were disabled by the Rockeyes, and became easy targets for the Kuwaiti tankers on the ground, who picked off disabled tanks and APCs with ease. Coming off target, a U.S. Army Green Beret called in and asked if the aircraft still had any remaining ordnance. The Intruders were Winchester, but two Hornets still had AGM-65s remaining. Both Hornets went down at the Green Beret's request on where several command tracks appeared to be parked, and the two Hornets each fired their remaining Maverick into a command vehicle, killing them in oily fireballs. This package recovered at 1130 without losses, and the crews wondering who had been in the command tracks. Later on, a captured Iraqi officer revealed that the brigade's CO and his staff had been in those tracks, and while the CO had escaped, two of the staff tracks did not, and their occupants had all been killed. This did disorganize the attackers, and while a battalion of T-62s did penetrate the north side of the base, a company of Kuwaiti M-1A2s counterattacked, and the American-trained Kuwaitis annihilated the attackers in ten furious minutes.

In between CVW-5's strikes, the hapless Iraqis were being pounced upon by USAF and Kuwaiti AF aircraft, and by Kuwaiti AH-64D Apaches. While most packages came in and off target without loss, a late afternoon mission was one that VFA-192 would rather forget, as it resulted in the first squadron CO to die in the war for CVW-5.

This final package of the afternoon was tasked against divisional artillery northwest of the air base, and CDR Hutton led four 192 Hornets and four Eagle Intruders after the guns. This time, there were SA-6s in the area, and a VAQ-136 Prowler accompanied the strikers in to jam, and if necessary HARM, the Iraqi radars. CDR Hutton in Dragon 301 led his Hornets down on the SA-6s, while LCDR Wiser led the A-6s down on the SO-152 SP guns and their ammo tracks.
As CDR Hutton went down on a SA-6 battery, the 192 Skipper heard a SAM call, and his wingman, LT Eric Blair in 306, saw the SA-6 come up after the Skipper's bird. He called for the Skipper to break right, while he (and as it turned out, the Prowler) fired a HARM at the SA-6 radar. However, it was too late, and Dragon 401 took a hit and exploded. The Hornet fireballed, and crashed into the desert floor. There was no chute and no beeper, and in any event, the threat was too high to call in the CSAR people. After the Allied counterattack, Kuwaiti troops found 301's wreckage, and after USAF personnel arrived to assist, found CDR Hutton's body.

This time, it was the Golden Dragons who were angry, and LT Brad Whitfield led the remaining Hornets down on the SA-6 battery. The HARMs had killed the Straight Flush radar just after 301 was hit, and the Dragons followed up with Rockeye CBUs and Mark-82 500-lb bombs, wrecking the battery. As the 192 flight was dealing with the SAM site, LCDR Wiser led the four Eagle Intruders in on the SP guns and their ammo tracks, with AGM-65s being employed on the first pass to kill six guns and two battery command tracks, while on the second pass the Rockeyes exploded a number of ammo trucks and several additional SO-122s.
After the package returned to CV-63 at 1750, CDR Hutton was officially declared MIA, and CDR Colleen “ChinaB” McMurphy, the Golden Dragons' XO, assumed command of the squadron.

That night, the USAF handled CENTAF's night schedule, but there were still SUCAP flights by both Eagle and Knighthawk A-6s. RADM Freeman and CDR Rendino expected the Iraqi Navy to try again for the North SAR Station, and both of them were proven correct at 2130, when a Hawkeye detected two surface contacts coming out of the Shatt al-Arab waterway and headed for the SAR station. All four ships on the station picked up the Hawkeye datalink, and went to General Quarters as soon as the contacts appeared. Knighthawk 540 (LTJG Darlene Wilson/LCDR Trina Regan) was vectored in on the contacts, and discovered on their FLIR an Osa-II class FAC, and a Tarrantul-I FAC inbound to the SAR station.

Pulling up and away, Wilson moved into an attack position, while Regan locked the Osa, which happened to be the closest vessel, on the TRAM's laser designator, and fired an AGM-123 Skipper-II laser missile. The Skipper-II guided straight and true, and the Osa “went up like Mount St. Helens”, in a cloud of smoke, fire, and debris. Ignoring the demise of its companion FAC, the Tarrantul continued to close in on the ships. This led the SAR station's Antisurface Warfare Commander on Mustin to order the helos spooled up, but Chandler and Ballarat jumped the gun, with both ships launching a pair of Harpoons at the FAC at 2140. Four Harpoons went after the hapless FAC, and the Iraqis tried spraying 76-mm and 30-mm gunfire at the incoming missiles, while firing their own SS-N-2s back down the bearing of the incoming weapons. Three of the four Harpoons slammed into the Tarrantul, ripping it apart in a huge explosion, and eventually sending her to the bottom. The four Styx missiles were engaged by both Fitzgerald and Mustin AEGIS systems, and none found a target. Both Chandler and Ballarat launched their helos to search for any survivors, but both returned empty-handed. Some sixty Iraqi sailors died that night, as the Iraqis demonstrated again that they could lose ships and men to no gain against much more capable surface ships, backed up by naval aircraft.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and aircrew were awakened at 0400 as usual on the morning of 30 April. Another busy day over Kuwait and Southern Iraq was on the agenda, but some were getting the feeling that the Iraqis had passed their high-water mark, but another two days would pass before that feeling would become common in the Gulf Region.

As Task Force 77 fought its war in the Persian Gulf, events in the Indian Ocean had been developing since D-Day. While originally planned to deploy to the Gulf, MPSRON-2 at Diego Garcia had sailed for Cape Town, and the equipment was delivered to the newly-arrived 23rd Marines. However, the Army and AF MPS ships were to deploy to the Gulf, but events dictated that they remain in Diego Garcia until the SOVIORON was dealt with, and a USAF B-52 strike, with American and British submarines finishing off the survivors, did just that on D+5. The convoy sailed for the Gulf on the afternoon of 26 April, and joined up with a French group that had been trailing the SOVIORON until its destruction. The combined USN/French escort had a couple of submarine attacks, believed to be from the same boat, a Victor-III. While none of the MPS ships were hit, one French frigate was damaged by a Type-65 torpedo that detonated its torpedo decoy, forcing the ship to head back to Reunion Island. A second attack resulted in the destroyer U.S.S. John Young (DD-973) being sunk, but this was the Victor-III's last hurrah, for not only did several ASW helos converge on the area, but a P-3 from Diego Garcia joined in the hunt. The Victor was driven off, into the waiting arms of the submarine U.S.S. Boise (SSN-764), and sunk on 28 April. The convoy and its escort arrived in the Gulf on 3 May, and its cargo was gratefully received by the various Army and AF units in the Gulf Theater.

Furthermore, additional reinforcements were on the way: the Nimitz Battle Group had passed through the Straits of Malacca on D-1, having stopped in Singapore for a “going home” port visit, and had been ordered back to the IO when it became apparent that war was imminent. Nimitz would bring CVW-9 to the region, and following warm-up strikes on the Soviet base and SIGINT facility on Socotra Island, and again at Aden, would enter the Gulf and report to CTF-77. The Nimitz group also brought along some “friends,” as the Indian Navy's Virrat battle group followed CVN-68's passage from the Diego Garcia area via Aden to the Gulf of Oman. CVW-5's aircrew were looking forward to the arrival of CVW-9, as the duties of day and night operations would be split between the two air wings. Nimitz and her group would arrive on 6 May, and began combat operations almost immediately.

All that was in the future, as TF-77's ships and CVW-5's aircrew got on with the war. 30 April proved to be more of the same, supporting the ground forces in Kuwait, and keeping the pressure on the Iraqis from being able to resupply and reinforce their forces in Kuwait and Southern Iraq.

0600 brought the first launch, four Eagle A-6s and four Dambuster Hornets. LCDR Wiser would lead the strike against the Highway 1 bridge west of An Nasiriya. Although the main highway bridge had been dropped and was still down, the Iraqis had put up a pair of pontoon bridges to handle traffic, both military and civilian, to and from Southern Iraq. The Iraqis had had a tough time putting the bridges in place, as the Euphrates was still high as a result of a cruise missile attack on the Haditha Dam's flood gates on the day of the H-2 mission. The four Intruders would go after the bridges, while the Hornets handled the usual flak and SAM-suppression work, and not only would a Prowler accompany the strike, two VF-21 F-14s would handle MIGCAP.

The launch went off as normal, and 0720 brought the strike package within range of the target. Remembering not to go below 10,000 feet unless absolutely necessary, the package rolled in on their targets, with LCDR Wiser and LT Porter in Outlaw 505 leading Outlaw 509, with LTs Rivers and Fisher, in on the West bridge, which was handling the southbound military traffic.

Rolling in at 14,000 feet, with weapon release at 11,000, the XO's element let loose their GBU-24s on the bridge, and it was only when the bombs detonated that the defenders realized that they were under attack. While no radar-guided SAMs came up, there was a lot of 23-mm and 57-mm AAA coming up, and several MANPADS did come up as well. The AAA batteries easily identified themselves for LCDR Kathy Evision's flight from the Dambusters, and in her words, “Rockeyes easily cured flak gunners of their bad habit.” When the XO's element cleared the target, the second pair of A-6s, with LCDR Morris and LT Carroll in 507, and Cooper and Mathews in 510, to hit the East bridge. Again, GBU-24s came down onto the bridge, and tore it apart. Both bridges had been wrecked, and the flight returned to CV-63, with both the Prowler and the pair of Tomcats not even having expended any ordnance on the hop. However, the next mission to the area did not have that experience.

VA-185 drew a strike tasked by CENTAF to hit a military compound outside Tallil AB. This was the HQ compound for the Iraqi 11th ID, as well as being the peacetime HQ for the Iraqi Army's III Corps. Four Knighthawk Intruders would strike the compound, while VFA-192 Hornets would act as the usual flak and SAM suppressors. Two more Tomcats from VF-21 would accompany the strike, and another Prowler would also fly the mission. This close to Tallil AB, it was expected the flak and SAM activity would be serious, and it was. The 11th ID had not deployed to Kuwait, and was being used by III Corps for rear-area security: mainly to keep the largely Shia population of An Nasiriya in line, and to guard against any potential airborne or air-assault threat to Tallil AB. Skipper Lowry would lead the mission, and it launched at 0730.

CDR Lowry in 531, with LT Dana Verell still in the right seat, led Knighthawk 535 (LT Paul Mason/LT Melissa Daniels) as lead element, with Knighthawk 533
(LT John Collett/LT Joe Meredith) and Knighthawk 540 (LTJG Darlene Wilson/LCDR Trina Regan) making up the second element. The target area still had SA-2 and SA-3 sites up, giving VAQ-136's Prowler some work. The two Freelancer F-14s were Freelancer 206 (LT Darrel Rogers/LT Chris Collins) and Freelancer 210 (LTJG Brian Grant/LCDR Sean Baker). As the package arrived in the target area at 0845, everyone's threat receivers lit up as single SA-2 and SA-3 sites came up, along with a pair of 57-mm radar guided flak batteries. And then AWACS (Buckeye) came on the line with a MiG scramble out of Tallil.

As the Freelancers were vectored in on the bandits, both the SA-2 and SA-3 sites launched. Gauntlet 623 launched a pair of HARMs back down on the SAM sites, and both radars were shut down-permanently-as the HARMs found their mark. LCDR Steve Griffith in Dragon 404 then led the Hornets down on the SAM sites, with Rockeye CBUs ripping up the vehicles, missile launchers, and reload missiles, and the Hornet drivers were rewarded with numerous secondary explosions as SAMs and missile fuel cooked off.

While the Hornets were dealing with the SAM sites, two MiG-23MLs from the IrAF's 39th Fighter Squadron had been scrambled to intercept, and both Tomcats turned in to engage. Not willing to use their Phoenixes at close range, both Tomcat drivers selected AIM-120, gaining lock at 30 miles, and again, the Iraqis did not break off the engagement, although they did try to break APG-71 lock. Both Tomcat RIOs were able to maintain lock, and LT Rogers in 206 called “Fox 3” at 22 miles. His first Slammer missed, but his second at 16 miles didn't, flying right into the MiG's intake and exploding the Flogger in a large fireball. Grant and Baker in 210 launched their first Slammer at 17 miles, and when the missile appeared not to be guiding, launched a second at 14 miles. They were surprised to see the first Slammer suddenly fly right to the MiG, just as the Flogger launched two AA-7s at one of the Intruders. The MiG blew apart in a ball of fire, sending debris in all directions, and the second Slammer flew right through the explosion.

With the MiGs gone, and the SAM threat neutralized, the Intruders, having dodged the pair of Apex missiles, came into the picture. Each A-6 crew had a designated aimpoint, and Skipper Lowry's was the Divisional HQ building. Again, the A-6 crews were trying to stay above 10,000 feet, as not only was there still 57-mm fire, but 23-mm ZU-23s, and even ZPU-4 heavy machine guns, spewing lead up at the Intruders. Despite the flak, which the Dragons went down again to suppress, Skipper Lowry called in hot at 0850.

Rolling in on the target, LT Verell in the right seat locked on the HQ building, and four GBU-10Gs were released on the target. Three of the four bombs slammed into the structure, reducing it to rubble, while the fourth bomb “went dumb” and blasted a hole in the access road to the air base. As the Skipper came off target, Mason and Daniels in 535 rolled in on a building later identified as the Divisional G-3 (Operations) building, and again, GBU-10Gs slammed into the target, reducing it to rubble. The second element then rolled in, with Collett and Meredith in 533 picking out their aimpoint, which was later found to be the HQ for the 11th ID's Special Forces Battalion. This time, there were a number of secondary explosions, as the Iraqis, defying common sense, had stored a large cache of weapons and explosives in the building, instead of in the nearby ready-use bunkers. Wilson and Regan in 540 then rolled in, and they picked out their target: a large building with a number of antennas on the roof, and what appeared to be a radar track in the parking lot. Again, GBU-10Gs came off the pylons, and all four bombs smashed into the target building. Not knowing then what they'd hit, 540 pulled out and away, to form up for the trip back to the carrier.

It was only after the war that 540's crew found out what they had struck that morning: a combined Soviet/Iraqi SIGINT facility aimed at Kuwait and the Gulf. The Iraqis had been relying on the facility to provide intelligence and targeting information for their ground forces in Kuwait, especially for the FROG and Al-Sammoud missiles, and long-range (GHN-45 and G-5) artillery pieces. While many of the Soviet and Iraqi operators were working in a bunker adjacent to the building, most of their antennae and other equipment had been destroyed, and the radar track, which was also used to listen in on Allied air communications, had been wrecked, and a number of irreplaceable technicians had been killed or wounded in the strike. In one stroke, the Iraqi signals intelligence effort against Kuwait and the Gulf had been severely weakened, and it was a serious loss that would not be recovered easily.

The package reformed east of Tallil, and headed back to CV-63, recovering at 1015. The Freelancers were pleased, as “finally” they were getting in on some air-to-air action, and were looking for more. While they did have one ace team, no crew in the squadron was close to the ace threshold, but the squadron felt they were catching up to the Black Knights, who had three ace teams, including two with over 10 kills.

More CAS/BAI missions were tasked as the day went on, and CVW-5's aircrew noted that the two Marine squadrons were very active. Not only had the two Marine squadrons arrived, but an ANGLICO (Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company) had arrived from Camp Pendleton, CA, and had sent teams out to join the American and Kuwaiti ground forces to add to the USAF ground FACs and the various SF teams that were also calling in air strikes. Several captured Iraqi officers were to tell their interrogators that there was “no difference” between USN/MC and USAF air support-all were felt to be “very effective and deadly” by the Iraqis, with the RAF and the Kuwaitis right behind them.

As morning turned to afternoon, intelligence arrived of a senior Iraqi leadership figure arriving in the Basra-al Zubayr area. A package of four Eagle A-6s, four Dambuster Hornets, and a Gauntlet Prowler was quickly put together, with two Black Knight Tomcats flying shotgun. Not wanting to wait until the intelligence was firmer before launching, CAG Seavey decided to launch the package, and pass the target coordinates to the crews while they were en route to the area. LCDR Wiser gathered the aircrews in 115's ready room, gave a quick brief, and had everyone mount up their aircraft, with the launch coming at 1430.

The package was orbiting over Falaykah Island, east of Kuwait City, when the target information came in over the radio at 1515. A “high-level” leadership figure was at a command post south of Al-Zubayr, and was still there. The target itself was riding a converted RV, with a number of command vehicles laagered around it. Not knowing who they were going after, the crews hoped that maybe it was Saddam himself, who had been known to use such a converted RV as a command vehicle-albeit a luxurious one.

LCDR Wiser led the package into the area, and just a couple miles south of Al-Zubayr, and to the east of Highway 8, he found what they were after. Noting there were several ZSU-23-4s and SA-9s in the area, he called in the redoubtable LCDR Kathy Evison in Dambuster 403 to send her Hornets down on the air defense vehicles, while the Intruders went in on the command tracks and the RV.

