The Navy learned a couple lessons from this incident. First, to always keep your weapons systems ready, and second to change the uniform materials, especially the shoes, which melted in the heat.
Also, they started adding a strip of non-skid to the EEBDs because a lot of sailors were not able to open the bags in the berthing compartments with hands wet from the fuel. A lot of DC maintenance procedures were written in blood.
@@jdubhub68 Yep. I remember getting issued rolls of skateboard grip tape and upgrading EEBDs aboard ship. There were a lot of lessons learned the hard way from the Stark incident that were applied fleet wide.
I was only 10 years old when this happened. I remember seeing a burning ship on TV and wondering why. That the ship survived such a devastating fire is a testament to the damage control training of the crew.
THAT....is a 'No Shi**r', DC is what EVERY Sailor knows what to do ... together!!! And the USN does DC VERY WELL!!!! Since WW2, those lessons learned then, STILL help those sailors Now, Today!! From devestating incidents to accidents ... FORRESTAL, ENTERPRISE (CVN-65), ORISKANY, STARK, SAMUEL B. ROBERTS, FRANK E. EVANS, BELKNAP, TRIPOLI, PRINCETON, BONHOMME RICHARD
Yep. It makes me think how the hell the Muskva sank. I know every person onboard should be well trained in this area. But it seems the Russian navy, army, etc have no problem passing the buck.🤷♂
I was stationed on board USS Indy (CV-62) 85'-89 & 90-94 (Eng dept). Our damage control was very good. We practiced them regularly during GQ while in the Persian Gulf deployment. USN Damage Control is superb & helped preventing ships from sinking. Unlike Moskva.
One of the Sailors killed on the Stark was son of a couple who were good friends of the family. One of the best aspects of this channel is how you cover lesser known actions that many have never heard of. Definitely keep it up.
@@badmonkey2222 No, I wasn't quite born then, and the First Gulf War was never covered at school (UK) which focused more on civilisations rather than wars, otherwise it would probably be a bit depressing for a child to see the same mistakes made my humanity over and over. Even though I did 2 years of extra History lessons, there's a lot of events/incidents in this channel I'd never known about before which is why I find it so fascinating. I seldom watch history documentaries but these bitesize animations and explanations are spot on.
I joined the navy in September of 1987, this tragedy, the turret explosion of USS Iowa and more made my enlistment a pretty stressful one. I ended up on a minesweeper and was rotated in and out of Bahrain
When my ship the USS Texas was there in 87 (We took over for the USS Vincennes after they shot down that Iranian airbus) we were at one time anchored off Bahrain with several minesweepers tied alongside.
I was a Hospital Corpsman on board the USS Acadia AD42 when we were told our WestPac was being altered so we could go to Bahrain to fix the Stark. Acadia was a Destroyer Tender. I was on her for 2 years. I will never forget the hole in the side of the Stark. It was surreal to see such destruction. When you are underway, and understand the that you cannot just run outside your burning house, that level of destruction takes on an entirely new significance. At any rate, when we were done with the repairs, you could not really even tell they were hit. Well, from the outside anyway.
think i was still a radioman stryker when it happend.seen the black an white pics,just bad but crew wasnt the problem.was serving on uss harry w hill at the time
I was also on the Acadia. I made the pattern that was used by our foundry to cast the memorial plaque shown at 8:56 of this video. The Acadia crew did a tremendous amount of repair work to make the ship seaworthy and able to return to port
I agree with your first point. But according to one 2008 study nearly a quarter of US teens had never heard of Pearl harbor and only a third could identify where it is - most thought it was in Japan. It goes to show we can't have enough education especially as these events fall out of living memory.
@@Captain__Obvious the fuck is wrong with those kids. Like this is genuinely concerning. I specifically remember learning about that. I really hope that it's just because they never cared, because that's sad
@@skykeg4978 I’m pretty sure no one is teaching Critical Race Theory. I mean shit, I only know that even exists because of the Lakeland, Texas situation. I’ve never heard of it being taught anywhere else
@@kingmuddy5898 Trust me, it’s most likely that. A lot of kids today don’t really care about events like this, not because there’s a lack of teaching it. The lack of care mostly comes from the fact that this doesn’t really affect us in daily life. Only time most people think of Pear Harbor is either when they’re watching the movie, doing a school test, during Veterans Day, or on it’s anniversary
I'm glad this channel has sponsors. Sponsors mean this guy/team can do what they want - sharing detailed battle breakdowns with weirdos like me. Thanks for the high quality content @The Operations Room !
The Stark incident would later be referenced as one of the factors in the downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by the AEGIS-cruiser USS Vincennes in the Straight of Hormuz a year later.
My ship the USS Texas relieved the Vincennes as gate guard after they shot down the airbus. Iran was rightfully pissed off and would fly in toward us. We painted them with the fire control radar and they'd fly away (they weren't stupid). GQ for that, and GQ when a watch called away a mine sighting. It turned out to be a bag of trash, but better safe than sorry.
@@matta5498 If I recall, and maybe you can correct this, but I heard that 655's IFF was indicating it was an "F-14" - in other words, the Iranians were apparently looking for an incident. Is this something you heard or was aware of?
@@thudthud5423 there is a long documentary about that on youtube you can look it up and watch it if you have the time, but short answer is a Tomcat’s radar cross section is no where as big as a passenger airplane thus it’s a made up excuse. Peace and love from Iran.
According to Wiki ... "The Joint Chiefs of Staff investigation into the incident recommended that Iraq be held accountable, a finding the government of Iraq eventually complied with. Captain Brindel was relieved of duty and retired as a Commander for not defending his ship and Tactical Action Officer Lieutenant Basil E. Moncrief resigned."
