The USAF's Longest Fighter Combat Mission Ever, Operation El Dorado Canyon 86 - Animated
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- čas přidán 15. 09. 2022
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After bomb goes off in a Berlin night club, US President Ronald Reagan orders a long range strike against military targets in Muamar Gaddafi's Libya. USAF F-111 Aardvarks take off from RAF bases in the UK to conduct what would become the longest fighter combat mission in history.
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Gaddafi as it turns out, had nothing to do with the bombing of the la belle club
Can you cover/make video operation oluja (storm) in balkan wars. I heard that was one of the biggest operations that happened in modern history. Of cours before Russian Ukrain war.
Great video! However, the ammo techs will have you know that bombs equipped with Mk-15 Snakeyes are not parachute bombs, but rather 'retarded' bombs. They have four mechanical retardation scoops that deploy upon release for moderate drag, not an actual parachute which would slow them significantly more. Take care; I always look forward to your videos 😊
No I don't think so
Operation just cause next ?
9:17 My father worked at the french embassy at the time.
The blast caused (among other things) a large number of ceiling panels to fall off. And I believe that among the broken ceiling panels, they found a hidden microphone...
haha.
I wonder who planted that?
Surprise-Surprise! I remember reading somewhere that in some consulates they tell you to assume the room is bugged and govern yourself accordingly.
Well the friends of my enemy are my enemy.
@@todd4866 indeed nothing to wait from socialists
''I suppose our aim would have been better if we`d GOTTEN A LITTLE MORE SLEEP!'' -Sam Kinison on why the French embassy in Libya suffered collateral damage during the raid.
Just casually blaming the French for making their flight 14 hours long.
The situation is so tragic, but that's a damned funny line.
@@nicholaswalsh4462 would be typical USA entitlement, why'd you run in front of the gun carried by the illegally occupying country smh my head
GEB ME SLEEP!
@@nicholaswalsh4462 Blaming the French is always a good move.
Didn't do your homework? Blame the French.
Was late to work? Blame the French.
It's about time for a video on American seaborne invasion on Incheon, major Korean port city during the Korean War. Events detailing the landing and the events that have unfolded after are serious topics that need a place on your playlists!
Chosin Reservoir would be great as well.
That would be neat, my great-uncle was an LC crewmember during Incheon, got his LC shot out from under him, and had to spend a tidal cycle on the beach with the marines. He didn't like to talk about it much.
Are you a Patron?
One of my favorites
I'll second this request.
My late uncle Fred Henry McCorkle was in the afternoon wave that landed at Inchon as a young private. He was a machine gunner. The Inchon landing was largely unopposed. Fred was wounded at the Chosin reservoir, took a deflected bullet into the space between his eyeball and upper orbital bone. It cracked his skull but damaged neither his eye nor his brain and left a scar you couldn't see until he closed his eyes. He was evacuated and had a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life.
He and I were close, I was fortunate to hear about some of his experiences. He experienced at least one human wave attack. The Marines had lots of fire power in a fire fight and were well trained in marksmanship. The human wave attacks played right into their hands and rarely succeeded after the Marines recovered from the initial surprise of China's entry into the war.
Fred said they called the Chinese the ant brigade because of how numerous they seemed.
At one point his unit was dug in and observing enemy movement in the distance.
Uncle Fred: "Lieutenant, I think I can see the enemy, permission to fire?"
Lt: "I'll check." The LT passed along the request. "Negative, don't fire."
Fred saw more movement. "Lieutenant, I'm sure I see some movement ahead. Are they ours? Permission to fire?"
Lt: "I'll check." The Lt again passed along the request. "There are no friendly units to our front. However, do not fire at this time."
Fred kept watching and seeing more movement. "Lieutenant, Lieutenant, I'm still seeing movement. Permission to fire?"
Lt: "Mack, if you call me Lieutenant one more time, I'm gonna start calling you Captain."
I often wish I'd asked his permission to record his stories. I don't recall the lieutenant's name although I know he told me it. He recalled that LT fondly, both men survived and met at numerous 1st Marine Div reunions over the years.
I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall UK from 1985-87. I was assigned to the Base Communications Center. Weeks prior to the mission, our message traffic increased 1400%. We had all three shifts working15 hour shifts just to clear the amount of messages coming through our normally quiet com center. When it came to launch day, even the airmen that were off duty came in to lend a hand and be there when the Go Order was sent. The sight of all those refuelers taking off was pretty awesome. Weeks later at the Base Theatre, they showed the missile camera footage along with a narrative description to everyone involved. It was pretty impressive, for the time, to see what our weapons were capable of. Was it necessary? I don't know, but to a bunch of 19-20 year olds, it was pretty friggin cool.
I wanna say that a clear and direct message of "don't fuck with the west" was well more than necessary. Especially given the fact that they killed our servicemen.
Yes it was necessary. If you had been stationed at wheelus in mid September 1969 , you would understand.
"All warfare is based" -Sun Tzu
@@snowcat9308 It told the world "we can fly over and bomb you to smithereens any time we like and there's nothing you can do about it. Play nice or else".
All the things that go wrong in even the most "well planned" missions in peace time in missions handled by the technically most advanced nations is what makes this scary for real.
