Iraqi Air Force used the Super Étendard to attack oil tankers and merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq-Iran War
The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard was a further development of the Étendard IVM, which it replaced. It made its first flight in October 1974 and entered French service in June 1978. French Super Étendards were later used in several conflicts, including the Kosovo War, the war in Afghanistan, and the military intervention in Libya.
The aircraft was also operated by Iraq and Argentina, both of which deployed it in wartime. Its use by Argentina, along with the Exocet missile during the 1982 Falklands War, brought the Super Étendard widespread public attention. Iraq used the aircraft to strike oil tankers and merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.
Five Super Étendards were loaned to Iraq in 1983 while the country awaited deliveries of the ordered Agave-equipped Dassault Mirage F1s, which were capable of launching Exocet missiles; the first of these aircraft arrived in Iraq on Oct. 8, 1983.
According to ex-RAF Tornado pilot and author Michael Napier in Flashpoints, the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) Super Étendards flew their first operational mission in the early hours of Mar. 24, 1984. Two aircraft each launched an Exocet ASM at shipping in Bushehr harbour, but the missile fired by Capt. Abid Hummadi missed its intended target and struck the Bushehr nuclear plant instead. The IQAF achieved some success against shipping near Bandar Khomeini in the last week of March, when three cargo ships were attacked and their crews abandoned them. On Mar. 27, the Super Étendards recorded their first confirmed hits, firing Exocets at the Greek tanker Filikon L and the Liberian oil support vessel Heyang Ilho. The tanker sustained only light damage, while the oil support vessel sank in the Marjan oilfield. Aircraft armed with Exocets continued daily patrols, though many missions failed to locate targets. The Super Étendards were intercepted by Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) aircraft on Mar. 30 and again on Apr. 2, but escaped undamaged by flying at extremely low altitude to evade IRIAF missiles. Two Exocets were launched at the Kharg Island terminal on Apr. 18, though neither warhead detonated. For Iraq, the fact that the three ships hit by Exocets in late April and early May were owned by Saudi Arabia or the UAE did little to strengthen Arab unity. Then, on May 7, the same day the Saudi tanker Al-Ahood was hit by an Exocet, Iran declared its own “tanker war” against vessels carrying Iraqi oil. One immediate consequence was the creation of the Saudi-backed “Fahd Line” on the Saudi/Emirati side of the Gulf, where Saudi aircraft were assigned to patrol and fire on any IRIAF aircraft that crossed it.
The first IRIAF strike came on May 13, when Phantoms fired Maverick missiles at the Kuwaiti tanker Umm al-Casbah just south of Kuwait. Eleven days later, Maverick-armed Phantoms launched another attack on the Liberian tanker Chemical Venture off Ras Tanura.
In the latter half of the year, IQAF Super Étendards recorded Exocet hits on the Kuwaiti tanker Tiburon on June 27, the South Korean cargo ship Wonju-Ho on July 1, the Greek tanker Friendship L on August 7, the Cypriot tanker Amethyst on August 24, the Norwegian tanker St. Tobias on September 11, the German supply vessel Seatrans 21 on September 12, the Liberian tanker World Knight on October 8, the Iranian tanker Sivand on October 15, the Cypriot tanker Minotaru on December 3, the Greek tanker Ninemia on December 15, the Greek cargo ship Aegis Cosmic on December 17, and the Liberian-registered tanker Magnolia on December 21. At the same time, IRIAF Phantoms attacked the Liberian-registered supertanker Primrose on July 5, the British tanker British Renown on July 10, the Panamanian tanker Endeabor on August 18, the Panamanian tanker Cleo-1 on August 27, the Greek tanker Medheron on September 16, the Indian tanker Jag Pari on October 11, the Panamanian gas tanker Gaz Fountain on October 12, the Indian tanker Kanchenjunga on December 25, and the Spanish supertanker Aragon on December 26. One IQAF Super Étendard was lost on the night of September 16–17, when the aircraft flown by Capt. Kamal Hussein Kazem Al-Ansari was caught by an Iranian fighter’s radar and plunged into the sea as the pilot tried to break the lock.
Shipping attacks continued in the months that followed. On Jan. 11, 1985, IQAF Super Étendards struck the South Korean freighter Hanlim Mariner near Kharg Island, marking the 65th ship hit in the Gulf by both sides since the previous January. After early technical issues were resolved, the newest Mirage F1EQ-5s, now compatible with the Exocet system, made their combat debut on Feb. 14 and sank the Liberian tanker Neptunia off Bushehr. Five days later, the IRIAF retaliated with Maverick missile strikes on the South Korean tanker Royal Colombo and the Kuwaiti carrier Al Manakh. In addition to deploying large numbers of floating radar decoys, Iran had also set up an alternate terminal off Sirri Island, about 350 miles farther along the coast from Kharg. This facility relied on large supertankers as distribution points, supplied by shuttle tankers transshipping cargo from Kharg Island. Tankers traveling to or from Iranian ports were also protected by old cargo vessels.
Shipping attacks in the Gulf continued through 1985, though at a somewhat lower tempo than the year before. Once the Mirage F1EQ could carry the Exocet ASM, Iraq sent the last four Super Étendards back to France. From Aug. 15 onward, the IQAF focused on the Kharg Island terminal. That day, two Mirages from 81 Sqn equipped with ECM pods and six Su-22s from 69 Sqn led by Maj. Abdul Salam Saeed al-Nuaimi attacked the terminal at low altitude and set the jetty area on fire. The same approach was used again on Aug. 25, while high-altitude MiG-25RB strikes on Aug. 30 and Sep. 2 were less effective and missed the target. IQAF raids on Kharg Island continued for the rest of the year, including attacks on Sep. 8 and 19. During the latter strike, two Mirage F1EQ-5s dropped 250kg bombs that sank the North Korean tanker Son Bong just off Kharg.
Flashpoints is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Martin Čížek via Wikipedia and Unknown
