Above & Beyond: Take a Left at Portugal
- By James A. Jimenez
- Air & Space magazine, January 2009
Because France and Spain would not grant the United States overfly rights, the 1986 F-111 raid on Libya required a lengthy detour.
Illustration F. Matthew Hale; Inset: SSGT WOODWARD/RAF
Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1986 U.S. bombing raid against Libya, began for me with a phone call at noon on Sunday, April 13. I was a U.S. fighter pilot flying General Dynamics F-111F Aardvarks out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Britain. The caller told me to report with my flying gear to the 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which was odd, since I was assigned to the 495th. Flying out of a rival’s squadron could be like a bad date, with both parties hoping never to see each other again.
I arrived around 1 p.m. The pilots were assembled in the main conference room and briefed. For the first time since World War II, U.S. aircraft were going to launch on a strike mission from England.
Although the wing had been involved in planning various attacks against Libya since January in retaliation for Libya’s support of international terrorism, strike plans had been limited to four to six aircraft and a single target. Now, with 24 hours until takeoff, the Air Force plan had expanded to 18 F-111Fs aimed at three targets. (Off Tunisia, we would join forces with Navy aircraft operating from carriers in the Gulf of Sidra, which would also attack Benghazi, on the eastern side of the Gulf.) Three F-111s were to strike a terrorist training facility at Murat Sidi Bilal, six were assigned the military ramp at Tripoli airport, and nine of us (I was to be number 3 in this group) were going against the Bab al-Aziziyah Barracks in downtown Tripoli. France and Spain were not likely to grant us overfly rights, and there was a problem amassing enough tankers to keep us fueled for the longer flight.
I was probably the most junior pilot chosen for the mission. I had never flown below 400 feet at night; our mission called for a run to the target at 200 feet—and 700 mph. I had never dropped live ordnance; my jet was armed with four 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs. My previous longest mission had been 4.5 hours; the planned route around Spain and back would take more than 13. Moreover, I had never air-refueled from a KC-10 tanker, air-refueled under radio silence, or ejected chaff or flares (countermeasures to foil radar-guided and heat-seeking missiles).
Fortunately, I was paired with an experienced weapon systems operator. Mike and I stayed up late planning, then crashed in the base transient quarters, returning the next day, Monday, to the 494th, where we received the latest intelligence estimates, finalized the air refueling plan, got amphetamines from the flight doc, signed for our sidearms, checked out classified codes, and grabbed box lunches. I also grabbed plenty of piddle packs.
After the final briefing, we boarded crew vans. I sat next to the mission commander and confessed, “Boss, I’ve never refueled from a KC-10 before.” He looked at me like Ward Cleaver would at the Beaver. “Now’s not the time, Jim. You’ll do fine.”
Takeoff and rejoin went smoothly, and our armada turned south, flying along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. Just as the sun was setting, I watched as six KC-10 tankers each took on fuel from six other KC-10s, which had just been refueled by six KC-135s. Next to each of the KC-10s gassing up, three F-111Fs waited their turn. Flying south amid this spectacle, I hummed Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”
After my 10th refueling, I disconnected from the boom, turned off our lights, and initiated a terrain-following radar descent. At 5,000 feet, we discovered a malfunction in the radar altimeter, a crucial instrument when flying over smooth terrain like water. I leveled off when the altimeter read 1,000 feet—based on the barometric pressure forecast we received before takeoff.
Comments (5)
I remember that night, as the roar of the engines filled the skies over Lakenheath. It was like shooting stars between the runways of Lakenheath and the runways of Mildenhall, filling the skies with fighter-Bombers and tankers. It was said the timing was also in synch with all the reporters going to dinner that night as the SPs reported to the command post "all clear." I was working night shift in the jet engine shop and praying that all went well knowing the mission also depended on the engines that powered those fighters, and it was anyone's guess if the engines would be up to the task. If you went by the historic performance of the engines no one in the right mind would use those P&W engines in a combat setting. The engine turbine shell out rate was higher then the "OR" rate for the entire NATO fleet. However our guys did well; sorry to say we lost a good crew that night. Little did I know that when I shook the hand of the pilot in church that morning he would be gone before sun up the next day. The engines never did improve and eventually the Wing up-graded to F-15 aircraft and the F-111F were eventually retired due to high maintenance costs and low engine reliability.
Posted by Mike Solon - AKA J79 Engine on December 2,2008 | 08:43 AM
I remember that night, as the roar of the engines filled the skies over Lakenheath. It was like shooting stars between the runways of Lakenheath and the runways of Mildenhall filling the skies with fighter-Bombers and tankers. It was said the timeing was also in sink with all the reporters going to dinner that night as the SPs reported to the command post "all clear" I was working night shift in the jet engine shop and praying that all went well knowing the mission also dependfed on the engines that powered those fgighters and it was anyone's guess if the engines would be up to the task. If you went by the history performance of the engines no one in the right mind would use those P&W engines in a combat setting. The engine turbine shell out rate was higher then the "OR" rate for the entire NATO fleet. However our Guys did well, sorry to say we lost a good crew that night, little did I know that when I shook the hand of the pilot in church that morning he would be gone before sun up the next day. The engines never did improve and eventially the Wing up-graded to F15 aircraft and the F111F were eventially retired due to high maintenance costs and low engine reliability.
Posted by Mike Solon - AKA J79 Engine on December 2,2008 | 08:43 AM
As a 20 year-old Airman new to the Air Force, I arrived at Mountain Home AFB, ID in September, 1971. There was not an airplane in sight. All the RF4-C's had departed and the new F-111F's had not yet arrived. After a few weeks, a couple T-33's were made available to the gathering number of pilots and a couple 'Pedro's' were all that were on the base. Soon, F111's began to arrive and the base ramped up to the mission of training pilots but my duties as a computer operator in the base computer room changed very little. We used to drive around to either end of the runway just outside the base to watch the Aardvarks land and take off.
To hear they were involved in the Libyan mission gives me a bit of satisfaction, even 20+ years on. I transferred to Luke AFB in 1973 and watched F-4C's, F-104's and later F-15's until I left the AF in 1978. Still fascinated, I occaisionally return to the end of the runways and attend all air shows to indulge myself in that thrill that never goes away.
Posted by Phil Morris on February 14,2009 | 07:58 AM
i remember hearing all you guys going out as if was yesterday,
robert
wymondham
norfolk
Posted by robert starling on February 25,2010 | 01:55 PM
I was a JEEP (Just Enough Education to Pass) security police officer at Lakenheath and was assigned to be a Base Agressor for the salty nation training that was going on.. so not knowing being told to arm up in the middle was not unusual for the exercise. While sitting on the flightline with a fire team of E-6's and above me being E-3 A1C, we were watching all the planes F-111-F's being armed up with live bombs. all the sgts. in my Peacekeeper saying "WOW we are going to f--- someone up". As we watched the F-111's take off in groups of four with every group of F-111's that took off we saw a refueler take off from Mildenhall. What a sight, the afterburners at take off still burned into my eyes. I remember being relieved and going right to bed and waking up to the S.P. Dorm going nuts and to hear President Reagan saying "We had to do what we had to do." The next few months in foxholes around the base was not fun but duty came first.
Rodney Pierce Sgt. (1985-1991)
7348th Security Police Squadron
R.A.F. Lakenheath March 1986 - April 1988
Posted by SGT. Rodney Pierce U.S.A.F. Security Police on January 29,2013 | 10:33 PM