La
battaglia aerea sul
golfo della Sirte
combattuta il 4 gennaio
1989
tra aerei militari
libici
e
statunitensi
, fu un confronto armato nel cielo sul
Mediterraneo
.
La tensione tra i due paesi scaturi dall'azione unilaterale
libica
di estendere il limite delle proprie
acque territoriali
[1]
con la dichiarazione del 19 ottobre
1973
, giustificata facendo ricorso ai principi delle baie storiche e rivendicando l'intero
golfo
come territorio nazionale tracciando una linea di base della lunghezza di 302
mn
coincidente con il parallelo 32° 30' N detta "linea della morte", il cui attraversamento avrebbe comportato una risposta di tipo militare. La crisi tra i due Paesi che si protraeva ormai da anni si acui nuovamente quando gli Stati Uniti accusarono la Libia di costruire un impianto per la costruzione di
armi chimiche
a
Rabta
, causando l'invio in quel teatro della
portaerei
USS
John F. Kennedy
(CV-67)
mentre un secondo gruppo da battaglia composto dalla
USS
Theodore Roosevelt
(CVN-71)
fu predisposto per essere dislocato nell'area.
La crisi porto, il 4 gennaio
1989
, ad uno scontro aereo tra due
F-14 Tomcat
del
VF-32
Swordsman
(spadaccini) allora imbarcato sulla Kennedy,
call sign
Gipsy 207
[2]
(Cdr.
Joseph "Beads" Connelly
/Cdr.
Leo F. Enright
) e
Gipsy 204
[3]
(Lt.
Hermon "Munster" Cook III
/Cdr.
Steven P. Collins
) e due
MiG-23 Flogger
dell'
Aeronautica Militare Libica
, abbattuti dai Tomcat.
- ^
Definizione di "acque territoriali" dal glossario di Diritto del mare sul sito della Marina Militare
Copia archiviata
, su
marina.difesa.it
.
URL consultato il 15 luglio 2007
(archiviato dall'
url originale
il 9 luglio 2007)
.
.
- ^
VF-32 AC 207 BuNo. 159610.
- ^
VF-32 AC 204 BuNo. 159013.
(
EN
) Comunicazioni radio fra gli F-14, l'E-2 Hawkeye e la
Nimitz
Gypsy 207
(F-14A, BuNo 159610 AC207)
Gypsy 204
(F-14A, BuNo 159013 AC204)- Wingman
- Pilota: Hermon C. "Munster" Cook III (
204P
)
- Radar Intercept Officer (RIO): Steven P. Collins (
204R
)
Alpha Bravo
- CVG-67 USS John F. Kennedy Air Command (
AB
)
Closeout
- Aereo orbitante (
CLOSE
)
- CLOSE
- “Roger Ace, take it north.”
- 204P
- “Looks like we'll have to make a quick loop here.”
- 204R
- “Come starboard, ah I need to give ya collision here. Yeah, come starboard about 40.”
- 207R
- “207 ah, 61 miles now, bearing 180, Angels 8, heading 330.” 204R- “Steady up.”
- CLOSE
- “Alpha Bravo this is Closeout.”
- 204R
- “Come back port, ah, 20 degrees here, he's jinkin' now.”
- 207R
- “Bogies appear to be coming, ah, jinking to the right now, heading north, speed 430, ah, angels 5,000 now in the descent. So lets take her down now, we're goin' down.”
- CLOSE
- “Concur.”
- 207R
- “Closeout, 53 miles now. Bogies appear to be heading directly at us. I'm coming towards. Steady up 150 for 33 offset, 50 miles. 49 miles now, speed 450, Angels 9, I'm goin' down to 3.”
- 204P
- “(unintelligible, from 204P, formation flying?)”
- 207P
- “Roger.”
- 207R
- “Roger that, 30 degree offset now. Bogies heading 340, speed 500, lets accelerate.”
- 207P
- “Okay, it looks like they are at 9,000 feet now.”
- 207R
- “Roger, bogies are jinked back into us now, now lets come starboard 30 degrees the other side.”
- 204P
- “Coming starboard, say your Angels.”
- “(unintelligible) patrol setting up station.”
- 207R
- “Roger, Angels now 11, ready up.”