In 505's right seat, LT Lucy Porter locked her laser designator on the RV, and the XO pickled off four GBU-16s, and 505's crew noted that 509's crew of Rivers and Fisher were right alongside them, and they pickled off their ordnance. However, unknown to 505's crew, 509 had lost laser lock, so they simply went in alongside the XO's bird, hoping to get a buddy lase from the XO. It worked, and all eight GBU-16s slammed into the RV and nearby vehicles, exploding them, and sending bits and pieces of vehicles and their crews in all directions. The second pair of A-6s, 507 and 510, followed up with a dozen Rockeye CBUs each, which exploded several vehicles that had been lucky to escape the laser bombs.

While the Intruders were servicing the primary target, LCDR Evison led the Dambuster Hornets down on the air defense tracks. AGM-65s exploded several of the ZSU-23-4s and SA-9 launchers, while Rockeyes tore up a nearby 23-mm battery and a 57-mm site as well. The only ones disappointed were the Tomcat and Prowler crews, who didn't get a chance to expend any ordnance. Only as the package left the area and got “feet wet” did Buckeye come up with a MiG call, but
LTs Mobley and Wade in Blackknight 111 and their wingmates didn't bite, and the two MiG-23s turned back to Tallil. The package recovered at 1600, and in the debriefings, the aircrew were wondering who it was that they had taken out.

Confirmation of the target came later that night, as Iraqi State TV and radio interrupted their regular programs to announce the “martyrdom” of Presidential Advisor and RCC member Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali.”
He had been responsible for the Anfal campaign against the Kurds in 1987-88, and had supervised the gas attack on the town of Halabja in 1988, which resulted in some 5,000 deaths. He had been Governor of Kuwait during the 1990-91 occupation, and had earned a reputation for extreme brutality against the Kuwaitis, who, after the Gulf War, issued a bounty on his head. His brutal suppression of the Shia revolt after the war further enhanced his reputation for ruthlessness, and he was a trusted advisor and confidant of Saddam. The same broadcasts also mentioned the “martyrdom” of Ibrahim Abdallah al-Yasin, the Baath Party Chairman for Basra Province. The Iraqis gave no other information, other than the “martyrs” had been visiting commanders of the Republican Guard in Southern Iraq and Kuwait.

For the first time since D-Day, there had been no attack against the North SAR Station. While the ships had spent most of the day at Condition Two, one step below full General Quarters, AEGIS only tracked either Allied planes over Kuwait and Southern Iraq, the Iraqi AF's own sorties, and Iranian air traffic over Iranian airspace. In fact, the only aircraft that approached the SAR Station, other than CVW-5's aircraft passing to and from their targets, was an Iranian AF P-3F Orion. The Orion kept a 10-mile distance, as requested by Fitzgerald's AAW controllers, and the behavior of the Iranians was what one was expecting of a neutral. The Iranians did ask who had fired the missile that had severely damaged an Indian tanker at Kharg Island the previous day, and when told it was an Iraqi AS-20 Kayak, the Iranians said “thank you,” and went about their business. AEGIS also noted that the Iranians were now flying a regular CAP north of Kharg Island,with either two F-4Es or F-14s, watching for any possible threat to their own and other neutral shipping. In addition, an Iranian Navy frigate came into the area, and kept well clear of the SAR station. The word had spread around the Gulf that approaching the SAR Station was hazardous to one's life expectancy if you were Iraqi, or had otherwise not identified yourself.

This night, CVW-5 had the night rotation, and pairs of Intruders and Hornets went out at regular intervals. Most were armed road and river reconnaissance, looking for military traffic to shoot up or bomb, though the Hornet drivers wouldn't mind if a stray MiG or helo came in. Two VA-115 Intruders found a major convoy east of As Samawah on Highway 8 at 2240, and that touched off a feeding frenzy for several hours, as A-6s, F/A-18s, and both RAF and RSAF Tornados came in, loaded for bear. Numerous sorties went in on the convoy, and by daylight, most of the trucks and escort vehicles were smoldering wrecks, victims of AGM-65s, various types of CBUs, Brimstone missiles from RAF Tornados, and laser-guided bombs.

While the convoy was being smacked, a single solitary radar contact was detected coming out of the Shatt al-Arab waterway at 0210 by both E-2C and by AEGIS. Both of Chandler's SH-60s were down for maintenance, but Mustin launched her alert helo, armed with Hellfire, and the Aussies on Ballarat sent their SH-2G(A) out with AGM-65, at 0215. The unknown target continued to close, and Mustin's helo got FLIR on the target, identifying it as a T-43 minelayer. Both helos quickly gained weapons lock, and fired at 0220, just as Ballarat launched a Harpoon missile. This time, the Hellfires and Maverick slammed into the T-43, ripping it in half, and then the Harpoon found the bow half of the hapless ship, blowing it to pieces. The shattered stern of the T-43 remained afloat, and Chandler did close in at 0515, with one of her helos now up and aloft, to look for survivors. A raft with two Iraqi sailors was found and picked up, and a half-dozen more Iraqis was seen on the stern, waving white flags. A party from the destroyer went to collect the Iraqis, who were eager to surrender, and after the boarding party returned with its prisoners, the stern half of the T-43 was sunk by 5-inch gunfire at 0630. While being questioned, the Iraqis told the Americans that a minelaying mission was planned for the following evening, but that no field would be laid. Instead, mines would simply set adrift, and it was hoped that a passing ship would not notice the mine until it was too late. Unfortunately, the maps, charts, and other data that would indicate where the mines would be dropped off was lost with the T-43's bow, but RADM Freeman would have additional SUCAP the following night to see if the minelaying mission would go off.

The aircrews not on the night schedule were awakened at 0430 the morning of 1 May. After breakfast, they filed into their ready rooms, and another day of strikes was on the table. The morning intelligence update noted that the battle line in Kuwait had hardly moved in the past 24 hours, and although the Iraqis were busy with probing attacks and maintaining a close presence on Allied ground forces, no major moves had been noticed. CDR Rendino began to speculate that all the interdiction of LOCs and supply had had a major impact, but she also noted that the Iraqis would try and build up again for a major push, and that “Saddam won't have it any other way.” She was right.

The first morning package launched at 0600, and another busy day over Kuwait and Iraq was underway.

Some would call 1 May “Saddam's Charge” after Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, and the analogy was correct. The Iraqi Southern Theater Command would send elements from the II Guards Corps and V Corps on one final attack, knowing that if this one failed, the Allied interdiction of their supply lines would prevent any more buildup of supplies and replacements, and the Iraqis would be in for another stalemate, similar to that of the Iran-Iraq War. Saddam's Defense Minister was another of the doubters, but when Saddam demanded another offensive, the man kept his mouth shut, since he did want to continue breathing. But at the Defense Ministry, General Tariq al-Hosseni told the General Staff his fears, and told them to “Plan to win, but if we don't win, plan to defend. Those are the only possible outcomes.”

That morning was a good one from CENTCOM's viewpoint, as additional USAF and USMC elements began to arrive in-theater, and the entire 40th ID (M) was now operational and in place. The convoys carrying additional U.S., British, and ANZAC reinforcements were on the way, and the U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68) battle group was en route to Aden, to finish off what remained of the SOVIORON before moving to the Gulf itself and backing up Kitty Hawk. There were still two wild cards who had yet to make their presence felt: Iran and Saudi Arabia. While the Saudis had begun to participate more fully in the air campaign, the Saudi Army had not moved on the ground, although Saudi forces had prevented any Iraqi thoughts of moving down the Wadi al-Batin and outflanking Kuwait. The Saudis seemed to be waiting on who won in the ground battle in Kuwait before jumping in. The Iranians were a different story, as indications began arriving at CENTCOM HQ at Al-Udaid AB in Qatar that the Iranians did intend on joining the Allies, but given their poor road infrastructure, it was taking time to deploy the Iranian Army's four Armored and three Mechanized Divisions into Khuzistan, and get their logistics in place. But CENTCOM J-2 pointed out that all of the indicators for an Iranian attack were there, but that they did not have the means to attack. Yet.

And yet, as dawn broke over the Gulf, CVW-5 picked up their flight schedule and began sending aircraft over the beach, in what promised to be a busy day.

The first package at 0600 was four A-6Fs from VA-115 and four Golden Dragons Hornets, with the usual EA-6B in support, and four Black Knight F-14Ds riding shotgun. CDR Colleen “China B” McMurphy,the new Dragons CO, led the package, headed for the Safwan area, where a UAV had spotted Iraqi armor massing. LCDR Matt Wiser led the four Intruders, armed with both AGM-65s and Rockeye CBUs, for the expected tank-hunting package. As the strikers came in on the area, they spotted what looked like a whole armored division on the move, and they were right. The RGFC's 6th Armored Division was on the move, intending to pass through the lines of the 4th Motorized Division and press south to Al-Salem AB. While depleted, the RGFC air defense people were still willing to shoot, and everyone's threat receivers lit up as SA-6s and ZSU-23-4s came on.

While the Prowler began jamming the radars, CDR McMurphy led her F/A-18Es down on the SAM sites, putting HARMs in the air. Two SA-6s went off the air as a result of AGM-88Cs smacking their radar tracks, and Rockeye CBUs put the launchers and support vehicles out of business for good. While the ZSU-23-4s were dangerous, two Hornets began sending AGM-65s against the Shillkas, and four of the guns ate Mavericks.

With the flak and SAMs suppressed, the Intruders came down on the armor of the 22nd RGFC Armored Brigade. LCDR Wiser told the crews “One Rockeye pass only, then a Maverick shoot, then we're gone.” Ignoring sporadic 23-mm and even heavy machine guns from T-72s, the Eagle Intruders put their Rockeyes on target, and were rewarded with a number of T-72s and BMPs exploding in oily fireballs.
Coming around, all four Intruders each took their Maverick shots, with seven of eight launched finding targets. All aircraft came off target, and the package reformed to return to CV-63 at 0730.

Another package that morning also ran into the RGFC armor as it pushed south, to run into not only the Kuwaiti 6th Cavalry Brigade, but also the British. FACs began calling for air support as the 6th Armored Division crashed into the Kuwaits and the British, and one of the first packages to respond was one built around VA-185 and VFA-195. CDR Ken Yoshida, 185's XO, led this package, originally headed towards al-Zubayr, but they diverted south to take on the armor, as the Iraqis crashed into the Allied line. CVW-5's people arrived just as two USAF packages were coming on scene, and nobody wanted a midair, so the Knighthawks and Dambusters just waited their turn as the blue-suiters in their F-16s and A-10s went to work. As the AF was busy smacking elements of the 23rd RGFC Mech Brigade, a British FAC came on the radio and asked if the Navy could help out the British. CDR Yoshida responded in the affirmative, and the FAC directed the Intruders and Hornets down on a brigade-sized force starting to move against the British. CDR Yoshida asked if the British could call down some artillery on the Iraqi air defense vehicles, and the 1st Royal Irish Regiment battle group happily obliged, and some of the British tankers also took shots at ZSU-23s and SA-13s as they appeared.

With the heavy air defense threat neutralized, both Knighthawks and Dambusters came down on the Iraqi armor. The A-6s each dumped a dozen Rockeyes on the T-72s and BMPs of the 6th RGFC Division's 21st Armored Brigade, and the Dambuster Hornets put additional CBUs on the mass of armor. The Navy planes came around for their AGM-65 shots, with the Hornets waiting for any SAMs to come up for HARM shots. The A-6s shot their Mavericks onto the 21st Brigade's SO-122 artillery battalion, killing four of the SP howitzers, a pair of command tracks, and a pair of ammo trucks, before pulling off and away. A bonus came on the way out, as Knighthawk 540 (LTJG Darlene Wilson/LCDR Trina Regan) encountered an Mi-24 as it was responding to the Iraqis' call for air support. Wilson shot an AIM-9R into the Hind, and both she and her B/N were rewarded with the sight of the Sidewinder blowing the main rotor head off the helo, and the Hind dropped like a rock to the desert floor and exploded. Then the Hornets spotted additional Hinds coming in, and the Dambusters' LCDR Kathy Evison led the Hornets down onto the Hinds like ducks on a pond. Four Hinds fell to either AIM-9X or 20-mm fire, and LCDR Evision also ran into a Gazelle that seemed to be acting as an airborne FAC, and her 20-mm fire blew the helo apart. The Iraqi attack spluttered to a halt, and the package reformed and returned to CV-63 at 1100.

Further to the West, the Iraqi V Corps sent the 12th Armored and 51st Mechanized Divisions against Al-Salem AB. They ran into the same defenses that had frustrated the 3rd and 6th ADs two days earlier, and more, for the entire 40th ID (M) had moved into place, backing up the Kuwaiti 35th Armored Brigade. Not only was the full division in place, but the 40th Aviation Brigade had arrived, and set up shop just east of the air base, out of range of Iraqi artillery fire. This meant that the 40th ID's Apache battalion, the 1-211 Aviation (ATK) (UT NG), was now available, and the Apache crews from Salt Lake City were ready for their first combat missions of the war. Unfortunately for the Iraqis, neither their own, or Soviet, intelligence picked up the arrival of the remaining 40th ID elements, and the appearance of fresh AH-64s came as a rude surprise.

As the Iraqis impaled themselves against the 40th and the Kuwaitis, the defenders made their first air support requests, and there were plenty of aircraft that responded, with USAF, USMC, Navy, Kuwaiti, RAF, and RSAF aircraft answering the requests of the FACs. Aircraft were stacked up between 5,000 and 25,000 feet, waiting their turn to go in.

CVW-5 had a package airborne when the call came in, and VA-115 Skipper CDR John Compton led four Intruders and four Dambusters Hornets to the party. They were waiting at 8,000 feet, and watched as F-15Es, then RSAF Tornados, and then USMC Hornets, tore into the attackers on the ground, and then it was their turn. The Navy package came down on a brigade from the 51st Mech Division that was approaching the boundary between the 40th ID and the Kuwaitis, and both the A-6s and Hornets tore into the Iraqis. The Dambusters shot Mavericks into the ZSU-23s and SA-9s, while the Intruders blasted the brigade's artillery battalion and their SO-122s on the first pass with Rockeyes. The second pass brought HARMs down on an SA-6 battery that came up, and while the Hornets dealt with the SAM threat, Mavericks from the A-6s ripped into T-62s of the brigade's tank battalion. As the Intruders pulled up and away, they noticed two aircraft coming in from the north. CDR Compton asked the FAC if anyone was coming in from that direction, and got a negative reply, and just then, he recognized the aircraft as Su-25s. No sooner had he made the bandit call did CDR Runyan, the Dambusters' CO, spotted the bandits and led his Hornets in on the Frogfoots. The Dambusters' Skipper shot his AIM-120 at 6 miles, and watched with satisfaction as the Slammer flew up the right intake of the Su-25 and exploded the bandit in a fireball. His wingman, LT Christine Langtry, shot her Slammer against her Iraqi counterpart at 7 miles, and to her surprise, it missed, but her second shot, fired as the Iraqi turned to run, connected, and the Su-25 spiraled down to the desert floor. As the package reformed to return to the carrier, they heard a call on the radio that nobody thought had been heard since Vietnam: “Arc Light.” The VA-115 and VFA-195 aviators looked up, and noticed the contrails above, and the thin fuselages and swept wings. B-52Js from Diego Garcia were on scene, and everyone in the air and (at least on the Allied side) on the ground, watched as a half-dozen Buffs rained down 500-lb and 750-lb bombs on the Iraqi 12th AD. The B-52s smashed a brigade from the 12th AD, and a quick counterattack from the 40th ID finished it as a unit. Stunned by the appearance of the B-52s, the Iraqis held in place.

As afternoon came, two more packages went into Southern Iraq from CVW-5.
The first package was a strike against the Basra Thermal Power Plant, led by VA-185 Skipper CDR Amanda Lowry. Four Knighthawk Intruders and four Dragon Hornets, with the usual Prowler in support, and four Freelancer Tomcats riding shotgun, launched at 1430. Ingress was uneventful, as the strikers flew up the Shatt al-Arab waterway, they noticed that the fires in the Umm Qasr fuel dump were now out. Basra's SAM defenses were two SA-2 and two SA-3 sites (the only SA-5 site had been killed the night of the H-2 mission by cruise missiles), but there was an abundance of 57-mm and 100-mm AAA, and the Dragon Hornets on IRON HAND would be busy.

The package went in on target at 1530, and both SAM and AAA radars lit up. LT Brad Whitefield led the Dragons down on the SAM sites, while the VAQ-136 Prowler put its two HARMs in the air on the SA-3s. Both SA-3s never got a chance to fire, as the HARMs put the radars out of business, and a pair of Dragon Hornets each put a pair of Rockeyes on both batteries to put them out of business. The SA-2s did launch, but both shots never connected, as HARMs from Whitefield's Hornet put the Fan Song radars at both sites out of commission.

As IRON HAND did their work, the Knighthawks went down on the power plant. Each A-6 packed two GBU-24 LGBs, and as the strike birds came down on the target, heavy 57-mm and 100-mm AAA came up to greet them, along with several MANPADS. Skipper Lowry and LT Verell in 531 rolled in from 15,000 feet, and released their bombs at 11,000, putting their GBU-24s into the generator hall of the plant. Their wingmates in 535, LTs Paul Mason and Melissa Daniels, came in from a different direction, and planted both of their bombs onto the plant's switching station. Both in the Skipper's element came off target undamaged, but the next element wasn't so lucky.

