Day 42: 27 Feb 1991

27 February 1991 (Wednesday): DAY 42

GENERAL:

v Kuwait City is officially liberated by Marine & Arab Forces

v VII Corps is 200 miles to the West in a flanking movement around Kuwait

v Weather hampered all tactical air operations, forward bases were clobbered

with rain, fog, and smoke

v Bush declares a stopping to offensive operations

v The US 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade and the Republican Guard's Medina

Luminous Division engaged in the largest tank battle of the War. M1A1's record

tank kills at ranges over 3200 meters, well over expectations. US Night FLIR and

vision devices totally dominate Soviet equipment and create massive kills with

virtually no losses.

AIR WAR: (LAST NIGHT OF THE WAR)

v 2 x F-111F Pave Tack Equipped aircraft based at Taif AB in Saudi, carried newly

developed GBU-28 new "Deep Throat" Penetrator Bombs to attack the Command

Bunkers at Al Taji AB, north of Bagdad. This was #1 of three such bunkers utilized by

Saddam Hussein during the War. Initially I-2000 Bombs were unsuccessful. Bunker

#1 was hit with at least three weapons utilizing seven second delay fuzes.

v The #1 aircraft was the 495th Squadron CO's aircraft (70-2391) and dropped the

first weapon which hit the aim-oint but missed the bunker airshaft.

v The #2 aircraft (70-2387 a 493rd TFS yellow tail) flown by LtCol Dave White /

Capt Tom Hines, scored a direct hit killing several high ranking generals

v Mk-84's carried on the opposite wing for balance were dropped on Al Taqaddum AB

(west of Bagdad) enroute home

v The other two bunkers in downtown Bagdad were spared by the cease-fire and the fact

that it took another day to get the remaining weapons to Taif

v The Al Taji complex also repairs SCUD's and tanks

v Maj Richard Wright is the Program Manager of the GBU-28

- Al Weimorts an engineer at the Air-to-Surface Guided Weapons Systems

Program Office at Eglin AFB, Florida

- The US Army stockpiled old artillery gun barrels at the Letterkenney Arsenal

in Eastern Pennsylvania

- Several were shipped to the Watervliet Army Arsenal in upstate New York

- Bob Peterson, TI's Engineering Mananger for Penetration Bombs. Dave Welp,

VP TI's Defense Systems & Electronics Group

... on 14 Feb, TI was given full go ahead to undertake aero analysis for the

weapon using wind tunnel work at LTV

... weight was 4700 lbs, twice the I-2000

> modified GBU-27 guidance system & BLU-109 fuze

> 14.5 inches in diameter, 18ft 9in long

> 650 pounds of molten Tritonal

... NY ANG C-130 left Schenectady for Eglin with first shapes

... on 19 Feb the USAF asked TI for (2) guidance units, (2) more in days

- On 24 Feb an F-111 dropped the first weapon over Tonapah and it went over 100 feet into the ground, exceding expectations (a/c 74-0186)

... 431st Test & Eval Sqdn from McCellan AFB, California

- (4) more guidance kits were delivered to Eglin on the 25th

- On the 26th the bomb penetrated 22 feet of conctete at Holoman AFB

- (4) Weapons were already airborne to Saudi Arabia

(Dallas Morning News, 30Jun91, Sun, 26A)

(SW&ST, 20May91, p22/23)

- the main Bunker #1 was hit and a second bunker was also hit

- the total program ran under $10 million and produced 30 weapons

- the 5th weapon was used to certift the F-15E and the 6th/7th were detonated

on the ground to certify the frag patterns

v This raid on Al Taji Air Base was considered by the Press to be an actual attempt to kill Saddam Hussein himself. The main bunker, which was attacked three times prior

by jets using 2000 lbs LGB's (maybe I-2000's) with little damage done. This might

have convinced Saddam that it was "the" place to hide. The Dallas Morning News 1st

anniversary summary report on the Gulf War (12Jan92, pg 22A) quote senior

officers who where in the Command Bunker in Riyadh as saying that Saddam was in

fact being sought, even though they did not have his precise location known.