President speech after the fact: today we have struck a decisive blow against one of our foes, yada yada
Real time pilots: boo my arm hurts from flying too long. Oops my bombs missed a stationary enemy target (building) from very close range. Holy f*cking oops our bombs now hit the embassy of a friendly nation and killed innocents.
Things seldom go perfectly according to plan I know all too well, it's just weird hearing this stuff explained in detail with the misses, losses, fuckups, and random comments from pilots.
I just hope they mainly use and used mostly slightly older hired and trained professionals instead of fresh 19-20 year old recruits because if not that would explain alot.
I just watched the video in its entirety, and I can confirm that this is a certified operations room classic.
Indeed
Fr
Ong
I'm really looking forward to it!
the entire video?
Wow, 7 hours of flight and 12 minutes of terror. What a great video.
@@Whiteghost785 Yeah but there was no terror at the end of the return flight 7 hours.
Ask a fighter pilot how they do their "business" during long flights. It really erases the "cool factor" of being a fighter pilot when you hear it.
@@morgan97475 I watched a video by Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles in which he said the pilots of B-2 bombers are on medication to keep them awake on long missions, and are wearing adult diapers, I'm assuming it's a similar situation for fighter pilots...
@@R.Lennartz I heard about the adult diapers but this F-15 pilot (forgot his callsign) said he used a large garbage bag that he had to "crawl" into. Frak that.
@@morgan97475 biggest advantage of su34 is onboard toilet
What I honestly love about these is the exposure to different aircraft that were great. Everyone talks about f-14,15,16,etc. but these videos make the aardvark, corsairs,growlers/prowlers,etc (different vids) look just as cool with the acts they accomplish.
Clarification, not saying any plane is better. Saying the focus on lesser known planes is cool.
@@JackAsh2081 everyone was fascinated by the Tomcat. The Intruders, the Corsair II, and the then brand new Hornets were just as important.
I think this mission pretty well showed each aircraft's role.
F-111s flew long range to attack preplanned targets
A-6s attack preplanned targets from carriers
A-7s and F/A-18s engage targets of opportunity and SEAD
EA-6s jam air defence radars
F-14s provide air patrol in case of interception
Not to mention the tankers too
Pieces of history, narrator does a very good job.
@@THEdanrugaming nowadays you just call the Super Hornet to do everything lol
I read that after this 15hr mission, crews had to be physically manhandled and lifted out of their aircraft due to being so tired and drained.
I am surprised they manage to land their aircraft with little to no sleep after 15 hours
The pigs were utterly reliable with auto pilot and assited landings. During nam, there were several birds that returned with dead pilots.
Impressive on one hand, but objectively their accuracy was lacking.
@@CorePathway You think you could do better ?
@@CFITOMAHAWK I think the personnel performed magnificently. But the ask was too big, the results not worth the collateral.
Two of the three people killed at the LaBelle Disco were in the same company in the U.S. Berlin Brigade. We did physical training the day of the raid. When we got back to the company headquarters, the sergeant on duty leaned out a window and yelled, "We bombed Libya!" The cheers were loud and continued for a while.
merica son🇺🇲🇺🇲✊🏿
U rlly believe a countries leader bombed a night club?
@@Revy8 The New York Times reported the Germans' conviction of four people in the bombing on November 14, 2001. Two Libyan Embassy staff members were among the four. If you don't believe me, believe the New York Times.
@@Revy8 And if you don't believe Steve Erlanger, read the Washington Post's article by Peter Finn on the same topic. I spoke with him shortly after the sentences were announced.
Imagine believing the WasPOS
My uncle was actually in Libya during the weeks before on business(oil refinery parts) with the government. The US state department had contacted him to tell him to leave immediately or risk being barred from returning back to the US. Well, he had millions in the deal and stayed there during the strikes and was actually with the army in the deserts in tents watching it all go down. Unfortunately, the US government did not allow him to return after his deal and he had to move to Indonesia for over 13 years.
Indonesia is a beautiful place to be exiled. I’ll take that deal for millions of dollars.
I supposed he still live there now
@@onebridge7231 Really?
What kind of deal was this? lol Beeing with the military forces of Libya this can only mean an arms deal.
@@Gentleman...Driver He said his uncle was in Libya doing business with the government. He did not say his uncle was serving in the Libyan armed forces. I would conjecture that he was negotiating the sale of something to do with the oil fields or military hardware. Probably something that wasn't allowed under the sanctions regime that followed, resulting in his uncle's inability to return to the USA. If he made millions and moved to Indonesia, well, people have probably done worse for big money. However, as I said, this is all conjecture. I'd love to hear more actual details if the OP is willing to share.
I was in the 101st Abn Div at the time and was in a C141 over the Atlantic during this operation. We were flying in that direction but returned to Pope AFB. Still not sure what our involvement was to be. Clearly some last resort contingency plan. Air Assault! One of many Secret Squirrel Ops that I was involved in that I learned of after the fact.
Rescue and recovery if a plane went down over land? I doubt it would have been to capture (or confirm death of) Gadafi - but that would have been exciting to say the least.
I’d wager you guys were there to rescue any pilots that were downed.
@@colemanmoore9871 The USAF has its own special units for rescuing downed pilots.
If I remember correctly, Reagan was going to continue to hit Libya, but the US Congress stopped him.
USAF PJ's would have done any rescue. Rangers take air fields. By the way I was an MP working D TOC security. Things that make you go hmmm...