The Knighthawks' CAG bird, 530, was flown this afternoon by LTs Richard Shoemaker and Torie Nichols, and they ran into a storm of AAA. Coming down from 15,000 feet, they released their bombs at 10,000, but as they pulled up, were bracketed by both 57-mm and 100-mm AAA. A shell exploded below their aircraft, and both the starboard engine and the belly tank were ripped open like a sieve. As 542 (LTJG Scott Tanner/LT Bryan Kilpatrick) came in and off target, they noticed 530 was in “real bad shape.” Shoemaker and Nichols wanted no part of Saddam's hospitality in Baghdad, and they knew they wouldn't make it to the Gulf and the SAR station. Their only alternative was to make it over the Iranian border and then punch out, but no information had been briefed to any aircrew as to what the Iranian reaction would be to downed aircrew landing in Iran. Turning the A-6s over to Mason and Daniels, Skipper Lowry escorted 530 towards the Iranian border, with Freelancer 206 and 209 riding shotgun, while the rest of the package headed back to the carrier. 530 came up on GUARD, signaling their intention to eject once they were safely across the border, and they soon noticed two Iranian AF F-5Es coming to look them over, but still on the Iranian side of the fence. Just as the crippled A-6 made it across the border, the fire warning light came on in the cockpit, and both crew members knew it was time to get out. They punched out successfully from 7,000 feet, and landed safely in Iran. The Iranians came up on GUARD to inform CDR Lowry that Iranian forces would respond to the ejection, and that “further information would follow.” With nothing more that they could do, Skipper Lowry and the two F-14s turned and made their way back to the ship.

It would be 24 hours later, but both Shoemaker and Nichols returned to the ship, and they had quite a story to tell. As they descended in their chutes, they noticed a number of soldiers converging on them, and both feared they had miscalculated their position and were still in Iraq. After they landed, though, an officer shouted in English that they were now in Iran, and had nothing to worry about. LT Shoemaker had sprained his ankle on landing, and the Iranians who found them quickly got a medic. Noticing the jump wings on the Iranians' uniforms, both aviators surmised the Iranians were from the 55th Airborne Brigade, and they were right. The Iranians were amazed to see a redheaded female take off a flight helmet, but they didn't react in the way the old IRGC might have done. Both were taken to the Brigade HQ, and after answering a few brief questions, were hustled right into the officer's mess for dinner. After the Brigade CO radioed for instructions, an Iranian AF Bell 214 arrived to pick up the two aviators, and they were flown to Vahdati AB near Dezful, and put up for the night in the base VIP quarters. The next morning, the two A-6 crewers had breakfast in the officer's mess for the Iranian AF's 41st TFW, and conversation with the Iranians was largely unrestrained. About the only thing the Iranians were disappointed with was that they weren't hosting a BAGHDAD THUNDER crew, as many of the Iranian pilots had seen footage of the raid on CNN or Sky News. After a medical check, the Iranians told the VA-185 aviators that they would be picked up later in the day, and after lunch, one of the C-2s from VRC-50 arrived to pick them up and take the two lost sheep back to the carrier. After a State Department official from the Embassy in Bahrain (who had come to handle any paperwork) took care of the bureaucratic necessities, both aviators were soon airborne, and at 1600 on 2 May, arrived back on CV-63, and were back on the schedule the next day.

While 530's crew was enjoying Iranian hospitality, the final package for the day launched at 1700. VA-115 and VFA-195 went to An Nasiriya and the NW bridge over the Saddam Canal. The Iraqis had been sending supply traffic through the city over this bridge and the Victory Bridge in the city center, and it was time for the NW bridge to come down. LCDR Matt Wiser led the package, and for him, this strike had some unfinished business. It was at An Nasiriya that his girlfriend and future fiancée', LCDR Lisa Eichhorn, had been shot down and captured, and he never forgot that for a moment. When briefed on the mission, he was reminded by CDR Compton that it would be bad form to join his girlfriend in Baghdad, and LCDR Wiser replied that he had no such plans. The strike would be a mini package, with just two Intruders, four Hornets, and two Tomcats, with the usual Prowler rounding things out.

The package arrived in the Nasiriya area at 1755, and some of the Army and RGFC air defense sites came up. LCDR Kathy Evision's Hornets went down on the SA-8s and 57-mm sites to shut them down, and while two SA-8s did launch, HARMs shut them down almost immediately, and Rockeyes took care of the AAA. As the flak suppressors did their work, AWACS came on with a MiG call out of Tallil AB.

Two Mirage F-1s from the 102nd FS at Tallil came up to intercept, and LTs Paula Mobley and Kara Wade in Blackknight 111 led 112 (LTJGs Patrick O'Gara and Darrel Simmons) against the bandits. Too close for Phoenix, Mobley selected AIM-120, and took her first shot at 16 miles, just as the Mirages turned head-on at the Tomcats. The Mirage driver realized he had been fired on, and tried to break, but the Slammer ate up the distance, and the Mirage exploded in a fireball. O'Gara in 112 locked up the other Mirage at 17 miles, and shot right after lock-on. The Slammer missed, but the second shot at 12 miles didn't, as the Slammer blew the tail off the Mirage, and the pilot ejected. This fight meant that the two all-female ace teams in VF-154 were now tied with 12 kills apiece, something else for the media hounds to chew on back on the ship. And chew on it they did.

While the bandits were being disposed of, LCDR Wiser led his wingmates in 509, Rivers and Fisher, down on the NW Saddam Canal Bridge. While his B/N, LT Porter, designated the target, the Eagles XO put his two GBU-24s down on the northern span of the bridge, dropping it into the canal from 11,000 feet. On pullout, an unguided SA-8 gave 505's crew some anxious moments, as the SAM flew right past the port side without exploding. Then 509's crew went in on their run, and their bombs blasted the southern span of the bridge, putting it into the canal. Outlaw 509 joined up with the XO in 505, and the package promptly reformed and headed back to the carrier, coming in at 1905, the last package on the schedule for the day to return to CV-63.

While the Nasiriya package had been away, a C-2 had gone to Bahrain on a COD run, and had returned not only with mail, but with replacement aircrews for the squadrons. Apparently NAVAIRPAC had decided that replacement aircrew were needed in CVW-5, and all four squadrons that had lost people had those losses replaced. For VA-115, a new crew fresh from training at VA-128 arrived, as did LCDR Tony Carpenter, who became the new Ops Officer for the Eagles, freeing up LCDR Wiser from his dual role as XO and Ops Officer. VA-185 also got a replacement crew, again from VA-128, and the two VFA squadrons welcomed aboard replacement pilots fresh from VFA-122 at NAS Lemoore. Attrition replacement aircraft would arrive on 5 May, bringing CVW-5's VA and VFA squadrons back to full strength in aircraft as well.

During the night, RADM Freeman reminded the ships on the SAR station to watch for the expected minelaying sortie, and he had CAG Seavey beef up the SUCAP with Intruders and Vikings to watch for any signs of the operation. Sure enough, just after midnight, two surface contacts came out of the Shatt al-Arab and made their way into the area where the T-43 had been sunk the previous night. Redtail 704 spotted the contacts, and Outlaw 512 (LTJG Dave Kennedy/LT Nathan West) went down to ID the targets. On FLIR, they spotted another T-43, along with a small coastal freighter, but this freighter was laden with deck cargo, and the cargo happened to be contact mines. Some 23-mm AAA and SA-14s came up to the A-6, but the Intruder easily evaded the enemy fire. While the aircraft went in, the ships on the SAR station went to General Quarters, and their alert helos began spooling up. The antisurface warfare commander in Mustin CIC declared the contacts hostile, but before the helos could launch, the A-6 crew settled the issue.

The crew of 512 locked their laser designator on the coaster, and put an AGM-123 in the air, headed for the freighter. The freighter-turned minelayer's crew apparently thought they'd driven off the A-6, and they never saw the Skipper-II as it came in and planted itself in the nest of mines on the top deck. The resulting explosion was seen for miles, not only on shore in Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait, but the topside lookouts on the SAR station's destroyers and frigate easily saw it as well. As the fireball settled, and the debris finished splashing into the Gulf, Redtail 704 turned its attention to the T-43, launching an AGM-65 at the Iraqi vessel. The T-43's crew never saw what hit them, as the Maverick blew the bridge apart. Outlaw 512 then rolled in on the disabled T-43, planting a GBU-12 amidships, and the T-43 blew in half and sank almost at once. The helos from Mustin, Chandler, and Ballarat arrived on scene to search for survivors, but found none. Both SUCAP birds returned to CV-63 at 0045, after their relief had arrived on station.

While SUCAP continued, aircrew were wakened at 0400 as usual, and after breakfast, the crews reported to their ready rooms, The ATO was a full one, and after the initial briefs, the first aircraft were on the cats and away at 0600. But this day would be different, as the feeling was that the Iraqis had passed their high tide, and while the Allies were not yet ready to mount offensive operations generally, there would be some local attacks to straighten the line, and generally make the Iraqis' lives as miserable as possible, as 2 May dawned over the Gulf.

Offensive action actually began early on the morning of 2 May, before CVW-5 or the Marines began to launch, when the Kuwaiti 35th Armored Brigade mounted two battalion-sized attacks to erase a pair of small bulges in their lines, held by elements of the Iraqi 51st Mechanized Division. The Iraqis expected any attack to be preceded by air and artillery support, and were rudely awakened at 0430 by the sound of Kuwaiti M-1A2 tanks and Desert Warrior IFVs charging their positions. The American-trained, and now battle-tested, Kuwaitis quickly identified their targets and opened fire before the Iraqis had a chance to really react. Both U.S. Army and Kuwaiti AF AH-64s provided on-call support to the attackers, and a pair of Kuwaiti Apaches encountered a company-sized force of armor and APCs moving to counterattack. Hellfire missiles and 2.75-inch rockets tore into the Iraqis, and both T-62s and BMP-1s began to blow apart. A final gun pass by both helos shredded a few last BMPs and the counterattack wilted before it had been even engaged by the approaching armor. By the time 0600 came around, and the first Navy and Marine aircraft began to launch and form up, what had been a local counterattack became a pitched battle, as the Kuwaitis sent a battalion from their Royal Guard brigade, the 3rd Brigade, 40th ID (M) sent its battalion reserve, and the Iraqis sent reinforcements to shore up the 51st Mechanized Division.

The first CVW-5 strike package launched at 0600, and CDR John Compton led four Eagle Intruders, four Hornets from the Dambusters, along with two Freelancer Tomcats and the usual EA-6B in support. A New Zealand SAS trooper acting as a FAC called the package down on some Iraqi positions in front of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Armored Brigade. Each Intruder had a dozen Mark-20 Rockeyes and two AGM-65s, while the Hornets each packed a pair of Mavericks and a dozen Mark-82s. Flak was light, but a pair of offending ZSU-23-4s were quickly taken out by CDR Compton in Outlaw 501, while a pair of SA-9s were similarly disposed of by Kennedy and West in 512, before everyone rolled in on the target area. Most of the targets were armored vehicles, but two Hornets spotted a battery of SO-122 SP Howitzers that were firing, and both put their Mavericks into the guns, killing four, and then followed up with a full blast of Mark-82s, killing several more howitzers and a number of ammo trucks. CDR Compton led the Intruders down on some armor and dug-in infantry, showering the Iraqis with Mark-20s in the process, killing several tanks and APCs, and reminding the surviving Iraqis that MLRS rocket launchers weren't the only ones who could deliver “Steel Rain.” As it turned out, the attack went in on the 51st Division's Special Forces battalion and independent tank battalion, both of which were moving in to counter the Allied attack and shore up the 51st Division's 38th Mechanized Brigade. One thing was noticed as both CDR Compton in 501 and LCDR Cole and LTJG Greer in the CAG bird, 500, was that the armor they had been attacking had been positioned to fire not on the approaching Kuwaiti and American armor, but was likely aimed at the defenders themselves. The other two Hornets, in the meantime, had found what looked like a command post, and rained Mark-82s down on the collection of command vehicles and tents, ripping command tracks, tents, and personnel apart. The Hornet drivers noted the position and called it in, and a pair of Marine Intruders came in with Rockeyes to finish the job. This package returned to CV-63 at 0750, and given increasing activity all along the line, would get a quick turnaround.

Another package at 0730 had the Knighthawks' skipper, CDR Amanda Lowry, take four of her Intruders and four Golden Dragons Hornets to the same area, west of Ali al-Salim AB. One of the Hornet drivers said later that they didn't really need radio directions as they approached the target area, because aircraft were stacked up to 20,000 feet waiting to go in, and a USAF FAC in an OA-10 simply told the Navy crews to “Get in line at 21,000 and wait your turn.” USAF, RAF, RSAF,
Kuwaiti AF, and Bahraini AF aircraft were in the pattern, waiting for the FACs to call them in on targets. They were held up at 6,000 feet, just behind a half-dozen RSAF Tornados, when the now-familiar call “Arc Light” came over the radio. This time it wasn't B-52s, but B-1Bs, as four Bones came in over the target area and rained Mark-82s down on the hapless 38th Brigade. The Tornados followed the B-1s, and then it was the Navy's time to go to work.

CDR Lowry in 531 led the Intruders down on some Iraqi defense positions in front of the 40th ID's 1-221 Armor, which was working the Kuwait left flank. The A-6s each packed four GBU-16s, and laser bombs began taking out bunkers, dug-in tanks, and mortar pits. As the A-6s pulled off target, the Dragons' Hornets, led by their new XO, LCDR Paul Lazier, came in with Rockeyes against some SO-122s they had spotted just west of the A-6 targets. While most of the SP howitzers survived, their ammo trucks and battery command tracks did not, and numerous secondary explosions followed when the ammo trucks went up. LCDR Lazier reported on the surviving howitzers, and the AF FAC called down two A-10s to take over servicing the targets. Again, this package headed back to the carrier, and got ready to go back out as soon as the ordies and purple shirts (fuelers) got done.

As the Kuwaitis moved forward, X Corps at Camp Doha warned the 35th not to press too far, as the RGFC's 6th Armored Division was just to their north, and would view an open flank as an opportunity. The Kuwaitis saw the potential threat, and after moving forward about five miles, halted at 1000 and began to consolidate their position and do some mopping up. The 38th Mechanized Brigade had been virtually wiped out, though while the Brigade's HQ and support elements had not been engaged on the ground, the one armored and two mechanized battalions, along with most of the brigade's air defense and artillery, had been shattered. As the Kuwaitis and the 1-221 Armor began collecting prisoners, a patrol from the 35th found the wreck of an American F/A-18. A USAF EOD team was called in to check for any unexploded ordnance, and finding none, the AF team and some Kuwaiti soldiers began searching the area. They found a half-buried ejection seat in a sand dune, and they began digging. Soon, they found the body of CDR Phil Hutton, the Golden Dragons' Skipper who had been listed as MIA. Word was flashed up the line back to Kitty Hawk, and the Dragons began to prepare for yet another memorial service, as CDR Hutton's body was prepped for the final trip Stateside.

While that sad task was underway, there was activity also in northern Kuwait, as both the Kuwaiti 6th Armored Cavalry Brigade and the British mounted a similar attack against the RGFC's 4th Mechanized Division, which had a couple of similar bulges into the Allied line. CVW-5 sent its first package into the area at 0850, with the Eagles XO, LCDR Wiser, leading four A-6s, four Dambuster Hornets, along with a VAQ-136 Prowler, and two Tomcats from VF-154 riding shotgun. The Tomcats were led by the redoubtable team of LTs Jacqui Patterson and Debbie Bradley, and they were out for blood. Before the launch, CVW-5's Intelligence Officer had come to the duo and told them that, based on credible intelligence, the Iraqis had put out a bounty for their live capture. When asked how much, the intel officer replied “$50,000. Each.” To which they replied, “Screw that, let's make it a half-million before we're done.” And then the pair headed out to their aircraft. While they wouldn't go trolling for MiGs, both vowed that anyone who came looking for them would get a hot reception.

The package went in on the target area at 0945, and the sky was relatively clear, for most air activity was to the south and west, near Al-Salim AB. The Iraqis in this area were also not expecting an attack, as the RGFC's II Guards Corps expected the Allies to finish smashing up the Army before diverting attention to the north. This time, there was SAM activity, as an SA-6 came up, and the alert crew in Gauntlet 622 put a HARM right back down on the offender, and a pair of Dambuster Hornets went in with Rockeyes to finish the battery off. On pullout, Dambuster 402, flown this day by LT Kevin Conway, took a SA-16 in the tailfeathers, and he and his wingmate in 412 had to pull away and return to the carrier. As those two Hornets headed back to the carrier, Buckeye, the AWACS, came up with a bandit call, and both Blackknight 107 and 110 headed in to intercept.

This time, the bandits were two L-39 trainers, being utilized in their secondary role of ground attack, as the RGFC 4th Mechanized Division had put in several air-support requests. Two Su-22s from the 5th FS came in along with the L-39s, and both Tomcats went to work. Patterson and Bradley took Phoenix shots at 30 miles, blowing the tail off one of the Fitters and sending it down, while their second shot obliterated the lead L-39. Conway and Freeman in 110 took their shots at 33 miles, killing the second Fitter, but the remaining L-39 turned and headed back to Tallil AB. Buckeye then reported “Negative threat” and both Tomcats began to orbit while the rest of the strike went in.

