Day 40: 25 Feb 1991

25 February 1991 (Monday): DAY 40

GENERAL:

v Not reported from US Army records until Feb 1992, it appears that General Schwarzkopf was under intense pressure from the Bush Whitehouse to crush the Republican Guard divisions positioned along the northern Kuwait border with Iraq.

Schwarzkopf was reported to have been very upset with VII Corps Commander,

LtGen Frederick Franks (5 divisions strong) who was unable to close the gap that

would prevent escape trapping the Gurads at the Eurphratis River. The escape of the

key Guards uniyts and some 700 tanks allowed Saddam to continue his control over

Iraq and continue to supress the Kurdish minorities. It was considered that the flank

attack plan was too large in scale to complete, yet Frank's people say that they did

chop up most of the Guards Units encountered. The real answer might be that the

key Guards equipment and people were already in the deep rear areas having never

moved forward or slipped back much earlier. But the claim that there was no politics

in the Schwarzkopf command center now appears to be quite wrong.

v Bagdad Radio airs a message from Saddam calling for his troops to witdraw from

Kuwait to the 1 Aug 90 positions.

v Kuwait's Independence Day has coalition troops approaching Kuwait City

v Silkworm missiles launched at USS Missouri, shot down by HMS Gloucester

v 1st UK Armoured Division reports it is through the breach

v Over 500 Kuwaiti well heads are burning

v The Warsaw Pact announced that it was disbanding

v Soviets submit new Peace Plan to the UN which is rejected on the 26th

AIR WAR:

v Coalition sorties pass 97,000

v F-16's reportedly are attacking artillery positions

v 76TFS/23TFW A-10's from England AFB, La., piloted by:

- Capt Eric "Fish" Salomonson

- 1/Lt John "Karl" Marx

destroyed 23 tanks in one day according to LtCol Gene Renuart (CO)

v The 76TFS was working with 355th TFS A-10's who showed up in theater as

the dedicated night A-10's utilizing NVG's

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (25Feb/Day 40):

v Day 40/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 38/23rd to hit targets on Day 39/24th

- Weather over Bagdad and Ab Dalli prevented drops

- Scored 11 hits with 15 PGM attempts (73%), 5 no-drops

- Re-Visit the Presidential Facility at Abu Ghurayb

- Re-Visit the Special Security Services Facility in Bagdad

- The Abu Dalli laong-haul Radio Relay Station

- The Al Musayyib Rocket Motor Plant

v Day 41/Wave One/Two/Three: 2 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

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

IMPRESSIVE MISSION

Major Jay Lindell and Capt Dan Swayne from the 388th TFW (Hill AFB) deployed to Al Minhad AB, UAE launched as a "Scout Killer" FAC looking for targets in the KTO

when an AWACS call went out for all available aircraft to divert and help out a SOF

team that just got noticed 150 miles deep into Iraqi territory. The team was

surrounded but hid in a ditch, the F-16 broke down through a 5,000 ft overcast and tried to locate them. They could not locate them, then returned for fuel on a tanker.

The team finally broke radio silence and "vectored" the F-16's to them via radio DF

calls. Orange panel markers marked the team and the Block 40 F-16's utilized their

GPS to accurately mark the teams location. The dropped CBU-58, strafed, and called in other flights of air protecting the team. Finally UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters

came in to extract the team and then the F-16's escorted the helo's to safety. On

10 Mar 92, Lindell was awarded a Silver Star and Swayne a DFC for their actions.

KILLS: None Recorded

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (25Feb/Day 40):

v Day 40/Wave Three: 6 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

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

- Takeoff early in the evening of Day 40 and hit their target later on Day 40

- Scored 0 direct hits with 2 PGM drops (0%), 58 carried

- The Abu Ghurayb Presidential Complex (415th TFS targets)

- The Bagdad Special Security services Facilities

- The Ab Dalli long-haul radio relay

- The Al Musayyib SCUD Rocket Motor Plant

- The Abu Ghurayb Presidential Complex (416th TFS targets)

v Headquarters CENTCOM cancelled 34 x sorties

LOSSES:

v 1 x AV-8B from VMA-542 from Cherry Point, N.C.

- Based at King Abdul Aziz Airfield

- BURNO 163190, became the 27th US Combat Loss

- Capt Scott Walsh, ejected and was rescued by SH-60

v 1 x OV-10A Bronco from VMO-1, MAG-13

- BURNO 155424, became the 29th US Combat Loss

- Maj Joseph "Alleycat" J. Small, (39) Racine, Wisconsin,

ejected and became POW

- Capt David M. Spellacy, (28), Columbus, Ohio. KIA

- at mid-day (2nd day of the land war)

- shallow right-hand turn, hit in the right wing by shoulder-launched SAM

- suspect warhead was bigger than SA-7, more likr an SA-14

- no warning, no sight, came from low five-o-clock

- aircraft immediately out of control, wing came off

- Small landed amongst Iraqi soldiers

- beaten and tortered, was helped by Capt Russell Sanborn in Bagdad prison

- released in early March

- SAS Sergeant Andy McNab mentions (page 326) in his book "Bravo Two Zero", the arrival of Joseph Small into the "Bagdad Biltmore". He was shot down on the last day of the ground war and got hung up in a tree and sustained an open fracture of the leg.

SCUDS:

v Inbound SCUD hits an Military Barracks at Al Khobar where over 100 x US are

billeted, over twenty are considered killed. Numbers eventually got to 28. The SCUD apparently broke up but still delivered its warhead. The on-call patriot battery had

just made a monentary stand-down, and therefore did not react. After the War an

Army report to Congress stated that the Patriot computers needed to be re-booted

every few hours or they created ever increasing errors in their calculations. The

Patriot Battery on line at the time of this SCUD firing evidently had its computers on

line for days without a reboot and therefore the accuracy of its calculations was

unacceptable and may have been a factor. The SCUD did, however, already start

breaking up as in the case of most of those fired by the Iraqi's.

v Considered to be the 78th and last SCUD fired at Saudi Arabia

Gulf War 1991 Chronology

Day 40: 25 Feb 1991