Day 30: 15 Feb 1991

15 February 1991 (Friday): DAY 30

GENERAL:

v Fifth US Carrier, the USS America arrives in the Gulf

v FAE employed to break up mine field barriers

v Iraq offers to pull out of Kuwait, if US offers concessions, Bush calls it a hoax

AIR WAR:

v For the last week Horner & Glosson have been pushing A-10 attack aircraft farther north (over 60 nm) into the Republican Guard Divisions (Tawalkana & Madinah). Previous successes made them very confident. It all came to a head on the 15th when two aircraft were downed with one pilot killed and the other captured. 354th TFW

Commander, Col David A. Sawyer wrote a protest letter to General Horner

v 2600 sorties

v passing 73,000 cumulative

v Headquarters of the Ba'ath Party Destroyed

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (15Feb/Day 30):

v Day 30/Wave Three: 6 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

4 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

- takeoff during the p.m. of Day 29/14th to hit targets on Day 30/15th

- Scored 16 hits with 18 PGM attempts (89%)

- Communications Sites at Al Zubayr, As Shubar, An Nasiriyah, AL Kut,

Al Basrah, Ar Rumaylay, & Ad Darraji (415th TFS Targets)

- Military Garrision at Al Abrad (416th TFS Targets)

- Radar Facility at Ash Shuaybah

- Communications Site at Al Basrah, Al Rubishin, Al Kut, Al Amara,

Qualat Salih, Dibdibba, and As Zubayr

v Day 31/Wave One: 4 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

6 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

- takeoff before sunset on Day 30/15th to hit targets on Day 31/16th

- Scored 16 direct hits with 19 PGM attempts (84%)

- 415th TFS went after Bagdad's Aircraft Repair Depot

- The Salmon Pak Chemical & Biologocial Warfare Facility

- A possible SCUD Missile Production Facility in Basrah

- 2 x SAM sites between Bagdad and Basrah

- 416th TFS went after 5 x more SAM sites

- The Salmon Pak Chemical & Biologocial Warfare Research Plant

v Day 31/Wave Two: 8 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

6 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

- takeoff before sunset on Day 30/15th to hit targets on Day 31/16th

- Scored 24 direct hits with 27 PGM attempts (92%)

- Prevent a Fire Storm by negating the Trench/Berm Defense System that

Iraqi Troops in the KTO were hiding behind

- Oil Distribution Points, T-Junctions, and Pumping Stations into the trenches

- SCUD Rocket Missile Research & Development Facility at Mosul

KILLS:

v 1 x A-10A from the 511th TFS KILL on an Mi-8 HIP Transport

... deployed from the Gulf from RAF Bentwaters

... Capt Todd K. Sheeny

... assigned to the 354th TFW (Provisional)

... listed wrong by CENTCOM Message as 926th TFW

... Wingman Lt Ronald J. Keller

... attacked an Iraqi airfield and destroyed (1) Su-7/17 on the ground

... AWACS/ABCCC vectored them to check out a low flying aircraft at 27NM

... two 30mm Gun bursts of 250 and 300 rounds KILL

LOSSES:

v 1 x A-10 downed from the 353rd TFS / 354th TFW from Myrtle Beach AFB

- Flight Leader Capt Stephen R. Phillis (30) of Rock Island, Illinois

- Wingman was 1st/Lt Robert James Sweet (24) of Washington, W.Va.

- USAF Academy Graduate and USAF Fighter Weapons School Graduate

- earlier in the day an A-10 flown by Wing Commander Col David A. Sawyer,

limped home with 300+ holes in the tail area from an SA-13 fired by gunners from the Tawalkana Division, SW of the area Phillis and Sweet were going.

- first section of A-10's crossed Kuwaiti northern border around 3:00 pm to

attack the Madinah Republican Guards Division, around 75 nm north.

- Phillis & Sweet dropped cluster bombs on tanks and trucks and then decided to make a "final" strafing pas with the 30mm gun

- Handheld SAM hit Sweet, blowing off his right wing aileron and flap

- Phillis remained overhead on a SARCAP and then was also hit

- final transmission was..."Three-Seven is bagged as well"

- aircraft 79-0130, the 21st US Combat Loss

- listed as MIA but was KIA, remains identified 17Apr91

- both aircraft were downed around 4PM

- Phillis was downed trying to aid Sweet, remains returned after war

v 1 x A-10 downed from the 353rd TFS / 354th TFW from Myrtle Beach AFB

- 1/Lt Robert James Sweet (24), of Washington, W.Va.

- also graduate of the USAF Academy (1988)

- aircraft 78-0722, became 20th US Combat Loss

- Press accounts have his loss both on the 14th and the 15th of Feb

- heard thump, noted aileron and flap missing, aircraft was on fire and after

about 90 seconds went out of control

- Headed south, then ejected at 6,000 ft, in the chute for several minutes with

Iraqi's firing at him, then landed 30 yards from a T-72 tank that was one of his

targets. Sweet was beaten hard, broke an eardrum, then taken to a POW camp.

- captured on the 15th of Feb and released on 5 Mar 1991

- treated a "little rough" until officers arrived

v 1 x A-6E crashes on landing aboard the USS America

- lost hydraulics and brakes

- took barrier

v 1 x F-16C from the 17th TFS / 363rd TFW out of Shaw AFB

- 84-1379, Blk 25E (5C161), 14th Non-Combat Loss

- Capt Dale Thomas Cormier (30) of Crystal Lake, Illinois....KIA

- first guess was engine fire/problems, but turned out to be night approach

and during descent in bad weather wingman impacted ground

- 3rd F-16 lost to non-combat causes in theater since Aug 90

Gulf War 1991 Chronology

Day 30: 15 Feb 1991