Most observers think of the Gulf War as a land and air campaign surely the naval aspect was secondary. In fact it was primary Without the seapower, the w. Free online hockey manager allows users to compete in tournaments or in leagues for the Metro Cup. Games can be played manually or automatically. I(1).jpg' alt='Watch Tomcats Online' title='Watch Tomcats Online' />Gulf of Sidra incident 1. In the first Gulf of Sidra incident, 1. August 1. 98. 1, two Libyan. Su 2. 2 Fitter fired upon and were subsequently shot down by two American. F 1. 4 Tomcats off the Libyan coast. Backgroundedit. A U. S. Navy Mc. Donnell F 4. J Phantom II of Fighter Squadron VF 7. Be Devilers escorting a Libyan Mikoyan Gurevich Mi. G 2. 3 over Gulf of Sidra in August 1. In 1. 97. 3, Libya claimed the Gulf of Sidra as a closed bay and part of its territorial waters. This prompted the United States to conduct Freedom of Navigation FON operations in the area since the claim did not meet the criteria established by international law. Libya often confronted U. S. forces in and near the gulf, and on two occasions its fighter jets opened fire on U. S. reconnaissance flights off the Libyan coast once in the spring of 1. FON operations intensified when Ronald Reagan came to office. In August 1. 98. 1, he authorized a large naval force led by a pair of aircraft carriers, USS Forrestal and USS Nimitz, to deploy to the disputed area. The two carriers had embarked a total of four interceptor squadrons VF 7. Be Devilers and VMFA 1. Silver Eagles, flying F 4 Phantoms from Forrestal, and VF 4. Black Aces and VF 8. Jolly Rogers, flying F 1. Tomcats from Nimitz. The Libyan Air Force responded by deploying a high number of interceptors and fighter bombers. Early on the morning of 1. August, when the U. S. exercise began, at least three Mi. G 2. 5 Foxbats approached the U. S. carrier groups, but were escorted away by American interceptors. The Libyans tried to establish the exact location of the U. S. naval force. Thirty five pairs of Mi. G 2. 3 Floggers, Mi. G 2. 5s, Sukhoi Su 2. Fitter Cs, Su 2. M Fitter Js and Mirage F1s flew into the area, and were soon intercepted by seven pairs of F 1. F 4s. 1. 31. 4 U. S. Naval Intelligence later assessed that a Mi. G 2. 5 may have fired a missile from 1. U. S. fighter aircraft that day. IncidenteditOn the morning of 1. August, after having diverted a number of Libyan mock attacks on the battle group the previous day, two F 1. VF 4. 1 Black Aces,1. Fast Eagle 1. 02 CDR Henry Hank KleemannLT David DJ Venlet flying Bu. No 1. 60. 40. 31. Fast Eagle 1. 07 LT Lawrence Music MuczynskiLTJG James Luca1. Anderson in Bu. No 1. CAP, ostensibly to cover aircraft engaged in a missile exercise. However, U. S. Navy Commander Thompson S. Sanders wrote in Air SpaceSmithsonian that his S 3. A Vikings mission was the real precursor to this incident. Sanders was ordered to fly his Viking in a racetrack orbit inside Qaddafis claimed zone but outside the internationally recognized 1. Libyans to react. An E 2. C Hawkeye alerted Sanders that two Sukhoi Su 2. Ghurdabiyah Air Base near the city of Sirte. The Hawkeye directed the F 1. Sanders dove to an altitude of 5. Libyan aircraft, an experience Sanders found stressful because the S 3. A was not equipped with a threat warning receiver, nor with any countermeasures, a deficiency later remedied on the S 3. B. 2. 2The two F 1. Only a few seconds before the crossing, at an estimated distance of 3. Libyans fired an AA 2 Atoll at one of the F 1. Then the two Sukhois 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. 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. The Tomcats turned hard port and came behind the Libyan jets. The Americans fired AIM 9. L Sidewinders the first kill is credited to Fast Eagle 1. Fast Eagle 1. 07. Both Libyan pilots ejected. Fast Eagle 1. 