F-117 HIGHLIGHTS (27Feb/Day 42):

v Day 42/Wave Two: 14 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

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

- Takeoff during the night of Day 41 and hit their target on early Day 42

- Scored 8 direct hits with 54 PGM attempts (15%)

- Tarmiya Rocket Facility

- Fuze factory at Narawan

- Al Musayyib Rocket Motor Production Works

- A Terrorist Camp in Salmon Pak

- The Ba'ath Party Headquarters in Bagdad

- The Shahiyat Rocket Test Facility

- An Artillery Plant in Habbaniyah

- Bagdad's Muthena Airfield & H-2 Airfield

v Day 43/Wave One: 10 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

10 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

- Takeoff early in the evening of Day 42, and hit their target on Day 43

- Scored 32 hits with 35 PGM attempts (91%) & 2 no-drops

- The Ba'ath Party Headquarters & Muthena Airfield in Bagdad

- Salmon Pak Bio/Chem Research Facility

v Day 43/Wave Two: 5 x F-117's from the 415th TFS

5 x F-117's from the 416th TFS

- Missile Research & Development, and Production Plant (possible)

- The Rocket Motor Test Facility at SAl Musayyab

- Scored 4 hits out of 20 PGM attempts (20%)

- Third Wave put on Hold

KILLS:

v 1 x Iraqi An-12 transport destroyed on the ground at Shayka Mayhar Air Base inside Iraq by a British Buccaneer (S2B/XX885) using LGB's and Pave Tack

LOSSES:

v 1 x F-16C downed from the 50th TFW out of Hahn AFB, FRG

- LtCol Steve Wood, Commanding

- assigned to the 363rd TFW (Provisional)

- forward based at King Khalid Military City AB (KKMC)

- 84-1390, 5C172, Block 25F, 29th US Combat Loss

- Capt William F. Andrews (32), of Waterloo, NY

- attacking a fleeing column of Iraqi troops back towards Basra

- downed by a possible Handheld SA-16, aircraft pitched out of control

- was his 35th mission & the Squadron's 1st loss

- suffered broken right leg bone (below knee) during ejection

- SAR Helo was downed in rescue attempt

- went to Basra Hospital and was treated kindly

- treatment in Bagdad was brutal

- released 6 Mar to red Cross and returned on 11Mar91

- Andrews was awarded the Air Force Cross (1st one in the War)

... while surrounded by Iraqi soldiers and seriously wounded

with a broken leg he noted that the Iraqi's were preparing to

fire a handheld IR SAM at his wingman, he grabbed back his

survival radio and warned him to take evasive action

... ceremony on 20 May

... 188 recipients of the AFC since 1949, 2nd highest award

- was the next-to-last day of the war and the 10th TFS lost one aircraft,

while 2 other aircraft crash landed at their base, killing one pilot

... battle-damaged A-10 crashed landed, bounced and flipped over

and the pilot was killed

... a Hill AFB F-16C (Blk 40) landed after taking a hit that forced

its nose-gear to stay up

v 1 x UH-60 Blackhawk was reported downed

- 101st Airborne

- shot down in southern Iraq trying to rescue a downed F-16 pilot

- Maj (Dr) Rhonda L. Cornum (36), flight surgeon for the 2nd Attack Helo BN,

of Freeville, NY, was taken as a POW

- SPC Troy A. Dunlap (20), Massac, Illinois...POW

- SSgt Daniel J. Stamaris (31), of Boise, Idaho...POW

- Capt Reginald C. Underwood (27) Lexington, Kentucky...POW

- CWO Robert G. Godfrey (32) of Phoenix, Alabama...KIA

- SSgt WilliamT. Butts (30) of Waterford, Connecticut...KIA

- CWO Phillip M. Garvey (39) of Pensacola, Florida...KIA

- Sgt Patbouvier E. Ortiz (27) of Ridgewood, New York...KIA

v 1 x AV-8B from VMA-331

- BURNO 162740, USS Nassau (LHA-04)

- Capt Reginald C. Underwood, (27) Lexington, Kentucky....KIA

v 1 x OA-10A from the 23rd TASS / 602nd TAW

- 77-0197, callsign "NAIL 51"

- 1/Lt Patrick B. Olson (26) of Washington, NC....KIA

- mission in bad weather, hit and tried to recover at FOL, the aircraft

flipped over on landing and killed the pilot.

Gulf War 1991 Chronology

Day 42: 27 Feb 1991