@@timhahne3894 Regardless of what your involvement was to be that day, thank you for your service and willingness that day.
During the Gulf War, we saw tons of F-111s. They got overhauled at McClellan AFB and they flew right over my neighborhood on final. Gorgeous, huge, and badass.
Where I went to school in Australia was in Warwick, Queensland. The RAAF (the only other operator of the F-111) had them based at RAAF Amberly, on the other side of the mountains. We'd frequently hear them flying over the town, if it was outside of class I'd get to see them, always a treat!
They also performed at the Riverfire displays in Brisbane, and did the 'dump and burn' as a finale. I saw one when I was at university, the aircraft flying along one of the reaches of the Brisbane River. Not only spectacular to see, the noise was absolutely incredible!
I was an industrial engineer at McClellan AFB assigned to F-111 depot maintenance during that period. A fantastic aircraft!
Same here. We used to park off Elkhorn Blvd. to watch all types of aircraft coming overhead low and slow to land as the tarmac started just inside the fence. Awesome.
My father was stationed at RAF Fairford at the time. I remember seeing about 10 KC-10's on the ramp just prior to the mission and thinking something was unusual. Usually there were only KC-135's at Fairford with only the occasional KC-10 showing up.
thw 10s are so cool. even loved seeing the occasional fedex one.
My dad was part of El Dorado Canyon. We were stationed at Fairford and he was a KC-135 navigator. I think he said he was on a KC-10 for this mission though if I remember correctly. I thought it was interesting, because I had never heard of him flying on a KC-10 before.
I was a flying crew chief on 10s, and fairford was such a cool spot we traveled too.
I was stationed there at that time, really enjoyed my time in England.
@@Montey16 you liked the local area there?
Love this one! My dad was the WSO in F-111s (never saw combat or anything) in the late '80s. Such a glorious machine. "The Pig"
They most assuredly were not glorious machines. Absolute death traps with a plethora of issues.
@@failtolawl that may be true, but OP's dad may have described them to him as such.
@@failtolawl you're thinking of the a10
I remember that I was stationed in Germany at the time
@@failtolawlonce you get into the 80s they've got most of the bugs worked out
The main issue was that ridiculous tf30
there were also several SR-71 BDA overflights immediately following the raid, taking the same route from england as the air force strike group. i believe this was when one of them hit mach 3.5 dodging libyan missiles, as recounted by a blackbird pilot.
My favourite fact about this is that because the UK let the us take off from its airbases, the us allowed UK pilots to train and fly the f-117 and the UK were also considering buying a few
Interesting, I had never heard of any other country being allowed to fly or even consider purchasing the F-117. Could you recommend any sources where I could read a bit more about this?
On a somewhat related note, I fondly remember seeing an F-117 on display around 1990 or 1991 when I was young. It was at an air show the local AFB put on around labor day weekend every year. Unlike many other aircraft that you were allowed to walk up and sit in, the F-117 was roped off and watched over by men with the black suits and sunglasses.
@@jhensjh in all honesty mate Wikipedia does a pretty good job of it, look in the variants slide, which is another interesting read
@@andrewstanley7300 Wikipedia reads as though Lockheed wanted the sales and Ronnie was fully supportive, but the Brits passed on the offer. That is eminently believable
Reagan was critical for Thatcher during the Falklands dust-up.
Naturally, what was done -- was done on the down low -- and is still not widely known.
I thought the interesting fact would’ve been that in the 90s it was found out that Libya had nothing to do with the bombings across Europe
I was there, USS Coral Sea CV-43. I remember the second we painted the incoming flights with our radar.
USAF should have passed on this and let you guys handle it alone. Also, thanks for that! 👍 🇺🇸
I was there too! V-1 division, I had the honor of taking a white board to every plane with flight data because of the radio silence.
i was there too..newly Reconstituted VA-55 from the USS Coral Sea flying A6E Intruders...our primary target was the Benina airbase..secondary target the benghazi barracks...
No you weren’t
@@HiImSeanIPlayBass Piss off , I spent 8 years on the Coral Sea starting in Bremerton and ending in Norfolk.
Those Nato Allies were "Cowards" not letting the the USAF fly over their airspace back then !!!
Semper Fi
Thank you for this.
Nice detail.
Even sweeping the Aardvark's wings back after takeoff.
☮
Very welcome
czcams.com/users/shortsBmc9NFfhx74?feature=share
@@TheOperationsRoom I'm not a native English speaker so I just googled Aardvark and it doesn't look like your animation at all. In fact it doesn't even seem to have wings. Nice video nevertheless ;-)
After I got out of the Air Force, I worked with one of the pilots of Eldorado Canyon, who also happened to be the roommate of the pilot of the Aardvark that was shot down. I was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base when the mission went and remember the long alerts we pulled when it happened.
thank you for your service. what was it like trying to get into the airforce?
@@yyurrr3045, I joined the Air Force on the Delayed Enlistment Program before I graduated from High School. It was several trips to the local (Portland, Oregon) MEPS station and, admittedly, a couple of mistakes on my part that probably cost me the job I really wanted (linguist). I went in on an "Open General" contract on 13 September 1984 and they made me a cop. I will never forgive myself for failing to recognize how good I really had it at the time. I got out in 1988 and joined the Army Reserve in 2000, where I spent 15 years as an instructor. I can't tell you what a privilege it was or how much I miss it.