While the Tomcats were at work, LCDR Wiser led the Intruders and remaining Hornets down on the Iraqi defenders, with the two Hornets shooting AGM-65s at ZSU-23-4s and SA-13s that had been spotted, killing them in oily fireballs. The Intruders each had a pair of GBU-16s and a pair of Mavericks, and picked out a number of T-72s as their targets, as a phrase that had been used back in 1991, “tank plinking” came back. The four Intruders not only killed a dozen tanks before the Kuwaitis and British arrived, but put a pair of laser bombs on what looked like a battalion-level CP, blowing it apart. After the Intruders had finished, the two Hornets then came in with Rockeyes against the CP, tearing up a number of soft-skinned vehicles, and finishing the job on that target. As the package reformed to return to the carrier, they noticed British and Kuwait armor approaching the area that had just been serviced, with a flight of A-10s coming into the area. This package returned to CV-63 at 1030, and like the others, began to turnaround as fast as possible.

The Kuwaitis and British had expected a hornet's nest, and they did get one. The 43rd Mechanized Brigade, though not expecting an attack, did respond quickly, and air assets began heading north to respond to both Kuwaiti and British air-support requests. As things wound down near Al-Salim AB, several packages already in the air diverted to Northern Kuwait to give the Kuwaitis and Brits a hand. The Kuwaiti 63rd Cavalry Squadron ran into a mech battalion that had been reinforced with T-72s, and a vicious fight quickly developed. A Marine ANGLICO team with the 63rd began calling down aircraft and attack helicopters, and it was the same as the morning, with planes stacked up as high as 20,000 feet, waiting their turn to go down on the targets. The main job was to interdict any Iraqi reinforcements, and BAI became the main job of the day, leaving CAS to A-10s and the helos. The Arc Light call was heard over Northern Kuwait for the first time that day, as a six-aircraft cell of B-52s from Diego Garcia, originally tasked to the Al-Salim AB area, diverted north, and laid down their bomb patterns on the RGFC's 44th Brigade, which had been spotted moving to support the 43rd. The 44th was battered, and forced to halt and regroup.

By 1400, the fight in this area of Kuwait began to die down, as the Kuwaitis and British erased the two bulges in their line occupied by the 43rd Brigade. In fact, the 43rd RGFC Brigade had been nearly wiped out, but unlike the regular Army soldiers to the south, the RGFC showed the same determination they had shown back in 1991, where many of them had not only fought, but fought to the death, against the Americans and British. It was no different here, as one Kuwaiti officer remarked to one of his unit's American advisers, “They kept coming, even when tanks were damaged, or an APC was disabled. The disabled tanks would continue to fire, while the infantry would charge ahead of their damaged APC. If they couldn't charge, they stayed in place. And they died there. They must be more afraid of us than of Saddam.” The American responded, “They're not afraid of him, but they want to show their loyalty. Here that means fighting, and if need be, dying, for Saddam.”

CVW-5 had sent regular packages throughout the day against both areas, and the squadron COs were informing CAG that a stand-down was necessary. Two more packages were in the offering before 1800, and CAG managed to get on the horn with COMCENTAF, and got his approval for a stand-down, as not only would the aircraft need maintenance and crews need rest, but an UNREP was due. As a result, CVW-5 would be left off the ATO until 0600 on 4 May.

There were two afternoon strikes directed against targets in southern Iraq, and CDR Lowry led one package to a military compound west of Basra, with four Intruders, four Dragon Hornets, and two Freelancer Tomcats, with a Gauntlet Prowler in support. The package launched at 1430, and as they flew up the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, they noticed the Basra SAMs were still off the air. The Hornets went ahead, looking for any SAM or AAA activity. There was none of the former, but several radar-guided 57-mm and 100-mm batteries did open up, and HARMs went back down, killing several of the radars, and Rockeyes splattered around the guns, but sporadic fire did continue as the Intruders rolled in on their target.

Skipper Lowry led the A-6s in against the compound, and the crews noted that the flak was still coming, but that SA-14s and -16s were coming up. The Skipper was first down the chute, and she put her GBU-24 laser bombs down on a large building with a number of antennae sticking up. As she pulled out, LT Dana Verell, her B/N, let out a yell as the bombs smashed into the building, and a large fireball erupted from the impact. The other A-6s picked out their targets, and 540's crew, Wilson and Regan, found an ammo bunker for their bombs, and a huge fireball and smoke cloud rose up, and the A-6 was rocked by the shock wave. The Iraqis had stored a large number of bombs for use by aircraft at nearby Shoibah AB, and the resulting cloud rose past 15,000 feet. One Soviet advisor serving with a nearby SA-8 battalion that chose not to engage, said later that “Not a single window was left intact in Zubayr, and many, not seeing the cloud, thought it was an earthquake.” The other two A-6s found targets, one putting its bombs into a communications antenna farm, while the other Intruder picked out a vehicle maintenance shed, blasting it apart. The Russian tried to get a nearby battery CO to power up his SA-8s and engage the aircraft, but the Iraqi, seeing a nearby 57-mm battery that had been hit by a HARM and Rockeyes, flatly refused. Meanwhile, Skipper Lowry reformed the package, and she led them back to the carrier, with recovery at 1615.
CVW-5's final package went to the Basra rail yard, where the Iraqis were still sending supplies by rail down from the Baghdad area, where they were unloaded and sent south by truck. CDR Collen McMurphy, the Golden Dragons' new CO, led this package to Basra, with four of her Hornets, four Eagle Intruders led by LCDR Wiser, a VAQ-136 Prowler, and two Tomcats from VF-154, led by LTs Mobley and Wade. They too, had been told that the Iraqis had issued a bounty on them, and were rather contemptuous of it, saying “Only $50,000? We're worth more than that.” CDR McMurphy reminded everyone in the brief, “No unnecessary risks. One pass and that's it.” With that, the package launched at 1630, the last major launch of the day.

The trip up was uneventful, and only at 1720, when the package arrived in the target area, did AAA come up. CDR McMurphy led her Hornets down on the 57-mm and 100-mm sites, putting CBUs down on them and clearing the way for the Intruders. These had been the same guns that had helped shoot down Knighthawk 530 the previous day in the strike on the Thermal Power Plant, and this time, the gunners didn't score. The way was soon clear for the A-6s, as the Hornets took up a TARCAP and waited to see if any radar-guided SAMs came up for their HARMs.

LCDR Wiser in Outlaw 505 led his A-6s on the target, and his aimpoint was the switching station. LT Lucy Porter, his B/N, laid their GBU-10s right onto the switching station, leaving “only a crater and toothpicks” as they pulled out and away. While the Eagles XO pulled out, his wingmates in 509, LTs Rivers and Fisher, walked ten Mark-83 1,000-lb bombs across a train, and were rewarded with a number of secondary explosions as they pulled out. The other two A-6s, Morris and Carroll in 507, with Cooper and Mathews in 510, went after not only a train, but several of 510's bombs ripped apart a maintenance barn as well. All aircraft noted “multiple secondaries” as they pulled out and away, heading out via the Shatt al-Arab back to the Gulf and the carrier. Unlike the previous package, there was no air interference, though as the strikers headed back south, Buckeye did come up with a call of bandits outbound from Shoiabah. The MiGs did not commit however, and neither did the Tomcats or Hornets. The MiG-23s simply flew around aimlessly before returning to base. When the package debriefed, the strikers found out that the Prowler crew had picked up the MiGs' radars, and with no radar SAMs or AAA around, gave the MiG radars their undivided attention, jamming them. The Basra package reformed over the Gulf, and after overflying the North SAR station, landed back on Kitty Hawk at 1830, the final strike mission of the day.

The ships on the SAR station had had a relatively uneventful day, keeping track of not only Iraqi and Allied aircraft, but watching the Iranians to the east. The Iranians' conduct was still that of a neutral, though the Iranians had started a convoy route from Bandar Khomeni south to Kharg Island and Bushehr, and not only were the ships given naval escort from Iranian Navy frigates, but the Iranian AF provided a CAP over each convoy. The Iranians pointed out that there were a number of third-country ships still going into and out of Iranian ports, along with their own merchant shipping, and thus needed protection. Appearances were deceiving, however, as there was far more southbound shipping than northbound, and it was apparent that the Iranians were clearing their part of the Gulf before getting ready to do something. “Something big,” as CDR Rendino, the TF-77 Intel Officer, pointed out.

The relative inactivity came to an end around 2200, as AEGIS on Mustin and Fitzgerald noted a single contact, low and slow, departing Safwan and heading out in their general direction. Aware that the Iraqis still had a few SA-321 Super Frelons available as anti-ship helicopters, the two destroyers, plus the Aussies on Ballarat, went to General Quarters and powered up their weapons. CAP, from VF-21, was vectored in, but the Tomcats only had intermittent contact on their own radars, but the E-2C and AEGIS had the bogey. This time, though, the CAP was left out, as Mustin gained a solution and fired two SM-2s. Both connected just after the EW operators reported signals consistent with AS-20 Kayak radars, and then the signals went off the air as the SM-2s connected with the target. Mustin's TAO claimed one “unidentified helo” shot down in the after-action report, and after the war, it was verified as one of four airworthy SA-321s remaining in the Iraqi AF. The Soviets had modified the helos to carry the AS-20, and had integrated the radar and Soviet missiles quite successfully. Though this was the first time the Super Frelons came out, it wasn't the last.

As the SAR Station was sorting out the helo encounter, CV-63 and her battle group set a course for a rendezvous with USS Camden (AOE-2), the battle group's AOE combat supply ship. An UNREP was on tap for the next day, as jet fuel, munitions, and other supplies fed not only the carrier, but her escorts as well. Aircrew, other than those on CAP or SUCAP, would get a well-deserved rest, and the maintenance crews would get caught up on the care and feeding of their birds. Squadron COs told their crews that unless they were on the CAP or SUCAP schedule, and had caught up on their other squadron duties, they had the day off. For most crews, it would be time spent in their racks, catching up on sleep. As far as CAG Seavey felt, “Everyone earned it and deserved it.” And nobody disagreed with him. The others who were happy with the stand-down were the embedded reporters, who were glad to have a chance to talk in more detail with some of the aircrew and ship's company, and several aircrew would have detailed interviews with reporters as the day went on.

The morning of 3 May dawned bright over the Gulf. Throughout the day, there would be low-intensity flight ops as CAP and SUCAP launched and recovered, and the MH-60s of HC-11 went to and fro on their VERTREP tasks. Still, for those on the CAP or SUCAP schedule, there would still be some excitement on what was technically a day off from the war.

As the clock hit 0630, U.S.S. Camden (AOE-2) came alongside Kitty Hawk and began RAS of the carrier's jet fuel tanks. At the same time, HMS Despatch also came alongside the AOE and topped off her jet fuel storage. It would be a three-hour evolution to transfer not only the jet fuel, but the munitions that were listed by CAG's supply officer as being in short supply, namely AIM-54Ds, AGM-65s, and GBU kits for laser-guided bombs. Dumb bombs and JDAMs were still plentiful, but the need for hits on opportunity targets meant that laser bombs and Mavericks were at the top of CAG's list.

While the RAS evolution was underway, CAP was on station just south of the North SAR Station, with the Freelancers of VF-21 on this particular rotation. The Freelancers were still short in the kill column behind VF-154, and they were hoping that the Iraqis would provide additional scoring chances this day. The initial CAP was lead by the team of LTs Rogers and Collins in Freelancer 206, while LTJG Grant and LCDR Baker in 210, and they were alerted to a pair of contacts inbound from the Basra area. When both contacts suddenly accelerated beyond Mach 1, it was obvious someone wanted to play, and both Tomcats were vectored by E-2C into the interception.

The Hawkeye passed the radar picture to both Tomcats, along with the ships on the SAR station, by datalink, and NCTR soon picked up MiG-25 IFF signals. As it turned out postwar, one of the MiG-25s was from the IrAF's 17th Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron, while the second Foxbat was an escort from the 96th Fighter Squadron. The recon Foxbat was headed for the ships on the SAR station, but he didn't get the chance to make his pass, as Rogers and Collins in 206 got Phoenix lock and fired at 65 miles, sending a single AIM-54D at both bandits. The missile aimed at the escort MiG missed, but the MiG-25RBT took a Phoenix hit and blew in half, just as the AAW Officer on Fitzgerald was about to declare “Weapons Free” and enable the ships to engage. The escort MiG turned into the F-14s, and blundered right into Grant and Baker in 210, who let loose with a single Phoenix at 42 miles, and the Phoenix easily ate up the distance and the MiG fireballed. The Aussies on Ballarat launched their SH-2G to search for any downed pilots, but came back empty-handed. Since the RAS evolution was still ongoing, both Tomcats refueled in the air from a USAF KC-135, and were the first to return to the carrier once the deck was declared Green at 1130.

While the AOE was busy shipping over fuel, the MH-60s of HC-11 were busy with their VERTREP tasks, hauling over additional munitions, spare parts, and other needed items to the carrier and to the other escorts. The SH-60s from HS-12 were fully capable of helping out, and with no sub-hunting in the Gulf, were glad to have additional flight time, besides the usual anti-surface and mine patrols, and some local SAR thrown in.

Once the deck of CV-63 was reopened at 1130, additional CAP was launched, with both Tomcats from VF-154 and Hornets from VFA-192 taking up CAP station and relieving the Freelancers, who made a beeline for the ship after over six hours in the air. SUCAP was also launched, with a pair of Eagle Intruders and a pair of Redtail S-3s heading out. Helo traffic continued, as not only was cargo being shuttled in from the Camden, but even the big MH-53Es from HM-15 were coming in with cargoes from Bahrain, mainly additional munitions.

Meanwhile, most of CVW-5's aircrew were taking the chance to get caught up on two things: sleep and squadron paperwork, and not in any particular order. When CDR John Compton came into his VA-115 ready room, he noticed several aircrew who had fallen asleep watching Satellite TV, while his XO, LCDR Matt Wiser, was busy with some final ops-related paperwork before turning that over to the new Ops Officer, LCDR Tony Carpenter. The XO finished his paperwork and headed off to his cabin for some rack time, promising the Skipper that he'd break Commander Carpenter in his new role as Ops Officer after he'd had time “to sleep on it.” That reminded the Skipper, who crept into Officer Country and checked on the other aircrew in the squadron, finding out that most of them were zonked out.

CAG himself was also checking up on the crews, as the off time was well deserved. He would have preferred a stand-down before BAGHDAD THUNDER, but the necessary op tempo had prevented it. CAPT Seavey also found time for an interview with Joanne D'Angelo of CNN, and he filled her in on how things were going so far. One question she did ask would come back later in the day, when Ms. D'Angelo asked CAG “Why haven't the Russians helped out the Iraqis?” CAG replied that the Soviets had a lot on their plate, and that it was very likely that they weren't too thrilled helping out an ally that had used gas even if the Soviets hadn't. Saddam had embarrassed the Russians, and they were probably still angry with him, CAPT Seavey indicated. She also asked him about the main topic of discussion aboard ship, the two all-female ace teams, and if he was surprised that the feat had been accomplished in his air wing. CAG responded that the two ace teams were “just doing their jobs”, and weren't asking for all the media hype coming their way, but “if that's what comes with being first, so be it.”

***

One team that was covered in that interview was on CAP, as LTs Jacqui Patterson and Debbie Bradley, now with fourteen kills, were loitering just south of the SAR Station in Blackknight 106, and their usual wingmates in 110, Conway and Freeman. The Tomcats were supported by two F/A-18Es from VFA-192, and the Tomcats were initally vectored onto a contact coming out of Bushehr in Iran. The bogey turned out to be an Iranian Air Force P-3F Orion, one of four the Iranians still had in service, and they were regularly checking out TF-77's operations in the Gulf, especially the action around the SAR Station. Since the Iranians were still neutral, the Tomcats didn't bother the Orion, but simply made a VID pass to verify the ID of the contact, before returning to their CAP Station. After that, the banter between the crews was getting routine, with both Tomcat crews lamenting that they were missing out on the “Steel Beach” that was going on while they were out on the CAP.

After the UNREP and VERTREP was completed, the flight deck closed at 1230, and the Navy's “Steel Beach” pastime on carriers started for the first time since the war began. Several squadrons and some of the ship's divisions had small inflatable pools that they set up on deck, and the Bridge Watch, along with many on Vulture's Row, kept their binoculars only partially trained on the horizon, while occasionally scanning the flight deck, and the numerous swimsuit-clad female sailors on deck. Both Intruder squadrons had their own pools, and LT Lucy Porter and the Skipper, along with several other crewers, practically dragged the XO out of his rack and tossed him into the pool, still clad in his flight suit! The XO then yanked his B/N into the pool, but nobody dared touch the almighty Skipper. Over at VA-185's pool, it was CDR Lowry's birthday, and CDR Ken Yoshida, the Knighthawks' XO, and two of their female aircrew, hauled CDR Lowry up to the Flight Deck and tossed her into their pool! She jokingly remarked, “Since it's my birthday, and I probably deserve a soaking, I won't have you keelhauled.” The TV crews were having a field day, interviewing aircrew and ship's company on what was normally even in peacetime, a rare and well-deserved day off. It was 1405.

