Ever since it ended, the 1991 Persian Gulf War has been the
focus of intense controversy. Claims and counterclaims have obscured
many fundamental facts of the air campaign-what really happened,
who did what, and what airpower actually achieved. The charts
on the following pages provide some of the facts about Desert
Storm.
|
|
Chronology |
| 1990 |
| Aug.
2. |
Iraq invades
Kuwait. |
| Aug. 6. |
King Fahd gives permission
to base US forces in Saudi Arabia. |
| Aug. 7. |
USAF F-15 squadrons depart
for Gulf. USS Independence battle group arrives in Gulf of Oman,
south of Persian Gulf. |
| Aug. 8. |
F-15s from 1st TFW and elements
of 82d Airborne Division arrive. |
| Nov. 8. |
US sends 200,000 more troops
for "offensive option." |
| Nov. 29. |
UN authorizes force to eject
Iraq from Kuwait. |
| Dec. 29. |
First ANG fighter unit arrives
in Gulf. |
| 1991 |
| Jan. 12 |
Congress approves offensive
use of US troops. |
| Jan. 15. |
UN deadline for Iraqi withdrawal
passes. |
| Jan. 17. |
D-Day. Coalition warplanes
strike massive blow against numerous Iraqi targets. |
| Jan. 18. |
Iraq launches Scuds at Israel,
Saudi Arabia. |
| Jan. 25. |
USAF opens attacks on Iraqi
aircraft shelters. |
| Jan. 26. |
Iraqi aircraft begin fleeing
to Iran. |
| Jan. 2931. |
Airpower destroys Iraqi force
in Battle of Khafji. |
| Feb. 24. |
G-Day. Start of 100-hour ground
battle in Kuwait, Iraq. |
| Feb. 26. |
Fleeing Iraqi forces blown
to pieces by airpower on the "Highway of Death." |
| Feb. 28. |
Cease-fire becomes effective
at 8 a.m. (Kuwait time). |
|
Flight Operations
Summary
USAF's in-theater fighter, bomber, and attack
aircraft numbered 693 at the height of the war, or 58 percent
of US in-theater air assets. They flew 38,000 wartime sorties.
USAF aircraft dropped nearly 160,000 munitions
on Iraqi targets, 72 percent of the US forces total.
Air Force aircraft dropped 91 percent of all
precision bombs and 96 percent of precision missiles used in
the war.
Air Force B-52 bombers flew 1,624 combat missions
and dropped 72,000 bombs, or 26,000 tons of ordnance.
Before the ground battle began, the USAFled
air campaign against Iraqi ground forces destroyed 1,688 battle
tanks (39 percent of total), 929 armored personnel carriers (32
percent), and 1,452 artillery tubes (47 percent).
USAF combat support aircraft numbered 487
at the height of the war, 54 percent of the US support assets
in-theater.
Air Force C-5, C-141, KC-10, and Civil Reserve
Air Fleet lifters flew 14,000 long-range missions to the Gulf,
delivering some 539,000 tons of cargo and nearly 500,000 troops
and other passengers
KC-10 and KC-135 tankers flew 17,000 sorties
and conducted 52,000 aerial refuelings, off loading 800 million
pounds of fuel.
Air Force Special Operations Forces aircraft
flew 830 missions.
During Desert Storm, C-130 tactical transports
flew nearly 14,000 sorties, including many dedicated to the redeployment
westward of Army forces.
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