If you are considering any branch, you really can't go far wrong. We all tease each other, but it's more of a sibling rivalry than any real animosity between branches.
I almost deployed to Libya waiting on the runways of aviano when ghadafi was lynched, I served in the 1/503rd 173rd abct from 2010 to 2013, I didn’t realize the battles and history that had taken place already in Libya, thank you for such interesting and amazing content that people need to study and learn, I wish we were taught beforehand about battles in the area
usa: we want to attack gaddafi can we use your airports?
italy: gaddafi the usa are going to bomb you
usa: what was that?
italy: I changed sides. sorry is tradition
It was France who told Gaddafi not Italy 🤦♂️
@@alqaeda7040 no ;) 14:55
Based Italy
@@pigeon.7256 perché devi alimentare stereotipi negativi contro il tuo paese? Ma che cazzo di cittadino saresti, mettiti la bandiera del ghana nel profilo e non sputare sulla nostra parassita. La decisione di avvertire gheddafi era ben motivata e non abbiamo cambiato alleati. Rispetto gli stati uniti avevamo visioni completamente diverse sulla libia e loro hanno fatto quello che volevano come al solito
@@ColVedo Bro è una battuta non c'è bisogno di prendersela
I was stationed at RAF Fairford at the time. Busy week leading up to the raid and after. We were happy to see everything that took off came back to our base. The Protests at the Base afterwards lasted longer than the whole mission. Keeping the Operation on the down low in a Modern Country is very difficult. Families back in the states were all worried and calling trying to get info, we were all on Com Lock down.
I was stationed there too, it was really busy during that time working long hours.
I also remember when the base hosted the International Air Tattoo with all the different planes from various countries it was really neat to see those planes.
My father retired as F-111 Program Director for Lockheed Martin (earlier General Dynamics). We talked about this mission a few times. There were many in the USAF who blamed the French for the loss of the F-111 crew. There were many years of hard feelings over their "betrayal".
My father retired as drunk carpenter. just kidding, no way he could afford to do that lol
Because they didn't allow them to commit war crimes from their territory? If so this is a very strange "logic". I mean they could've worked for McDonald's or whatever instead. You can't join the army/navy/airforce and wonder or complain getting badly injured or killed...ridiculous, even more if it's true what you said😂
@@fluseint.1303 Actually, the crime was the Libyan-sponsored bombing of a disco full of civilians which precipitated the raid.
@@19valleydan Both are crimes. One worse then the other. If you can't see it you're blind.
@@fluseint.1303 Terrorists will keep killing people if our response is to simply wag our finger at them.
You should do a video on Operation K, the failed attempt of bombing Pearl Harbor a second time with flying boats.
After Pearl harbor even American planes had trouble going there
More like Kamikaze" speed boats, or torpedo.
Some back story to this… I was in a Suffolk village when the F111’s were flying home. It was early in the morning. A group of the planes came up the Stour valley at just under the speed of sound. They were literally in the valley. The river has an elevation of 94 feet. The ridge on the valley hilltops is no more than 160 feet. That was intense flying. The planes created a pressure wave ahead of them that forced air into every home and caused all the sash windows to slam against their frames. The lead pilot gave my brother a thumbs up from the cockpit while he was walking his dog. And we knew people”e from Mildenhall. Nobody called the planes by animal names. They were F111’s. End of.
It's amazing how much stuff I've learnt about battles from the 80's/90's from this channel. Obviously I knew about the gulf war but I guess I was pretty naive about all these other smaller conflicts.
Back then, I was doing my apprenticeship as a timer framer in rural Dorset. I saw the whole operation fly overhead. It was obvious that something was up. At the time we assumed nuclear strike, but somehow continued working. It was a memorable moment.
I'll bet.
Great video. The video shows them taking off but never mentions the EF-111A that flew out of UH. I was there. E had F-111E and the spark varks. We flew the training mission months earlier proving feasibility of the mission.
Yes, upper haystack was part of it.
I noticed that as well. The peace protestors outside the gate at Heyford always made me laugh.
I was 4-5 weeks into square bashing in the RAF when this happened. I was put on guard duty with a pickaxe handle and later with a rifle with no ammunition but optional harsh language.
Well it's great to see you were trusted with literally nothing to defend yourself except harsh words.
Stupid fucking brass.
I love the attention to detail, even the animations are impressive.
Well done!
Thank you very much!
Great presentation thanks. The WSO on the Vark that went down was a classmate of mine in AFROTC at San Francisco State U. Paul Lorence was a tall kid and a very good pianist. One thing some of the books on this raid don't mention was that the OPSEC for this mission was so bad that the Libyan anti-aircraft crews had been on high alert for something like 3 days straight by the time we got there. The OPSEC failure wasn't on the military side but several congressmen kept giving updates to the media. So after being awake and tuned up for so long they finally went to sleep.
I remember this being in the news at the time, and didn't know what an absolute beast of an operation was taking place.
This channel is top tier, of course.
