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
(Page 2 of 3)
Our last radar update point before the Libyan coast was a tower on the western tip of Italy’s Lampedusa Island. Our navigation system had been running sweet, but when Mike selected the tower, the cursors fell about one mile to the west. An error during the planning process had resulted in incorrect coordinates being issued to all crews. Mike recognized the error and did not use the coordinates to update our navigation system. His decision was probably the single greatest factor enabling us to hit our target: those who updated their nav systems based on the bad coordinates missed. What I remember most about the tower is that we passed well beneath its top. Just how high were we above the waves?
Between deep breaths, I fretted about a possible recall. What if we were the only airplane not to get the word? Then, as we approached the target, all hell broke loose.
The sky was overcast, and the moon had set about four hours earlier. We had flown the entire route “comm out;”our last weather brief, before takeoff, had forecast a 20-mph tailwind from Lampedusa to the target, but instead we were fighting a 23-mph headwind. If the winds were this off, maybe our forecast altimeter setting was just as wrong.
Without afterburner, the airplane’s max speed was 655 mph. Approaching the starting point for the bomb run, we were 10 seconds slow, so I selected afterburner to accelerate to 690 mph for two minutes. The airplane jumped at the chance to go faster, and I had to fight off vertigo to keep it level. When we hit the start point, I turned left toward the target, hacked my stopwatch, and again selected afterburner. Our target run was planned for 690 mph at 200 feet. We didn’t dare descend, but we had to nail the timing or we’d risk hitting someone else’s airplane or bombs.
The target run was a sensory overload. The terrain-following radars gave off an incessant, blaring “fly up” alarm. Even though we did not have them engaged, we didn’t dare turn them off, since the radar scope was picking up a faint return from the waves. On top of that noise, the radar warning receiver was sounding a constant “New-Guy Audio.” The audio was to warn us of a new priority radar threat. The Libyans were turning their search radars off and on and using their beamed tracking radars to search for us. Each search radar cycle or sweep of the target trackers triggered our radar warning. The end effect was like a broken record. I would have punched off the audio but was afraid I’d accidentally punch off something important, like the intercom or radio.
As we approached Tripoli, the sky was filled with tracers and surface-to-air missiles, but the real threat was of plunging into the water. With our unreliable altimeter setting and no radar altimeter, we didn’t know how high we really were, and at 700 mph, it wouldn’t have taken much of a distraction for us to smack the waves.
We arrived at our pull-up point, with 18 seconds to go to the target. Our tactic was to “toss” the bombs, do a wingover, and then remain at altitude to laser-guide the bombs. Just prior to pull-up, I de-selected the afterburner and reset the wing sweep to 54 degrees. At the pull-up point, I initiated a 4-G pull, concentrated on centering the steering, pressed the bomb release button (the “pickle”), and let the armament system compute when to drop the bombs. I relied on my training and acted on reflex. Chaff, pull, pickle, chaff. “Bombs gone.” Chaff/flare, wingover. “18 seconds to impact.” Chaff/flare. “10 seconds.” Chaff/flare. “5 seconds.” Chaff/flare. “Impact.” Chaff/flare.
Just after our bombs hit, I saw a large, napalm-like explosion across the harbor. It had to have been Karma 52, the F-111 that was lost on the raid. Neither of us could afford to dwell on our feelings; there was still too much flying to do. With the bombs gone, I swept the wings back and got out of Dodge as fast as possible without using the afterburner, since it had proven to be an anti-aircraft-artillery magnet.
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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