It was my understanding as I heard it that the ships radar array was turned off for a scheduled maintenance ( a preventative maintenance) . The ship was never at general quarters until they were hit. That most of the crew were still sleeping and in their berthing compartments. That the Iraqi pilot ( Iraqis were USA allies then) took it upon himself to go Gihad and attack USS Stark deliberately. That the pilot was executed as soon as he landed. That the Captain and the XO were court-martialed and discharged. In 1988 I was onboard USS Kalamazoo AOR 6 we had our shipyard upgrade s cut, buy not before we went on tank mucking duty. We cleaned every inch of our insides out diesel storage tanks by hand. We destroy all of our dungarees even our inspection uniforms doing so. We were not allowed to wear coveralls like on other ships. So used uniforms from other ships were provided to us from other ships. We broke open one crate. Inside the packaging slip on outside of crate was labeled USS Stark personal effects. Some off the uniforms had their identifying patch which are seen onto left shoulder of utility jackets. Ofcourse their last names were stenciled on uniforms as well. Some of the uniforms were partly burned. We put them on and went back into voids of diesel tanks and cleaned the tanks until they were clean enough to eat off of. Almost of us got diesel fuel splashed in our eyes. We were sent to medical had our eyes flushed with saline solution.they put a Neosporin like gel in our eyes and a cotton patch and sent use back into tanks .Many men were blinded in boths eyes. Then they had to stay in their racks until they could see again. The NAVY is actually very dangerous. The traveling is great though. The only times I would actually call exciting was running away from angry locals when we were on liberty calls literally being chased down the street in Marseille and Turkey. I never went to brothels in Turkey and Israel. It was not for me. But I heard the stories from my shipmates. So much happened, people would not believe.
Thanks for adding context. I was frustrated by the lack of information in the video, like it was totally normal for the AWACS to classify a hostile aircraft as friendly. I wasn't sure if the AWACS messed up, or if the Iraqi pilot messed up, or both. He didn't explain why the Stark radar operator wasn't concerned by an aircraft flying directly toward them and dropping two missiles (radar might not pick them up skimming across the water, but it should detect their initial release), or why the radar locking tone wasn't of concern. It seems like the command staff just disappeared after the strike, so I assumed they were killed. Instead it seems that they were just inept and didn't have control of their crew. There were so many failures of leadership and procedure that the video ignored.
@@GeoffCostanza Because Iraqi aircraft were allies. The radar operator wouldn't have seen the launch, 3 blips close together look like one. The radar tone was of concern, hence the CIWS being put on standby, not enough of a reaction but still a reaction.
Thank you making this. My wife's Uncle was aboard the USS Stark when it was hit. He has cancer again, and I've given him a microphone and asked him to record his experiences with the hope of submitting the footage to the national archives.
@@LDrumsOhio Chuck was a EW, I was a OS worked in CIC together... I know him. Have not seen him in years. I hope he is well.. I know he has been active in the USS Stark facebook page and has been to the memorials..
@@williammcleod192 Sadly he passed away a year ago. His sister just passed away last month as well. His widow made the trip to the memorial this year and I hope to join her in a year or so with the rest of the family. I'm a veteran of Iraqi Freedom 2, and we shared a lot of stories and experiences, and I always felt what you all did on the ship was absolutely heroic and beyond the call of duty. Thank you for your sacrifice and service.
I remember this so well. The captain complained that there wasn't any warning. An American commander asked sarcastically if enemies should ring bells or sound sirens before they attack!?!
@C. V. I remember it very clearly and both Iraq and Iran were not "enemies" but they were also not exactly on the same team as the Americans either. It was a war zone and the U.S. expected their ships to be wary of any aircraft or ships in that area.
Always love these videos. As a military historian; this always helps me picture historical engagements. Hopefully I’ll see one on Operation Praying Mantis.
i knew one of the damage control team members from this incident. He went on to become a officer teaching a lot of lessons in ship survivability and damage control over the years! But he never directly talked about getting hit by the Exocets.
HQ: "You are tasked with escorting tankers in and out of the gulf." CO: "Got it. Should be a pleasure cruise." HQ: "Well, not quite. The two countries on the gulf have been in a fierce land war and are now targetting tankers to punish each other." CO: "So... weapons off, one lookout and" (yawns) "maybe some stern radio warnings?"
More or less, also he was in the process of change of command so he was more concerned with the inspection of the ship instead of the operation of the ship. How does the saying goes? No combat ready unit passes inspection, no inspection ready unit passes...
@@anandmorris Reall depedns on what you think of a militarized? because that particular aircraft was kind of a special case, Installing the radar and weapons systems from a military jet into a executive/ civilian airframe isn't like a upgrade package you can get with full leather interior plus walnut inlayed trim pieces inside the cabin gotta have that oil money and a contract to buy a bunch of fighters too. But there's not an small number of civilian planes that have kinda been curtailed into some sort of military version wether officially or not South America has made a few over the years. But now its actually more common to have them be more on the SIGINT side of things as opposed to actually being weapons delivery. The US has actually been looking into ones more recently and were actually testing them over Ukraine and could be seen on flight radar. Not many Corporate G600s are making laps on the boarder.
@@anandmorris there's a Falcon 20 training version where the co-pilote seat was turn into the cockpit of a mirage. the plane has the same kind of radar cone depicted in this video.
Never clicked a video so fast. Yours and yarnhub's videos are what i wait for the most every time, and they never fail to entertain and educate. Thank you!
Was out of Navy boot camp less than a week when this happened. Took a minute to sink in that this was real and not some old story. All sailors are trained firefighters because there isn't 911 to call for help. Costly lessons were learned from this event.
Aluminum is still used in one of the LVS and some of the new destroyers have a balsa wood structure. The heat from the missile's explosion, fire from the fuel like in this instance will melt aluminum sooner than steel
You are depicting an upgraded Australian FFG with an 8-cell Mk 41 VLS in the bow. USS Stark had just the Mk 13 one armed bandit. Apologies for being nitpicky.
As someone who was actually there, as an Operations Specialist 2nd Class, on the USS Coontz, you have many details correct. Your location and mission is off by a great deal, and the Phylix system was completely out of commission, and could not have been ordered into standby, leaving the Stark defenseless with a Captain that was senseless.
Hey Don - yup, we were there. In addition, the radar 'identification symbology' was always: Iranian=hostile, Iraqi=Unknown, Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain=Friendly...just to keep things straight & separated. AWACS *always* identified Iraqi planes flying south as "Ship-Attack-Profile" so the Stark knew what it was and the Stark saw what the AWACS saw through data link. I believe the position of the ship relative to the inbound missiles is incorrect - the attack was more from the front-quarter & not broadside as depicted. That explained why the Stark could not track & engage - the SM-1 fire control radar, gun, & CIWS was blocked by the mast because Lt. Moncrief (TAO) did not bring the ship to the right & meet the attack broadside. The Electronic Warfare techs heard the Cyrano IV radar on the Iraqi plane in search mode then lock on the Stark *twice*. We (USS Coontz) were in a similar situation a few nights earlier & considered ourselves more prepared - Our skipper (Capt. Cobb) was in CIC while the Iraqi was flying down toward us, we were tracking the plane with our SM-2 SPG-55 fire control radars (we would have seen missile separation), I was on the SLQ-32 EW gear ready engage/jam the Cyrano radar or Exocet seeker if required...but the Iraqi flew on past us to the south & hit an Iranian tanker - it did not turn in toward us like it did the Stark.