Just to clear up a few things. I was there at RAF Lakenheath as a Crew Chief working night shift. I helped prep about 2/3 of the F models as most of them came out of blue section. We were "simulating an exorcise" to throw off outside observers and so were working 12-hour shifts. We got them ready and then they got towed down to red section because they were taking off from that end of the runway. We were not happy as we wanted to launch them. We watched them launch them and then waited for news. The first confirmation that the raid had not been called off was when the enormous twin afterburners of the SR-71 blasted off from RAF Mildenhall just a few miles away. That plane was truly spectacular to see take off at night. The next morning my shift was over, but I stayed and counted jets landing with a bunch of guys on the apron of TAB-V 10 next to the runway. We didn't know about the diverts so we thought we lost more than one that morning.
1. The F-111 was a maintenance problem child. But so were most combat aircraft of that generation. People have gotten used to having highly reliable combat aircraft these days. That just wasn't the way it was for the generation that the F-111 was from. Don't believe me? Ask any F-4 Crew Chief. The other thing was we were having a hard time getting parts when this mission happened. Cannibalizing parts from one broken jet, to get others Fully Mission Capable or FMC was a way of life. This did not add to the reliability of these jets.
2. We missed Kadafi. Not true. The classification on this may have dropped, but just in case, let's just say we knew exactly where he was and made sure he was not hit. This is not my speculation. This is fact.
3. There was something wrong with this mission because we didn't have international approval? Very few Americans felt that way then and I would guess the same is true even now. They killed some of our people unprovoked. The trolls conveniently forget that fact. They brought a knife to a gun fight. They learn a lesson. Kadafi kept his mouth shut for many years after that.
My favorite exchange on that subject was on Good Morning Britton the next morning. I would love to see it again, but only saw it the one time that morning. The pretty little brunette who hosted the show was interviewing a former official from the CIA. She asked him smugly as though she was declaring check mate, " does the American public realize that European public opinion is squarely against this raid? He looked her straight in the eyes and asked, "do you realize that the American public doesn't care what Europe thinks?" She looked like somebody just kicked her puppy. My memory of the exchange may not be exact, but it is close enough.
As an American, I wholeheartedly support retaliating against those who think its a good idea to attack us unprovoked. I get it, America has a lot of problems and some just don't like the fact that we're essentially trying to police the rest of the world. But at the same time, don't just attack us and expect us to just take that lying down. Its not going to end well.
The American public doesn't care about Europe because they aren't the ones that are literally near the countries that support terrorism. It's all easy while you are all the way over the Atlantic.
At the time of Eldorado Canyon, the Navy, and Marines were still flying the A, and B model Hornets, the C, and D models started entering service in the 90's.
All this just happened to occur right before "Top Gun" came out, so the timely movie almost looked like it was ripped from the headlines. People went into the movie accustomed to seeing aircraft carrier operations and the F-14 in the nightly news.
I remember when I first found this channel. I think it was the battle of Britain video. I really thought that was as good as it gets.
Every video posted is always the best quality on CZcams with unmatched detail. Thank you so much for all the amazing videos
Wow, thank you!
I was stationed at one of the RAF bases that took part in this. I have a different story of the lost FB111. The aircraft is equipped with ground hugging navigation and when the aircraft flew out over the Mediterranean the pilot didn’t switch it off and the aircraft nosedived into to sea. This is unofficial but it’s the story we heard during debrief
I love learning about and watching battles unfold that I’ve NEVER heard of. Your work is incredibly educational, I wish I had these videos during history classes in school. Keep working hard, your videos and quality are only getting better IMO.
I remember when this happened. I was the same age that my son is now. We were just talking about this the other day, in regards to some of his social studies work. I shared this video with him. Thank you so much. I love your work.
Man Italy really never fails to backstab their friends
This channel has the best content. For any of the operations I might know anything about, I've learned new details here evey time. That is I suppose the best descriptor of The Operations Room: detailed AF.
I was a senior in high school at the time and was in the waiting area of the Los Angeles MEPS and waiting for my recruiter to arrive to drive me home in North Hollywood, having just sworn in to the Navy delayed enlistment program, when news reports of this attack came across the television screen. It was a happy moment for me to be joining the Navy after seeing this raid.
3:10
France: We disapprove of this unilateral military action, USA. Our airspace is closed to your F111s. How do you like that?
USA: OK, we'll add a tanker per Aardvark and two carrier air wings once they've flown around you.
Your videos help a lot in visualing the complexities of air strikes. Great work.
The reason that France said “No” to an over-fly was pay-back for Reagan saying “No” to France in ‘84 when French military intelligence located some of the terrorists who had pulled off the Beirut bombings of Oct. 1983 that killed 240+
US Servicemen (almost all of them were Marines) and 58 French Legionnaires when suicide truck-bombs hit both headquarters virtually simultaneously. French intel had found them in the Bakka valley and asked for American assistance with a raid to kill them. Reagan refused. So, the next time we asked them for a favor… they said, “F U”. That’s why the Air Force strike had to go the long way there and back.
Why would Reagan say no to such an operation?
Doesn't sound like him at all.
@@Docjonel It doesn’t sound like Reagan because politicians don’t advertise their mistakes. They work very hard to ensure that the press only hears about their victories. As with the city of Las Vegas, what happens in the halls of power…Stays in the halls of power. This goes for virtually all politicians, repubs or dems.
I’ll give you another example of a Reagan screwup, though every president in my lifetime of 6 1/2 decades, has had multiple similar occurrences.
Before, during and after the Marines were sent to Beirut as “peacekeepers”, (The “why” anyone would send one of the world’s premier assault troops into an ancient civil war, to act as policemen, is still a mystery to me) there was a power struggle going on amongst Reagan’s cabinet members.
