Thus, by 1980, by the beginning of the Iranian-Iraqi war, the Iraqi Navy consisted of: 1 Yugoslav-built training frigate Ibn Marjid without missile weapons (it was originally planned to install the French Exocett anti-ship missile system on it, but for some reason it was not installed); 4 Polish-built SDK; 15 Soviet-built missile boats (3 projects 183Р and 12 projects 205); 12 Soviet-built torpedo boats; 9 Soviet-built minesweepers (2 MTShch and 7 RTShch) and about 60 different boats.
The Iranian fleet consisted of: 3 destroyers (1 former British Batlle - Damavand type, w / n D5; Babr, w / n D7, Palang, w / n D9, American type Allen M. Sumner during World War II), 4 frigates (British Vosper Mk.5); 4 corvettes (American Bayandor); 12 missile boats (French type Combattante II with American anti-ship missiles RGM-84A "Harpoon"); 4 TDK, 3 BTShch, 2 RTShch and about 100 different boats. That is, the Iranian navy completely outnumbered the Iraqi navy, and this should also be taken into account that the Iranians did not manage to receive the 4 Kidd-class missile destroyers ordered from the United States.
Given such a sad state of affairs for themselves, the Iraqis did not even try to actively operate at sea. However, there were several naval battles, the most famous of which was Operation Morvarid (Persian Pearl) - a shock operation conducted by the Iranian Navy and Air Force against the coast of Iraq on November 28, 1980.
The strike was in response to the deployment by Iraq of forward observation posts and radar stations on oil platforms in the Gulf. On November 28, 1980, Iranian aircraft launched a powerful strike against Iraqi airfields around Basra. The raid was attended by F-5 Tiger fighters and F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers. The raid was a success, the flight strips were damaged, in addition, one MiG-21 fighter was destroyed on the ground. This operation weakened Iraqi air presence over the eastern part of the Persian Gulf and facilitated the operation of the naval forces.
F-4D Phantom II fighter-bomber of the Iranian Air Force with AGM-65 Maverick missiles is preparing for a combat mission
On the night of November 28-29, six ships of the Iranian fleet, united in Task Force 421, secretly approached the Iraqi coast and, with the support of deck and base helicopters, landed commando detachments at the Iraqi oil terminals Mina al-Bakr and Kor al-Amiyah. The attack was completely unexpected for the Iraqis. After a short firefight, Iranian soldiers suppressed the resistance of the defenders, and, having laid explosive charges, evacuated on Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The terminals and nearby early warning radar stations were completely destroyed and the oil infrastructure of Iraq was severely damaged.
At the same time, two Iranian missile boats "Peykan" and "Joshan" of the French type "La Combattante II" with a displacement of about 265 tons, armed with 4 missile launchers RGM-84A "Harpoon", 1 76-mm AU OTO Melara and 1 40-mm AU Breda-Bofors each blocked the Iraqi ports of Al-Faw and Umm Qasr.
Missile boat type "La Combattante II" of the Iranian Navy
More than 60 foreign ships were locked in ports, unable to go to sea. Also, Iranian missile boats subjected both ports to artillery fire, causing some damage to infrastructure.
On the morning of November 29, two groups (four each) of Iraqi Project 183 torpedo boats and a detachment of 5 Project 205 missile boats went to sea for a counterattack on Iranian ships at Al-Faw.
Upon detecting the enemy, both sides exchanged missile strikes. The Iranians struck first, taking advantage of the range advantage of their RGM-84A Harpoon missiles. Two Iraqi missile boats were sunk by Harpoon hits, but the other three continued their attack on the Peykan missile boat.
