Action of June 5, 1984

Action of June 5, 1984
Part of Iran–Iraq War, Tanker War
DateJune 5, 1984
Location
Arabi Island, Persian Gulf
Result Saudi Arabian victory
Belligerents
 Saudi Arabia  Iran
Strength
Saudi Arabia 13 F-15 Eagles Iran 13 F-4 Phantoms
Casualties and losses
None 2 F-4 Phantoms lost
2 pilots killed

On June 5, 1984, an air battle took place near Arabi Island in the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms from Bushehr Air Base, had intruded into Saudi airspace, setting up for an attack on oil tankers. The planes were tracked by a United States Air Force E-3 Sentry AEW&C aircraft, which directed two patrolling Saudi F-15 Eagles armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to intercept the Iranians.[1]

The Saudis shot down one Iranian Phantom, killing 1st Lts Homayoun Hekmati & weapon systems officer Seyed Sirous Karimi. The second Iranian F-4 was damaged, and made an emergency landing at Kish Airport. The aircraft could not be repaired and was written off. This caused the Iranians to scramble 11 additional F-4s from Bushehr.

In response, the Royal Saudi Air Force scrambled 11 additional F-15s. Seeing this, the Iranians backed down, and the Saudis returned to base.[2][3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Saudi F15 Fighters Down 2 Iranian Jets Over Persian Gulf". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ Smith, William E."Pushing the Saudis too far". Time, 18 June 1984. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
  3. ^ Halloran, Richard. "2 Iranian fighters reported downed by Saudi Air Force". The New York Times, 6 June 1984, p. 1. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.