Azerbaijan
Squadron - Dust Devils. Lead pilot - Buckaroo
Mission 03
2200 hrs - cloudy, winds NE at 10.
FARP 2

With the limited weapons at our FARP, I should have been happy that at least I carried Stingers but I was wishing for a Radar LB and a full load of missles for wing and me both, but gotta go with what ya got.

Once cleared we hauled ass to the Phase line, then dropped to NOE, at about 50' and 50 kts. The terrain is VERY rugged in this area, so we were well below the ridgelines, but we had to climb and cross a saddle between 2 peaks so we did it carefully and slowed way down to scan for targets, but our path was pretty deserted. The other flights called in the waypoints they were passing so we jumped over the ridge in front of us and coasted down the other side. We had just levelled out at the bottom of a long straight canyon, when I hear the "taking fire" calls from Nov. 90, followed shortly by a fire ball the next ridge over at our 11 o'clock. Half a Klick later my CP/G yells "ENEMY CHOPPERS 2 O'CLOCK!" My tads is locked on him already and I turn loose a Stinger and boom, he's going down, I pull back the cyclic, because I'm up to 65 kts now, in the process I'm now up to about 110 ', so I try to get settled back down to low and slow. I Just started to descend when my ASE lights up and I here " SAM ,SAM!" I see it coming but too late, BAM.

"That missle Just hit us sir!" No shit. Shove the collective to the stop and yank the cyclic back, I'm at 13 feet now (too close to being a smudge). And near a hover. Over the small ridge in front pop 3 Cobras, nowhere to run I release my wing to kill my target, then launch another Stinger, I'm taking hits now and back up to 60'. I get a few good point blank hits on the last of the three and he goes down. On the way back down I pick up a Hip on the tads and launch a Hellfire, boom! he's history. We move forward, at about 10- 15' and about 15 -20 kts, I'm smokin enough that I see it drift in to my right.

I can just barely see over the little hill that is between me and this major freakin base that I was sent to destroy. I'm wishing Intel. would be with me here right now! 5 bunkers all primary targets, 1 more HIP, 3 more Cobras (one is running), couple of ZSUs, a Rapier , trucks and troops standing everywhere. I call a artillery strike, and when it comes in I launch a hellfire at the HIP. The Cobras all lift off one by one, and fly off to our left. I tell the wingman to go weapons free and we clean house. In the middle of the our firing I hear command say "mission accomplished return to base", which I waste no time starting for. The only thing we left was whole lot of smoke.

We hover up a little and I see the 3 Cobras on the side of the mountain about 1 klick away, I use my last Hellfire on 1, my wing guns another, but the last diehard has to try to take me with him I guess, he heads straight for me blasting away, I limp away as fast as I can and my wingy kills him ( Thank god, hehheh).

Whew, we made it! well not quite to the Phase line but.... "FAST MOVER 5 O'CLOCK!"

Shit, well I was only at 30' anyway so I pull to hover as close as I can get to the mountain lower to 10' and wait for the inevitable missle hit. I get him on TADS and call for air support, but know it will be to late. The MIG makes 3 passes, but never fires a shot, kept coming at me from different directions. He was turning again (viewed on external target view) when Boom! he's gone, man ya gotta love the Airforce when they do that for ya! The F16 makes a low pass as if in victory then bugs out.

We make it back to the FARP, let out my breath that was held for 10 minutes or so, and celebrated. (My wife thinks I'm insane).

AFTER ACTION REPORT:

My LB is rated NMC, But I made it back alive

The escort lost 1 non radar LB

The Sam site strike lost both Helis (thanks to all those Cobras)

The recon went w/o any probs.

But the Iranians had a very bad day. This is the 3rd mission in the campaign: this one will be tough from the looks of it.