That was the thing that jumped out at me the first time I saw the video of a VLS launch, just how damned high those missiles went up in the air. I figure since ASMs are supposed to come in low, that SAM not only has to redirect all that energy it spent leaving the cell and climbing into getting back down to an engagement altitude, there's probably a donut shaped area around the ship where it just simply can't engage in time. Not only that, but you'd also have a higher deflection shot, reducing accuracy. I can see how those older launchers would give you a low or zero deflection shot and increase accuracy.

From what I've read the VLS is more reliable with a bigger magazine, so I can see how the trade off would be worth it most of the time.

BTW I don't expect you to confirm or deny anything in response, I just spend 8-9 months at sea a year so I've got the habit of looking at things and trying to figure out what can go wrong or what's the worst case scenario. If I thought of that within 5 minutes of watching a video, I figure our enemies have done the same.

    You might know a lot more about the 75mm guns than I do, but when i was on FFG 9 our GM's couldn't keep them working. Actually I think they failed to even get them to fire 3 consecutive times on a gun shoot.
     One note about the Stark. If that 1st Exocet had gone off, she'd of been sunk post haste. You see the 1st missle penetrated just aft of the missle mag.

I was serving as a NAVSEA missile test officer at the time of the attack.



Immediately after the attack, my Captain was assigned to the board of inquiry.  He assembled a team and flew to the Gulf.  He was an engineering duty officer at the time and the head missileer at our shore base in California.  After he returned, he and I sat down and he told me all the gory details over a cup of coffee.



Stark was not in a condition of readiness to prevent the attack.  One of her fire control operators left his station...IIRC to wake up the next watch.  Until just a few minutes before the attack, the CO was heavily involved in Operational Propulsion Plant Exam preps.  See...we used to catch the OPPE team and do the exam upon outchop from the Gulf, before reporting back to C6F OPCON.  In those days, engineering failures could easily get you fired.



The CO had not instilled in his crew the necessary warrior ethic.  They, like many ships had become somewhat lax in their AAW readiness, figuring that nobody in their right mind would attack a United States warship.  Most folks, including our own naval officers are poor students of history.  You mention Chicago, Vincennes, Astoria, Quincy, or Canberra or Sydney to them (In a naval context.) and most of the time you get a blank stare.  The CO was in his head washing his hands when his ship was hit.



The Mk-15 CIWS was not in the required readiness state.  It never would have engaged the aircraft, but it might have taken a shot at one or both of the Exocets if it had been operational and in AAW Auto mode and had the OOD/TAO turned the ship about 30degs to starboard to unmask the mount.



The Standard Missile I AAW system was not ready.  The fire control radar operators were not ready.  The ship never put an FCS on the aircraft until it was too late...after the pilot had already fired his two Exocets.  At that point, the ship was toast.



The ship did track the incoming Iraqi Mirage F1EQ5 aircraft.  They failed to properly challenge him however...either by voice, or with a fire control radar illuminator with a "bird on the rail".  In almost every case (and there were many) like this, as soon as the missile ship lit the bastard up, he turned away quickly.  His radar warning receiver will tell him when he's about to be dead.



The aircraft turned away as soon as the ship lit him up with the FC radar...too late.



The first indication that they were under attack was when the lookout saw the rocket exhaust from the incoming missiles.



The first Exocet struck the ship as indicated in the pictures, just forward and below the bridge.  As it traveled across the ship, the unexpended rocket fuel burned out the entire large crews' berthing forward, killing all of the personnel.  The warhead did not detonate and ended up in the starboard passageway where firefighters proceeded to kick it around out of the way for a while, not understanding what it was until a bright sailor checked it out.  
 EOD took it away much later.



The second Exocet did hit very close to the first, and the warhead detonated.



The sailor in the RICER electronic spaces died of smoke inhalation.



The fire main was broken.  The design was proven to have some vital weaknesses as a result of this fire.  Alterations were made to all of the FFGs after that.



The missile magazine/launcher lost its flooding system (no firemain).  A brave young E-4 stayed topside and played a hose on the missile launcher for many hours, keeping the damn thing cool so it would not detonate the Standard and Harpoon missiles inside.



Some members of the crew lost it.



The huge amount of free water sloshing around in the large passageways and burned out compartments darn near capsized the ship.  The crew got a cutting torch and cut holes in the side to let the water out.



Even if the ship had been at GQ...condition 1 readiness, with all systems ready, she might not have been able to defeat the missile threat.  We made serious alterations to the systems to help them successfully engage the very low cruise missiles...but that class of ship and the SM-1 missiles all had a very tough time with small low fliers.



And yes...I suspect Saddam knew exactly what was happening that night.  