Reagan’s Secretary of State, George Schultz, had been approached, through diplomatic channels, by Syrian officials. They intimated to him that they might be open to having a summit at Camp David to negotiate a peace treaty with Israel. A similar occurrence during Reagan’s predecessor’s term in office had resulted in Carter becoming the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt dubbed “The Camp David Accords”.
Schultz desperately wanted to make the same happen for his boss (especially since much of the world thought Reagan was a warmonger and would get us into WWIII with his antagonizing of the Soviet Union.
Caspar Weinberger, Reagan’s Secretary of Defense , didn’t want to send any American troops into the Middle East for any reason. Against his advice, Reagan sent the Marines to, at first, escort the PLO out of Lebanon. After that was accomplished, the Lebanese president was assassinated (by car bomb). The Lebanese government asked Reagan to send his Marines back to Beirut along with a smaller contingent of French and Italian troops to restore order. Again, the secretary of defense advised against this move. Secretary of State Schultz thought it was a good idea since it would further his wet dream of getting Reagan a Nobel Peace Prize. Reagan went with Schultz’s advice.
During the Marines’ mission in Beirut, the Marine Commanders repeatedly asked for permission to fortify their compound’s defenses. Weinberger advised the president to allow this. Schultz, because it might give the appearance of a more permanent American presence and piss off the Syrians, advised against it. Again, Reagan went with Schultz’s advice.
On October 23, 1983, a Mercedes flatbed truck, laden with tons of plastic explosives (ringed with 100 pound pressurized oxygen tanks) easily drove through some concertina wire and a sandbag barrier thru the entranceway into the heart of the very large building that was the Marines’ headquarters where it detonated. The bombing resulted in the building being lifted off of its foundation only to crash down collapsing the entire structure. KIA: 240+ US marines, sailors and soldiers.
Unlike Reagan, the French had installed concrete barriers on the street in front of their headquarters. That truck could not drive into their building so, that truck detonated outside on the street. The explosion collapsed the front wall of their headquarters.
KIA: 58 French legionnaires.
I’d bet you never heard about any of this because…..politicians do not advertise their screwups.
The following year, when the French collected enough intelligence to pinpoint the presence of some of the actors involved with the bombings and asked for American military assistance in a mission to kill them, Reagan again followed Schultz’s advice not to help. Schultz was still looking to get a Nobel Peace Prize for Reagan. With most of the Marines battalion commanders having died in the bombing, the facts, about the bombings, did not come out for quite a few years. Only after the surviving junior officers, in First Battalion Eighth Marines, had retired did a few feel free to publish their knowledge of these events.
I agree that sending Marines to Beirut as "peacekeepers " was a mistake and not allowing the marines guarding the embassies to have loaded rifles was lunacy.
I just would like to know what rationale the administration gave for not striking in the Bekaa Valley if they knew some of those responsible for the embassy bombings were there.
@@Docjonel - I'd venture a guess that an attack in the Bekaa valley might start up yet more Syrian-Israeli conflict in Lebanon. They just had a small war there a couple years earlier, and was a front line in the powder keg. Not to mention possible conflict with both sides.
Hindsight is always 20/20
Thank you for putting so much detail into your videos! I absolutely love them and I can’t stop watching them!!
Thanks for granting my request a few months ago! I knew you would do an outstanding job on this operation!!!
Thanks for this Video! I was requesting it for months and you have finally done it. It was even better than in my imagination. Awesome job! Keep up the great work!
Glad you liked it!
Imagine getting 7h fly in tight formation nightime no room for mistakes and 7 aerial refuels, and after that mission with dozen possibilities to go wrong..
I remember this from the news. First the night club bomb, and then this raid. But I don't think I ever understood how amazingly long this mission was. Thanks a lot for this video!
I met a guy who was in Libya after the Lockerbie attack. He said that the Libyans were terrified of the Americans.
Some insisted on keeping the windows closed as it is safer during an attack while others insisted on the opposite.
Love the videos and how much effort y’all put into them! Would be cool if you added a small clock in the corner when talking about wha time each event hapoens
Love the videos. The pictures at the end help provide context. Id love some pictures of the planes or bombs throughout the video. The description of the planes helps a lot. There are a lot of different types of planes and knowing what theyre used for helps again to provide context.
4:10 my understanding is that air to air refuelling is *never* conducted using auto pilot as a rule for safety reasons and that manual positive control is maintained at all times so the pilots can react to changing conditions/problems as they come up, flying formation with the tanker requires tiny inputs that match the relative motion of the tanker, as opposed to holding a fixed altitude and course over the ground. Once you are no longer actively refuelling and you're trying to hold formation less precisely with the rest of the wing then it would make sense to use it
I kinda wonder about the autopilot thing. Was the autopilot engaged when they were not refueling? I think maybe that was the problem - the tight formation they flew meant they had to fly manually the whole way.
I believe this fact was mentioned to explain to the viewer why the flight was so physically exhausting for the crews, rather than attempting to point out an inherent flaw of the F111.
