XBradTC

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XBradTC

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Operation Eldorado Canyon

Thirty years ago, US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps  attack aircraft raided Libya in response to a terror attack on a Berlin nightclub that killed an American servicemember. F-111s from RAF Lakenheath, and EF-111s from RAF Upper Heyford in conjunction with A-6s, A-7s, F/A-18s and EA-6Bs from USS Saratoga, USS America, and USS Coral…

Thirty years ago, US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps  attack aircraft raided Libya in response to a terror attack on a Berlin nightclub that killed an American servicemember.

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F-111s from RAF Lakenheath, and EF-111s from RAF Upper Heyford in conjunction with A-6s, A-7s, F/A-18s and EA-6Bs from USS Saratoga, USS America, and USS Coral Sea struck five targets in Libya to degrade their ability to train terrorists, and of course to send a message.

One F-111 was shot down by a Libyan missile, killing Air Force Captains Fernando Ribas-Dominicci and Paul Lorence.  Captain Ribas-Dominicci’s body was returned to US control via the Vatican, but Captain Lorence’s remains have never been recovered.

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Responses to “Operation Eldorado Canyon”

  1. NaCly Dog

    Our ship had the SAR helo on deck.
    I sure remember the CO pounding up the steps from Combat and demanding full power. We were split plant at the time. I called down to Central to get that power. Once we had all engines on line, we went to full speed and turned to port. Directly for Libya. Then GQ.
    Sadly, the pilots were unavailable for SAR.

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  2. NaCly Dog

    The FON ops in the Gulf of Sidra the previous month were also interesting. We were the closest to Tripoli, in company with the USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20).
    A couple of Russian warships were looking us over. When Turner launched that Harpoon down a line of bearing, those Russian ships made sure we knew they were there by turning on the lights. I want to read their reports on our operations.

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  3. Krag

    When this happened I was living in London as a teenager. We had gone to the theater for my Mother’s birthday at the same time the Lakenheath group were taking off. The next day as I pieced all that together, I remember the surreal feeling of realizing my family and I had been sitting safe in a West End theater at the same time our countrymen were launching into combat just two hours up the road.
    That disconnect always stuck with me. At sixteen I was already convinced I was headed for the military, but that experience certainly reinforced my desire. I thought it immensely cool that with no fanfare or drama our military was doing its job. I wanted to be part of that.

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  4. SFC Dunlap 173d RVN

    France I recall would not allow overflight for the F-111’s. I believe the French disallowed overflight because of not wanting to appear partnered in the operation and to appease segments of their population. Wonder how they gauge the appeasement in terms of success these days. Shoes being on the other foot and all.

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  5. timactual

    A first person account of the raid that I found interesting;
    http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/above-amp-beyond-take-a-left-at-portugal-95070312/?no-ist=&page=2

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  6. Xbradtc

    France has long been castigated for not allowing the overflight (and Spain and Italy) but in fact, France foresaw that a simple raid would invite tit for tat retaliation, and instead wanted a campaign that would overthrow Quadafi.
    The real asshole was Italy, who actually phoned Quadafi and warned him the raid was coming.

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