AirForces Monthly – June 2018

http://www.airforcesmonthly.comwww.airforcesmonthly.com TORNADO TRIBUTETORNADO TRIBUTE // // 55

“So, it ended up being the ALARM team,
plus what remained of the bomber four-ships.
As we ran into the target the triple-A lit up as
usual. As we were about to pull up and loft
the bombs in, our radar homing and warning
receiver went through the classic pattern of
acquisition, target tracking and missile guidance.
“Me and my nav’ saw two missiles resolving
in our direction. I did a pretty violent
break to defeat the missiles, dumped the
bombs into a lake and we found ourselves
in a 5g turn in the pitch black, rolling out
at 120ft; then we did a speed trial on the
TFR! We got fired at on the way back too!
“I don’t think we were the only ones that had
a particularly nasty experience – we felt that
the Iraqis threw everything at us that night.”

The move to medium level
After the first few gruelling nights, the
Tornados were instructed to move their
tactics up to flying around 20,000ft (6,096m),
where only the larger SAMs could cause
them major headaches. However, much of
this threat had by now been diminished by
the activities of the coalition SEAD aircraft.
“Switching to medium-level operations
on January 22 took a bit of the intensity
out of it,” recounts Roberts. “We started
at medium-level high with 1,000lb freefall
bombs; we didn’t get the TIALD [Thermal
Imaging Airborne Laser Designator] pods
and Paveway guidance kits until later.”
While the new tactics reduced attrition,
accuracy diminished. The arrival of laser
designator pods reversed that trend. The
Muharraq and Dhahran detachments
began working with Pave Spike-equipped
Buccaneers from February 2 and 5
respectively, before TIALD-equipped

Tornados began arriving at Tabuk on

February 10 as bridges and individual

hardened aircraft shelters were targeted using

Paveway II laser-guided bombs (LGBs).

By the end of the campaign, six Tornados had

been lost to enemy action, with five aircrew

killed and seven taken prisoner by the Iraqis.

The change in tactics during Granby reflected

a step change in the way the Tornado and,

indeed, other aircraft would go into combat.

The RAF almost immediately lost some

of the most significant Granby Tornado

squadrons to defence cutbacks as the Cold War

ended. It also switched away from the focus

on OLF towards medium-level tactics and

increased use of smart weapons. However,

many aircrews acknowledge the immense

value in being sharp and able to cope with

changes, including the need to go low.

Enduring Iraqi mission

Following the end of Desert Storm, RAF

Tornados continued to ply their trade in the

region, policing no-fly zones in Iraq as Saddam

Hussein continued

to persecute

Kurds in

the north and Shiite Arabs in the south.

The RAFG Tornado units regularly supported

Operational Jural (Southern Watch) and

Operation Warden in the north. This became

a primarily reconnaissance-based mission,

with strikes on targets of opportunity as

threats popped up in the fringes of Iraq.

Saddam Hussein’s flouting of United Nations

regulations caused frequent flare-ups, with the

Tornados called upon regularly. Operation

Bolton in February 1998 saw the activation

of a second Tornado detachment at Al Jaber,

Kuwait, which carried sufficient weight to

force the Iraqi leader into submission and allow

UN weapons inspectors into the country.

The game of cat and mouse continued until,

ultimately, Operation Telic was launched as the

‘second Gulf War’ in 2003. The now Wg Cdr

Roberts was the RAF Force Element commander

for the campaign, as OC No 12(B) Squadron

when it deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar. “I was

fortunate to be able to offer my experience [from

Granby] and to be able to look after my people.

“They had all spent time covering the

northern and southern no-fly zones, they’d

seen the threats that were out there, but now

we were going back into the heart of Iraq.”

Below: Reconnaissance-capable Tornado GR1As of Nos
II(AC) and 13 Squadrons were the last jets to join the war.
Having only recently entered service, six jets and nine crews
were hastily deployed to Dhahran in the days before the
air campaign started and they were tasked with hunting
Saddam Hussein’s mobile ‘Scud’ missile launchers. Ian Black

One of the fi rst tasks for the RAF Germany crews

was to get tanker qualifi ed. Here, a Tornado GR1

joins a Buccaneer S2 in refuelling from a No 55

Squadron Victor K2 on their way to a target during

Granby. Crown Copyright

AFM