I also was on board the USS Coontz DDG-40, and an OSSN . We were anchored, and was on duty in CIC. We were having a pubex with the Stark and a couple other ships. A day that will never be forgotten! Hay Don, hope all is well
I was on the Constellation when this went down. We had put in to Diego Garcia after our first stretch off the straits. Lot of anger, we got out of DG real damn fast and headed that way, certain we would be paying Hussein an anti-social call. NEVER seen that much chalk art on our bombs. Little known fact...since we handed most of our ordnance off to our relief carrier when we'd leave station they really couldn't mark the bombs up. They only got marked up when your ordies were pretty certain they'd be leaving the ship permanently to redecorate someone's countryside. We got a bunch of dead kids, some valuable data on how well our ships could take a punch and Hussein got exactly what he wanted: greater involvement from a very angry United States.
I always tell people that D-Gar was like Gilligan's Island. I always was expecting the Skipper and Mary Ann to come walking out of the jungle. They never did.
I was on the Constellation too when this happened. I was in “R” Division and was a HT. We sent over several HT shipmates to help with repairs. I remember this like it happened yesterday.
I joined the Navy in 1988 and after a year of schooling went "blue water" on a Destroyer for the next three years. The Stark was a subject that was talked about almost daily. It was said that the main engines came off of their mounts, hit the overhead (ceiling) and crashed back down. Knowing those engine rooms as I do, the level of destruction that ship endured blows my mind. The fact that she did not end that day in Davey Jones Locker is a testament to the superior training and heroism of her crew. Hand salute to the crew of the Stark!
I can remember this like it was yesterday.. We just pulled into Mayport Fla from our work-ups when word reached us. We were in total shock & it scared us too, some our shipmates had friends on that ship! She was home ported in Mayport, we all knew it was just a matter of time for us to be over there in that some region, on edge not knowing who is or ain’t your enemy? Rest in peace shipmates.........
Outstanding piece. When I joined the Navy in 1998 I met an Machinist Mate who survived the attack. This incident was an example for the tenacity of the US Navy. Damage control won the day. NEVER give up the ship! I hope your going to talk about the Samuel B Robert’s and operation praying mantis soon. BZ!
There's a great video out there that the CMC was saying he took orders from a DC3, because the 3rd class had operational control due to his knowledge of current procedures and equipment. Any and everyone in khakis worked for some enlisted that day. The skipper admitted that if it wasn't for the crew, they would've lost the ship. Several of those guys went and worked for the Navy as civilians in the Damage Control school, and brought real world experience to help revamp training. I am sure if you look you can find the video easily. I always hated sailing in PG, between the sea snakes and Iran/Iraq always chomping at the bit to kill us.
My ship was in the Mediterranean at the time. I didn’t know anyone on the USS Stark but in the Navy there is always someone on board who did. Sadam tried a pay off America . My shipmate who friend died on the stark had the opportunity for retribution. He personally was involved in the launch of the first volley of Tomahawk Missiles in the opening of Desert Storm.
Great video. I was on USS Simpson FFG56. We learned a lot from our sisters, Stark, and Sammy B. It was an interesting time to be on Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. We did many, many VBSS boardings, mine watch, convoys, and well, everything. We need frigates, again, bad!
I don't want to be a bother, but if you need an idea for a video, I strongly suggest doing a video about Taffy 3 during the Battle off Samar. It's one of the greatest underdog stories ever, and I feel like it would relate with the Naval aspect of your other videos. Thanks for the video!
Funnily enough, the event that would trigger the one-day war between the Iran and the US would be the damage suffered by the Perry class Frigate, USS Samuel B Roberts, which, as you recall, is the name a very important Taffy 3 ship.
No, a video of the whole layte gulf battle will be the ideal, if is possible of course. (Ironically both layte and the battle of the Philippine sea don’t have a video analysis like this, unlike midway that has like three)
I was on the USS Camden in the Indian Ocean, our battle group responded. We sent AFFF to fight the fire and took off all the ammunition that was on board the Stark. It was surreal.
Amazing that the USS Stark and the rest of the crew survived, and it did not burn into ashes or sink into the bottom of the sea. Conflicts have many unexpected lessons to be learned.
I was on the Constellation CV-64 when this happened. I was a HT in “R” Division and remember we sent over HT shipmates to help with repairs. I remember this event like it happened yesterday. Thanks for this report, I never heard this much info on how it happened.
Awesome video!!! A great book to read about this incident is: "America's First Clash with Iran - The Tanker War, 1987-1988", by Lee Allan Zatarain. The book goes into great detail about the USS Vincennes shout down of that Iranian jet liner; the naval battles between the US Navy and Iranian Navy; Special Forces operations against Iranian off-shore oil wells; the missile attack on USS Stark and plenty more. I was in US Army stationed in West Germany during this time.
Vampire, vampire, vampire. This was an excellent breakdown. I've heard if this incident, but never in this detail. Had no clue about the Falcon, I always thought it was a Mirage. Would really like to see you do a video on the Gulf of Sidra incident.
I was an FC2 assigned to the USS Halyburton FFG 40 when the Stark was hit. The FC on watch was my classmate in school in "C". Only by Providence was I not on the Stark, when we picked orders following Mk. 92 C School, his class standing allowed him to pick orders before me. The Stark was out of Mayport and I wanted to be on a ship out of Mayport. I won't mention his name but anyone familiar with the Stark or knew him knows he was from Iowa. I tried to reach out to him years ago but he either ignored me or I had bad contact information. The entire incident was gut wrenching. The Stark was doing BECCE's. Basic Engineering Casualty Control Exercises because they had to complete an OPPE before rotating back to the states. How stupid in a war zone to focus on BECCE's and not the fact that Iran and Iraq took their war into the gulf and were attacking shipping. I believe the Mk. 92 could have picked up the Exocets on the search radar if in the MTI setting (moving target indicator). We tracked low flying jets many times, I know an anti ship missile would not obviously have a large radar signature but you always wonder as an FC. Sorry to go off on the technical side of this. My heart goes out to the 37 who perished!
A friend of mine was on the Stark when it got hit. He survived, but his family didn't know until like 2 days later. During the wait, his story and his family were on the local news here in Los Angeles.