02, one of the two F 1. Tomcats on the deck of the USS Nimitz immediately following the incident. Prior to the ejections, a U. S. electronic surveillance plane monitoring the event recorded the lead Libyan pilot report to his ground controller that he had fired a missile at one of the U. S. fighters and gave no indication that the missile shot was unintended. The official United States Navy report states that both Libyan pilots ejected and were safely recovered, but in the official audio recording of the incident taken from USS Biddle, one of the F 1. Libyan pilot eject, but his parachute failed to open. Less than an hour later, while the Libyans were conducting a search and rescue operation of their downed pilots, two Mi. G 2. 5s entered the airspace over the Gulf and headed towards the U. S. carriers at Mach 1. USS Nimitz. 3. 0 Two VF 4. Tomcats headed towards the Libyans, which then turned around. The Tomcats turned home, but had to turn around again when the Libyans headed towards the U. S. carriers once more. After being tracked by the F 1. Mi. Gs finally headed home. One more Libyan formation ventured out into the Gulf towards the U. S. forces later that day. Fast Eagle 1. 02 Bu. No 1. 60. 40. 3 is now on display at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Midland, Texas. The restored F 1. August 2. 6, 2. 01. Vice Admiral Dave Venlet cut the first tape. Fast Eagle 1. 07 Bu. No 1. 60. 39. 0 was destroyed in an accident on 2. October 1. 99. 4. See alsoeditReferenceseditCitationsedit abCongressional Research Service Issue Brief for Congress Libya. April 1. 0. Foreign Press Centers, U. S. Department of State, Retrieved 2. January 2. 01. 2. St John, Ronald Bruce. Libya and the United States Two Centuries of Strife. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0 8. 12. 2 3. Davis, Brian L. 1. Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U. S. Attack on Libya. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0 2. 75 9. Lehman, John F. Command of the Seas. Annapolis Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9. 78 1. 55. Stanik, Joseph T. El Dorado Canyon Reagans Undeclared War with Qaddafi. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9. 78 1 5. Davis, Brian L. Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U. S. Attack on Libya. Praeger Publishers. South Park Watch Online Season 17 Episode 4. ISBN 0 2. 75 9. Stanik, Joseph T. El Dorado Canyon Reagans Undeclared War with Qaddafi. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9. 78 1 5. Beecher, William. March 2. 3. U. S. Asserts Plane Fled Libyan Jets Eavesdropping Transport Ignored Arabs Signal to Land, Officials Say. The New York Times. Finney, John W. March 2. Trouble Again Over The Elint. The New York Times. Martin, David C. John Walcott. Best Laid Plans The Inside Story of Americas War Against Terrorism. Harper and Row, Publishers Inc. ISBN 0 0. 6 0. 15. Wilcox, Robert K. Wings of Fury From Vietnam to the Gulf War The Astonishing True Stories of Americas Elite Fighter Pilots. Pocket Books. p. 1. ISBN 0 6. 71 7. Stanik, Joseph T. El Dorado Canyon Reagans Undeclared War with Qaddafi. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9. 78 1 5. Wilcox, Robert K. Wings of Fury From Vietnam to the Gulf War The Astonishing True Stories of Americas Elite Fighter Pilots. Pocket Books. pp. ISBN 0 6. 71 7. Brown, Craig. Debrief A Complete History of U. S. Aerial Engagements 1. Present. Schiffer Military History. ISBN 9. 78 0 7. Brown, David F. Tomcat Alley A Photographic Roll Call of the Grumman F 1. Tomcat. Schiffer Military History. ISBN 0 7. 64. 3 0. Signed Lithograph while in VF 4. Wp. Ynlo. 5Hk ab. Wilcox, Robert K. Wings of Fury From Vietnam to the Gulf War The Astonishing True Stories of Americas Elite Fighter Pilots. Pocket Books. pp. ISBN 0 6. 71 7. Brown, Craig 2. Debrief A Complete History of U. S. Aerial Engagements 1. Present. Schiffer Military History. ISBN 9. 78 0 7. Stanik, Joseph T. El Dorado Canyon Reagans Undeclared War with Qaddafi. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9. 78 1 5. Sanders, Thompson, Bait and switch, Air Space, JuneJuly 2. Martin, David C. and John Walcott.