Unbeknown to those on CV-63, the Soviets were preparing to crash the party. Since the SOVIORON's destruction, the Indian Ocean was for all intents and purposes a NATO-dominated lake. The nearest Soviet Naval Air Force (AV-MF) squadrons were in the Black Sea Fleet, with their Tu-22M Backfire-C bombers, and while CINC-Soviet Navy was reluctant to send any more Naval assets to the region, STAVKA informed him that it was a political necessity, despite the Soviet Union's disagreements with Iraq over the Iraqis' conduct of the war, it couldn't be seen that the USSR was leaving the Iraqis in the lurch. Accordingly, the order was passed down through the chain of command to the 540th Missile Carrier Air Regiment, at Kulbakino AB in the Ukraine, to send twelve aircraft and crews for “temporary duty” with the Iraqi Air Force, and they would be under Iraqi AF operational control, but flying with full Soviet insignia. The aircraft would not be armed with the AS-16 Kickback (Kh-15A) missiles that they had been using against Turkish targets, but would instead use the older AS-4 Kitchen (Kh-22) missile. Due to range limitations, only a single missile could be carried, and it was highly likely that follow-on missions would be armed with free-fall bombs only. The aircraft launched before midnight on 2 May, and landed at Gyandzha AB near Baku to refuel before flying a low-level mission profile across Eastern Turkey to Al-Taqquadim AB in Iraq. All twelve aircraft launched on the final leg, but one turned back after its nav/attack radar failed, while a second plane ran into a Turkish AF F-16 CAP over Lake Van and was shot down into the lake. Ten Backfires landed at Al-Taqquadim on the morning of 3 May, and while the aircraft were being refueled, the Iraqis briefed the crews on their mission.

The Iraqis wanted the Russians to send four aircraft to shoot their AS-4s against the ships on the North SAR station, and while the ships were distracted, the other six would head for the waters north of Bahrain and look for the carrier. While Lt. Col. Sergei Baranov was very skeptical of his squadron's chances, the senior Naval Aviation advisor at Al-Taqquadim took him aside and pointed out that Iraq's main anti-shipping squadron had been gutted, losing most of their aircraft, along with their CO, for no effect. The Soviets had to try and help out, or just being seen as helping out. Colonel Baranov was also reminded that bailing out over the Gulf wasn't a good idea, even if the American ships and helicopters came in to pick up downed airmen, as the Gulf waters were shark-infested. After the briefing was done, the Soviet aircrew were treated to lunch, before launching at 1345.

AWACS picked up the bombers as they launched, and as the Russians split up into their two attack elements, the Backfires were ID'd by their IFF. It was 1405 when the warning was relayed to TF-77, and the airborne CAP was being vectored into the intercept.

RADM Freeman was on the Flag Bridge, napping in his chair, when the call came from CIC: “Backfires inbound.” “WHAT?” was the reply, and when the call was repeated, this time from the airborne E-2C, he ordered the battle group to General Quarters.

Many of those on deck were enjoying themselves when the GQ alarm sounded, and the common response was “A drill? Now?” Then the OOD's voice on the 1MC came: “General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands, man your battle stations! This is NO DRILL!” The aircrews headed for their ready rooms, while flight deck and maintenance personnel got the deck ready to launch aircraft. Two Tomcats from VF-21 were on the forward starboard elevator, and were promptly towed to the forward cats, while the crews ran from the VF-21 ready room up to the flight deck and mounted their aircraft.

The first four Backfires closed in on the North SAR Station, and without any kind of targeting assistance, had to find the ships themselves. Their RWR gear picked up AEGIS signals, and the weapons officers soon had blips on their radar scopes. The four bombers fired their single AS-4s and turned away, just as the two AEGIS ships opened fire with SM-2s. One of the bombers took a missile hit to the tail and a second hit to the starboard wing, and broke apart, courtesy of Mustin. The other three made good their escape.

Again, the Vampire call came in on Fitzgerald and Mustin, and their SM-2s began launching. Two of the AS-4s were soon splashed, a third never had its rocket motor ignite, and it fell into the Gulf. The fourth missile was taken down by two SM-2s soon after, and the AAW Coordinator on Fitzgerald vectored in the Tomcats on the six bombers that were headed south, between Kuwait Bay and the ships.

LTs Patterson and Bradley in Blackknight 106 soon had the Backfires on their radar, and gained Phoenix lock at 75 miles. The Russians didn't pick up the APG-71 signals, but they did pick up the Phoenix locks, as the AIM-54Ds headed their way, and the bombers turned on their ECM. The first Phoenix killed the No. 4 bomber, blowing the Backfire in half, while the second Phoenix killed the sixth aircraft, blasting the cockpit to pieces and sending the aircraft spiraling down into the Gulf.

Conway and Freeman in 110 took their shots at 60 miles, and while their second shot failed to score, their first shot homed in on Colonel Baranov's wingman, who blew up in a huge fireball when the Phoenix exploded not only the aircraft's fuel tanks, but the AS-4 missile as well. Both Tomcats closed in, while the two Golden Dragon Hornets backstopped the North SAR Station, making sure there wasn't a follow-on strike inbound.

The two alert Tomcats launched at 1410, with Freelancer 202 (CDR John Waite/LT Christine Wagner) and Freelancer 207 (LTJG Paul McIrney/LT Alan Bates) climbing out on burner, and heading right for the three remaining Backfires. While the Tomcats were headed out, the AEGIS cruiser U.S.S. Vincennes (CG-49) acquired the bandits and vectored in the Tomcats, but the F-14s already had the inbounds on radar, and as soon as they were in range, both fired two AIM-54Ds at nearly maximum range. Four Phoenixes against three Backfires, and the missiles ate up the distance. The No. 3 aircraft was blown apart by two Phoenixes from 202, but as 207 prepared to fire, both remaining Backfires launched their AS-4s, as their WSOs had spotted blips on their radars signaling the carrier group. The No. 5 aircraft launched his AS-4 and turned away, while Colonel Baranov in the lead aircraft fired his missile. But as he turned away, a Phoenix blew the tail off his aircraft.

Two AS-4s headed for the carrier group, but AEGIS was on the ball, and despite being one of the three oldest AEGIS ships, Vincennes was able to take the shots, killing both AS-4s. Just as that happened, Kitty Hawk's OOD was able to report to the Captain, “All stations manned and ready.”
Freelancer 207 fired his last Phoenix at the No. 5 Backfire, but the AIM-54D failed to score. Both Tomcats then began to loiter, as CV-63 launched four additional Tomcats and two Hornets to back up and relieve the CAP.

The last Backfire had to run a gauntlet of Tomcats, Hornets, and not only the ships on the SAR Station, but as he got closer to Kuwait, two Patriot batteries would be engaging him. He never got that far, as Patterson and Bradley in Blackknight 106 found him east of Khafji, Saudi Arabia, and shot him down with a pair of AIM-120s. The AAW Coordinators on Fitzgerald and Vincennes declared the sky clear of bandits at 1425, and while the ships on the SAR station secured from GQ, the main body of TF-77 stayed at General Quarters until 1445, as RADM Freeman wanted to make sure there were no more surprises incoming this day. After securing from GQ, HS-12 launched both of its HH-60Hs on a SAR for any downed Soviet airmen, joined by several SH-60s from the other ships in the battle group, and a Royal Navy Merlin from Despatch joined in the SAR effort. Three Soviet airmen were found in life rafts north of the carrier group, among them Colonel Baranov. His WSO also survived, along with the DSO (Defense Systems Officer) from the No. 3 aircraft. All three were picked up, and despite their becoming POWs, were happy to be rescued-by anyone. The ships on the North SAR Station also mounted a SAR effort, finding only the copilot from the No. 5 Backfire, though several bodies from the other shootdowns were also found.

After securing from GQ and landing the airborne CAP, CV-63's crew did their best to pick up the party where it left off. A shipboard barbecue was arranged by the mess department, with hamburgers, hot dogs, and baby back ribs, with all the trimmings, on the menu. Commander Rendino used some of the food as a way to get the three downed Russians brought to Kitty Hawk to start talking, but that wasn't necessary. All three had had scares with sharks while awaiting pickup, and Colonel Baranov told Commander Rendino that a fourth crewman had survived, but had been taken by a shark before he could get into his raft. While Colonel Baranov stuck to the Geneva Convention's rules, the DSO did start talking, and he revealed most of the mission details. CDR Rendino then went to RADM Freeman with the information, and he had the destroyers Cushing and O'Brien dial in TLAMs for Al-Taqquadim AB. After informing CINC-CENT of his intentions, he ordered both ships to launch at 2000.

Flight Quarters resumed at 1945, as CAP returned and was relieved, and VA-115 sent another pair of Intruders on SUCAP. As flight ops resumed at a low op tempo, those on deck saw the flash of missile launches from the two destroyers, as a dozen Tomahawks each launched from Cushing and O'Brien and headed to the Northwest. Three hours later, as the three remaining Backfires were being rearmed with 550-lb and 1100-lb bombs for a planned dawn strike on Kuwait City, the TLAMs came in on the target. While TLAM-Fs sprayed antirunway submunitions along the runways and taxiways, and as TLAM-Cs smashed into hangars, POL and munitions storage, several of the latter also found revetments where aircraft were parked. Two Tu-16 tankers, one of Iraq's three remaining A-50 Mainstays, and all three remaining Backfires erupted in fireballs, with the latter also resulting in multiple secondary explosions as the bombs being loaded into the Backfires went up as well. General Kurchatov, the Soviet MAAG chief, said after the war that the Iraqis asked for a repeat of the mission, but the CINC-Soviet Navy said in no uncertain terms, “Never again.”

Meanwhile, the SUCAP was on station, just north of the SAR Station, when the duty Hawkeye picked up a surface contact coming out of Umm Qasr at 2105, and headed for the two tanker terminals held by Iraq. Outlaw 507 (LT Ron Davies/LTJG Jeff Parker) went down to investigate the contact. As they came in on the target, they saw on FLIR that it was another oil rig utility boat, and like a similar vessel sunk several days earlier, it had ZU-23s mounted on deck, and it was likely there were MANPADS as well. The ASuW Coordinator on Mustin declared the contact hostile, and 507's crew launched a Skipper-II at the improvised gunboat. The laser missile slammed into the boat's bow forward of the bridge, and the impromptu gunboat blew apart and sank almost at once. There were no visible survivors on FLIR, and no SAR mission was launched.

The rest of the night was uneventful, while low-intensity flight ops continued, supporting the CAP and SUCAP. Aircrew were awakened at 0500, and after breakfast, headed into their ready rooms. The first briefs were conducted, and as dawn broke, the first packages were on the cats and away at 0600. CVW-5 was back in the war.

The morning of 4 May was a usual one in the Gulf, warm and clear, as the first strikes launched from CV-63 and headed over the beach. The first package headed to the same Highway 1 pontoon bridge over the Euphrates that had been hit on 30 April. VA-115 sent four A-6Fs, with VFA-195 contributing four Hornets, along with a VAQ-136 Prowler for EW, with the formidable pair of LTs Patterson and Bradley leading two VF-154 Tomcats for MIGCAP. Before launch, VA-115's XO had been told that he “was out of uniform”, as CAG and the Skipper came in and told him that he had been promoted to Commander. CDR Matt Wiser would lead the strike, and he was again reminded by CDR Compton that “it'd be bad form to join LCDR Eichhorn in Baghdad,” and CDR Wiser replied “That'd do neither of us any good, Skipper, so I won't accept the Iraqis' invitation.”

It was 0710 when the strike package arrived in the target area, and there wasn't any triple-A coming up as the Intruders moved in for their bomb runs. Just as the A-6s were about to make their runs, AWACS came up with a bandit call from the north. Patterson and Bradley in 106, with LTs Conway and Freeman in 110, turned to
meet the threat, and two Mirage F-1s (from the IrAF's 73rd FS) were on their scopes coming into the fray. Patterson called “Fox 3” at 55 miles, and a single AIM-54D went off at Mach 5 and smashed into the No. 2 Mirage, which immediately fireballed. Conway and Freeman locked up the Mirage leader, shooting at 50 miles, and the Mirage tried to evade, but the Phoenix exploded above his aircraft, blowing the tail off, and the Mirage plunged to earth.

While the Tomcats were busy dealing with the Iraqi fighters, all four A-6s rolled in on the pontoon bridges. CDR Wiser and his element rolled in on the east bridge, which was handling northbound traffic, coming in from 12,000 feet. His B/N, LT Lucy “Madge” Porter, expertly put her laser on the bridge, and the XO pickled off two GBU-16s from 9,000 feet, and both bombs smashed into the bridge, wrecking the south side of the span. His wingmates in 509, LTs Rivers and Fisher, came in and planted their laser bombs on the north section of the bridge, wrecking it as well.

Only when the bombs went off did the defenders realize they were under attack, and heavy triple-A fire began coming up, and both the XO and LT Rivers noted smoke trails from MANPADS coming up. LCDR Kathy Evision led her Hornets down on the AAA sites, and she also put an AGM-65 into an SA-9 launcher. Two other SA-9 vehicles were also killed by the Dambusters as they suppressed the flak and SAM threats.

The second element was led by the Eagles' new Ops Officer, LCDR Tony Carpenter in Outlaw 500, the CAG bird. He should've had LT Stacy Ryan as his B/N, but since she was still grounded due to injuries from the H-2 strike, VA-115 “borrowed” LT Karla Jefferson from the Air Wing Staff to be Carpenter's B/N “for the time being.” Carpenter had been an A-6 instructor at VA-128, and he quickly showed the Eagles what he was made of, expertly placing his two GBU-16s on the north section of the western bridge. His wingmates in 507, Davies and Parker, put their bombs on the south side of the bridge, ripping it apart.
All of the A-6s reformed with the Hornets and Prowler, and joined up with the Tomcats for the trip back to Kitty Hawk, trapping at 0900.

Similar packages went into Kuwait and Southern Iraq throughout the morning, as it became clear the the ground battle had become a stalemate. The Iraqis had shot their bolt, and could no longer advance southwards without a major infusion of supplies and replacement armor, which the air interdiction had largely prevented. But as the U.S., British, and Kuwaiti forces were still outnumbered, a major offensive by CENTCOM was currently out of the question. Local attacks by both sides to erase bulges in their lines, and artillery exchanges, became the norm.

One such attack was mounted by the 40th ID's 2nd Brigade, to eliminate the artillery threat to Ali al-Salem AB, and thus ensure that the base could be reopened to fixed-wing operations. USAF, Marine, and Kuwaiti aircraft, along with CVW-5's birds, flew numerous sorties in support of the attack.

One such package launched shortly after 1200, led by CDR Lowry from VA-185. She led four of her Intruders, along with four Golden Dragon Hornets, to an artillery position just west of the Kuwaiti-Iraq Border. An Australian SAS team had spotted a battalion's worth of 152-mm SP guns that had moved into position near their OP, and though Lowry's package had been tasked in support of the British, they were redirected in the air to take out the guns.

Coming in just after 1300, CDR Lowry and her B/N, LT Dana Verell, soon spotted the guns. The Aussies on the ground expertly directed the Intruders and Hornets in, and as there were no nearby AAA or SAM sites, not even any mobile systems, the Navy strikers had a free ride at the targets.

The four Intruders each carried a dozen Mark-20 Rockeye CBUs and a pair of AGM-65s, and they shot their Mavericks into the guns on the first pass, killing seven of the howitzers, and after they pulled up from the Maverick run, LCDR Joel Taylor from VFA-192 came in with his four Hornets and shot their own Mavericks, killing another five howitzers and two of the command tracks.

The Intruders turned around and came in from the west and went in on their second pass, this time to deliver Rockeyes. The Iraqi battalion was showered with CBU bomblets as the Intruders pulled up and headed east, and the Australians reported “numerous secondaries” as the SP guns, a number of ammo trucks, and several command vehicles exploded. The Hornets didn't make a second pass, as they were packing HARMs in anticipation of the original strike, and thus the package headed back to the carrier.

40th ID's attack did its job, as the Iraqis were pushed back just enough to get the air base out of range of most, though not certainly all, of the Iraqi artillery. Resistance had ranged form light at first, to ferocious as the morning turned into afternoon, as the Iraqi 51st Mechanized Division and the RGFC's 6th Armored Division tried to stop the American advance. The Iraqi 51st had had one of its brigades virtually wiped out a few days earlier, and its two remaining maneuver brigades tried in vain to stop the advance. The 39th Mechanized Brigade was outflanked by the 2nd of the 40th, pinned up against its own barriers and obstacles, and wiped out. However, the Iraqis didn't go quietly, though, as numerous T-62s and BTR-60s tried to counterattack the M-1A1s and Bradley IFVs from the 40th, and some of the California Guardsmen noted that even when their vehicles were disabled, some of the Iraqi infantry would get out and charge on foot, behavior often seen by the Republican Guard, but in this war at least, it was a first for the Regular Army. The Kuwaiti 35th Armored Brigade also joined in the attack, catching the Iraqi 36th Armored Brigade in the rear, and the hapless Iraqis were caught from two sides and virtually annihilated. Although the Division headquarters, its rear service and support elements, and some of its artillery had escaped, the Iraqi 51st Mechanized Division had been effectively destroyed. Only the prompt arrival of the RGFC 6th Armored Division, and X Corps' instructions to halt, prevented the 40th and the Kuwaitis from going any further. Both the Americans and Kuwaitis halted in place, and proceeded to mop up and to round up prisoners. One of the prisoners turned out to be a prize catch, as Soviet Army Capt. Valery Karchenko became the first Soviet POW taken on the ground in Kuwait. It turned out that he was the Soviet Adviser attached to the 39th Mech Brigade, and the 40th ID's G-2 staff had a long chat with him, lasting into the early hours of the morning.

