This vid is a blast from the past, a Desert Storm-era classic that captures a flight of four F-16s targeted by a salvo of Iraqi SAMs. According to one of the seemingly erudite comment-adders the strike happened on January 19, 1991. The F-16s’ targets were nuclear research facilities around Baghdad. Two of the F-16s were shot down. (You can hear Stroke 4 get hit.) Both pilots ejected and became POWs.
The HUD footage is grainy, but if you look closely you can make out the airspeed aligned vertically on the left and the altitude on the right. Heading is horizontally oriented along the top. The F-16 is headed south-ish most of the time, but as the pilot continues to “defend” he also remains over the SAM envelope longer — sort of a “rock and a hard place” situation.
Also, if you look closely you can see the contrails the SAMs leave as they fly toward the American jets. These guys got ambushed, big time.
The UHF comms between the airplanes in this video are intense (they get my heart racing, anyway). Adding to the confusion is the sound of the ALR-67 radar warning receiver. All of this should serve as a reminder to tactical jet aviators (and the procurement machine designed to support them) that while our enemy may not have an integrated air defense at the moment, future foes probably will.
– Ward
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazing. Probably pulling 7+ g’s, with all the adrenaline coursing thru the veins and still helping your wingman. Simply amazing.
F-king intense. Anyone know what SAMs they were?
Hoax Meister:
Most of what they shot during that war were SA-3s. That’s probably what they were shooting here, too.
Great clip, made more powerful by your context.
I believe that they wer SAM-3′s and 6′s, and as I recall one aircraft was lost to each.
Hi, thanks for the writeup of the “Package Q” mission, which took place on the 19th of January 1991. It was the first daylight raid on Baghdad (don’t let anyone tell you that only the Stearths went downtown) and the largest single strike package of the war with 72 F-16 in addition to the supporting aircraft. The video that you are seeing is from “ET’s” aircraft as he avoids at least six SAMs that directed to and guiding on his aircraft – without functional chaff.
As maintenance troops, that Saturday in January was the day that the war really hit us – it followed the jets and came right back to our base. We’d been in and out of chem gear during SCUD warnings, but this made it personal.
I was working NBC Decon at EOR when the aircraft returned from the mission. They skipped past us and went straight back to the ramp. I can’t even begin to describe how it felt to count the jets as they touched down, having jettisoned their external tanks, and to know that they weren’t all there… Hoping that perhaps they stopped in Saudi for fuel, but knowing that just wasn’t the case.
Bill Hinchey was the dedicated crew chief on the aircraft Tico flew on his last mission. “Just before the jets landed, they told me that it was my jet that went down…” I’ll never forget the look on Bill’s face as I sat the the next table from him in the chow hall that night. I felt as bad as he looked. It was definatly our roughest day in Qatar.
For more on ‘Package Q’ (and possibly a little better quality video) please visit us at http://www.lucky-devils.net
Mike Kopack
Lucky Devils Phased Maintenance / Decon
Torrejon AB / Doha, Qatar
What can you say! These are American fighting men. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!
Thanks for providing good detail, Mike. And thanks for your service. Hope to see you here often.