It was meant to demonstrate that the use of manual flight control operation through out the the entirety of the sortie made the arms of the pilots tired and harder to hold steady while refueling
those 111s were basically dragged across the ocean by the tankers. we bombed Libya more effectively with 2 B-2s and the pilots both got a nap. Progress. and we really need to study and respect tanker operations. cant kick ass without their gas
The Air Force accomplishment was prodigious, terrific reliability- I was surprised at how many of the F-111s managed to get over the target- some good accuracy with some bad as well. That they were alert enough to get any bombs on target, regardless of the necromancy practiced by the WSOs, is amazing. Bookend the strike with 14 hours of tanker drag, add some precision Navy strikes. Terrific post, thanks.
Great video and story behind this mission. I was a kid when it happened. I recall a photo from the time, the aircrews involved, all posed for the picture, with two wearing helmets with visors down and masks on, to signify the two lost aircrew.
Calling this a 'fighter' mission is a bit of a technicality since the F-111 was, actually, a bomber.
Good job. I just found your channel and am quire impressed. I just happened to be on deployment in the Med during that time, and was on the south coast of France (Nimes). Four F-111s landed at the airbase I was at at around 3-am-ish, presumably on the return route and with mechanical issues. Luckily, no reporting of that ever came out. I was back in Sicily a few days later. There was a whole lot going on during that time period! We got stories!
I greatly enjoy going back to these videos after watching interviews by the men who participated in the actual event. After seeing the personal view, what this man knew, saw, and heard, you get the bigger picture. You get the context that the pilot or tanker or infantryman either never knew or didn't touch upon, and can track his story within the big picture.
Liveth For Evermore and The Operations Room uploading on the same day is a blessing
I could of sworn this was the raid that was followed up by an overflight by a SR71 Blackbird, taking pictures of the damaged inflicted by the raid. So it could be quickly assessed wether or no to perform a second raid. I swear it was this one.
Yes, that did happen. Blackbirds from the UK took hi-alt photos.
@@thefrecklepuny I thought so! It seems a pretty important aspect to miss out of such a video. I just loved the fact the Black birds took off some 5 or so hours after the F111's and beat them back to the UK. Phenominal Aircraft!
Doing some research, it sounds like the SR71 recon overfly was performed 2 days later on the 16th. This appears to be the flight that Major Brian Shul recounts as the "Outrunning Lybian SAMs" story, with his RSO Walter Watson.
@@blackraen - Hah! Well perhaps the story of the Blackbirds beating the F111s back was a little bit too good to be true. I really wished it were true! It would be interesting to see if they got clearance to fly over France and Italy. Going mach 3 would create quite the sonic boom!
Could "have"...
The F111 was an amazing bomber we used them for 40 years in Australia
I remember in my time in the USAF they had a saying that an F-111 was a multi role plane, “it would bomb you, strafe you, and fall on top of you”
Cheers mate.
Too bad we couldn’t do dump and burns like you.
@@ogee634 lol
@@johnforrester9120 not sure if you understood that reference, but it was truly awe inspiring at night. Pilot uses the fuel dump (which is between the engines at the nozzles) then hits afterburner. Illegal for US pilots, but used regularly in Australian airshows.
@@ogee634 yep see it a few times at oz air shows I knew what u meant
According to a Spanish journalist who researched the events, the Americans didn't even bother to seek for Spanish permission for overfly the country as they were sure it would be denied and maybe they crainted some leak of information.
And according to the video that was exactly what happened with the Italians.
What it puzzles me is that Khadaffi did not warn at all his military before hiding. And despite all his previous boasting after the Eldorado Canyon operation he opted for a much more lower profile.
He later even became a kind of allied to Western countries before they let him down upon the revolution that ended phisically with him and let Libya in very unstable country condition.
16 refuels may seem a lot but they only allow a 10-20% drop from a full tank, this is because of if there is any issues or breakages in the refuelling rigs they still have enough fuel to land at a friendly base in mainland europe. Back then the basket drones used to send a shockwave up the hose which occasionally would recoil/flick back and either damage the basket connection, snap the hose, or less frequently if pulling back on the throttle flick the basket into the canopy.
I once heard someone describe the refueling process akin to "trying to eat a hotdog off a halberd with no hands". This seems to fit the description!
Check this video from the mission commander czcams.com/video/zkkB4vp3maI/video.html
@@timf2279 really...
@@stevenlarratt3638 yes very good first hand account from the Air Force 493rd TFS commander Arnie "Rooster" Franklin which he received the DFC for this mission.
Ay first, always eagered to watch your videos. They are a good way to learn something and spend time. Please upload more videos every now and then
I've been waiting for you to cover this and you did not disappoint.
I just wanted to say the work you guys do is top notch. You should be getting an award for this.
I love seeing two of my all time favorite aircraft whipping some ass over Libya, the A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair.
Fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history.
They killed civilians and they didn't kill Gaddafi
All of those strikes in a twelve minute window! That is impressive planning and coordination!
Ill give it to the us, I dont agree with everything they do. But when they do it, they do it right.
czcams.com/video/zkkB4vp3maI/video.html. Check out this video from the mission commander.
amazing video, I saw the news when I was kid about this mission, also read many magazines and papers but nothing compare with "watch" as live show or real time, fantastic!!! well done
Thank you for your time and effort putting this video together, very good. I believe there was a post strike reconnaissance mission carried out by an SR 71 from RAF Lakenheath.
That would of been RAF Mildenhall not Lakenheath.
I look forward to these every week. Keep them coming!
Will do!
@@TheOperationsRoom pls teach me how to animate like you.