A similar operation by the British and the Kuwaiti 26th Cavalry Brigade against the Iraqi 1st Mechanized Division, while not meeting with similar results, did wipe out a similar bulge in the Allied line. LCDR Ken Yoshida led four VA-185 Intruders and four Dambuster Hornets, with a Prower and two VF-21 Tomcats, to help out. A USAF FAC on the ground directed the CVW-5 package onto a ridge that the British had vacated a few days earlier, and though RGFC forces had occupied it, the Iraqi 1st Mechanized had moved in to replace the RGFC.

CDR Yoshida's package arrived shortly after 1430, and the FAC directed them onto a number of tanks and BMPs on the ridge. When asked if there was a SAM threat, the FAC replied “Negative”, and Yoshida led his Intruders down on the ridge. However, the Prowler came up with a SAM threat, as a nearby SA-6 battery lit up. CDR Chad Runyan, VFA-195 CO, led his wingmate down on the battery, and each put a HARM in the air. Both HARMs found their mark just as two SA-6s came off the rails, and the Straight Flush track exploded. Two other Hornets came down with Rockeyes and each deposited a pair of CBUs on the battery, putting it out of commission.

With the SA-6 neutralized, the Hornets went looking for any additional threats, and stumbled across a FROG-7 battery that was setting up and preparing to fire. Runyan and his wingmate, LT Christine Langtry, came down on the FROGs. They still had their Mark-82s, and both Hornets dumped their eight 500-pounders on the battery, killing four launchers and a pair of reload vehicles. The second Dambuster element quickly followed, adding their remaining Rockeyes, killing another launcher and a command track.

As the Hornets went about their business, CDR Yoshida in 532 led the Intruders down on the ridge. His B/N, LT Laura Patterson, spotted a pair of SA-9 launchers, and she quickly shot a Maverick into each. Warning his flight to be alert for any other threats, the Knighthawks' XO put ten Rockeyes on a company's worth of BTR-60s dug in just north of the ridge. His wingmates in 539, LTJG Ellis and LCDR Houston, put their CBUs adjacent to the XO's, ripping up what appeared to be a company or battalion CP. The second pair of Intruders, led by Wilson and Regan in 540, put their CBUs on a group of tanks that were dug in and supporting the APC-mounted infantry. As they pulled up, LCDR Regan told her pilot to turn north, and as LTJG Wilson did so, she spotted a number of SO-122 SP howitzers . Calling it in to the XO, 540's crew then shot their two AGM-65s into a pair of the guns, exploding them in fireballs. The two other A-6s that still had Mavericks came in and took their shots, killing three more of the howitzers. Meanwhile, CDR Yoshida notified the FAC on the ground of the position of the guns, and he directed an incoming flight of A-10s to finish them off. The package then reformed, and returned to CV-63 at 1530.

There was one final strike package before dusk, as CDR Rendino, the TF-77 Intel Officer, was notified by CENTAF of a major C3I site in the Basra suburbs. VA-115 took the A-6 side of the mission, with CDR Wiser leading four Intruders, and LCDR Kathy Evison took four Dambuster Hornets to handle IRON HAND. The usual VAQ-136 Prowler, along with LTs Mobley and Wade leading two Black Knights Tomcats, rounded out the package. The target was on the grounds of the prewar HQ of the Iraqi III Corps on the north side of town, and the defenses would be strong, as there were still several active SA-2 and SA-3 batteries in the area, along with SA-6 and SA-11 mobile SAMs reported, not to mention the usual threats from MANPADS and AAA. CDR Wiser reminded the crews of the threat in the brief, and told them “No unnecessary risks. One pass and you're out of there.”

Launching at 1645, the package headed north past the SAR station and the Faw Peninsula, up the Shatt al-Arab. As the package came into the Basra area, the threat receivers lit up as an SA-2 and an SA-3 came up, and the Prowler promptly began jamming them, and in the SA-3's case, launched a HARM at the site, killing the radar, and as it turned out later, the battery CO, in the process. LCDR Evison put a HARM on the SA-2, and it shut down, trying to avoid the HARM. It worked in this case, but that SA-2 stayed off the air.

Coming in from the east, just between Basra and the Iranian border, the Intruders picked out their target, and CDR Wiser led the Eagles down from 15,000 feet. His target, and that of his wingmates in 509, was a bunker near the HQ building. LT Porter, his B/N, ID'd the target, and he released his two GBU-24s from 11,000 feet, ignoring the AAA that was coming up. She expertly guided the two Paveways into the bunker, and on pullout called out “Good Hit!” as the two bombs smashed into the bunker. As the XO pulled out, Rivers and Fisher in 509 went in, and planted their two bombs on a different part of the bunker, and they too, pulled out without incident, though there was some AAA coming their way.

As the first two Intruders rolled in, two SA-6s and an SA-11 it up everyone's threat receivers, and the Hornets put HARMs in the air after them. Both SA-6s launched, but it did no good, as HARMs smashed into their radar tracks, and the missiles “went dumb”. The SA-11 launcher fired just before the HARMs went in, and this time, the crew was alert enough to shut down. Nonetheless, LCDR Evision led her Hornets down on the SA-11 battery, and she killed the battery command track with an AGM-65, and as she pulled out, saw another SA-11 vehicle light up. This time, the Iraqis weren't so lucky, as Dambuster 403 put a HARM down on the SAM track, and it exploded in a fireball.

The remaining two Intruders were led by LCDR Cole, the Ordnance Officer, and LT Greer in the CAG bird, with Kennedy and West in 512. They were targeted against an antenna farm and several command vehicles that had been spotted near the bunker site. LCDR Cole put his bombs right into the antennas, dropping several, while 512's crew ripped up the command tracks with four GBU-10s.
However, VA-115 would not get off scot-free this time, as 512 pulled out, it was rocked by AAA, and then took a hit from either 57-mm or 100-mm.

512 lost an engine, and Kennedy and West headed south, towards the SAR station, though Iran was closer, and a good reception was assured, given VA-185's experience three days earlier. LCDR Cole in 500 escorted his wingmates south, while LCDR Evison put a pair of Rockeyes on a AAA battery that she assumed was the offending party. The Dambusters' second element, led by LT Jon Moyer in 406, escorted the cripple south, while the rest of the package reformed due south of Basra.

Just as 512 got over the water, AWACS (Yukon) gave a MiG call out of Shoiabah AB, and Mobley and Wade in 111, with LTs O'Gara and Simmons in 112, responded. Two MiG-23s from the 63rd FS came up, and it was a quick shot with AIM-120 for both Tomcats. Mobley called “Fox 1” at 14 miles, and the Slammer flew up the Flogger's right intake and the MiG fireballed. O'Gara in 112 fired at 12 miles, and his first Slammer missed, but his second at 10 miles didn't, blotting out the MiG-23 just as he fired his two AA-7s at 111. Mobley and Wade easily avoided the two Apex missiles, and they formed up with the rest of the package and followed the crippled A-6 south.

The ships on the SAR station were alerted, and both Mustin and Chandler had their SH-60s spooling up, and the Aussies on Ballarat got their Seasprite up as well. The crippled A-6 got to within 10 miles of the ships when the crew got a fire warning light, and they had to get out. They had been losing fuel and hydraulics, but had hoped to get close to the SAR station before having to eject. LT Kennedy gave the order, and he and West both punched out from 7,000 feet.

The helos had launched as soon as the A-6 had been reported “Feet Wet” and they were waiting in a holding pattern. LCDR Dean Lopez in Wolfpack 53 from Mustin went in as the Intruder crew ejected, and he went after one of the survivors, while LT Shane Taylor RAN in Devil 11 from Ballarat went after the other.
Lopez found the survivor in his raft, and the rescue swimmer went in to get him. He found LT Kennedy bleeding from a shrapnel wound to his left side, and the swimmer quickly got him into the rescue hoist and aboard the helo, and LCDR Lopez put “balls to the wall” in getting back to Mustin.

LT Taylor found LT West in his raft, waving to the incoming helo. She put her swimmer in the water, and quickly brought the survivor aboard. LT West had a dislocated shoulder from the ejection, and Taylor wasted no time in getting her SH-2 on course for Ballarat.

The rest of the package, other than LCDR Cole, headed back to CV-63, recovering just after 1800. Cole had stayed airborne to watch over the rescue and make sure his wingmates had been safely recovered, and after seeing and hearing that they had been, returned to the carrier and trapped at 1830.

Both Kennedy and West's injuries were minor, though Kennedy had to have a couple of pieces of shrapnel taken out of his side by Mustin's doctor. The Wyverns sent an HH-60 to pick them up later that night, and they spent the next day in Kitty Hawk's sick bay. Both would be grounded for a few days, despite Kennedy's insistence that he was in good shape to fly, but West would have to wait until the Flight Surgeon was satisfied that his shoulder had healed to his, not West's, satisfaction.

The Marines handled CENTAF's night schedule, though CVW-5 maintained CAP and SUCAP throughout the night. During the evening, good news was coming from Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The Nimitz Battle Group and attached Marine ARG was only 36 hours from passing through the Straits of Hormuz, having taken part in a pair of warm-up strikes on Socotra Island and Aden, wrecking the Soviet SIGINT facility and airfield on the former, and dispatching two Soviet ships from the SOVIORON that had not sailed at the latter, as well as smashing up the port facilities and the Aden Oil Refinery, reminding the Yemenis that the Soviets were far away and couldn't support them, and giving them an object lesson in allowing the Soviet IO Squadron to use Aden as a wartime base. CVW-9 would add to TF-77's firepower, and the duties of day and night ops would be split between two carriers, lessening the op tempo for CVW-5.

The night passed quietly for CV-63, though a single helo was picked up by both AWACS and E-2 coming out of Shoiabah and heading for the SAR Station. This was one of three remaining Super Frelons left to the Iraqis, though this one still had operable Exocets and radar. The helo never got the chance, as the AAW Coordinator on Fitzgerald declared the contact hostile, and an SM-2 was quickly launched at the inbound. The topside lookouts noted a small fireball off in the distance, just above the horizon, as the SM-2 smashed into the helo and sent it down into the Gulf.

Those not flying the CAP and SUCAP were awakened at 0430, and after breakfast, went down to their ready rooms. Another full day of operations was on the ATO, as things were definitely looking up in the Gulf. While the first convoy of reinforcements was still several days away, CENTCOM was already preparing for offensive operations, to first eject the Iraqis from Kuwait, and then as additional reinforcements arrived, to push on to the Euphrates river. But all that was in the future, and at 0600, the first of the day's packages was on the cats and away.

*

To be continued...

After a somewhat longer-than planned hiatus, CVW-5's story picks up. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!


The first package of the day went deep into Iraq, and a target area that CENTAF had not yet visited: Al-Amara. Two sets of bridges took Highway 6, the Basra-Baghdad Highway, across the Tigris River north and south of the city, and CENTAF decided it was time for some of them to come down. VA-115 drew a strike against the south bridge, across from the Al-Amara Air Base. Four A-6s, led by CDR Wiser, the XO, went after the bridge, with four VFA-195 Super Hornets led by LCDR Evison for the IRON HAND mission, and accompanied by the usual VAQ-136 Prowler for EW and two VF-154 Tomcats for escort. The package was off on time at 0600, and the trip into Iraq was uneventful, though the crews did note the Basra Naval Base being active, with the frigate Saladin still moored at pierside. The strikers encountered no radar or SAM activity until they got within range of the target, when two nearby SAM sites, one an SA-2 and one an SA-3 came up.

LCDR Evision led the IRON HAND flight down on the SAMs, while the Prowler began jamming the radars and put a HARM in the air when the SA-2 launched at a Hornet. The SA-2 site shut down, but it wasn't enough, as the HARM found its mark, killing the radar. The SA-3 site also tried to engage, but the operators found their screens filled with jamming, and although they had an EO backup, they chose not to engage. Three nearby AAA sites, though, began spewing both 23-mm and 57-mm flak up at the inbound Hornets, and all three sites were struck by Rockeye CBUs, putting them out of action. The way was now clear for the Intruders to come in when Yukon (AWACS) called “Bandits inbound.”

Two MiG-25PDs from the 96th FS had just arrived on a CAP over Baghdad when the the Amara strike came in, and the Kut IOC vectored both Foxbats in on the attackers. Blackknight 106, flown by the pair of LTs Jacqui Patterson and Debbie Bradley, led Blackknight 110, with LTs Conway and Freeman, into the fight, gaining Phoenix lock at 55 miles. Both Foxbats continued to close, and 106 launched two Phoenixes, killing the lead MiG at 40 miles, but the second closed in, and Conway launched a Phoenix at 45 miles to kill the wingman. Neither Tomcat crew saw a chute, and both continued to orbit, watching to see if any Mirages from Kut came into play.

While the Tomcats were killing the two MiGs, CDR Wiser led the A-6s down on the bridge. Outlaw 505 and the other Intruders carried two GBU-24s, and his B/N, LT Lucy Porter, put the bombs down on the southbound Highway 6 bridge, dropping the northernmost span into the Tigris. Their wingmates, LTs Rivers and Fisher in 509, went for the southernmost span, and their bombs dropped it as well. Outlaw 507, Morris and Carroll, took down the northbound bridge's center span, while Cooper and Mathews in 510 struck the northernmost span, and Highway 6 south of Amara was now cut for the time being. The package reformed south of Amara, and skirted to the east of Basra, getting close enough to the Iranian border that two Iranian AF F-5s followed them (but staying on their side of the border) until the strikers reached the Gulf. The rest of the flight was uneventful, and the package trapped at 0815.

While the Amara package was off and away, several CAS and BAI packages were sent into Kuwait, as Allied ground forces continued to pressure the Iraqis as much as possible without generating a major battle. One example of this was VA-185's mission north of Kuwait City, hitting artillery positions belonging to the RGFC's 4th Motorized Division's 42nd Brigade, which had been severely mauled by both the British and by the Kuwaitis. Still, the Iraqis had been a pest to the British, with their 130-mm M-46 guns, and the British had no MLRS battery for counter-battery fire. The first aircraft on the scene was VA-185's package, and CDR Lowry, the CO, led four Intruders, along with four VFA-192 Hornets, down on the 42nd Brigade, directed by a FAC on the ground. The British did support the strike, with their AS-90s bombarding two known SAM batteries (one an SA-8 and one an SA-13) as the strike came in at 0635.

The Hornets went in first with Mavericks, killing several surviving SAM vehicles, and knocking out an air-search radar with HARM that had somehow survived the shelling. With the path clear, Skipper Lowry led her Intruders down onto the artillery sites, and while the Intruders packed a pair of Mavericks each, the ordnance of choice to kill the guns was the reliable Mark-20 Rockeye, and each A-6 packed ten of the CBUs. The Skipper's B/N, LT Dana Verell, laid 531's Rockeyes down on a battery, killing four of the guns, several supply trucks, and shooting a Maverick into a nearby ZSU-23 for good measure. Their wingmates in 535, LTs Paul Mason and Melissa Daniels, followed the Skipper in, putting their Rockeyes on an adjacent battery, knocking out three of the guns, and wrecking a number of supply trucks, and both Intruder crews were rewarded with what Verell called “Numerous secondaries” as they pulled off target.

Knighthawk 533, with LTs Collett and Meridith, was next down the pike, laying their Rockeyes down on a number of command vehicles, and incidentally killing the artillery battalion commander in the process, while 540, with LTJG Wilson and LCDR Regan, hit a number of supply trucks, and were amply rewarded with multiple secondaries as they pulled off target.

The package reformed to the east, and asked the FAC if there were additional targets, as most of the A-6s still had Mavericks. The FAC replied in the negative, and thus the Knighthawks and their Hornet escorts began looking for any opportunity targets. It wasn't long until they found a number of T-72s moving south, and each A-6 took shots, killing six tanks and a command vehicle, while the F/A-18s trolled for SAMs or AAA vehicles, finding and killing four SA-13s, two ZSU-23s, and a pair of truck-mounted ZU-23s. With the package now Winchester, Skipper Lowry took them back to CV-63, and trapped beginning at 0800.

Similar packages went into Kuwait and Southern Iraq throughout the day, and most were uneventful, though a VA-115 strike against the Safwan Airfield was notable. The same package that went to Al-Amara had been rearmed and sent off to Umm Qasr, looking for any Iraqi naval traffic, as four Tarrantul-class missile boats were still outstanding from Admrial Freeman's viewpoint, and the mission was more of an armed recon than a strike. After an 1130 launch, the strikers were soon over the target, but found no boats, although signs of their previous visit were evident in the sunken wreckage of the frigate al-Hamurrabi and two other Tarrantuls, blasted ordnance bunkers, and the burned-out POL storage. With nothing to strike, CDR Wiser called a FAC and told him there were four A-6s and four Hornets looking for some business, and they were sent into the Safwan area. They were glad for the Prowler, as the Safwan area was still high-threat, with a number of still-dangerous SA-6s, SA-11s, and AAA in the vicinity. As the package came into the area, their threat receivers lit up, and it was time for LCDR Evision's Hornets to go to work. Two SA-11 launchers fired, but quickly shut down as HARMs went off the rails, but not soon enough, as both were put out of business by HARM. An SA-6 battery also fired, but they too, fell victim to HARM, and the rest of the SAM sites held their fire as the Intruders came down on the airfield.

