Day 2: 18 Jan 1991

18 January 1991 (Friday): DAY 2

GENERAL:

v Stage Two of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) calls for 79 passanger and

108 civilian cargo aircraft to go on active duty with crews. (others say 181)

v President Bush extends the Reserve Active Duty limit to two years

v 450,000 US Troops are now in the Region

v UK starts sending another Battalion and Squadron to the Gulf

v US Marines take oil platforms and take first enemy prisoners of war (EPW's)

v SECDEF declares Stage II of CRAF callup

AIR WAR:

v Gen McPeak's Briefing Lists (2) Kills, (7) lost all crews missing

v Iraqi Air Force flew 42 sorties, coalition flew over 2000 sorties in 36 hours

v Iraqi Patrol Boats are sunk by Naval Air Power

v 2107 x attack sorties flown on the first day, assessed 80% effective

v two days of war exceed 4000 sorties

v 03 x TU-16 Badger Bombers were destroyed on the ground

v 40+ Marine F/A-18's return from missions with bombs, no drops due to WX

v 2500 tons of ordnance dropped during the first 24 hours

v First SLAM (AGM-84E) weapon launched from A-6E (VA-75 "Sunday Punchers"

off of the Kennedy) and guided by an A-7E (VA-72 "Blue Hawks" off the Saratoga)

- target was a hydro-electric plant north of Bagdad on the Tigris River

... specifically the power house & turbines inside a large building

… The Al Qa'im superphosphate fertilizer plant and one of its byproducts, a

yellowcake, raw material used in the gaseous diffusion process to create bomb quality uranium, was fed power by this hydro-electric plant on the Tigris

… Al Qa'im became known as "Big Al's Place"

- 2 x SLAM's were launched two minutes apart

- Lt "Hoot" Gibson provide the mid-course and final terminal guidance

- GPS could have done the job without the "terminal" help from the A-7,

but the Navy wanted to get a finer than 45 ft CEP, actually fly into the

turbine wall and the second missile was flown into the building

- a second SLAM Target was the power generating dam near Al Qa'im that

was shut down with a single round

- in all, 5 x SLAM's were brought by the Kennedy and 3 x expended

v The Soviet Air Force has deployed a pair of A-50 (IL-76 variants) "Mainstay"

SUAWACS aircraft to monitor US air operations departing from Turkish bases.

Reported after the war by Alex Velovich in Flight International Magazine

(31Jul91, pg 14), the Mainstay's maintained a constant figure-eight patrol

over the Black Sea and was said to be looking for any stray Tomahawks that

might stray into Soviet territory. The A-50 was in service since 1984 and

served as the Soviets most Advanced Airborne Command Post which had

authority to make high level decisions. A new version is being planned.

... AEW system designer, Vladimir Ivanov of Vega NPO (Scientific

Industrial Enterprise), the Soviet electronic industry designed unique

computers and displays for the A-50 using hybrid chips instead on

monolithic ones.

... The 15 man crew complain of high noise levels which are higher than

the Tu-126 Moss and no toilets or rest areas are provided

... Soviet electronics are 50% heavier than US which denied the A-50 a

full takeoff load of fuel (30 min off max endurance) and with the

buffeting experienced behind a tanker due to the 9 meter dome in the

tanker's slipstream, air refueling was impossible.

... Vladimir Karpeyev, deputy GM of Vega, stated that the A-50 is

overweight because many of the systems are duplicated for different

branches of the services who use the platform. Different command

systems, data exchanges, formats, IFF responses forced the installation

of decoding and interface equipment which added weight.

... Typical A-50 Figure-Eight Patrol at 33,000 feet (10,000 m) with

100 km (55 NM) between centers of the two orbits

... The Radar picture is transmitted via satellite datalink to ground

stations and has good resistance to ground clutter. The operators have

large color displays (CRT's) and radar warning receivers

... Chaff/Flare dispensors are clumsey and the electronics are not

reliable, often requiring airborne swapping of boxes

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (18Jan/Day 2):

v Day 2/Wave One: late afternoon T/O on 17th, 12 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

- 1 x air abort, 10 x hits on 18 x attempts (56%)

- Han Al Mahiwil, Abu Ghurayb, Salmon Pak, North Taji, Al Taji, Alkut,

Al Amara, Ar Rutbah, and Al Taqaddum

- transmitters, command and control bunkers, intelligence service HQ, Bagdad's Nuclear Reactor site, the Iraqi AWAC's aircraft, Integrated Air

Operations Centers, Sector Headquarters, and the National Computing Center

v Day 2/Wave Two: 12 x F-117's from the 416 th TFS

- 1 x air abort, 13 x direct hits on 19 x attempts (68%)

- Integrated Air Operations Centers, HQ Buildings, Comm Sites, a nuclear reactor, and ammunition bunkers