I remember seeing this in the news, but I had no idea just what a massive operation it was, nor the extent of the destruction.
Excellent and detailed video. Keep up the good work 👏🏻👏🏻
Great video! The animation is getting better with each attempt.
Thank you for the video especially on the logistics! Would love to hear about the contingency plans for downed personnel/aircraft (TRAP) for this op…. i know there is no certainty that we can retrieve fallen personnel but to still not know what happened… must have troubled the WSO’s family. Civilians as usual pay the (ultimate) price that they didn’t ask for… 😢
Navy was tasked with recovery. Damaged aircraft were told to get over the sea.
At the time, crews reported that Karma 52 radioed they had taken a missile and were heading out to sea. There was a flash, then no more communication. The F-111F is a flying fuel tank. Whether ejection triggered an explosion or it just burned through is unknown. The weapons system officer’s body was never confirmed recovered. (names intentional left out)
Rumors stated that 2 passes were actually flown, the first being target confirmation, and that Karma 52 was tail end charlie. By the time of the second pass the AAA was in full swing. Crews swore their craft were riddled with bullet holes, but post flight inspections only revealed missing paint from high speed and high G accelerometer readings.
The number of equipment failures amongst the F-111s seems on-brand...
The computer failing before bomb release is also a certified A-6 moment
I was stationed in Germany with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. I was flying AH1s at the time and one of unit's mission was to patrol the boarders between East and West Germany and the Czech boarder to the south. I was assigned to fly the boarder that day and remember making the comment that this might not be the best time to present our asses to the Commies. I entered our route on the northern end and patrolled south bound. No issues along the East/West German boarders, but when I entered the Czech sector, a red star cluster went up. As this was unusual, I made a report and was told to continue the patrol. This happened three more times and after the fourth star cluster went up, I got a radio call from our radar center that they were tracking an L-39 (they had previously fired on several of our OH58s in the past) about 3 miles on their side and paralleling my course. About that time a fifth star cluster went up and I suddenly realized that I was being set up as a target. They were using the star cluster to mark my position to the L-39 without using radios. Reported back to Regiment that I was done for the day and the reason why. They agreed with me. That's what Operation El Dorado means to me.
And here Operations Room goes making the video of my favorite air operation of all time
This comment section would have absolutely invaded iraq over false pretenses lmao.
LMAO so true, actual warmongering mentality
Welcome to The Warmongers Room.
Finally. A brain.
I love your channel bro. I can’t wait to see each new video breakdown . As a former medic with a long family tradition of military service in the U.S. I got to say these are really well done. !
Does your family's long line of military tradition happen to include services on Korean soil?
@@paulhan1615 Just so happens we missed that one. My dad served in between the Korea and Vietnam years though on a minesweeper . Just missed both wars by a few years .
bro
@@scottjohnson2396 Well, either way, as a South Korean I am grateful for you and your family's participation in our ally's army.
you make the carriers and the choppers look really cool.. nice work
Great video, and great job on the animation on showing the USS Coral Sea without f-14 tomcats as you know she was too small for them
Love these strike videos. Please post more.
As always, AMAZING content! And this time with a puppy saying hello at 5:50! :)
Wow, that's a really quiet background bark. I had to listen to it 3 more times before I finally caught it. Good ears!
Airplane Spotting Skills Exhibited: ‘E’ for effort. 👍
Cloud Spotting Skills Exhibited: ‘A’ for AWESOME TOTALLY I SEE IT NOW. 🎉 Or, is the “” coincidental, where I think not…
Missed it the first time
I've been looking for a video on this one for a long time. Once again, fantastic job. :)
Glad you liked it!
I was supposed to mention under one of the videos where you covered the fighting in Sidra Bay for you to make a video about Operation El Dorado Canyon. But I can see that it was planned. Very interesting movie, great animation. You can see a lot of hard work put into this project.
First time I've seen a detailed description of the raid.
When this came off my unit was in Grafenwohr getting trained on brand new out of the factory M1-IP tanks. Those were top of the line at the time. Us tankers were put on guard duty (with no ammunition) covering American civilian housing for the next couple of weeks in addition to our training.
Good times.
Love your videos. Thank you for your great work.
Glad you like them!
Crikey, the amount of Patreons you have. We'll done, you deserve it buddy!
you can find a great interview with pyro about what it's like to fly an f-111
I love the jamming effect 12:05
Thank you for the amazing interesting videos, keep it up
Glad you like them!
Amazing videos as always. Thank you!
Thanks again!
I know Dee Mewborne. He was my XO (2nd in command) on GW. Great guy, never knew this about him!!!! Awesome!! Thanks for the video and pointing this out!!
Another superb video from The Operations Room. 👍
Many thanks!
I remember this happening when I was a kid. Interestingly enough, a few weeks later my father had a French businessman over for dinner at our house. He said that he lives in southern France and saw the attacking air group fly over his house no matter what the media said about them flying around Spain.
Oh yeah? He saw F-111's flying in the dead of night at altitude? I think your dad's friend was full of crap.
@@davebartosh5 man has a built in high power radar in his eyes
@@davebartosh5 Maybe you're just an asshole.
There are plenty of light sources out there dickhead.
HAHAHA...
He was a bullshitter then...
Oh I vaguely remember this mission being in "Fleet Defender Gold" as part of the F-14 escort mission.