Caught under attack from superior enemy forces, the Iranian missile boat requested support from its air force. The Iranian Air Force responded to a request for assistance by dispatching 2 Phantom II F-4s from Bushehr Air Base. However, by the time of their arrival, Peykan had already been hit by two P-15 Termit missiles and was sinking. In retaliation for the death of their missile boat, the Phantoms immediately attacked the Iraqi force with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, inflicting catastrophic damage: 4 Project 183 torpedo boats were sunk, 2 Project 205 missile boats were disabled and another Iraqi missile the boat was literally torn to pieces by the simultaneous hit of 3 missiles. The almost complete destruction of the Iraqi compound took less than 5 minutes.
At the same time, 4 more F-4 Phantom II fighters from the Shiraz airbase bombarded the port of Al-Fau, using guided bombs to destroy port warehouses and infrastructure. The attack was supported by the F-5 Tiger flight, which bombarded the air defense positions around the port. Iraqi air defense acted ineptly and could not prevent the destruction of the port: one Iranian fighter, according to Iraqi statements, was hit by a MANPADS shot, but managed to get to the base.
F-5 "Tiger" fighters of the Iranian Air Force
At the same time, new Iranian aviation forces - F-5 Tiger fighters and F-14 Tomcat interceptors - arrived in the eastern part of the Persian Gulf, covering the retreat of fleet ships and supporting F-4s striking ports and oil rigs. At the same time, the SA.321H "Super Frelon" helicopter, which took off from one of the towers, equipped with Exocet missiles to attack the retreating Iranian ships, was attacked by laser-guided missiles and destroyed in the air.
Fighter F-14A "Tomcat" of the Iranian Air Force (w / n. 3-863)
Finally, Iraqi aircraft appeared on the battlefield. Two flights of MiG-23 fighters rose from the airbases and entered into battle with Iranian aircraft. Iranian F-4 "Phantom II", already freed from the bomb load, entered the battle. Within a few minutes of the air battle, 3 Iraqi MiG-23s were shot down at the cost of losing one Phantom. Another four MiG-23 tried to attack the Joshan missile boat retreating to the east, but was forced to retreat, losing the plane to a MANPADS shot from the boat. Following this, a patrolling Iranian F-14 Tomcat attacked Iraqi planes, shooting down two of them and forcing the remaining MiG to retreat.
Fighter MiG-23MF Iraqi Air Force
Operation Morvarid ended with the undoubted success of the Iranian forces and a heavy defeat for Iraq. In less than 12 hours, 80 percent of the Iraqi fleet (including 5 missile boats) was destroyed, the oil terminals of Mina al-Bakr and Kor al-Amiya were destroyed by a commando attack, and the port of Al Faw was blocked and bombed. During the operation, Iraq lost 5 missile boats, 4 torpedo boats, an SA.321H Super Frelon attack helicopter, one MiG-21 fighter (bombed out on the runway) and 4 MiG-23 fighters. In addition, radar systems were destroyed, which violated Iraqi control over the airspace of the Persian Gulf.
Fighter MiG-21MF Iraqi Air Force
The Iranian casualties were much less: they lost one missile boat (Peykan) sunk, one F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber shot down and one damaged.
Iranian poster dedicated to Operation Morvarid
The second Iranian missile boat, Joshan, was subsequently sunk in 1988 during Operation Praying Mantis by the American frigate Simpson, which fired two SM-1MR anti-aircraft missiles at it, destroying its superstructure, and the missile cruiser Wainwright, which fired another missile. SM-1ER, which struck the hull and destroyed almost the entire crew of the boat, and the frigate "Badley", which launched the anti-ship missile RGM-86 "Harpoon". However, he did not achieve a hit - the superstructures of the Iranian ship were almost completely destroyed by hits from SM-1 missiles, and the silhouette of the boat was almost hidden in the waves. After that, not wanting to spend more missiles, American ships approached the missile boat and finished it off with artillery fire. Together with "Joshan" his entire team perished.
At present, the names "Peykan" and "Joshan" and the side numbers (P 224 and P 225) bear the new Iranian-built missile boats of the Sina type, based in the Caspian Sea.
