The mission would have been not only the longest air strike conducted by the Israeli Air Force since Entebbe in 1976, but also the first time the F-15 Baz was used as a fighter-bomber
The F-15 is a twin‑engine, high‑performance fighter designed for air superiority in all weather conditions. First flown in 1972, it entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1974. The Eagle is best known for its exceptional acceleration and maneuverability. It was the first American fighter whose engines produced more thrust than the aircraft’s basic weight, enabling it to keep accelerating even in a vertical climb. Its powerful engines, relatively low weight, and large wings give the Eagle outstanding agility.
Israeli Air Force F-15s were the first to confront a capable enemy in aerial combat. They shot down more than 50 Syrian aircraft without losing a single Eagle in those engagements.
When the Israeli Air Force (IAF) selected the F-15, it evaluated not only the jet’s air‑to‑air performance but also whether the Eagle’s design could support an all‑weather strike role. After being upgraded in the 1980s for long‑range precision attack missions, the Baz—as the IAF called its F‑15s—stunned the world in 1985 by carrying out the longest‑range air strike in the IAF’s history.
On September 25, 1985, Force 17, a unit within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), killed three unarmed Israeli civilians who were vacationing on their yacht near Larnaca, Cyprus. In retaliation for this unprovoked attack, on October 1, 1985 the IAF launched “Operation Mivtza Regel Etz (Wooden Leg)” from Tel Nof Air Base against the PLO headquarters in Hammam al‑Shatt, Tunisia, roughly twelve miles from the capital, Tunis.
As Donald J. McCarthy, Jr. notes in his book “The Raptors: All F-15 and F-16 Aerial Combat Victories,” this mission would not only be the IAF’s longest air strike since Entebbe in 1976, but also the first time the F-15 Baz was employed as a fighter-bomber. To enable the long‑range flight—over 1,280 miles above open water—two modified Boeing 707 tankers from the Desert Giant squadron were tasked to refuel the strike package over the Mediterranean Sea.
A specially equipped Boeing 707 airborne command post was assigned to oversee and coordinate the operation.
F-15s from the Spearhead Squadron were chosen to carry out the mission. Because the actual attack would be executed by two formations of F-15s armed with GBU‑15 electro‑optical glide bombs, all aircraft and aircrews taking part in Operation Wooden Leg were “GBU‑15 qualified.” The GBU‑15 is a highly maneuverable weapon designed for optimal low‑to‑medium altitude delivery, capable of achieving very high precision.
The first six F-15s—five of them being F-15Ds (No. 280, 450, 455, 970, and 957)—were assigned to drop GBU‑15s on the PLO headquarters along the coast. The remaining two jets, F‑15C No. 530 and F‑15C No. 840, carried six 500‑pound Mk 82 bombs each on their centerline pylons.
The strike took just six minutes and leveled nearly the entire PLO compound, including the chairman’s office and the leadership of Force 17. Between sixty and one hundred militants were killed, and about seventy more were wounded. The attack achieved complete surprise: Tunisian and Syrian air forces could not react in time, and even the air defenses around the target failed to engage the IAF F‑15s.
Global denunciation of Israel’s strike on Yasser Arafat’s PLO was immediate and intense. Strong protests over Operation Wooden Leg came not only from nations in the Middle East and the United Nations (UN), but even from Israel’s closest ally, the U.S.
However, as McCarthy Jr. relates, Israel’s adversaries were left with burning questions: “How did Israel carry out the longest-range attack in its history? How were they able to avoid detection from Egyptian and Libyan radar units and even from U.S. Navy ships deployed in the Mediterranean?”
The explanation is that IAF planners recognized the full multirole potential of the Baz when they chose the F‑15, and they began upgrading the jet’s capabilities as soon as it entered service.
Despite this, many people still assume that the aircraft used in Operation Wooden Leg were F‑15E Strike Eagles.
In reality, the strike force consisted of IAF F‑15Cs and F‑15Ds that had been modified in the summer of 1985, well before the first F‑15Es entered service in April 1988. Although many details of Operation Wooden Leg remain classified, upgrades such as conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) gave these F‑15s the range needed for long‑distance missions. Additional enhancements included advanced avionics and radar, as well as improved weapons control and electronic warfare systems.
The Raptors All F-15 and F-16 aerial combat victories is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Israeli Air Force Facebook Page
