Of more than 40 Iraqi aircraft shot down by the coalition during the Gulf War, only three were shot down by US Navy fighter jets. And of those three, two were shot down within seconds of each other by two F/A-18C Hornet fighters that were engaged in a bombing mission.
All of this took place on January 17, 1991, during the first daylight attack of Operation Desert Storm. After months of tension and troop concentration in the Middle East, the US-led Coalition carried out a massive overnight air strike, destroying several strategic targets in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, using smart bombs and stealth planes. As day broke, the Operation continued.
From a Forrestal-class aircraft carrier, the USS Saratoga (CV-60), four F/A-18 Hornet fighters from the VFA-81 Sunliners squadron took off, each armed with two short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, two AIM-7M Sparrow missiles guided by semi-active radar and four Mk.84 bombs, each weighing more than 920 kg, in addition to an external tank with 1200 liters of fuel. Commanding the fighters were Commander Bill McKee (Sunliners Deputy Commander), Lieutenant Commander Mark Irby 'MRT' Fox, Lieutenant Commander 'Chuck' Osborne and Lieutenant Nick 'Mongo' Mongillo. Four, from a package with dozens of aircraft.
As a mission, they were to attack the installations of Al Walid Air Base (H-3), in the west of the country, preventing its use by the Iraqi Air Force. The night before, the massive coalition attack had already damaged Iraqi forces' infrastructure.
However, victories did not come for free: a MiG-25PD Foxbat shot down the F/A-18C of Lieutenant Commander Michael Scott Speicher, also from VFA-81. Until then, the pilots on the Saratoga believed that he had landed on land, but the Commander of the Sunliners already knew what had actually happened. He didn't tell his subordinates so as not to disturb the day mission. Speicher's remains would not be found until August 2009.
Continuing with the attack flight, the four Hornets, after hours of navigation and in-flight refueling with an Air Force tanker, entered Iraqi airspace from the south, in front-line formation. Above them, the E-2 Hawkeye and E-3 Sentry provided control and detection of enemies, guiding the pilots from the Bullseye (a geographic point that all aircraft use as a reference), called by the Manny code.
Later, John Joyce, systems operator on the E-2, calls the formation of Hornets warning that enemies have appeared on radar, 30 miles from the American fighters. At that moment, with just a flick of the thumb on one of the stick's many buttons, the four pilots switch from air-to-ground to air-to-air. The F/A-65's AN/APG-18 radar stops scanning the ground and starts directing its pulses to the air, looking for targets that are soon found.
Bandits, 15 miles ahead. There are two MiG-21 fighters in formation and approaching the Hornets at supersonic speed, without performing any other manoeuvres. Mongo locks his radar on the MiG on the left, seven miles away, quickly selecting the Sidewinder and switching to the Sparrow next.
Two miles from the MiG-21, Mongo fires the AIM-7M which hits the Iraqi MiG 4 seconds later. Splash one. The single-engine fighter turns into a ball of fire and goes supersonic until it collides with the desert. At the same time that the radar-guided missile hit the enemy fighter, Mongo was already selecting the heat-guided AIM-9, taking precautions in case the first shot was not effective.
At the same time, at the far right of the formation, Fox engaged the other MiG. Unlike Mongo, Fox first fires an AIM-9 Sidewinder. He had already fired previous versions of the Sidwinder in training and was surprised to see that the missile he had just launched in combat against the enemy did not leave a trail of smoke.
It turns out that the 9M version was the first to receive the rocket engine that did not generate smoke, a tactical advantage over the enemy. Fox thought the missile had not acquired a target and soon fired an AIM-7M to ensure the enemy's destruction. To his surprise, the missile exited the fuselage of his F/A-18 at the same moment the AIM-9 impacted the MiG-21. The Sparrow also hit the burning fighter.
Two enemies shot down within seconds of each other in the first daylight mission of the Gulf War by two planes each carrying 8000 pounds of bombs. Moments later, the four VFA-81 aircraft were over their target and dropped their bombs on Iraqi bases. On the way back, Mongo and Fox ed the wreckage of the MiGs they had destroyed earlier. Hours later they were back on deck on the Saratoga. The mission was accomplished. Mark and Mongillo were the only two US Navy airmen who shot down Iraqi fighter jets in the 1991 war.
Today, the two fighters used by them, numbers 401 (BuNo 163508) and 410 (BuNo 163502) are being retired at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, located in Pensacola, Florida. Mongillo left the Navy with the rank of Captain (equivalent to Colonel in other forces). In June 2018, Mongo told his story on the fighter pilot podcast. Mark retired in 2016 as Rear iral.
Sources: The War Horse, Aviation Geek Club, Fighter Pilot Podcast.