In the same November 1980, the KFOR of Project 773 Janada (w / n 74) was sunk by a blow from Iranian Phantoms.
Having suffered such large losses, the Iraqis began to urgently look for a source of their replacement. And their choice again fell on Yugoslavia.
In 1980, in Yugoslavia, by order of Iraq, 3 river minesweepers "MS 25" of the Nestin type were built. Displacement: standard 57, 31 / full 72, 3 tons. Length: 26, 94 m, width: 6, 48 m, draft: 1, 08 m. Full speed: 13, 5 knots. Cruising range: 860 miles at a speed of 11 knots. Power plant: 2x260 hp, diesel Torpedo B539 RM 79. Armament: 1x4 20-mm AU M 75, 2x1 20-mm AU M 71, 1x4 PU MTU-4 MANPADS "Strela-2M", 18 non-contact mines AIM- M82 or 24 anchor mines R-1, mechanical trawl MDL-1, mechanical trawl MDL-2R, pontoon electromagnetic-acoustic trawl PEAM-1A, acoustic explosive trawl AEL-1. RTV: Navigation radar Decca 1226. Crew: 17 people. (including 1 office).
River minesweeper "MS 25" type Nestin of the Croatian Navy
In 1981, the Iraqis ordered 3 Al-Zahra-class tank landing ships from Finland, disguised as cargo ro-ro vessels received in 1983. At the same time in Great Britain the Iraqis ordered 6 air-cushion landing craft of the SR.№6 type. The British completed the order in a year, thanks to which the capabilities of the Iraqi Navy to conduct tactical-scale amphibious operations were completely equal to that of the Iranian Navy, for which in 1986 a second marine brigade was formed as part of the Republican Guard. Displacement - 15 tons. Length - 18, 5 m, width - 7, 7 m. Power of the gas turbine unit - 1400 hp. with. Speed - 50 knots. The cruising range is 200 miles. Roof-mounted armament included a 7, 62 mm or 12, 7 mm machine gun. The maximum payload is 5-6 tons of cargo or up to 55 fully equipped soldiers.
Also, to compensate for the losses in February 1983, the "Tamuz" RCA (w / n 17) of Project 205 was supplied from the USSR.
1984-1985 In Yugoslavia, 15 PB 90 patrol ships were built. Displacement: standard 85 / full 90 t. Length - 27.3 m, width - 5.9 m, draft - 3.1 m. Full speed - 31 knots. Cruising range - 800 miles at a speed of 20 knots. Autonomy - 5 days. Power plant - 3x1430 hp, diesel. Armament: 1x1 40 mm AU Bofors L / 70, 1x4 20 mm AU M 75, 2x2 PU 128-mm flares "Svitac". RTV: Navigation radar Decca RM 1226. Crew: 17 people.
Patrol ship type "PB 90"
The fight against the Iranian Navy was entrusted to the Iraqi Air Force.
Initially, Soviet-supplied Tu-16 heavy bombers (12 units) with KSR-2 anti-ship missiles were used.
Bomber Tu-16 Iraqi Air Force
Thus, on November 17, 1983, the Iraqi Tu-16 attacked the former Italian Atlantic liner "Rafaello", which was used by the Iranians as a floating barracks, with an anti-ship missile KSR-2 in the port of Bushehr. The ship caught fire and completely burned out, and was subsequently withdrawn by the Iranians from the port and flooded (however, according to other sources, it was a heavy French helicopter SA.321H with an AM.39 Exocett anti-ship missile).
Atlantic liner "Rafaello" sunk by the Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqis were not satisfied with the use of relatively low-speed Tu-16 bombers, and therefore it was decided to lease in France in France deck-based fighter-bombers "Super-Etandar" with a minimum preparation time for flight, capable of operating at extremely low altitudes, and to purchase anti-ship missiles AM 39 "Exocet", which proved to be highly effective during the recent Falklands War, when they sunk the British destroyer Sheffield and the container ship Atlantic Conveyor, which was used by the British for air transport.
