Steve49Great, thanks for that information. I had mistakenly identified 92, 110, 111 and 115 Sqn’s as additional Mirage units.
Regards,
Steve
Steve49Thanks for that confirmation.
I don’t suppose you know which squadron the two Su.25’s shot down on the 6th February whilst attempting to reach Iran belonged to?
Steve
Steve49I’ve got identified three operational squadrons in 1990 (109, 118 and 119). Do you know the identity of the fourth sqn or had it been disbanded after the Iran/Iraq war?
Steve
Steve49Baring in mind this is information 5-6 years old, it might be not 100% accurate as perhaps new information came long about IraF interceptor units during the Gulf war (iraqimilitary.org might help with that), this is what i compiled from mr. Cooper’s excellent book:
Mirage F1EQ (mostly used for attack btw)
Sqn. 81,79,91 and 89 -main operating base Saddam AB ( Qayyarah West), but variously detached throughout the Iran-Iraq war, like at al-Wahda. Sqn.89 sole Mirage sqn. tasked with air defence( flew early EQ upgraded to later A-A standards over the years).MiG-25PDS
Sqn.96 based at Tammuz ABMiG-29B
Sqn. 6 based at Tammuz, but some forward deployed to Jalibah in 1991. In this case i think recent info shows another squadron operating the type, not sure which (there were 37 MiG-29’s delivered to Iraq)MiG-23MF (not sure if still active as interceptors or serving as OCU alongside the MS of sqn. 59 at same base)
Sqn. 39 at Tammuz ABMiG-23ML
Sqn.63 based at al-Bakr
Sqn.73 at Ali Ibn Abu Talib (Tallil)MiG-21bis (sole variant of the type used operationally, older variants like MF and apparently the F-7s were part of OCU units)
Sqn.9 at Firnas
Sqn.11 and 70 at Rashid
Sqn.47 at al-Hurryah
I’ve also identified Mirage 92, 110, 111 and 115 as Mirage F.1 Sqn’s during the Iran/Iraq war, had they been disbanded after??
I also have MiG25PDS’s being operated by 1 Sqn, any idea if that was still the case?? Or was that a combined MiG25RB/MiG21R reconaissance unit??
I had identified 5 Sqn as being the second MiG29 Sqn??
Sheytanelkebir, thanks for the additional information.
Steve
Steve49Mack8,
Thanks for the Sqn information. I must save up my pennies to get that book.
Steve
Steve49Hi Steve49,
Regarding the location of the iraqi fighter squadrons, do you have by any chance Iraqi Fighters 1953-2003 by Tom Cooper? If not i’ll try to go through it and see what i can find (but probably it won’t be a definitive list by any chance)
As for the F-15C damaged on the 22nd, in one of the links above is posted as being “damaged by Scud debris” on it’s airfield. I was asking about the F-15Cs because there are claims that least one has been perhaps damaged if not shot down by a MiG-25 on the 30th. (personally i had no idea until couple of days ago that indeed and F-15C of RSAF has been lost in an accident-apparently- during the Gulf war)
Btw, how accurate and how does it fit with your own list the losses and damaged planes in combat and accidents from that dstorm.eu site? Thanks.
It’s on my Amazon wish list… Might be able to get it one day.
That’s the first I’d heard about a SCUD strike causing aircraft damage, something to look into. There were no Coalition combat/none combat losses of any type on the 30th January, so I can’t any evidence of a F.15C loss to a MiG25 on that day. Also whatever their faults with information the Coalition were pretty accurate during the war for reporting aircraft losses (though not always the cause), and other than the Saudi one there were no other F.15C losses during the war. The first (and so far only) USAF F.15C loss in the region was one on the 30/11/92 which crashed into the Gulf.
That web sites not a bad starting point for Gulf war aircraft losses, though I’ve not so far been able to find information on a number of the damaged aircraft (especially the USN/USMC ones).
Regards,
Steve
Steve49Do you have the identification and location of those Iraqi fighter defence Sqn’s?
The Finland/USSR comparision, it seems an accurate one. Even if better organised or equipped, the Iraqi Air Force would have been doomed in the face of the overwhelming Coalition air power. They would have been able to inflict greater losses, but the end result would have been the same. For that matter even the Israeli Defence Forces would also have been defeated by a similar sized multinational opponent, especially if they were not able to receive replacement airframes…
No Mack8 that’s not my site; my lists have been assembled over 20 years from reading dozens of books/reports on the war. No F15C’s were lost in combat (the Saudi one crashed south of Khamis Muhayt during a training flight), but one USAF F.15 (79-0021 from 32nd TFS) lost 3 foot of its port wing tip on 28/1/91 whilst manoeuvrering with Iraqi MiG23’s (a second is reported as being damaged on the 22/1/91 (from 1st TFW), but I’ve found no further information to confirm this).