+1





My brother was already in, I joined up in '89.



eta: I was 17 at the time.





 

I don't mean any offense by this, but that just makes me go  







































X 1000.




































 
 
 
 

This incident just reeks of BS!!!

Iraq never attacked the US.  We invaded them.  Sadaam Hussein was one of Reagan's (and Bush's) greatest friends and allies.  Until Bush 41 backstabbed him that is!

CNN keeps me very well informed on the world!

The key is to have missiles like ESSM that pull high G turns right out of the launcher.

Your GMs weren't that good then. The Mk75, which is a 76mm, is pretty reliable. More reliable than the 5" when properly maintained.

I was 2.5 years old...

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Thanks for posting this reminder.  It is good to recall these incidents and the sacrifices that were made for us.

I was 19, and at NAPS. We were three days from graduation.

We were pretty pissed.

I was a attached to the the USS Conyngham(DDG-17) after the Stark incident. Conyngham was the first ship to render assistance to the Stark. Some of the guys in my divsion were part of the damage control parties that went aboard Stark. Those guys were very somber about the carnage witnessed.

So do I. My ship, the USS Worden and I replaced the Stark after she was hit. Frogwater was on board then as well.

RIP fellow sailors!!



We, USS Robison DDG-12, had just left the Persian Gulf in early January of 1987, I believe.  It was a very dangerous, hostile area.  In addition to the threat of Iraqi and Iranian war planes, there were floating mines that the Iranians would throw into the gulf.  Also, the Iranians had the Chinese Silkworm Missles aimed at U.S. warships transiting the Straits of Hormuz.  Remember too, that we, the United States, made the desicion to reflag Kuwaiti oil tankers that were getting harassed, attacked.  We took the first convoy of warships/ tankers through the straits in the largest ship convoy since WW II.  

Our second tour in the gulf in 1988 is when the Vincennes shot down the Iranian airbus.  We relieved her onstation as she made her ominous way home.  Needless to say tensions were high in the region.  

We challenged aircraft daily that came out of Iran and Iraq.  Especially in the Straits and in the Gulf of Oman (GOO).  We would challange a lone F-14 that came out of Bandar Abbas daily.  In addition the Russians would over fly our ship with their Mays aircraft and sometimes with their Hormone Bravo Helos.  We always gave them a warm welcome!  

A lot of lessons learned came from the Stark attack.  Among them learned was that the wearing of synthetic materials was not good in a mass conflaguration.  Those that were in the intense fire/heat and were wearing the infamous nylon blue jogging shorts as undergarments found that they melted to their skin.  The same went with the Corofram brand dress shoes that were perpetually shiny.  Our ship only let us were them while standing quarter deck watch while in port in a non-hostile area.  Otherwise we were required to wear leather only.  

Another lesson learned was readiness.  Captains learned to steam at one level down from combat stations.  We steamed one condition short of Condition Zebra ( all hatches shut and ready for war) while in the GOO or Persian Gulf.  

Dewatering of the ship became big training priorities onboard ships after the Stark attack.  Everyone on the ship was schooled on how to start and maintain the pumps.  Also, we saw the wide distribution of fire hoods that protected your head and neck in the advent of a fire onboars.  

These are just some of the lessons learned.  It was a tenious time for all that served in the region.  We did it with distintcion, pride and honor.  It is one of the highlights of my life.  And I am honored to be able to have served our great United States.


Rest in Peace fellow sailors, your sacrifices saved countless other lives!!

International incident or not, the USN should have been allowed to track the Mirage back to it's base then sent a strike package to flatten the base and all the jets located therein.............and make Saddam like it

Iraq was our friend, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. (Iran-Iraq war 1980 - 1988)

The double standard never fails to raise it's ugly head.

Somebody fkt up, and it wasn't those sailors on that ship.

Military readiness starts at the top.

If that ship was in a war zone, it should have been at 100%

Or was there some kinda screwball diplomacy going on that allowed this shit to happen?

Outstanding post LWilde! I'm glad your memory of it all is better than mine but that is exactly how I remember it all going down. Although I was never privy that that amount of information about it of course. I was BM at the time so about all I was told was that a lookout spotted the incoming missiles before anyone else ever knew what was going on. We were told about that considering that was what I spent most of my time doing at that time.



If I understood correctly, Stark was an ASW ship and was being asked to watch air traffic which wasn't exactly her specialty. I know when we took over for her we were cruising up and down the gulf watching everything that took off and landed from a particular air strip. Worden was a double-ended missile cruiser and we were much more prepared for air traffic. We lit up quite a few jets after that incident. As you said they'd immediately get their shit together once we did. Those 55Bs got their attention quick.