- AB
- “Closeout ah, Warning yellow, weapons hold, I repeat, warning yellow, weapons hold. Alpha Bravo out.”
- CLOSE
- “Roger, Gypsies, pass up, Alpha Bravo directs warning yellow, weapons hold.”
- 207P
- “35 miles here.”
- 207R
- “Roger that. Bogies have jinked back into me now for the third time. Nose is on at 35 miles, Angels 7″
- CLOSE
- “Alpha Bravo cleared that, did you copy?”
- 207R
- “Okay, I am taking another offest, starboard, starboard, ah, 210.”
- CLOSE
- “Guys, I'm locked up here 30 miles, Angels 13,000, he's the trailer”
- 207R
- “Roger that, level off here, bogie jinked back into me for the 4th time. I'm coming back starboard. I'm back port now. Port 27 miles, bogie is at 7,000 feet.”
- 207P
- “We're at 5.”
- AB
- “Watch out, bogies 135-50, Angels 16, heading 340.”
- 207P
- “Okay.”
- CLOSE
- “Roger, same bogies.”
- 207P
- “Okay, you're in collision now, steering.”
- 207R
- “Okay, bogies have jinked back at me again for the fifth time. They're on my nose now. Inside of 20 miles”
- 207R
- “Master arm on, master arm on”
- CLOSE
- “Okay, good light”
- 207P
- “Good Light”
- 207R
- “Okay, centering up the T, bogie has jinked back into me again, 16 miles, at the center of the dot.”
- CLOSE
- “Say your Angels.”
- 207R
- “I'm at Angels 5, nose up.”
- CLOSE
- “No, his Angels.”
- 207P
- “No, wait a minute.”
- 207R
- “Angels are at 9!”
- 207P
- “Alpha Bravo from 207.”
- 207R
- “13 miles. Fox 1! Fox 1!”
- 207P
- “Ah jesus!”
- 204P
- “Breaking right.”
- 207R
- “Roger that, 10 miles, he's back on my nose. Fox 1 again!”
- 207P
- “Watching ‘em up.”
- 207R
- “6 miles, 6 miles.”
- 204R
- “Tally 2, Tally 2! Turning into me.”
- 207R
- “Roger that, 5 miles... 4 miles.”
- 207P
- “Okay, he's got a missile off.”
- 204R
- “Breakin' right.”
- 207P
- “Good hit, good hit on one!”
- 207R
- “Roger that, good kill, good kill!”
- 204P
- “I've got the other one.”
- 204R
- “Select fox 2, select fox 2!!”
- 204P
- “I got fox 2.”
- CLOSE
- “Keep your eye for the trailer.”
- 207R
- “Comin' hard starboard.”
- 204P
- “Those fuckin'!”
- 204R
- “Shoot him!”
- 204P
- “I don't got tone.”
- 207R
- “That's the second one.”
- 204P
- “I've got the second one on my nose right now.”
- 207R
- “Okay, I am high cover on you.”
- '
204P
- “Get a fox, get a, lock him up! Lock him up.”
- 204R
- “There! Shoot him, fox 2!”
- 204P
- “I can't! I don't have a fucking tone!”
- 204P
- “Tone's up!”
- {Fox 2?AIM-9 Sidewider launch}
- 204R
- “Fox 2.”
- 204P
- “Good kill! Good kill!”
- 207R
- “Okay, good kill.”
- 207R
- “Pilot ejected.”
- CLOSE
- “The pilot's ejected out of the second one.”
- 204R
- “Okay Munster, lets head north, head north.”
- 207R
- “Okay. Port side high, comin' down hard.”
- 204R
- “Roger.”
- 207R
- “Roger that. Just revert. Blowin' north, let's go down low on the decks, unload, 500 knots, lets get out of here.”
- 204P
- “Okay, two good chutes.”
- CLOSE
- “They're showin' two good chutes in the air here, from Munster.”
- 207R
- “Roger that, I see the, ah?.”
- 207P
- “I've got the splash, one splash.”
- 207R
- “One splash.”
- 204R
- “Take that down to, ah, 3,000 here Munster.”
- CLOSE
- “The, ah, splash 160 at 96.”
- 204R
- “Lets go, Munster down to 3,000 and lets get outta here.”