In the fall of 1983, 5 Super-Etandars and the first batch of 20 AM 39 missiles, after training pilots and technical personnel at the French airbase in Landiviso, arrived in Iraq.
Deck fighter-bomber "Super Etandar" of the "Dassault" company
It also provided for the adaptation of several heavy helicopters Aerospatial SA 321 "Super Frelon" under the Exocet and the possibility of additional purchase of missiles. 16 SA.321H Super Frelon assault helicopters were delivered to Iraq in 1977. Of these, 14 vehicles were included in the Iraqi Navy. Later, several vehicles were upgraded to the SA.321GV level (ORB 31WAS radar + AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles). The naval helicopter base was located in the port city of Umm Qasr.
SA 321G of the French Navy launches the Aerospatiale Exocet anti-ship missile system.
The first official flight of the Iraqi Air Force Super-Etandar took place on March 27, 1984. At the same time, a Greek tanker and a small auxiliary vessel were damaged in the area of the Kharg oil terminal.
From that moment on, the Iraqis began to fly quite intensively. They stated that the pilots of the Super-Etandarov conducted 51 combat operations and in each case "destroyed a large naval target." True, Lloyd's Merchant Marine Register completely refutes this claim. "Super Etandars" served in the Iraqi Air Force until 1985, when the surviving aircraft (one was lost, another was damaged under unexplained circumstances, and the Iranian side said that both machines were a victim of their fighters) were returned to France and replaced with French supersonic fighters Mirage F1. Moreover, the French announced that the lease of the aircraft had expired, and allegedly all five aircraft returned to France. Iraq fully paid for their use and no questions about compensation for losses were raised.
The use of "Super-Etandars" significantly reduced the export of Iranian oil. Having got a taste, Saddam Hussein decided to get hold of his own "pocket missile carriers". Therefore, of the Mirage F1 delivered to Iraq since 1979 (93 vehicles in total), 20 delivered at the end of 1984 were modifications of the Mirage F1EQ-5, which was a "hybrid" Mirage F1 with a Super-Etandara sighting system based on the Agava radar ensuring the launch of the Exocet anti-ship missile system.
Iraqi fighter Mirage F1
On December 3, 1984, the Mirage F1EQ-5 pilot first tried to use the AM.39 "Exoset" anti-ship missile system, but the attack failed due to a failure in the guidance system. The first success was recorded on February 14, 1985, when a rocket hit the Neptunia tanker.
On August 12, 1986, raids began on the terminal about. Sirri, located 240 km north of the Strait of Hormuz. Four Mirages, armed with Exocets, refueled in flight from an An-12 transport aircraft, covered a distance of 1,300 km, struck the complex and three tankers and returned to their airfield without loss. The most impressive was the 25 November 1987 raid against Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz itself. This mission was carried out by the most experienced pilots. They covered more than 4,000 km in both directions, refueled in the air from the An-12 during the flight to the target, and made an intermediate landing in Saudi Arabia on the way back. On Larak, some terminal objects were hit, and in the water area - several tankers. Later, Mirages began to refuel in the air and from the Il-76 transport vehicles modified by the Iraqis.