- Bagdad, Salmon Pak, Nukhayb, Al Zubayr, Al Jahrah, Falluja, Habbaniyah,

Tallil, Al Amarah, Al Fallujah, Alkut, and Qabatiyan

KILLS:

v 1 x Kills Not Verified from one possible engagement

- mentioned in McPeak's Briefing

- Raytheon & Pentagon Briefings show no Missile Expenditures

v 1 x Unknown possibly downed by 1 x F-15C

- As CENTCOM Published Awarded Kills it appears that no F-15C

Kills were achieved this date, however EF-111 MS and GR-1 Bomb

Kill are being assessed.

v 1 x F-1EQ Mirage is hit while taxing during an airfield raid by a

UK Tornado GR-1 (next incident is separate, date not firm yet)

v 1 x Su-7 Fitter by an attacking UK GR-1 Tornado

- No XV Squadron

- Fitter destroyed on landing by JP-223 explosions

- Tornado was watching him in the pattern, then attacked

- KILL by bomb frag, but the "kill" was never officially recognized

v International Press reports 2 x MiG-29's downed by F-18's which were

later recinded, possible confusion over 17January action.

v 2 x F-1's were reported downed by unknown aircraft, but this has still not

been sorted out and is considered to be part of the general confusion.

v 2 x UK Tornado F3's are vectored on Iraqi MiG's heading for an A-10

formation, but the Iraqi aircrat retreated

v first missions flown by the recce configured Tornado's from No 2 Squadron,

2 x aircraft attack SCUD site that launched on Israel

LOSSES:

v 1 x A-6E from VA-155 "Silver Foxes", CVA-61 USS Ranger, CAG-2

- BURNO 152928, 4th US Combat Loss

- Lt William T. Costen (27), from St Louis was KIA

- Lt Charles J. Turner (29) from Richfield, Minn was also KIA

- No immediate information on cause although it is believed that this

aircraft went down very close to the Iranian border around the area of

near Falukan Island. Confusion exists about possible Iranian HAWK

missile firings or a possible F-14 engagement Blue-v-Blue

... but could be confused with 2 Feb loss from VA-36

- AW&ST, 15JUL91, Pg47: Costen's A-6 failed to return from a mine

laying mission near the Iraqi port of Umm Qafr or Abadan. The mission was

flown low in thick clouds. Both the pilot and BN were KIA and no witnesses.

- Flight of four proceeding to target under a bad ceiling, trail, 30 sec intervals

- Altitude at around 500 ft., Costen was #2, AAA caused A-6 to catch fire

- Blaze was seen under the overcast, neither was seen to eject (Robert Dorr)

- Ted Atkinson's book (Crusade) noted that an A-6 lost on the 18th was the cause of recriminations against low altitude tactics.

v 1 x F-15E Strike Eagle from the 335th TFS, 4th TFW, from Seymour

Johnson AFB, now based at At Al Karg Air Base, southeast of Riyadh

- Pilot: Maj Thomas F. Koritz (39), Rochelle, Illinois

- WSO: Maj Donnie R. Holland (42), Bastrop, Lousiana

- 5th US Combat Loss

- remains of the two crewmembers returned in mid March 1991

- aircraft was downed at low altitude by "a missile" (Robert Dorr)

- it is possible that this aircraft was actually running a low altitude

"road recce" looking for Iraqi vehicles, especially SCUD's around the H3

Air Base area in Western Iraq. Shades of Vietnam, but quickly stopped

v 1 x Marine OV-10A Night FLIR Bronco

- Lt Col Clifford M. Acree, CO VMO-2 in a VMO-1 aircraft

> from Camp Pendleton, now at Jabayl

> BURNO 155435, "ER", side number 11

> became 6th US Combat Loss

- CWO Guy L. Hunter (46) was the FAC/ALO

- both became POW's and were returned after the War

- Acee launched on a recce, although he was not on the ATO

- Debrief stated he felt it was a "white hot" SAM that bagged his OV-10

v 1 x F-16A from the New York, Syracuse ANG, was hit by a SAM

- aircraft 391, Blk 10, aircraft damaged and recovered

- estimated that missile was an SA-6 or SA-8

- carrying Centerline 30mm gunpod, (2) ext tanks, (1) ALQ-119 ECM

Pod on the outboard station #3

- pod absorbed most of the Frag

- that evolution was the first and last for the 30mm gun pod

- same a/c was lost in a landing accident (blown tire) after the War ended

v 1 x F-4G WW, reported by Washington Post 1/20/91, but not confirmed.

SCUDS:

v 1st SCUD attack on Dhahran, missile reported downed by Patriot, and Israel

v 7 to 9 SCUD's impacted on Israel, retaliatory F-16D's launched but were

recalled by the Prime Minister

v One SCUD was intercepted by a Patriot in Northern Saudi Arabia

CRUISE MISSILES:

v USN fires 288 Tomahawks, see 28 Feb 91, for summary

Gulf War 1991 Chronology

Day 2: 18 Jan 1991