@@PershingOfficial there’s only one record givin by The USS Liberty Veterans Association why would we even consider the Israeli record when they were the murderers in this situation that’s dumb
I can Remember somebody brought in a Magazine Shortly after this Incident . I was Working at Ginna Power Station and as I read about the Damage was amazed how Damage Control could cope with that . A couple of Navy Vets gave some insight as I asked Questions . It seems like yesterday ? Thank you for the Video .
I left this area 2 weeks prior to the attack. The ship I was on (Conyngham) was supposed to be in that patrol area at that time, but Stark was there instead. In news footage, one of the ships alongside helping fight the fires was my (former) ship. I was back in the U.S. when it happened and was wearing my ship ballcap. I almost got into a fight with some codger who thought it was navy ineptitude that caused this. It wasn't; it was the "rules of engagement of the Reagan Administration who were hoping to start a war with Iran but got caught double-dealing on both Iran and Iraq. Stark was retaliation for that by the Iraqis, no matter what anyone tries to tell you.
So, the ROE were to sit still and do absolutely nothing? Not even have your phalanx on at all? When protecting a convoy? Sure buddy, the commanding officer definitely wasn’t inept
The SM-1 the Perry carried should have been able to intercept the missiles as well. I wonder why they were never detected by the radar. (Yes I know they fly low, but at some point they should still get detected.) Of course the CIWS should have been on auto as well in such a situation imho. In any case it's pretty crazy how back then a modern guided missile frigate couldn't even defend itself reliably against just two sub sonic Exocet missiles.
Not to mention, it seems everyone took this situation waaaayyy too lightly before it got bad. The military should be alert when they’re traveling next to an active war zone.
The duty watch officer was lucky I wasn't the admiral in charge of that task force. That incompetent would have been charged with 37 counts of negligence resulting in death and dereliction of duty, and that's just for starters.
The Stark was more than capable of defending itself from those missiles, unfortunately the leadership and crew (due to leadership) had gotten way too complacent on mundane patrol of the Persian Gulf. Hell, I have witnessed a fire fight and within 5hrs some of the guys who were actively shooting at bad guys were cokin' and smokin' without a care in the world completely numb to what just happened and totally unaware if there was to be a follow up attack. It is the responsibility of the leadership to maintain discipline and awareness in order not to lose lives.
I agree. I wonder if anyone knows what happened to Captain Brindle after this. In the Royal Navy, the loss of one's ship leads to a mandatory Court Martial of the Captain. Is it the same in the US Navy?
Loved the video @The Operations Room! Can't wait for the next video guys! Saw your Intro to @Rimmy - Downunder Gaming's "Back Again: 1975" ArmA 3 series and I was wondering if you two had anymore similar videos planned!
Great channel mate! Someday could you do one about the Gallipoli landings? I loved Robert K Massie's book about naval battles of the Great War, and the Gallipoli landings and the battle of Jutland (where afterwards Jellicoe was wrongly criticized and Beatty was named in his place) and the most interesting for me.
You're referring to Massie's masterpiece "Castles of Steel" about naval warfare during WWI. I've reread this book probably 5 times. Wonderful piece of literature!
Can you guys do a USS cole incident? As somebody who was recently in the navy I can tell you they teach about it in bootcamp & Submarine School. So seeing it in an updated animated version would be cool as what they show going through the pipeline is outdated.
Man those heroic men especially the fire man trying to put out the fire even though it instantly turned to steam. 3 thousand degrees man such a harrowing idea those boys were in.
Yes it would. Unfortunately, due to the nature of secrecy of both governments of the day, we would never be able to get an accurate understanding of what was going on. England and the US officials would also not share data as it may tip people off how much we can know what an enemy is doing via our surveillance technology.
I was stationed aboard the USS LaSalle (Great White Ghost) during this incident. If the second missile hit aft, then it would have to be the one that didn't explode, because the forward hit caused immense damage. The USS Stark was tied alongside the LaSalle when she got back to the dock and our crews were fighting secondary fires for the following week. I don't recall seeing any damage outside of the gaping wound just aft of the forcastle.
if I remember correctly, the first missile exploded and the second missle entered the ship through the same hole and didn't explode. it broke apart spreading jet fuel all down the passage way leading to the galley.
Your assessment is incorrect. As a member of the Stark during the attack I can tell you it was the second missile that exploded. As the video explains, the unspent fuel of the first missile caused extreme fires as the first missile traveled completely through our ship. I stood on top of the warhead that fell into the starboard passageway. It fell there as the missile exited the starboard hull.
@@chuckpierce5756 I was onboard the Stark during the attack & the 1st missile passed completely through the ship & did not explode. Its warhead fell into the starboard passageway just before the missile tore through the hull. I stood on that warhead (Unknown to me at the time) & fought the fire.
Funny you should say that because I am reading something that describes this incident and they mentioned that the first missile did not explode but some of the crew who were sleeping, were immediately incinerated. How could that be, unless the fuel ignited immediately and sent a huge fireball through the quarters. It didn't really make sense.
I was aboard the USS COOK FF-1083 in the I.O. on WESPAC when this happened. My ship was ordered to relieve the STARK and escort two American tankers, one at a time out of the Strait of Hormuz. My ship did not have the Phalanx system installed after the BPDMS system was removed. All we had were ASROCS and harpoons.
Bro we appreciate all the work & time you put into making these videos!!! any chance of Iraq invasion video coming soon or any modern warfare recent events ? LOVE FROM CANADA!
Yeah, after the Iranian revolution a few years earlier, and the Iranian revolutionaries seizing the US embassy & holding the ambassadorial staff hostage for a year, US-Iranian relations went down the sink. "Enemy of my enemy" and such. Iran was very hostile towards the US, as it has been ever since. Although the US was neutral in the Iran-Iraq war, the Americans still sent some intel to Iraq on their enemy. For a brief period anyway. The relations with Iraq were luke-warm at best, however, and the incidents with Iraqi forces during this period made it worse. The most common mistaken claim I've seen people say, over the years, is that the US supplied Iraq with weapons which isn't true. The Iraqis bought a small handful of unarmed observation helicopters at one point, an airframe which was also sold on the civilian market (Kiowas or "Little Birds" IIRC). Iraq's arsenal had been purchased from the USSR and France. Not sure where the misinformation came from regarding this back then, but I think it may have been suggested in some news media shortly after the first Gulf War in the 90s and circulated by word of mouth for a long time.
There's an error on USS Stark ship model on your video. USN OHP class frigates doesn't have Mk.41 8 cell VLS unlike the refitted Turkish G class frigates and Australian (now Chilean) Adelaide class frigates.