As the A-6s came in, they noticed a number of Iraqi Mi-8 and Mi-24 helos on the field, and they were prime targets for their GBU-16 LGBs. CDR Wiser told the A-6 crews “No second strikes. One pass and you're headed home” as he led the Intruders in. His B/N, LT Porter, nailed one Mi-8 with their laser bombs, but as 505 pulled off target, she noticed an Mi-24 coming in to land, seemingly oblivious to the air strike coming in. CDR Wiser also saw the helo, and shot an AIM-9R from three miles, and both aviators watched as the missile took the tail rotor off the Hind, and the big helo spun into the desert floor and fireballed on impact. Their wingmates, Rivers and Fisher, also destroyed a Hip, but this one had just lifted off when it was hit, giving VA-115 two air-to-air kills. LTs Morris and Carroll in 507 then came in, destroying a parked Hind with their LGBs, while Cooper and Mathews in 511 hit the fuel storage, sending two large fireballs into the air, and the resulting smoke cloud was visible for miles, and was even noticed from the patrolling helos on the North SAR Station.

While the A-6s went in, the Hornets were above, making sure no there was no SAM interference. While the radar-guided SAMs stayed quiet after the first HARMs, several MANPADS (believed to be SA-14s or -16s) did come up, but did not guide. But a nearby ZU-23 battery did fire, and LCDR Evision made sure the battery paid for that, putting a pair of CBUs on the site, knocking it out of action for the time being. As the package reformed to head back to the ship, the Tomcat crews finally got in, as two Su-25s were picked up on radar, heading down the Shatt al-Arab for the Gulf and the SAR Station. LTs Patterson and Bradley soon gained Phoenix lock, and fired at 40 miles. One AIM-54C went true, blowing the Frogfoot apart and sending the wreckage flaming into the waterway, but the other missed. Conway and Freeman in 110 shot a Phoenix at 32 miles against the second Su-25, and this one went true, blowing the tail off the aircraft, and sending it down onto Bubiyan Island. Again, neither Tomcat crew saw a chute. The package then reformed and returned to CV-63, trapping at 1320.

While the CAS packages went on in throughout the day, two major strikes were on tab for the afternoon, and VA-185 drew the first one, a strike on the Highway 6 bridges south of Qurnah, north of Basra. CDR Ken Yoshida, 185's XO, led the package of four Intruders, four VFA-192 Hornets, a VAQ-136 Prowler, and two VF-21 F-14s, launching at 1400. The strike group went in east of Basra, and again, the Iranians responded, with two F-5s keeping tabs on the strikers from their side of the border, and being joined by two F-4s later on. The strikers had a more immediate problem in Qurnah's defenses, with a single SA-2 site, a 37-mm AAA battery, and two batteries of 57-mm in the area.

CDR Colleen McMurphy, CO of the Golden Dragons, led her four Hornets down on the defenses, just as the SA-2 came up to challenge the inbounds. The Prowler easily jammed the Fan Song radar, and a HARM took the radar out of action for good. Two of the Hornets then came down with Rockeyes and each laid a pair of CBUs on the battery, making sure the battery stayed out of action for the time being. CDR McMurphy herself, and her wingmate, went down on the AAA sites, putting Rockeyes down on both 57-mm sites near the bridge, and the A-6s had a clear run on the targets-the twin bridges carrying Highway 6.

CDR Yoshida and his B/N, LT Laura Patterson, came down on the bridge in Knighthawk 532, and they expertly put their GBU-24s on the southbound bridge, dropping the southernmost span. They had a scare on pullout, as a MANPADS, possibly an SA-14 flew past the right side of the aircraft, but otherwise, 532 made it clear without incident. Their wingmates in 539, LTJG Duncan Ellis and LCDR James Houston, followed the XO down, placing their bombs on the same bridge, but dropping the center span, but unlike 532's crew, they had no problems on egress. The other two aircraft, 537 and 538, targeted the northbound bridge, and their bombs dropped the northernmost span and the center span, respectively. This pair did encounter SA-14s on the way out, but again, the SAMs didn't connect, and the package quickly reformed south of Qurnah, and headed back to the Gulf. Again, the Iranians had paid an interest in the proceedings, with the two F-4s orbiting just inside their border, but given the clear weather, had an excellent vantage point to watch the attack. This time, there were no MiGs coming up, much to the disappointment of VF-21's Tomcat drivers, and the strikers egressed without further incident, trapping aboard Kitty Hawk at 1600.

As the afternoon wound down, the ships on the SAR station had had an uneventful day up to that point, with the two Su-25s being killed before the ships had had a chance to sound General Quarters, and the only other aircraft to approach them had been an Iranian P-3F. The Iranians never approached within ten miles of the ships, and were perfectly willing to respect the exclusion zone declared by Fifth Fleet around Coalition Naval Forces in the region. That all changed at 1605, when four aircraft came out of Shoiabah AB and headed for the ships. The AEGIS destroyers Fitzgerald and Mustin began tracking the bandits as the other two ships, the destroyer Chandler and the Australian frigate Ballarat, warmed up their own weapons to give the approaching Iraqis a warm welcome. The attackers were two Su-22s of the 69th FS, each armed with two AS-10 EO missiles, and two L-39 trainers, armed with rocket pods and 550-pound bombs in their secondary attack role. This time, the Iraqis came at a time when the CAP was being changed, and the ships had sole responsibility for their defense. It was 1609 when the AAW Coordinator on Fitzgerald declared “Weapons Free”, and the ships began to respond.

Chandler fired first, having gained SM-1 lock-on as the attackers passed Bubiyan Island, and killed one of the L-39s with her first salvo. Fitzgerald fired at almost the same time, and killed the Su-22 leader with her first two missiles, while Mustin launched on the Su-22 leader and the wingman. The SM-2s from Mustin killed the latter, and the missile targeted on the leader passed through the explosion of Fitzgerald's SM-2s on the aircraft. That left a single L-39, and as he turned away, the CAP arrived, with LTs Paula Mobley and Kara Wade in Blackknight 111 leading LTJGs Patrick O'Gara and Darrell Simmons in 112. Mobley and Wade in 111 came down from 16,000 feet, gaining AIM-120 lock-on at 35 miles, and shooting right afterwards. The Slammer quickly ate up the distance, and the L-39 fireballed, crashing into the Gulf. The ships then launched their respective helos on SAR, hoping to find a couple of downed Iraqis for interrogation, but none were found. Meanwhile, the CAP took up their patrol station, and hoped that the Iraqis would keep coming, as Mobley and Wade were in a race with Patterson and Bradley for top scorers in VF-154. Unfortunately for those two, that was all that came their way during the afternoon, as the rest of the CAP rotation went by without incident, other than an intercept of an Iranian P-3F on an afternoon recon of the area.

As the afternoon wore down, one major strike remained, and that was targeted at a HQ compound near An Nasiriya that was the prewar HQ for the Iraqi Army's V Corps. While the corps had deployed to the field, the HQ facilities were still being used as the Corps' rear-area support and services HQ, and the Army asked that the facility be taken out. VA-115 CO CDR John Compton would lead four Eagles A-6s, four Dambusters Hornets, along with the usual EA-6B in support, along with four VF-21 Tomcats. The target was north of Tallil Air Base, just south of Highway 8, in the Air Defense Area for Tallil AB, and was still considered a high-threat area. Numerous AAA sites were still up and active, and enough mobile SAM systems were still in the vicinity to make things very dangerous, along with numerous MiGs still at the base. Among the aircrews flying the mission, the Freelancers were hoping for MiGs to come up, as their squadron was way behind VF-154 in kills, and they wanted to close the gap. No one wanted to “troll for MiGs” in such a high-threat area, but the Freelancer crews were hoping that MiGs would come up to try and intercept the strikers. The strike was launched at 1630, and the package headed on its way.

As the package ingressed into Iraq, they noticed that the Safwan fuel dump was still burning, and it would prove to be a visual navigation aid for the rest of the day and the next morning. The strikers came into the Tallil Air Defense Area, and Yukon gave a call of “Bandits inbound from Tallil”, and two Tomcats headed out ahead of the package to intercept the incoming bandits. Freelancer 205 (LCDR Trent Powers/LTJG Shannon Mitchell) led LTs Shane Vansen and David “Taco” Bell in Freelancer 208 into the fight. This time, instead of MiG-23s, the bandits were four MiG-29s of the 73rd FS, which had flown down from Samarra East AB the day before, and the Fulcrums were out for blood.

But so were the Freelancers, and as soon as Yukon gave the call, “Clear to Arm, Clear to Fire”, both 205 and 208 locked up the MiGs with Phoenix and fired at about 40 miles. The first shot from 205 missed, but Vansen in 208 fired two Phoenixes (AIM-54Cs) at two MiGs, and both found their marks, and both Vansen and Bell had the satisfaction of seeing two MiG-29s fireball and plunge to earth. The fight continued towards the merge, and this time Powers' second missile struck his target (the MiG leader) at 32 miles, blowing the MiG apart, while Vansen locked up the surviving MiG at 27 miles with AIM-120 and fired just as the MiG began to turn away. The Slammer ate up the distance, and it took the MiG-29's tail off, and the pilot ejected. With AWACS calling the sky clear, the path was open for the IRON HAND F/A-18s to come into play.

This time, the Dambuster Hornets were led by CDR Chad Runyan, VFA-195 CO. Runyan led his Hornets onto an SA-2 and and SA-3 site as they came up, killing both radars with HARM shots, and splattered Rockeyes on the launchers and support equipment, putting the sites out of action. On pullout, LT Casey Roberts noticed a 57-mm battery right next to the target, and he and his wingmate rolled over and onto the battery, each placing a pair of CBUs on the site, taking it out.

After the Hornets made their runs and began loitering, checking to see if any mobile SAMs or ZSU-23s would come up, the A-6s came into the picture. CDR Compton led the Intruders down on the HQ compound, and each had their aimpoint, with LT Craig Paul, his B/N, placing their two GBU-24s onto the Corps HQ building, while their wingmates in Outlaw 511, LTJG Todd Lowell and LT Jon Eversole, put their bombs onto an adjacent building that was believed to be the Corps' G-2 (Intelligence) HQ. As the Skipper's element came off target, several SA-14s came up, but the chaff/flare program was working, and none of the missiles guided onto the aircraft. Then the second element came in.

LCDR Tony Carpenter and his B/N, LT Karla Jefferson, brought Outlaw 504 down onto their target, and as the GBU-24s impacted, a large explosion followed, with numerous secondaries coming behind. Both were wondering what it was they'd hit, but their target had been believed to be a Corps-level Special Forces battalion HQ, and given the Iraqis' habit of using vacant buildings as weapons caches, it was certain to have had a large supply of weapons and explosives inside when struck. Their wingmates, LTJGs Chris Knapp and Michael Shelton in 512, came in behind the Ops Officer and put their ordnance onto a building believed to be the G-4 (Service and Supply) section, and that building, too, “went up like a volcano.” Just as the Skipper's element had MANPADS to deal with, so did the Ops Officer's, but none of the SA-14s hit anything but flares. The package reformed to the east of An Nasiriya, and headed back to CV-63, trapping just after 1800.

CVW-5's flying wasn't done, as they had CENTAF's night schedule, and so pairs of A-6s and F/A-18s went over the beach as the sun set and on throughout the night. One opportunity target came up after 2230, as a pair of Hornets doing a road recon north of Basra on Highway 6 found a convoy that had just missed being caught at the Qurnah Bridges. A fifty-vehicle convoy was too good a target to pass up, and both Hornet drivers rolled in, destroying the lead and trailing vehicles, while calling for more aircraft to service the target. Several more pairs of Hornets and A-6s, along with at least four AF F-111Gs hurriedly scrambled out of Bahrain, came to visit the convoy, which died in a hail of Mark-82s, Rockeye and CBU-87 CBUs, and Maverick missiles. When it was all over shortly after 0300, the convoy was a mess of burning and exploding trucks, tank transporters, and escort vehicles.

While that was going on, SUCAP and CAP missions continued, and for both, this night was a departure from routine, as no Iraqi surface vessels came out of the Shatt al-Arab to challenge the ships on the SAR Station, and there were no air theats that the Tomcats were vectored in on. One air contact did approach the SAR station shortly after 0100, and was downlinked by AWACS to the AAW Coordinator on Fitzgerald. It was soon determined to be a helicopter, and as it approached the ships, radar emissions from the helo meant it was a Super Frelon, one of two left to the Iraqis in operational condition. This time it was Chandler's turn, locking the helo up and firing a single SM-1, which smashed into the target, and topside lookouts reported the explosion in the air, followed by one on the water as the helo smashed into the Gulf.

As dawn approached, aircrew not on the night schedule began waking up and going to breakfast, before heading to their ready rooms. Another full day of operations was on the plate, but there would be some good news later in the day, as U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68) and her battle group would be arriving in the Gulf that afternoon and reporting to ComTF-77. The battle group's destroyers would be able to spell the ships on the SAR station, while the amphibious force accompanying the carrier would land the 15th MEU (SOC), CENTCOM's first reinforcements since the arrival of the 40th ID. The MEU's air element would provide ten AV-8Bs for CAS work, while the CH-53s and Ospreys would lend a hand in the helo arena alongside the 40th ID's aviation brigade. And CVW-9 would give CVW-5 a hand in their operations, and CENTAF began to think about having CVW-9 be dedicated to night ops. That was for later in the day, as the first packages were on the cats and away at 0600, and CVW-5 got on with the war.

Nice work, Matt, a pleasure to read as always. Keep up the good work.
You'll need to ask Maverick to do an A-6F with a kill marking now.

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you, too.

Thanks, guys. Btw, anyone notice the female VF-21 driver in Freelancer 208 in this new installment? Space: Above and Beyond fans should know by now. One S:AAB character is already here in VA-115.

When Mav comes back, I'll certainly ask him for an A-6 with a Hind painted on the side.

Keep an eye out for the frigate Saladin, she's the al-Hamurrabi's sister ship, and a death-and-glory ride (kinda like the Yamato's last cruise) is not out of the question.

LT Shane Vansen; long time since I've watched that series.

Glad to see there's at least one other S:AAB fan among us; Nathan West is also here, as a B/N in VA-115 (currently grounded with a dislocated shoulder from an overwater ejection). You might see Colonel McQueen show up at some point....that was one of my favorite shows, and I'm glad it's on DVD (I got the series for Christmas!).

I can't wait to see how it ends out.

If Col. McQueen shows up, will he kick the Saudi's or Kuwait into gear?

I don't want to give too much away, but watch the Makin Island amphib group. Especially the AV-8B det....

I can't wait.

Here's the next installment; had to give Jan a chance to get caught up, as I'm a week ahead of the main story! Read and enjoy.

The first package for 6 May was a CAS one, with four VA-115 Intruders and four Golden Dragons Hornets, with the usual EA-6B and two VF-21 Tomcats flying shotgun. CDR John Compton led the package, which targeted RGFC artillery which had been harassing the British. These were the infamous GHN-45 guns made in Austria to the design of the late (and unlamented) Dr. Gerald Bull, and they were still quite dangerous. As the VA-115 skipper led his planes into the area, AWACS gave a bandit warning, as two MiG-23s from the IrAF's 84th FS came in from Shoiabah AB. This time, much to the fury of the F-14 crews, LCDR Shaun Kirby, VFA-192's Ops Officer, called the bandits, and both he and his wingman engaged. Both Floggers tried to lock up the Hornets, but were jammed by the Prowler, and both Hornet drivers got the call “Clear to arm, clear to fire” from Yukon (AWACS) at 35 miles. Both fired AIM-120 almost immediately, with LTJG Riley Adams scoring with her first shot, but Kirby's missed. He immediately locked and fired a second Slammer, just as the F-14s were coming in, and his second shot at 26 miles scored. Both Floggers fireballed and smashed down into the desert floor.

As the two Hornets were dealing with the MiGs, the other two Hornets, along with the A-6s, went in after the artillery sites. These sites belonged to Corps artillery from I Guards Corps, and the British had been taking harassing fire from the guns all night. There was an SA-6 battery and two batteries of 57-mm AAA in the area, and the two Hornets went in to cut the defenses down to size. The SA-6 site came up, and LT John Posten fired a HARM, which killed the Straight Flush radar, and LTJG Sharon Kim came down on one of the 57-mm sites, killing the SON-4 radar with a HARM and dumping a pair of Rockeyes to knock out the guns. Kirby and Adams then arrived, to kill the other 57-mm site with HARM and Rockeye, clearing the way for the Intruders.

With the path clear, CDR Compton led his A-6s in from 15,000 feet, and each A-6 had ten Mark-83s for the job. All four Intruders released at 8,000 feet, and walked their bombs across the artillery revetments, wrecking several of the guns and blowing up several ammo trucks, and blasting the artillery battalion CP for good measure. None of the Intruders took fire on the way in, but several SA-14s or -16s did come up on egress, but none connected, and all aircraft reformed and returned to CV-63.

