Operation Sultan 10
| Operation Sultan 10 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iran-Iraq War | |
 |
|
| Location | Northern Iraq |
| Planned by |
 Col. Afshar Maj. Showqi |
| Commanded by |
Col. Afshar |
| Target | Al-Hurriah Airbase, Iraq |
| Executed by |
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| Outcome | Iranian victory |
| Operation Sultan 10 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Iran-Iraq War | |||||||
|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
|
 Iraq Iraqi Air ForceIraqi Air Defence Corps |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Col. Afshar (Sultan-9) Cpt. Sedqi (Sultan-7) Maj. Showqi (Sultan-1) |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 6 F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers, each equipped with 12 Mk 82s 2 F-14 Tomcat interceptors 3 tankers |
4 MiG-23 fighters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 1 airbase bombed 1 French technician killed, another one injured 2 MiG-21 fighters and 3 Mil Mi-8 helicopters destroyed on the ground Dogfight: 4 MiG-23 fighters downed 3 pilots killed, 1 pilot captured |
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Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
Operation Sultan 10 (Persian: عملیات سلطان ١٠) was an operation of the Iranian Air Force on 29 October 1980, the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War. In this operation six F-4E Phantom IIs from IRIAF's 31st and 3nd Squadrons took part in an attack on the Al-Hurriah Airbase near Mosul in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
In the last days of October 1980, commanders of the 1st Tactical Air Base (TAB 1) of Iran in Tehran received intelligence that French engineers had been sent to Iraq and numbers of Mirage F1s which the Iraqi Air Force had bought from France held at Al-Hurriah Airbase near Mosul. This personnel of the French Air Force were appointed to train Iraqi pilots and technicians to use Mirage F1s.
The operation was called Sultan-10, meaning only 10 fighters were supposed to cross the borders (Sultan 1 to 10). The target was 180 miles inside Iraq at Mosul. Eight Phantom (code-named Sultan-1 to 6) (2 as reserve), 3 Tomcat (Sultan-7 and 8) (1 as reserve) and 3 Boeing 707 tankers (Sultan-9 and 10(1 as reserve) were planned for the operation. Both Tomcat fighters should have been beside tankers to protect them, because loss of tankers would cost the loss of all 6 Phantoms. If the operational team crossed the Iran's border right to Mosul they would engage with Air Defence bases which were supplied with SAM-2, SAM-3, and SAM-6. Commanders ordered radio silence and start the operation before dawn. Just before getting into Iraq borders they refueled and used Turkish air space to enter Iraq. Tankers and Tomcats stayed at low altitude and waited for the Phantoms return. During protecting tankers one of Tomcat's radars was always off to reduce recognition possibilities by Iraq.
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Wikipedia