Usually on "Mirage" one "Exoset" was suspended under the fuselage, and only once, on July 17, 1987, two such missiles were hung under the wing. It is the Mirage F1EQ-5 that belongs to the most famous missile attack of the Iraqi Air Force: off the coast of Bahrain, a single Mirage, which was traveling at a speed of 620 km / h at an altitude of 900 m, found its target and at 22 05 hours from a distance of 20 km launched both Exocets. The attacked ship turned out to be an American frigate URO "Stark" (FFG-31) of the "Oliver H. Perry" class. The sailors did not have time to react to the threat. The first missile hit the frigate on the port side in the area of the 100th frame at the level of the second deck, above the waterline. Punching a hole in the side with dimensions of 3 × 4, 5 m, the rocket hit the ship's interior, but did not explode. With an interval of 25 seconds on the left side in the area of the 110th frame, slightly above the place of the first missile hit, the frigate was hit by the second missile, which exploded in the crew quarters. A fire broke out that spread to the premises of the CIC. The main systems and mechanisms were deprived of electricity, "Stark" lost speed and control. The struggle for the survivability of the ship began. The frigate remained afloat, but 37 Americans died and 22 were injured. The bodies of 35 crew members were sent to the United States, two people are missing. American experts noted that if it were in the stormy Atlantic, and not in the calm in the Persian Gulf, the frigate would inevitably have sunk. Baghdad promptly apologized, saying it had been an unfortunate mistake. and the pilot of the plane mistook the frigate for an Iranian tanker. Saddam Hussein was then considered a "good guy", and the main adversary of the United States in the region was Iran, so Washington accepted the explanation, and the incident did not develop. The Iraqi government has provided $ 400 million in compensation to prisoners of war, hostages, including the injured sailors of the frigate "Stark". However, when in the 1990s. Iraqi pilot A. Salem began to tell the West about his exploits, then said that the attack was planned on purpose, and he was the direct executor of it.
Damaged frigate "Stark"
Damage to the hull of the frigate "Stark" as a result of the explosion of the rocket AM.39 "Exocet"
In total, until the end of the war, the Iraqi Mirages struck at more than a hundred sea targets, while they managed to sink or damage 57. Of these, 44 were hit by AM.39 Exocet hits, 8 - from various freely falling bombs, 4 - from adjustable and one from the AS-30L missile.
Helicopters SA.321H "Super Frelon" also distinguished themselves. At the end of September and November 1982, two Iranian warships were hit by "exosets" from them, but they were able to remain combat-ready. On September 4, 1986, SA.321H struck an Iranian coast guard ship near the Al-Omaeh oil platform with an "exoset", and the ship was able to remain combat-ready. In addition, during the "tanker war" "Super Frelons" sunk or destroyed more than 30 tankers and other transport ships and at least 20 damaged.
The biggest battle of Saddam Hussein's "Super Frellons" took place on July 1, 1984. Six tankers came under fire from their "exosets" at once. The first two exploded and were destroyed by fire, although the other missiles did not hit, however, they provoked panic on four ships. As a result, all four tankers simply collided with each other in panic. The next day, Super Frelon destroyed another tanker.
However, there were also losses: two helicopters were destroyed by Iranian fighters. The first was on July 12, 1986. The helicopter landed on the Iraqi oil platform Al-Omaeh for refueling, and the F-14A Tomcat, not having weapons capable of "working" on the ground, could not do anything with it. I had to call the Iranian F-4E Phantom II, armed with anti-tank missiles. A direct hit from an AGM-65A Maverick missile shattered the Super Frelon. The second helicopter was shot down on June 24, 1987 by an Iranian F-14A. On October 6, 1986, the Iranian F-14A fighter "maneuvered" the Iraqi Mirage F1EQ-5, driving it into the waters of the Persian Gulf.
The Iraqis also used the MiG-23BN supplied by the USSR against the Iranian ships, attacking them with freely falling bombs. So, on September 24, 1980, the Iraqi MiG-23BN 250-kg bombs damaged the Iranian Naghdi corvette of the Bayandor type.
Fighter-bomber MiG-23BN Iraqi Air Force
The history of the Iranian-Iraqi war at sea is extremely confused and shrouded in mystery, it is only known that the Iraqis, in addition to the indicated ships, lost 6 PB 90-class patrol ships, and the Iranians - 2 Bayandor-class corvettes (Milanian-b / n 83 and Kahnamoie - b / n 84), although there are allegations that they were sunk by the P-15 anti-ship missiles from the Iraqi RCA of project 205. However, who, by what and when, sunk these ships, I personally do not know.
