Battle of Ad-Dawrah

Last updated

Battle of Ad-Dawrah
Part of the Persian Gulf War
USS Nicholas (FFG 47) at sea during Operation Desert Shield 1990 DN-SC-92-06592.jpg
USS Nicholas
Date18–19 January 1991
Location
Ad-Dawrah Offshore Oil Fields
Result Coalition victory
Territorial
changes
Ad-Dawrah captured
Belligerents
Flag of Iraq (1991-2004).svg Iraq Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Iraq (1991-2004).svg Saddam Hussein Flag of the United States.svg Norman Schwarzkopf
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Peter Billière
Flag of Kuwait.svg Jaber III
Strength
50+ marines
1 Zodiac
1 frigate (USS Nicholas)
1 fast attack ship (Istiqlal)
US Navy SEALs
USN & RN helicopters
Casualties and losses
29 captured None

The Battle of Ad-Dawrah was a naval engagement fought on the night of 18 January and into 19 January in 1991 during the Gulf War. In the battle, Coalition forces captured an Iraqi offshore oil field forty miles from the Kuwaiti shore. The 29 Iraqi servicemen captured were the first prisoners of the conflict. It was also the first surface engagement after the Coalition intervened in the Gulf War.

Contents

Background

In the early morning of 18 January, Coalition aircraft began a major campaign against Iraqi forces in preparation for the ground invasion of Kuwait and Iraq. Many of these jets and air sorties were coming from aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships located in the Persian Gulf. Whilst jets were flying over the oil field they reported taking heavy fire from SAMs and shoulder fired rockets. The US suspected that there was a large garrison of Iraqi troops located there being used as an outpost for reporting Coalition aircraft movements back to Iraq. [1]

Air engagement

Later that night, OH-58D and U.S. Navy Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk helicopters attacked two platforms out of range of the Coalition surface ships, with air-surface missiles. At one point, six Iraqi soldiers tried to escape in a Zodiac, but were captured by the Kuwaiti fast attack vessel Istiqlal. The helicopters left after they started taking fire from the platforms, leaving the platforms ablaze.

Meanwhile, USS Nicholas under the cover of darkness, and under radio silence moved in closer to the other nine platforms. Iraqi Silkworm anti-ship missiles were well within striking distance from the warship. For an hour, USS Nicholas shelled the platforms with her 76-mm gun.

After the bombardment, the Coalition forces landed a United States Navy SEALs team on the platforms, where they fought the Iraqis until they surrendered and an additional 23 Iraqi soldiers were captured. There were no Coalition casualties. [2]

Aftermath

The coalition forces had taken out a vital SAM site of the Iraqis. Naval aircraft were able to fly into Iraq through the corridor opened up by this large gap in the Iraqi air-defenses. It also destroyed a vital post in that the Iraqis could no longer track Coalition ship movements, and dealt a severe blow to Iraqi intelligence. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuwait Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Kuwait

The Kuwait Armed Forces are the military forces of the State of Kuwait. They consist of the Kuwait Air Force, the Kuwait Army, the Kuwait Navy & the Kuwait National Guard. The governing bodies are the Kuwait Ministry of Defense, the Kuwait Ministry of Interior, and the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate. The Emir of Kuwait is the commander-in-chief of all defense forces while the Crown Prince is the deputy commander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf War</span> 1990–1991 conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition

The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led Liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1987.

USS <i>Midway</i> (CV-41) Midway-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned 8 days after the end of World War II, Midway was the largest warship in the world until 1955, as well as the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal. She operated for 47 years, during which time she saw action in the Vietnam War and served as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. Decommissioned in 1992, she is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, California, and is the only remaining inactive U.S. aircraft carrier that is not an Essex-class aircraft carrier.

HMS <i>Cardiff</i> (D108) Type 42 destroyer

HMS Cardiff was a British Type 42 destroyer and the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honour of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.

USS <i>Oldendorf</i> Spruance-class destroyer of the US Navy (in service 1978–2003)

USS Oldendorf (DD-972), named for Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf USN, was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi.

