AirForces Monthly – June 2018

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com TORNADO TRIBUTE // 65

by both types including the enhanced self-

protection features of the Typhoon.

Long-range raid

The RAF’s kinetic involvement in the Libya

campaign started with an historic mission

launched from Marham that resulted in Storm

Shadows being fired during the opening

night of the air campaign on March 19. Wg

Cdr Andy Turk was Officer Commanding

No IX(B) Squadron at that time. He had

previously served as the No 617 Squadron

Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) in 2003

during Operation Telic and was involved

in bringing Storm Shadow into service.

No IX(B) Squadron launched four GR4s,

supported by VC10 and Tristar tankers,

to fly the 3,000-mile (4,828km) round-

trip sorties to launch eight Storm Shadows

against command and control nodes. These

were the RAF’s longest-range strikes since

the ‘Black Buck’ Vulcan operations during

the Falklands conflict in 1982 and the first

RAF bombing raids launched from the UK

since World War Two. At the time Turk

said: “I got back from Nellis [AFB] on the

Monday morning, and by the Wednesday

afternoon we were hearing that we were

required to start our spin-up in readiness

terms for a Friday night mission to Libya.

“I was in the lead jet of our four-ship of

GR4s, which was actually two waves of pairs,

each going to separate tankers. Back in the

squadron building we got the BDA [battle

damage assessment] and all eight weapons

scored a Delta Hotel [DH – direct hit]”

The GR4s of No IX(B) Squadron then moved

to Gioia del Colle, flying their first ground-

attack sorties from southern Italy on March 24.

No 13 Squadron took over the Storm Shadow

role back at Marham ready for the second

and third missions on March 20 and 27, with

No II(AC) Squadron well placed to swing

into the Gioia effort to sustain it through

the summer months. With No 31 Squadron

deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, the GR4

community was being worked to the limit.

During its period in theatre the No II(AC)

Squadron crews undertook some incredible

combat operations, including, on August 18,

engaging a moving patrol with a Paveway IV

bomb – the first time the weapon had been

used to take out a moving target of this nature.

The number of Storm Shadow cruise missile

missions flown by GR4s direct from Marham

also increased. After the three initial sorties

described above, further such raids were

flown on August 10 and 24 and September

4, 6, 8 and 10 against various sites in and

around Sebha. Targets included SAM storage

sites as well as military staging posts and

command and control compounds. On

September 4, the GR4s rendezvoused with other

allied aircraft to lead a multinational attack

against a group of military communications

installations at a major headquarters complex

in Sebha. The GR4s and Italian Tornados

are both believed to have launched a volley

of Storm Shadows, with French aircraft

firing their equivalent, the SCALP EG.

Carrying two live Paveway IVs and a RAPTOR
reconnaissance pod, a Tornado GR4 in No 14
Squadron markings gets airborne from Gioia
del Colle for an Ellamy sortie. Integration of the
ASRAAM short-range missile onto the Tornado
GR4 was cleared in February 2011, although the
in-service date was brought forward to meet the
operational needs of the Tornado GR Force for
Libya. Crown Copyright/Cpl Nik Howe

Above: A cutaway of the MBDA Storm Shadow

cruise missile. MBDA Left: Imagery from the

Tornado GR4 Litening targeting pod of a Libyan

main battle tank in the crosshairs. Crown Copyright

Far left: UK Air Component Commander AVM Greg

Bagwell arrives at Gioia del Colle. Crown Copyright/

SAC Neil Chapman Right: No IX(B) Squadron Tornado

GR4s from RAF Marham launched Storm Shadows

against the Libyan air defence network on the

opening night of the campaign. Crown Copyright

Above: Paveway IV and DMS Brimstone mission

markings on a GR4 after the Libya campaign had

ended. Jamie Hunter

AFM