Wayne Weaver was hero that day and 37 brave sailors gave their life so the whole ship could live. My ships ( USS 🇺🇸 Leahy and USS Rentz 🇺🇸) entered the gulf in general quarters with only one safety on my CIWS control panel. I was safe because of the Stark attack counter measures. Blessing to the families of the Stark.
@ryand1410 One safety switch on the ( LCP or RCP ) control panel allows the system to fire the weapon if energized. Once you have the ammunition loaded and all the other safety measures removed you can control the ability of a loaded and deadly weapon to fire or not fire on a target live or simulated. That was my job in the Navy to operate the CIWS.
@@johnlarocco3348 Thx. So I don't understand why this ship didn't have any means of defending itself. Apparently,, Iraq said the ship was inside the exclusion zone and U.S. said outside. It seems irresponsible, regardless of zones, not to be on high alert when you know attacks on shipping is occurring. What do you think about what happened? The poor crew were like sitting ducks.
i was on the o'bannon, which was in the persian gulf just before the stark, and we were all just devastated tho hear what happened. all those sophisticated electronics and the missile was first spotted by a lookout.
The location of the second missile hit is not accurate in the video. All accounts indicate that it actually impacted slightly forward of the first missile. Every picture you’ll find of the Stark only show one hole in the ship, not a separate one further back.
I was a couple of weeks from leaving for basic training when this happened... I don't recall being too put out by it but I remember my parents were horrified.
@@Klara906090 Correct, they’re different. Yet they’re the same… nothing built by socialists performs well. There’s no Cuban appliance store in Seattle. There’s no North Korean car dealership in Dallas. Russian subs are death traps. And the Exocet warhead that didn’t explode, also produced in a socialist economy, or more socialist than the US anyway.
When the TAO first considered the radio warning, he should have positioned Stark with her stern aspect toward the threat, and armed the auto mode of CIWS. IMHO, this is a CRITICAL error. Also, a few of the crew who would have otherwise survived the attack were killed by electrocution trying to egress the berthing compartment. Good coverage here sir. Thank you! Many navy personnel believe if both warheads would have detonated, the ship would have been lost. Very heroic action by the crew and USS Worden saved her as it was.
Thanks Morning Brew for my daily news briefing - sign up for free here bit.ly/mboperationsroom
Maybe I'm having a Mandela Effect kinda moment but this happened in 1988.
🙋🇺🇲/👁️\🇷🇺
Wait, I think USS Vincennes was 1988.
What was the name of the other frigate that got attacked?
So will the next video be about the one day war between the US and Iran?
That "seizing of super yachts" part made me laugh. Considering the situation lol...
Does it matter to your that your sponsored by a news source known primarily for its strong push of harmful disinformation?
The French Exocet... which has destroyed more of France's Allies than enemies.
Hehe a man needs to eat and a country needs to support its militaro-industrial complex
I wouldn't say England and the US are our allies tho.
The French military industry has always been a good market for eastern and developing countries, from the mirage 3 to Rafale
All members of NATO.
@@uwu_senpai
There's something Vichy about you.
The Navy learned a couple lessons from this incident. First, to always keep your weapons systems ready, and second to change the uniform materials, especially the shoes, which melted in the heat.
The British wore anti-flash gear in the Falklands War. Those white fullbody suits. Wonder why sailors stopped doing that.
Thank you. I learned something today because of you. The shoes.
Also, they started adding a strip of non-skid to the EEBDs because a lot of sailors were not able to open the bags in the berthing compartments with hands wet from the fuel. A lot of DC maintenance procedures were written in blood.
@@jdubhub68 Yep. I remember getting issued rolls of skateboard grip tape and upgrading EEBDs aboard ship. There were a lot of lessons learned the hard way from the Stark incident that were applied fleet wide.
Third, don't police Wars that don't concern you.
In fact, that should be the first lesson.
I was only 10 years old when this happened. I remember seeing a burning ship on TV and wondering why. That the ship survived such a devastating fire is a testament to the damage control training of the crew.
THAT....is a 'No Shi**r', DC is what EVERY Sailor knows what to do ... together!!! And the USN does DC VERY WELL!!!!
Since WW2, those lessons learned then, STILL help those sailors Now, Today!! From devestating incidents to accidents ... FORRESTAL, ENTERPRISE (CVN-65), ORISKANY, STARK, SAMUEL B. ROBERTS, FRANK E. EVANS, BELKNAP, TRIPOLI, PRINCETON, BONHOMME RICHARD
I wasn’t born yet
Yep. It makes me think how the hell the Muskva sank. I know every person onboard should be well trained in this area. But it seems the Russian navy, army, etc have no problem passing the buck.🤷♂
@@KyleInOklahoma Didn't the ammo explode?
I was stationed on board USS Indy (CV-62) 85'-89 & 90-94 (Eng dept). Our damage control was very good. We practiced them regularly during GQ while in the Persian Gulf deployment. USN Damage Control is superb & helped preventing ships from sinking. Unlike Moskva.
One of the Sailors killed on the Stark was son of a couple who were good friends of the family. One of the best aspects of this channel is how you cover lesser known actions that many have never heard of. Definitely keep it up.
His attention to detail is very impressive, but I'm curious as to where he gets all this information
@@Bornst3ll3r *200 rubles have been deposited into your account*
@@MacEwanMouse :)
If you ever get the chance, and if you ever want to, you can tell them there are still people out here who are angry about that attack.
Funny how some of the greatest heroes die miles away from 'real' combat in situations that shouldn't have happened
A fascinating and detailed animated documentary of an incident I'd never heard of. Thank you for your work as always.
I fucking love this channel so much!
I recall seeing the Newsweek Cover “Why” and a photo of the ship.
@Clint Cannon thanks I'll check it out. I was barely born then! But it's interesting and sad how history has a habit of repeating itself...
You'd never heard of??? Wow......
@@badmonkey2222 No, I wasn't quite born then, and the First Gulf War was never covered at school (UK) which focused more on civilisations rather than wars, otherwise it would probably be a bit depressing for a child to see the same mistakes made my humanity over and over. Even though I did 2 years of extra History lessons, there's a lot of events/incidents in this channel I'd never known about before which is why I find it so fascinating. I seldom watch history documentaries but these bitesize animations and explanations are spot on.
I joined the navy in September of 1987, this tragedy, the turret explosion of USS Iowa and more made my enlistment a pretty stressful one. I ended up on a minesweeper and was rotated in and out of Bahrain
What was it like working on a mine sweeper?