A similar package from VA-115 which launched at 0745, however, did bring a loss. Eagles XO CDR Matt Wiser led the package, with four Eagle Intruders, four Dambusters Hornets, along with the usual EA-6B and Tomcat support, after the rail yard at Umm Qasr. The Iraqis had been shipping supplies down to southern Iraq via rail, and though the Basra yard had been crippled a few days earlier, the yard at Umm Qasr was still a going concern. Unknown to CVW-5's Intel staff and the aircrews, the Iraqis had moved an SA-11 battery into the area that morning, and the first indication that SA-11s were in the area was a SAM warning from the Prowler. Both the Prowler and the Hornets began shooting HARM, and two of the launchers were taken out, while a third was nailed by LCDR Kathy Evision and her wingmate in their Hornets. However, the second pair of Hornets, led by LT Allen Roselle, wasn't so lucky. Roselle rolled in on a 57-mm site just west of the rail yard, when his wingmate, LTJG Gina Tollini, called a SAM at her lead's 9 O'Clock position. The Gadfly launcher had Roselle in Dambuster 409 dead in their sights, and launched two missiles. LCDR Evision fired her remaining HARM, but it was too late, as both SA-11s connected, and 409 exploded in a fireball. No one saw a chute, or heard a beeper, and thus no CSAR mission was called. After the Allied Counteroffensive to the Euphrates, 409's wreckage was found by Australian troops, along with Human remains which were identified as Roselle's.

But the Dambusters had a quick revenge, as Evision's last HARM killed the SA-11, and the other two launchers quickly shut down. The way was clear for the A-6s, and CDR Wiser in Outlaw 505 led the Intruders into the chute from 14,000 feet. His A-6 had two GBU-10E laser bombs, and LT Lucy Porter, his B/N, expertly put the two laser bombs onto the switching station, turning it into rubble. Their wingmates in 509, LTs Rivers and Fisher, had sixteen Mark-82s, and they walked their bombs across the rail yard, wrecking track and blasting some rolling stock. The other two Intruders also had Mark-82s, and laid their bombs onto a parked train and one of the repair shops, with a number of secondaries being noted as the A-6s pulled away. While the last two A-6s had a free ride away from the target, both 505 and 509, like the Skipper's package, had MANPADS come up, but the flare/chaff program did its job, and all remaining aircraft formed up for the trip back to Kitty Hawk, trapping at 0920.

As the day went on, most packages were of the CAS/BAI variety, as X Corps mounted several small-scale operations aimed at pinching out small Iraqi penetrations of the battle line. Other CENTAF elements were also busy, with one VA-185 package led by CO CDR Amanda Lowry going in after what was briefed as a suspected SCUD launch site, but was a FROG site instead. After the Intruders and Hornets pulled away, the Arc Light call was heard, and the Nighthawks Skipper and her aviators were treated to four B-52Js laying 500-pound and 750-pound bombs across the Iraqi Army's 10th “Saladin” Armored Division.

While all this was going on, the Nimitz battle group entered the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Gulf, and formally came under RADM Freeman's command. RADM Paul Edwards commanded the Nimitz group, but RADM Freeman had seniority, and Edwards became deputy commander of TF-77. CVW-9 soon received its first Air Tasking Order from CENTAF, and they would start operations that evening, taking the night schedule. As the aircrew on Nimitz began to plan and prepare for their first combat over Iraq, the Marine Air Combat Element on USS Makin Island (LHD-8) began preparing for combat as well. The Marines of the 15th MEU (SOC) would land directly on the beach in Southern Kuwait, treating their arrival as an unopposed landing, and proceed straight to the front, wherever X Corps directed them, while Marine helos and Ospreys would haul whatever was needed, but the CH-53s and MV-22s would initially fly Marine ground crews and support equipment from Makin Island to Al Ahmadi Airfield in Southern Kuwait, where a FOB for both helo and Harrier operations would be organized and prepared. LCOL T.C. McQueen, from VMA-513, was ready to get his Harrier Pluses into the fight, but would initially support SUCAP alongside CVW-5's assets.

As the Nimitz group began to prepare for their first combat in the Gulf, CVW-5 maintained pressure throughout the rest of the day. Most packages, again, were CAS or BAI, and even a VAQ-136 Prowler, having not fired a HARM during one such CAS package, was asked to cover the RAF on a strike into Safwan. The Prowler crew was glad to oblige, and after hooking up with a KC-135 to refuel, covered four Tornados as they laid down BL-755 CBUs on a truck convoy, not only jamming ZSU-23-4 and SA-8 radars, but also shooting a HARM at one SA-8 that launched against the Tornados, killing it, and making sure that all four Tornados egressed without loss.

VA-185 sent another package into the Safwan area shortly after 1400, with the airfield again as the target. Although the helos there had been cut down to size, thanks to either VA-115 taking out several on the ground, or VFA-195 killing a number of helos in the air, there were still a number of Hinds, Hips, and Gazelles at Safwan, and they were enough of a nuisance that X Corps wanted them taken out. CDR Ken Yoshida, the Knighthawks' XO, led four Intruders, while LCDR Glenn Butler, the Dambusters' Ordnance Officer, took the Hornets. As usual, a VAQ-136 Prowler and two Tomcats, this time from VF-154, rounded out the package, which launched at 1405.

As the package approached the target, one of the Umm Qasr SA-11s tried to lock up one of the Hornets and fire, but quick action with jamming by the Prowler made sure the SA-11 didn't fire. An SA-8 near Safwan, though,did fire, but the HARM the EA-6B sent back in reply made sure the Gecko launcher didn't repeat the event. The Hornets then went in ahead of the strike birds, and two more SA-8s came up as they did so. One ate a HARM just after it fired a missile, while the other launcher took an AGM-65, along with a nearby ZSU-23-4. When LCDR Butler called “SAM Free”, CDR Yoshida in 532 led his A-6s down onto the target, each packing a pair of GBU-16s.

CDR Yoshida's birds found four Hinds, six Hips, and two Gazelles sitting on the ground near the runway. The strike lead's B/N, LTJG Laura Patterson, put their GBU-16s right between two Hinds, blasting both helos apart. Their wingmates in Knighthawk 539, LTJG Duncan Ellis and LCDR James Houston, put their bombs onto a Gazelle, blasting the French-made helo apart, with an exploding fuel truck caught in the blast being some additional fireworks. As 539 came off target, an SA-9 fired, but the chaff/flare program did its job, and the missile tracked a flare. However, the missile launch attracted attention from Dambuster 407, which killed the launcher with AGM-65.

The next pair of Intruders were led by LT Cory Snider and LTJG Darren Lewis in 537, with LTJG Julie Grant and LCDR Michael Cole in 538. 537's crew laid their laser bombs onto a Hip, blowing it apart, while Grant and Cole in 538 picked out the command bunker, which their GBU-16s tore apart. 537's egress was without incident, but 538 had an SA-14 pass “danger close” to the aircraft's port side, but the A-6 escaped without damage.

After the A-6s went off target, the Hornets went down to expend remaining ordnance on opportunity targets, and while LCDR Butler put his Rockeyes onto a ZU-23 battery, his wingmate put hers onto several parked fuel trucks, sending them up in oily fireballs. The last two Hornets each shot single Mavericks into SA-9 launchers, and as they pulled away, a nearby SA-6 battery came up. Both of these Hornet drivers shot a HARM, and apparently both scored, for the Straight Flush radar went off the air. All aircraft then reformed and returned to Kitty Hawk at 1540.

Two final packages went into Southern Iraq before air ops closed for CV-63 on 6 May. The first, centered around VA-185, went after the Al Qurnah Thermal Power Plant. VFA-192 handled the IRON HAND mission, with the usual Prowler and VF-21 Tomcats in support. Knighthawks skipper CDR Amanda Lowry led the mission, which launched at 1600.

The package flew up close to the Iranian Border, and the Iranians monitored the formation closely from their side of the border, with two F-4Es keeping an eye on things. As the package approached Qurnah, the strikers saw one of the two Highway 6 bridges was being repaired, two days after the bridge had been dropped. Then the defenses came up, with a single SA-2 and two 57-mm radar-guided AAA batteries coming on line. CDR Colleen McMurphy, or “China B” as she was known, led the IRON HAND birds as they went to work, putting HARMs in the air as the EA-6B began jamming the SAM and AAA radars. CDR McMurphy's HARM killed the SA-2 radar, while her wingmate's HARM killed one of the 57-mm radars, and the other shut down to avoid the HARM sent its way by the Prowler. The other two Hornets then came down and put both HARMed sites out of business for good, laying Rockeyes down onto the SAM site and the AAA battery, clearing the way for the A-6s.

CDR Lowry in 531 then rolled her Intruders in on the target, and LTJG Dana Verell, her B/N, picked out the generator hall for their GBU-10Es. Both bombs ripped into the structure, and in an instant, Qurnah's electrical power was out for the duration. Their wingmates, LTs Paul Mason and Melissa Daniels in 535, planted their bombs in the transformer yard, turning it into a tangled mass of wreckage and wire.

The second element was led by LTs John Collett and Joe Meredith in 533, with LTJG Darlene Wilson and LTJG Trina Regan in 540. Collett and Meridith in 533 put their bombs onto two of the power plant's fuel tanks, which exploded in a huge ball of fire, while Wilson and Regan in 540 took the machine shop as their aimpoint, laying two GBU-10s onto the building, which blew apart. The package then reformed just south of Qurnah, and headed back to the Gulf. Again, the Iranian AF kept an eye on the formation, with two F-5Es this time, but there was no interference, and the package returned to CV-63 without incident.

The final package of the day was a VA-115/VFA-195 one aimed at the railroad yard at An Nasiriya. In the brief, CDR Wiser reminded the aircrews that this target was in Talill AB's defensive area, and that both SAMs and MiGs were a continuing threat. The F-14 element, led by the redoubtable pair of LTs Jacqui Patterson and Debbie Bradley, were eager for more MiGs to come up, though they were reminded of the bounty for their shootdown, so no “Trolling for MiGs.” As the Intruder crews departed VA-115's ready room, Skipper Compton reminded the XO that An Nasiriyah was no place for grudges, as that was where his girlfriend had been shot down, and furthermore, “Don't accept any invites to join Lisa in Baghdad.” CDR Wiser told the Skipper that he certainly would decline any such invitation, reminding CDR Compton that “The room service in Baghdad is lousy at best, and I've no intention of sampling it.”

The mission launched at 1640, and as the package approached the An Nasiriyah/Tallil area, AWACS (Buckeye) called in a MiG threat; two bandits inbound from Tallil. Patterson and Bradley in Blackknight 106, with LTs Chris Conway and Damon Freeman in 109, turned to meet the threat. This time, it was two MiG-25s from the IrAF's 96th Fighter Squadron, and the Foxbats came in at Mach 2.2, radars on, and ready to engage. While the Prowler began jamming the Fox Fire radars on the MiGs, both Tomcats locked the Foxbats up with AIM-54C and fired right after lock-on. Patterson and Bradley in 106 fired at 34 miles, and the Phoenix ran straight and true, fireballing the MiG just as it appeared he had AA-6 lock-on. Meanwhile, Conway and Freeman in 109 shot two Phoenixes at the second MiG, missing with the first at 33 miles, but scoring with the second at 29, and again, as with the leader, this MiG had just gained AA-6 lock-on when he was hit. Neither Tomcat crew saw a chute from either of the MiG-25s.

While the Tomcats were dealing with the MiGs, the strike birds came into the target area, and the defenses began to react. Single SA-2 and SA-3 sites near Tallil came up, as did several SA-8 launchers. LCDR Kathy Evision led the Dambusters' Hornets against the SAMs, and as she did so, the SA-3 site fired two missiles. She promptly fired a HARM, killing the site, and also putting a HARM in the air at the SA-2, which had also fired, knocking out that radar also. The other Hornets then came in, killing an SA-8, and putting Rockeyes onto a 57-mm battery.
With the SAM threat knocked back, the Intruders came into the target area, and CDR Wiser in Outlaw 505 led the strike birds in on the target. He had the only laser bombs of the mission, and his trusty B/N, LT Porter, expertly laid both GBU-16s onto the switching station, blowing it apart. Their wingmates in 509, Rivers and Fisher, put sixteen Mark-82s across the yard, cratering the tracks and ripping up parked rolling stock for good measure. As they pulled out, there were a number of secondaries going off, a good indication of either fuel or ammunition cars being hit.

The second pair of Intruders were LCDR Brad Morris and LT Dave Carroll in 507, with LTJG Travis Cooper and LCDR Dave Mathews in 510. Both Intruder crews each laid ten Mark-83s across the yard, tearing up more track, and not only did they blast additional rolling stock, but two of 510's bombs landed in one of the repair halls, blowing it apart. Again, there were numerous secondaries observed, and although both Intruder crews reported scares with MANPADS, none were hit, and all aircraft reformed southeast of An Nasiriyah, and returned to Kitty Hawk, trapping just after 1800.

While CVW-5 ops began to wind down, CVW-9 began sending their aircraft over the beach, and as the first packages from Nimitz were on the way, both aircrew and ship's company on Kitty Hawk, and crew members on other ships, began to applaud. TF-77 had some much-needed reinforcements, and with Nimitz now available, the CENTAF night schedule could now be a lot more flexible. However, CENTAF did direct CVW-5, Air Force, and Marine air elements to have aircraft on standby in the event CVW-9's aircraft needed assistance in servicing any opportunity targets, and maintained night rotation, with the Marines handling their usual night missions, but with CVW-9, there would be a lot more aircraft available for night work. SUCAP and CAP, though, would still be handled by the individual Carrier Air Wings, and thus there would be F-14s and S-3s from both carriers on the night watch.

The night of 6/7 May passed relatively uneventfully for the carriers, though the ships on the SAR station were reinforced by the destroyer U.S.S. Fife (DD-991), detached from the Nimitz group. The American and Australian ships on the station were glad to have the additional support, especially an additional pair of SH-60s for ASR, though the senior AAW officer on Fitzgerald would have preferred that an additional AEGIS ship had been sent instead of Fife. And while Fife was taking up her station, AV-8Bs from Makin Island were up, supporting the S-3s with AGM-65, Rockeyes, or rocket pods, to deal with any surface interlopers. LCOL T.C. McQueen, deputy CO of the ACE on Makin Island, led the first Harrier element over the ships, and they were expecting some action. The Marines were not to be disappointed.

A surface radar contact was picked up by a VAW-112 E-2C from Nimitz shortly after midnight, and the Antisurface Warfare officer on Mustin called in the Harriers to check out the contact. LCOL McQueen led 1LT Ray Hunt in on the contact. Again, it was an oil rig utility boat done up as an improvised gunboat, and both Harriers drew 14.5-mm and 23-mm flak as they flew by. Declaring the contact hostile, McQueen locked on an AGM-65 and fired, scoring a hit that wrecked, but didn't sink, the gunboat. Hunt then rolled in with a rocket pass, shooting 2.75” rockets into the target, further ripping it up, but she refused to sink. Exasperated, McQueen then rolled back in, dropping a pair of Rockeyes, and these did the job, finally sending the gunboat to the bottom. Both Chandler and Fife launched SH-60s to check for possible survivors, but found none. It had been a good night's work, and during the night, further pairs of Harriers kept watch over the SAR station.

The morning of 7 May began to dawn, and it promised to be another busy day. As aircrew woke up and breakfasted, they got word of Nimitz's night work, mainly road interdiction and some night BAI, although a VA-165 Intruder and a VFA-147 Hornet were down. The Hornet pilot had made it to friendly lines before ejecting, being picked up by the Army, but the A-6 crew was listed as MIA for the time being. There was no time to grieve, after the first briefs in the ready rooms, the first packages were off the cats and away at 0600, as CVW-5 kept on with the war.

While I doubt fuel would be a problem, how long before they run out of ordnance in theater?

BZ, Matt, BZ. Looking forward to more!

Excellent work, Matt. IIRC some of the MPS ships at D-G have air dropped ordnance aboard.

I think you have a numbering inconsistency in this section:
The Gadfly launcher had Roselle in Dambuster 409 dead in their sights, and launched two missiles. LCDR Evision fired her remaining HARM, but it was too late, as both SA-11s connected, and 405 exploded in a fireball. No one saw a chute, or heard a beeper, and thus no CSAR mission was called. After the Allied Counteroffensive to the Euphrates, 409's wreckage was found by Australian troops, along with Human remains which were identified as Roselle's.

It says 405 exploded, but I think you meant 409.

Typo fixed: thanks for the heads-up.

Thanks, fellows, for the feedback.

One thing about ordnance: after the Gulf War, the prepositioned stocks in the Gulf States were established, and lots of fuel, munitions, spares, and other equipment stored there-often paid for by the host nation. (For example, the Bahraini AF purchases 1,000 AIM-9Ms and 700 AIM-120s, and two years later, they make a similar purchase, and the UAE buys in back to back years 500 Hellfires) CENTCOM and the regional allies are the very least anticipating a Second Gulf War, and if the Big One comes, the Gulf will be an active theater and there will be a need of just about everything by all the services.