Regards,
Steve
Steve49please don’t quote me but I think I remember Sqn Ld Ankerson said the RAF found a fault with the GR1 due to two others being damaged in the same way so the two unconfirmed losses may of been down to this
A second Tornado (AZ403) was badly damaged over H-3 by the explosion of the 1000lb bomb on S/Ldr Anderson’s Tornado. It was able to return to Saudi Arabia without harm to the aircrew.
Regards,
Steve
Steve49Thank you very much Steve 49, that is very helpful! Meanwhile , i did managed to find some reference to the helicopters lost in combat and accidents ( nowhere as comprehensive as your post though), isn’t there supposed to be an OH-58 shot down on the 21st of February as well? Most sources list 5 helicopters lost in combat.
Btw speaking of losses, someone mentioned earlier that there were 20+ “coalition” aircraft damaged in the 1991 war , actually it’s 40+ according to this list :
http://www.rjlee.org/air/ds-aaloss/
I believe your are refering to an OH.58C from 1st Btn, 24th Avn lost on the 20/2/91 (both crew killed). It is reported as flying into the ground in very poor weather conditions (so poor in fact that CSAR operations were not able to locate the crash site until the 21st), it is possible that this was shot down, but all the available evidence points to a ‘controlled flight into terrain’ being the cause of the loss.
Speaking of damaged aircraft, I’ve got as many as 65 aircraft and 6 helicopters (though I’m lacking detail/comfirmation on 18 of the aircraft).
Steve49Slightly related, can i ask if anyone can point me to a list by type of the US helicopter losses during the 1991 war , combat and accident ( and if possible, combat damaged ones too) i know there were 5 lost in combat and 23 in accidents, and i have read the list in a magazine long long ago, but strangely, i can’t find anything on the net! Thank you.
From my aircraft loss lists; total Coalition combat helicopter losses were four (all US);
25/2/91:
1x AH.64A Apache (1st Btn, 227th Avn/1st Cavalry Division): Shot down by SA-14 missile; 2 crew recovered by another Apache.
27/2/91:
1x UH.60 Blackhawk (78-23015) (4th Btn, 1st Avn (Prov)/1st Infantry Division). Shot down by AAA/small arms fire; 9 killed.
1x UH.60 Blackhawk (78-22960) (2nd Btn, 229th Avn-Attached 101 Aiborne Division) Shot down by AAA whilst attempting to recover shot down F.16 pilot (an escorting AH.64 damaged); 5 killed and 3 POW.
1x UH.1 (64-14273) (507th Medical Coy (Air Ambulance)). Shot down by AAA/small arms fire; 3 killed and one wounded.
None combat losses; US: 3x AH.64, 4x AH.1 (plus one more post ceasefire), 5 x OH.58 (plus three more post ceasefire), 7x UH.60 (plus one more post ceasefire), 1x MH.60, 3x UH.1 (plus one more post ceasefire), 1x CH.47 (plus 2 more post ceasefire), 2x CH.46, 1x UH.46D and 1x SH.60B; Saudi: 1x S.70B and 1x SA.365; UK: 1x Lynx AH.7 and 1x Sea King HC-4 (both later repaired)
Regards,
Steve
Steve49Going off topic, but I must correct by pointing out that Khafji was not a brigade attack, but that it was occupied as part of a multi division operation (read the Iraqi report listed in earlier post). The attack comprised to the east, III Corps (with 3rd Armoured Division and 5th Mechanised Division) and to the west, VII Corps (with 6th Armoured Division and 1st Mechanised Division).
Supported by diversions from the 3rd Armoured Division, the 5th Mechanised reached Khafji by midnight on the 29th January with elements of all three of its brigades (26th Arm, 15th Mech and 20th Mech). Elements of a naval infantry brigade were supposed to arrive by sea, but were stopped by Coalition helicopters/aircraft and a number of small boats were sunk. The division then remained in Khafji until ordered to withdraw at 18:00 on the 31st January. (Losses for 5th Division given as 20% and listed as 66 killed, 566 missing (Coalition forces reported 463 POW’s) and 137 wounded, plus 112 armoured vehicles, 74 other vehicles and 20 artillery pieces destroyed).
Further west the 6th Armoured Division’s lead brigade (6th Armoured) was heavilly engaged after crossing the border and withdrew after suffering ‘major losses’ during a 25kn advance (it’s C/O was later relieved). 1st Mechanised Division advanced 20km into Saudi Arabia before turning east for another 35km and then recrossed into Kuwait without encountering any Coalition ground forces (losses from these actions are not given).
Coalition losses were Saudi/Qatari forces; 18 or 19 killed, 11 POW and 32-56 wounded, US Marines; 12 killed (all by ‘friendly fire’), USAF 14 killed (when an was AC.130 shotdown) and US Army; 2 POW.
The initial Iraq attack took the light screening forces along the border by total surprise, but the operation could only have had one result in the face of overwhelming air superiority.
Steve
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