When my ship the USS Texas was there in 87 (We took over for the USS Vincennes after they shot down that Iranian airbus) we were at one time anchored off Bahrain with several minesweepers tied alongside.
It is sad that battleships are no longer used.
Everyone I’ve ever met who served in the navy post WW2 said it was really boring.
@@Dylan-lw1xc it is lol
The best military history channel on TH-cam without a doubt is the ops room, keep up the fine work chaps
I would trust the leader of the Raiders on that kind of assessment
Historia civilis has a very different style but would also be deserving of that title
@@ShadowOfTheHawke good point! He does amazing stuff too
Montemayor is good as well and a similar content to this.
@@cactusman1771Historigraph is a really good one too
A relative on my father's side of the family was killed in this attack. Thank you for making a video on the subject.
I was a Hospital Corpsman on board the USS Acadia AD42 when we were told our WestPac was being altered so we could go to Bahrain to fix the Stark. Acadia was a Destroyer Tender. I was on her for 2 years. I will never forget the hole in the side of the Stark. It was surreal to see such destruction. When you are underway, and understand the that you cannot just run outside your burning house, that level of destruction takes on an entirely new significance. At any rate, when we were done with the repairs, you could not really even tell they were hit. Well, from the outside anyway.
For the record, I HATED Bahrain. NOTHING to do there.
think i was still a radioman stryker when it happend.seen the black an white pics,just bad but crew wasnt the problem.was serving on uss harry w hill at the time
I was stationed on the USS LaSalle during this incident. We fought secondary fires on the Stark for the next week.
I was also on the Acadia. I made the pattern that was used by our foundry to cast the memorial plaque shown at 8:56 of this video. The Acadia crew did a tremendous amount of repair work to make the ship seaworthy and able to return to port
@@chrisdowns8859 Man, I love Bahrain! Great waterpark there.
Love your coverage of small incidents in such a detailed manner. The world doesnt need another coverage of the battle of midway or pearl harbor
I agree with your first point. But according to one 2008 study nearly a quarter of US teens had never heard of Pearl harbor and only a third could identify where it is - most thought it was in Japan. It goes to show we can't have enough education especially as these events fall out of living memory.
@@Captain__Obvious the fuck is wrong with those kids. Like this is genuinely concerning. I specifically remember learning about that. I really hope that it's just because they never cared, because that's sad
@@Captain__Obvious
Sadly, America`s public schools have time to shove CRT into our youth`s minds.
@@skykeg4978 I’m pretty sure no one is teaching Critical Race Theory. I mean shit, I only know that even exists because of the Lakeland, Texas situation. I’ve never heard of it being taught anywhere else
@@kingmuddy5898 Trust me, it’s most likely that. A lot of kids today don’t really care about events like this, not because there’s a lack of teaching it. The lack of care mostly comes from the fact that this doesn’t really affect us in daily life. Only time most people think of Pear Harbor is either when they’re watching the movie, doing a school test, during Veterans Day, or on it’s anniversary
I'm glad this channel has sponsors. Sponsors mean this guy/team can do what they want - sharing detailed battle breakdowns with weirdos like me. Thanks for the high quality content @The Operations Room !
The Stark incident would later be referenced as one of the factors in the downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by the AEGIS-cruiser USS Vincennes in the Straight of Hormuz a year later.
My ship the USS Texas relieved the Vincennes as gate guard after they shot down the airbus. Iran was rightfully pissed off and would fly in toward us. We painted them with the fire control radar and they'd fly away (they weren't stupid). GQ for that, and GQ when a watch called away a mine sighting. It turned out to be a bag of trash, but better safe than sorry.
@@matta5498 If I recall, and maybe you can correct this, but I heard that 655's IFF was indicating it was an "F-14" - in other words, the Iranians were apparently looking for an incident. Is this something you heard or was aware of?
@@matta5498 And, thank you for your service.
@@thudthud5423 there is a long documentary about that on youtube you can look it up and watch it if you have the time, but short answer is a Tomcat’s radar cross section is no where as big as a passenger airplane thus it’s a made up excuse. Peace and love from Iran.
@@thudthud5423 When it happened, the scuttlebut was that Iran was flying an F-14 in the shadow of the airbus. Never proven, so who knows.
According to Wiki ...
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff investigation into the incident recommended that Iraq be held accountable, a finding the government of Iraq eventually complied with. Captain Brindel was relieved of duty and retired as a Commander for not defending his ship and Tactical Action Officer Lieutenant Basil E. Moncrief resigned."
It was my understanding as I heard it that the ships radar array was turned off for a scheduled maintenance ( a preventative maintenance) . The ship was never at general quarters until they were hit. That most of the crew were still sleeping and in their berthing compartments. That the Iraqi pilot ( Iraqis were USA allies then) took it upon himself to go Gihad and attack USS Stark deliberately. That the pilot was executed as soon as he landed. That the Captain and the XO were court-martialed and discharged. In 1988 I was onboard USS Kalamazoo AOR 6 we had our shipyard upgrade s cut, buy not before we went on tank mucking duty. We cleaned every inch of our insides out diesel storage tanks by hand. We destroy all of our dungarees even our inspection uniforms doing so. We were not allowed to wear coveralls like on other ships. So used uniforms from other ships were provided to us from other ships. We broke open one crate. Inside the packaging slip on outside of crate was labeled USS Stark personal effects. Some off the uniforms had their identifying patch which are seen onto left shoulder of utility jackets. Ofcourse their last names were stenciled on uniforms as well. Some of the uniforms were partly burned. We put them on and went back into voids of diesel tanks and cleaned the tanks until they were clean enough to eat off of. Almost of us got diesel fuel splashed in our eyes. We were sent to medical had our eyes flushed with saline solution.they put a Neosporin like gel in our eyes and a cotton patch and sent use back into tanks .Many men were blinded in boths eyes. Then they had to stay in their racks until they could see again. The NAVY is actually very dangerous. The traveling is great though. The only times I would actually call exciting was running away from angry locals when we were on liberty calls literally being chased down the street in Marseille and Turkey. I never went to brothels in Turkey and Israel. It was not for me. But I heard the stories from my shipmates. So much happened, people would not believe.