USS <i>Merrill</i> (DD-976) Spruance-class destroyer

USS Merrill (DD-976), named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill USN (1890–1961), was a Spruance-class destroyer that entered service with the United States Navy in 1978. Merrill served as the US Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk cruise missile. In the 1980s, the destroyer took part in Operation Earnest Will in the Persian Gulf during heightened tensions with Iran. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1998. The vessel was used as a target ship in 2003 and sunk off Hawaii in 2003.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1991.

USS <i>Jarrett</i> American guided missile frigate

USS Jarrett (FFG-33), was the twenty-fifth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates, was named for Vice Admiral Harry B. Jarrett (1898–1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Earnest Will</span> 1987–88 U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War

Operation Earnest Will was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Praying Mantis</span> 1988 U.S. naval offensive against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War

Operation Praying Mantis was an attack on 18 April 1988 by the United States Armed Forces within Iranian territorial waters in retaliation for the Iranian naval mining of international waters in the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War and the subsequent damage to an American warship.

The names of commissioned ships of the United States Navy all start with USS, for United States Ship. Non-commissioned, primarily civilian-crewed vessels of the U.S. Navy under the Military Sealift Command have names that begin with USNS, standing for United States Naval Ship. A letter-based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel's type. The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy. The names are those of states, cities, towns, important persons, important locations, famous battles, fish, and ideals. Usually, different types of ships have names originated from different types of sources.

USS <i>Nicholas</i> (FFG-47)

USS Nicholas (FFG-47), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Major Samuel Nicholas, the first commanding officer of the United States Marines. A third-generation guided missile frigate of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, she was laid down as Bath Iron Works hull number 388 on 27 September 1982 and launched 23 April 1983. Sponsor at her commissioning there on 10 March 1984 was the same Mrs. Edward B. Tryon who sponsored DD 449 in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Skua</span> British lightweight short-range anti-ship missile

The Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile (ASM) designed for use from helicopters against ships. It was primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx. Although the missile is intended for helicopter use, Kuwait employs it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.

IRIS <i>Sabalan</i> (73)

Sabalan is an Alvand-class frigate of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. She was launched in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval tactics</span> Methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet during naval warfare

Naval tactics and doctrine is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet in battle at sea during naval warfare, the naval equivalent of military tactics on land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Al Faw (2003)</span> Engagement of the Iraq War

The Battle of Al Faw was one of the first battles of the Iraq War; it took place March 20-24, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf War air campaign</span> 1991 bombardment of Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait

The Gulf War of 1990–1991 included air campaign, as the air forces of the coalition carried an extensive aerial bombing campaign from 17 January 1991 to 23 February 1991 against Iraq. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs, widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure. The air campaign was commanded by United States Air Force (USAF) lieutenant general Chuck Horner, who briefly served as Commander-in-Chief—Forward of U.S. Central Command while general Norman Schwarzkopf was still in the United States. The British air commanders were Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Wilson and Air Vice-Marshal Bill Wratten. The air campaign had largely finished by 23 February 1991 when the coalition invasion of Kuwait took place.

The Battle of Bubiyan was a naval engagement of the Gulf War that occurred in the waters between Bubiyan Island and the Shatt al-Arab marshlands, where the bulk of the Iraqi Navy, which was attempting to flee to Iran, much like the Iraqi Air Force, was engaged and destroyed by Coalition warships and aircraft.

USS <i>Stark</i> incident 1987 Iraqi attack during the Iran–Iraq War

The USS Stark incident occurred during the Iran–Iraq War on 17 May 1987 in Persian Gulf, when an Iraqi jet aircraft fired two Exocet missiles at the U.S. frigate USS Stark. A total of 37 United States Navy personnel were killed or later died as a result of the attack, and 21 were injured.

References

  1. 1 2 Iraqi Threat "Maritime Theater of the Gulf War" Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Rice University. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  2. "The Navy in the Gulf War." Archived 1 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine history.navy.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010.