A detailed look at Operation El Dorado Canyon, a joint Navy-Air Force strike ordered by President Ronald Reagan against the Gaddafi regime in April 1986 following a wave of terrorist actions supported by the Libyan leader.
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F111 seems to me to be just as faulty if not worse than an osprey.
Your storys are the best
I was graduating from Basic Electronics School in San Diego in August 1981. My DO was married to one of the pilots. Word of the engagement went through NTC San DIego like flash powder before the public announcement was made.
That was Great Navy Day in San Diego.
Can you imagine the Russians trying to pull off a mission like this?! Lol, those clowns 🎉 would have a huge Charlie Foxtrot on thier hands before anyone left the ground.
This is so badass. Thank you so much for this detailed coverage!
I was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford from Nov 80 – Oct 82. I missed all that.
Wow, great watch!
I was living with my parents that were on a work visa in Libya, Misurata from 84-86. I was just a kid and I still remember the loud bombings that were broadcasted through the radio but also sometimes we could of hear them in person even though we were sort of far away from the impacts. Whatever I see nowadays on the internet regarding Libya has nothing to do with the Libya I remember when I was a kid, the country back then was extremely rich and and the economy was booming, nowadays looks unrecognizable to me all in ruins and rubble.
Great content
I remember being on the flightline and having middle eastern pilots in the F5 section and we were told to keep an eye open in case any of them didnt like us bombing Libya
Have you made a video on the recent delivery of 100 E6B Prowlers to Ukraine. May be the Ukranians wer training on these rather than f16's. Certinly a more appropriate choice given Carrier based undercarriage, weapon capability and Electronic Warefare capability. What do you think.
they gave those guys a capsule that didn't deploy a chute. thanks, general dynamics!
I ❤️ F-14
Reagan had that FAFO policy. Big balls of steel. I wish we had a President like that again 🇺🇸
Geez THREE carrier battle groups against Libya? Thats as much overkill as asking 3 Chuck Norris (CN) to take out a freckled fat kid (because CN roundhouse kick > harpoon missile)
11:53 Even in the 80s France continues to be pansies. You would think getting conquered by Germany in record time would make them redouble their efforts to grow a backbone. Spineless snail eating body odor stinking……
Thank you for sharing all this information Shipmate! When we were working those flight ops on the America, those of us on the flight deck at the time knew we were making history, but were not privy to all these details of the missions. It was a pleasure serving with you! USS America V-4 Div. 85-89
That's a lot of a strike package to turn back 😮
there will never be a plane as good looking as the F14s in the pictures. what a beauty
It would be ever so nice if you used THE UK instead of england, so that you are accurate
I love when I find a video that mentions the USS Coral Sea as it was my ship in the Mid 80's. I was on during the Libyan conflict. I remember Ronald Reagan on the 1MC giving a speech inspiring us for the mission. I was in navigation.
What a piss poor performance from the USAF.
The F111 was the worst aircraft the USA has ever had.
Thanks for the story, Ward. In a small way I contributed to the success of the HARM missiles used in the attack. I was working for Texas Instruments from 1979-92 who made the missile until Raytheon took over in late 1990s. My role was to get two important cables made for missile; umbilical and warhead. The umbilical cable connected the missile to aircraft to provide electrical connection. So it was very rugged to withstand temperature changes and stress going from flight deck to way up there. The warhead cable inside made the missile go boom at the right time. TI also made the sensor and radar seeking components of the missile. Many of the missiles were made in Lewisville, Sherman and Abilene, TX before the attack.
It was nice to see a picture of 66-049. That was one of the easier EF-111As to work on when I was stationed at Cannon.
Was on board the Coral Sea for this deployment. Was OE DIVO and watched the strike on our NTDS display in CDC. Was an intense several months of operations. The Ageless Warrior and her crew performed outstanding.
l love story like this and l just was a little kid when this happens:Has been sad Ronald Reagan what is the best president back in the 80s and at the end Qaddafi die like a dog😅😂 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Interesting stuff I was based at RAF Lakenheath during Eldorado Canyon, we were in the middle of having a drill and when we reported for duty we were told it was not a drill and as a security policeman participated in securing the base.
I was on a destroyer 12 miles north of Tripoli that night, Sonar Operator.
I met a man who was stationed at Wheelus decades ago. He said the USA had good relations with Gaddafi at first. THEN the Pan-Arabist leftist Gamal Abdel Nasser poisoned his mind with 'brotherhood.'
Can you imagine if the SecDef used all of the Nighthawks instead of Aardvarks? I would love to see a Grim Reapers scenario on that!
Gadaffi was put into power by the CIA just like Saddam 😂😂
He nationalized the oil and housed, educated his citizens……. Just like Saddam 😂😂🤡
Never knew the 111 was hit by a SAM. They always said they never knew how it crashed; spatial D, TFR malfunction, hand-flying at night over water, etc. I guess that was sensitive to avoid credit to the Libyans and how effective their systems were
You forgot to talk about what happened to the bodies of Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci and Paul F. Lorence.
I knew both these guys. In fact, when they took off on this mission, I handed them their mission package. We called them Lorence and Riba.
In 1988 Khaddaffi offered to return the body of Lorence to his family, but when the remains were examined, it was determined that it was actually the body of Riba.
The Libyans claimed to have both bodies, but at of today, 27 years later, Lorence's body is still missing.
I hope that one day he will come home.
We had some shitty, unreliable aircrafts back then.