Thanks for adding context. I was frustrated by the lack of information in the video, like it was totally normal for the AWACS to classify a hostile aircraft as friendly. I wasn't sure if the AWACS messed up, or if the Iraqi pilot messed up, or both. He didn't explain why the Stark radar operator wasn't concerned by an aircraft flying directly toward them and dropping two missiles (radar might not pick them up skimming across the water, but it should detect their initial release), or why the radar locking tone wasn't of concern. It seems like the command staff just disappeared after the strike, so I assumed they were killed. Instead it seems that they were just inept and didn't have control of their crew. There were so many failures of leadership and procedure that the video ignored.
@@GeoffCostanza nope
@@GeoffCostanza Because Iraqi aircraft were allies. The radar operator wouldn't have seen the launch, 3 blips close together look like one. The radar tone was of concern, hence the CIWS being put on standby, not enough of a reaction but still a reaction.
@@conradgonzalez1570 The US said the Iraqi pilot was executed although Iraqi sources have suggested he actually wasn't. They just told the US that.
Best military history content on TH-cam right now.
Thank you making this. My wife's Uncle was aboard the USS Stark when it was hit. He has cancer again, and I've given him a microphone and asked him to record his experiences with the hope of submitting the footage to the national archives.
May I ask ..what is your wifes uncles name?
@@williammcleod192 Chuck Stephenson.
@@LDrumsOhio Chuck was a EW, I was a OS worked in CIC together... I know him. Have not seen him in years. I hope he is well.. I know he has been active in the USS Stark facebook page and has been to the memorials..
My dad was on that ship as well. Doran Rupe
@@williammcleod192 Sadly he passed away a year ago. His sister just passed away last month as well. His widow made the trip to the memorial this year and I hope to join her in a year or so with the rest of the family. I'm a veteran of Iraqi Freedom 2, and we shared a lot of stories and experiences, and I always felt what you all did on the ship was absolutely heroic and beyond the call of duty. Thank you for your sacrifice and service.
I remember this so well.
The captain complained that there wasn't any warning. An American commander asked sarcastically if enemies should ring bells or sound sirens before they attack!?!
I'm pretty sure Iraqi and American forces were collaborating
@C. V. I remember it very clearly and both Iraq and Iran were not "enemies" but they were also not exactly on the same team as the Americans either. It was a war zone and the U.S. expected their ships to be wary of any aircraft or ships in that area.
Anytime operation room uploads I know it’s going to be good
Always love these videos. As a military historian; this always helps me picture historical engagements. Hopefully I’ll see one on Operation Praying Mantis.
i knew one of the damage control team members from this incident. He went on to become a officer teaching a lot of lessons in ship survivability and damage control over the years! But he never directly talked about getting hit by the Exocets.
he must have done a good job, the brits lost the HMS Sheffield from 1 Exocet, Stark ate 2 and kept a float
HQ: "You are tasked with escorting tankers in and out of the gulf."
CO: "Got it. Should be a pleasure cruise."
HQ: "Well, not quite. The two countries on the gulf have been in a fierce land war and are now targetting tankers to punish each other."
CO: "So... weapons off, one lookout and" (yawns) "maybe some stern radio warnings?"
More or less, also he was in the process of change of command so he was more concerned with the inspection of the ship instead of the operation of the ship.
How does the saying goes? No combat ready unit passes inspection, no inspection ready unit passes...
Never knew the Falcon 50 could be customized to fire Exocets! But than again, there have been other weird aircraft being militarized!
Out of interest, what other aircraft do you know have been militarised?
@@anandmorris cessna 208, ac-208 combat caravan
@@anandmorris Reall depedns on what you think of a militarized? because that particular aircraft was kind of a special case, Installing the radar and weapons systems from a military jet into a executive/ civilian airframe isn't like a upgrade package you can get with full leather interior plus walnut inlayed trim pieces inside the cabin gotta have that oil money and a contract to buy a bunch of fighters too. But there's not an small number of civilian planes that have kinda been curtailed into some sort of military version wether officially or not South America has made a few over the years. But now its actually more common to have them be more on the SIGINT side of things as opposed to actually being weapons delivery. The US has actually been looking into ones more recently and were actually testing them over Ukraine and could be seen on flight radar. Not many Corporate G600s are making laps on the boarder.
@@anandmorris there's a Falcon 20 training version where the co-pilote seat was turn into the cockpit of a mirage. the plane has the same kind of radar cone depicted in this video.
@@anandmorris the US Navy's P8 Poseidon is a militarized 737. It can fire torpedoes and antiship missiles.
I don’t know if you have a team or create these videos alone but the work is always fantastic.
Keep up the good work 👍🏻
Never clicked a video so fast. Yours and yarnhub's videos are what i wait for the most every time, and they never fail to entertain and educate. Thank you!
I'm happy to see more focus on the "Tanker War*, an often forgotten piece of Cold War naval operations.
Was out of Navy boot camp less than a week when this happened. Took a minute to sink in that this was real and not some old story. All sailors are trained firefighters because there isn't 911 to call for help. Costly lessons were learned from this event.
These really puts pictures to the stories I learned about the Stark, when I was in the Navy. Thank you.
This incident, alone with experience during the Falklands War, finally changed the perception of aluminum superstructure on warships.
Right!?
In a good or bad way do you mean
Um... no it hasn't.
Aluminum is still used in one of the LVS and some of the new destroyers have a balsa wood structure. The heat from the missile's explosion, fire from the fuel like in this instance will melt aluminum sooner than steel
Littoral Class
I was just thinking, The Operations Room hasnt blessed us with a video in a while, and the man has answered!
You are depicting an upgraded Australian FFG with an 8-cell Mk 41 VLS in the bow. USS Stark had just the Mk 13 one armed bandit. Apologies for being nitpicky.
Man.
Good catch
The upgrade was probably sponsored by Morning Brew as well.
As someone who was actually there, as an Operations Specialist 2nd Class, on the USS Coontz, you have many details correct. Your location and mission is off by a great deal, and the Phylix system was completely out of commission, and could not have been ordered into standby, leaving the Stark defenseless with a Captain that was senseless.
Hey Don - yup, we were there. In addition, the radar 'identification symbology' was always: Iranian=hostile, Iraqi=Unknown, Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain=Friendly...just to keep things straight & separated. AWACS *always* identified Iraqi planes flying south as "Ship-Attack-Profile" so the Stark knew what it was and the Stark saw what the AWACS saw through data link. I believe the position of the ship relative to the inbound missiles is incorrect - the attack was more from the front-quarter & not broadside as depicted. That explained why the Stark could not track & engage - the SM-1 fire control radar, gun, & CIWS was blocked by the mast because Lt. Moncrief (TAO) did not bring the ship to the right & meet the attack broadside. The Electronic Warfare techs heard the Cyrano IV radar on the Iraqi plane in search mode then lock on the Stark *twice*. We (USS Coontz) were in a similar situation a few nights earlier & considered ourselves more prepared - Our skipper (Capt. Cobb) was in CIC while the Iraqi was flying down toward us, we were tracking the plane with our SM-2 SPG-55 fire control radars (we would have seen missile separation), I was on the SLQ-32 EW gear ready engage/jam the Cyrano radar or Exocet seeker if required...but the Iraqi flew on past us to the south & hit an Iranian tanker - it did not turn in toward us like it did the Stark.
I also was on board the USS Coontz DDG-40, and an OSSN . We were anchored, and was on duty in CIC. We were having a pubex with the Stark and a couple other ships. A day that will never be forgotten! Hay Don, hope all is well
Another superbly produced and researched video from The Operations Room. Thank you. 👍
Nice segment. Was over in the Persian Gulf in Spring of ‘88, with Army 160th SOAG (A) part of Operation Prime Chance.
I was on the Constellation when this went down. We had put in to Diego Garcia after our first stretch off the straits. Lot of anger, we got out of DG real damn fast and headed that way, certain we would be paying Hussein an anti-social call. NEVER seen that much chalk art on our bombs. Little known fact...since we handed most of our ordnance off to our relief carrier when we'd leave station they really couldn't mark the bombs up. They only got marked up when your ordies were pretty certain they'd be leaving the ship permanently to redecorate someone's countryside. We got a bunch of dead kids, some valuable data on how well our ships could take a punch and Hussein got exactly what he wanted: greater involvement from a very angry United States.
I always tell people that D-Gar was like Gilligan's Island. I always was expecting the Skipper and Mary Ann to come walking out of the jungle. They never did.
@@chrisdowns8859 They hid the ladies stationed there from us when we put in.
good thing everyone could die over goddamn oil convoy escort, riiiight???
Acadia brought her own with her. My sister was actually onboard too. She was an EM in the motor rewind shop.
I was on the Constellation too when this happened. I was in “R” Division and was a HT. We sent over several HT shipmates to help with repairs. I remember this like it happened yesterday.
I joined the Navy in 1988 and after a year of schooling went "blue water" on a Destroyer for the next three years. The Stark was a subject that was talked about almost daily.
It was said that the main engines came off of their mounts, hit the overhead (ceiling) and crashed back down. Knowing those engine rooms as I do, the level of destruction that ship endured blows my mind.
The fact that she did not end that day in Davey Jones Locker is a testament to the superior training and heroism of her crew. Hand salute to the crew of the Stark!
Thank you for your content! Amazing work.
I can remember this like it was yesterday.. We just pulled into Mayport Fla from our work-ups when word reached us. We were in total shock & it scared us too, some our shipmates had friends on that ship! She was home ported in Mayport, we all knew it was just a matter of time for us to be over there in that some region, on edge not knowing who is or ain’t your enemy? Rest in peace shipmates.........
Outstanding piece. When I joined the Navy in 1998 I met an Machinist Mate who survived the attack. This incident was an example for the tenacity of the US Navy. Damage control won the day. NEVER give up the ship! I hope your going to talk about the Samuel B Robert’s and operation praying mantis soon. BZ!
There's a great video out there that the CMC was saying he took orders from a DC3, because the 3rd class had operational control due to his knowledge of current procedures and equipment. Any and everyone in khakis worked for some enlisted that day. The skipper admitted that if it wasn't for the crew, they would've lost the ship. Several of those guys went and worked for the Navy as civilians in the Damage Control school, and brought real world experience to help revamp training. I am sure if you look you can find the video easily. I always hated sailing in PG, between the sea snakes and Iran/Iraq always chomping at the bit to kill us.
I love seeing the uploads
Hands down the best channel on TH-cam. Top quality every single video.
My ship was in the Mediterranean at the time. I didn’t know anyone on the USS Stark but in the Navy there is always someone on board who did. Sadam tried a pay off America . My shipmate who friend died on the stark had the opportunity for retribution. He personally was involved in the launch of the first volley of Tomahawk Missiles in the opening of Desert Storm.
Great video. I was on USS Simpson FFG56. We learned a lot from our sisters, Stark, and Sammy B. It was an interesting time to be on Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. We did many, many VBSS boardings, mine watch, convoys, and well, everything. We need frigates, again, bad!
I don't want to be a bother, but if you need an idea for a video, I strongly suggest doing a video about Taffy 3 during the Battle off Samar. It's one of the greatest underdog stories ever, and I feel like it would relate with the Naval aspect of your other videos.
Thanks for the video!
Funnily enough, the event that would trigger the one-day war between the Iran and the US would be the damage suffered by the Perry class Frigate, USS Samuel B Roberts, which, as you recall, is the name a very important Taffy 3 ship.
@@prestonlee9965 The USN NEEDS a Sammy B in service at all times, something about that name makes a ship fight like hell
@@coryhall7074 And on the flip-side a name for a ship that should NEVER be given again is William D. Porter.
The recurring theme of American failures is arrogance lads. This happens a lot. It's happened since WW2.
No, a video of the whole layte gulf battle will be the ideal, if is possible of course. (Ironically both layte and the battle of the Philippine sea don’t have a video analysis like this, unlike midway that has like three)
I was on the USS Camden in the Indian Ocean, our battle group responded. We sent AFFF to fight the fire and took off all the ammunition that was on board the Stark. It was surreal.
Amazing that the USS Stark and the rest of the crew survived, and it did not burn into ashes or sink into the bottom of the sea. Conflicts have many unexpected lessons to be learned.
I was on the Constellation CV-64 when this happened. I was a HT in “R” Division and remember we sent over HT shipmates to help with repairs. I remember this event like it happened yesterday. Thanks for this report, I never heard this much info on how it happened.
I served with LT Moncrief on the USS Waddell (the ship also mentioned in this video). He is a good man and was a fine officer.
Your Desert Storm series is top notch. Thank you for all the time and effort put into these. Your hard work shows and continues to get better.
Punishment for returning with unfired weapons... nobody in the regime thought about what kind of perverse incentives that would create?
That is ridiculous.
You sir make the best stories on war
Awesome video!!! A great book to read about this incident is: "America's First Clash with Iran - The Tanker War, 1987-1988", by Lee Allan Zatarain. The book goes into great detail about the USS Vincennes shout down of that Iranian jet liner; the naval battles between the US Navy and Iranian Navy; