Isn’t it funny how the same parts of the world seem to feature in military history, again and again. No doubt spurred on by rising tensions between Iran and the US, this fine book by Lee Alan Zatarain has been published in the UK by Casemate.
The book starts with a gripping account of the Exocet strike on the USS Stark, an Oliver Hazard Perry class Frigate. She was struck by two Exocets, but despite intense fires and the loss of dozens of crew she somehow survived. It’s a gripping story of an ops room that was not quite on the ball on the one hand, but then some heroic efforts to save the ship on the other. In fact several officers were reprimanded for not defending the ship, but also decorated for then saving it. There are interesting parallels here with HMS Sheffield in the Falklands.
The Tanker War in the Gulf of the late 198o’s was an off-shoot of the bloody Iran-Iraq War, between a despotic Saddam Hussein on the one side and an Islamic Revolutionary Ayatollah Khomenei on the other. Both sides depended on oil to fund their war efforts, but at the same time sought to deny the other side their supply. Both belligerents targeted neutral commercial shipping, particularly oil tankers, using anti-ship missiles, mines and terrorist tactics.
The US Navy was drawn into the Gulf to protect shipping, after a number of neutral owned tankers were re-flagged under the stars and stripes. US Frigates and Destroyers began escorting convoys of tankers through the Straits of Hormuz and up to the oil terminals in the Gulf, as far as Kuwait. In one slightly embarrasing incident, a large tanker hit a mine, but the smaller and lighter warships cowered behind her, seeking protection in her wake.
The Iranians began using small fast craft to terrorize commecial shipping in the Gulf, and also laid hundreds if not thousands of mines in the Gulf. To counter against these classic low intensity tactics, the US transferred a unit of Army Special Forces Helicopters, with advanced equipment that enabled them to operate at night. The US Navy also leased two large barges, and moored them in the Gulf as Mobile Sea Bases. These heavily armoured bastions provided a home to Navy SEALs and their fast attack craft.
Another disaster befell the US Navy when the USS Samuel Roberts found herself stuck in an uncharted Iranian minefield. After striking a mine the crew managed to back their way out of the area while keeping the ship afloat; an extraordinary achievement for the Captain and crew. In fact one US Laboratory modelled the mine strike on the Roberts, and each time the ship sank within minutes. That the Roberts survived was no doubt due to some very able officers and men, and a first-class leadership culture.
The Roberts incident contrasts starkly with the situation that allowed the Ticonderoga class Aegis Cruiser USS Vincennes to shoot down an Iran Air Airbus after wrongly identifying it as a Iranian Air Force Phantom. How the most technically advanced ship in the US Navy managed to make such a fateful decision is startling. However videos shot on the Vincennes at the time show sailors in shorts and t-shirt milling around on the bridge, and whooping with delight at the missile strikes. Earlier that day she had been in action against some Iranian surface vessels, and it is believed that her gung-ho Captain had let his offensive spirit kick into over-drive. Whats more, before reaching the Gulf he had re-arranged his command team, a move which made it more difficult for air warfare to be properly managed.
The Vincennes incident in particular is very well investigated and summarised by Zatarain. And this is a book that naval history enthusiasts and indeed naval officers should enjoy, particulary in this world where we face a multitude of low-intensity asymetric wars on the one hand, and a resurgent Iran on the other. It poses interesting questions about naval units were handled in trying circumstances, only a couple of years after the lessons of the Falklands War.
Iran: The Tanker War 1987-1988 by Lee Alan Zatarain is published by Casemate
Daly History Blog 
I could argue that the abortive attempt to rescue the Embassy hostages, which ended so horrifically at “Desert One”, was the first. But let it slip this time. 🙂
“Crossroads of history”, I think is the phrase. Somewhere that all powers will have to pass through, sooner or later. Gibraltar, the English Channel, the North Atlantic, the southwesterly Pacific have all been witness to many battles, and most likely will in the future.
It’s a hackneyed old phrase, but “the fog of war” is a powerful player in such scenarios as the USS Vincennes shooting. Bear in mind this was 23 years ago. Remember what computers and TVs looked like back then (if you were around, i.e. if you’re one of us old farts). Control rooms like that on the cruiser are dark and hot, which puts stress on the crew. Add in the need for a quick “bogey/bandit” identification, and an understandable, if not condonable, “trigger-happy” tendency of a crew that were facing a known hostile power and had already been assaulted earlier that day. I’m not saying the commander and command crew were innocent of wrong-doing, just that “Monday morning quarterbacking” can quickly turn a series of incorrect but well-intentioned actions into a seemingly bloodthirsty killing berserk.
The downing of the Iranian airbus was a tragedy – but it was an accident, unlike deliberate state sponsored attacks on airliners such as Lockerbie.
Lessons were learnt.
I seem to remember the Task Force almost splashed a Brazilian 747 over the mid-Atlantic after mistaking it for one of the Args reconnaisance planes. That would have changed the course of history…
Yes, another reason to have carrier borne fixed wing…. (getting a visual ID, which I expect will be even more important in likely operating areas today).
As we already knew, the iPad 2 carries a 1 GHz Apple A5
dual-core processor. It also has 512MB of RAM, which Apple omitted previously when it spec’ed out the iPad 2
at the launch occasion. Some speculated it was
simply because the iPad two’s RAM was low in contrast to the Xoom’s; the Motorola Xoom has 1GB of
RAM and an NVIDIA 1Ghz dual-main Tegra 2 processor.
Angry customers, in an uproar over the performance of the new Maps application, flooded Twitter
and forums with grievances about Apple maps. Other than the poor performance, one of the important failures of this feature
was inaccurate data of numerous locations. It situated wrong addresses, mislabeled metropolitan areas, and
did not even provide transit directions.
So since it’s lawful, you ought to be able to purchase programs for the phone like something else.
And certainly you can! As a matter of fact, you want to find the best jailbreak software
program that you can find, since downloading a dependable software program program can make the difference in your gadget working after you hack it, and
having it end up bricked so that you have to established it back again it to authentic default options.
The authentic iPad operates on the comparable system as the
iPhone which is 3.2 not OS X. The consumer can’t operate two programs at
the exact same time, this means zero multitasking, which is a
big setback.
When asked why the iPad is so successful, Cook dinner answered simply: people love their
iPads. What hasn’t been cherished so much, although, is Apple’s iBook store.
However, it was clear from what Cook dinner was “selling” that the iPad mini
was produced to improve the training marketplace.
Perhaps it is the self described Cult of Mac? The rabbid internet “Apple fanboys” who
have for years squandered post after publish explaining that one mouse button was all you at any time needed and that the PowerPC was far exceptional to x86.
More than 1 of them is correct now composing an indignant retort explaining
how useful it is to search the internet with out flash assistance.
But no, that is not it either, invest more than a couple of minutes searching free software and open up supply
forums, mailing lists or weblogs, and you will quickly discover this is not a phenomenon unique to Apple.
Both of these applications work extremely nicely on the iPad, and some would argue that operating with them on a touch display device is actually preferable to sitting down in from of your
Mac. If you’ve performed about with iMovie or Garageband on the iPad, leave us
a comment and let us know what you believe.
You could definitely see your enthusiasm within the work
you write. The world hopes for more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe.
Always go after your heart.
Be aware that, restoring contacts is tough in this situation, and you have to get them in
a file, and manually feed them. Some cons are that the Nerd is only available in
the pack, that is, you can’t buy it separately.
It may seem great now but is likely to be destroyed in a time.
Apple has generated into its new solution a mini-dock, with somewhat less pins.
Do you remember when you upgraded the firmware version last
moment?
As with the PS3 there will be ajailbreaksolution designed for the PS4.
Google is taking on the struggle with IOS goods
on an all-new level.
Initially, you have to obtain the application from the limera1n.com.
You will require to download each bootloaders (bl39.bin and bl46.bin) from the web.
Now, click on the blue arrow button on the base correct of the software.
It is really advisable if you didn’t previously to save SHSH blobs did so.
But Verizonis a sizable cellphone company, and they
truly are very user-hostile… Simply take a look at their costs.
There arrived the iPad 2, slimmer, thinner, faster, and certainly, a look.
Links to class enrollment at each shop are included below.
So just how did Apple make the iPad 2 smaller than the first version?
What’s up to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one
is getting more from this web site, and your views are good in favor of new users.
Hi there, I believe your website could possibly bbe hzving web
breowser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a loolk at your website
in Safari, it loooks fine however, if opening in Internet Explorer,
it hass some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to pprovide yoou with a quick heads up!
Apart from that, great website!
The very next time you will need a crack guide a
bus journey, From Your Reel. This generates the opportunity for the string to get rid of its
twist with only traffic. Several styles for steel all is visible throughout America.
In case, file s get deleted you can get them from the Back again up information. I skipped it for the time becoming
with the hope of keeping the iPhone 4 jailbreak steady.
Soon, you will not be able to place it down!
If there’s 1 factor I don’t like about the SIII, it’s the advertorial catchphrase-
“Designed for Humans”? And if your device bricks it will stop working forever.
Other benefits of unlocking your device is the addition of Cydia.
I’ve been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never
found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me.
In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will
be a lot more useful than ever before.
What the heck i just read? The primary thing is to consult a doctor previous
to making use of this product or service. The extract of Forskolin can be obtained in the form of capsules and
tablets and consulting a physician can provide you
a clean idea of the point that will it fit you or not.
This product commonly meets the requirements
of all the men and women but exceptions will always be there.
So, it is advisable to just be sure you are definitely not the one which could not utilize this supplement.
Essential thing is regarding the medication dosage.
You might want to question your physician concerning the consumption and be precise concerning this authentic Forskolin.
WOW.Nice read here. The genuine factor to precisely how the product will work is it is a dual action diet product, meaning that it operates being an appetite suppressant as well as a “fat burner”.
This actually suggests that it oxidizes fat skin cells by using anti-oxidants,
and that ends up with additional strength for yourself –
although only when know how to have authentic Forskolin in the ideal style.Many diet goods currently available were created near reving up your metabolic
rate, which is not really safe for many – and this is the reason why a
lot of people are deciding to buy Forskolin extract instead.
Did not thought about this until now :). These are usually obviously great enough factors to purchase Teeth Whitening Products on the web than at the huge superstores, and If you need to find out even more about what this incredibly effective antioxidant, extra fat burning health supplement, hunger suppressant and organic weight reduction item can perform for you move to one of the Teeth Whitening Products merchants.