The Gulf Of Sidra Incident but with Dangerzone скачать в хорошем качестве

The Gulf Of Sidra Incident but with Dangerzone

On the morning of 19 August, after having diverted a number of Libyan "mock" attacks on the battle group the previous day, two F-14s from VF-41 "Black Aces",[18] Fast Eagle 102 (CDR Henry 'Hank' Kleemann/LT David 'DJ' Venlet) (flying BuNo 160403)[19] and Fast Eagle 107 (LT Lawrence 'Music' Muczynski/LTJG James 'Luca'[20] Anderson) (in BuNo 160390),[19] were flying a combat air patrol (CAP), ostensibly to cover aircraft engaged in a missile exercise.[21] However, U.S. Navy Commander Thompson S. Sanders wrote in Air & Space/Smithsonian that his S-3A Viking's mission was the real precursor to this incident. Sanders was ordered to fly his Viking in a "racetrack" orbit (oval pattern) inside Gaddafi's claimed zone but outside the internationally recognized 12-mile (19 km) territorial water limit to try to provoke the Libyans to react. An E-2C Hawkeye alerted Sanders that two Sukhoi Su-22 fighters had taken off from Ghurdabiyah Air Base near the city of Sirte.[22][23] The Hawkeye directed the F-14s to intercept. Sanders dove to an altitude of 500 feet (150 m) and flew north to evade the Libyan aircraft, an experience Sanders found stressful because the S-3A was not equipped with a threat warning receiver, nor with any countermeasures, a deficiency later remedied on the S-3B.[24] The two F-14s set up for an intercept as the contacts headed north towards them.[22][25] Only a few seconds before the crossing, at an estimated distance of 300 m, one of the Libyans fired an AA-2 "Atoll" at one of the F-14s, but missed. [22][25] The two Su-22s split as they flew past the Americans, the leader turning to the northwest and the wingman turning southeast in the direction of the Libyan coast.[21][22][26] The Tomcats evaded the missile and were cleared to return fire by their rules of engagement, which mandated self-defense on the initiation of hostile action. [22][27] The Tomcats turned hard port and came behind the Libyan jets.[22] The Americans fired AIM-9L Sidewinders; the first kill is credited to Fast Eagle 102, the second to Fast Eagle 107.[22][28] Both Libyan pilots ejected. #F14 Dangerzone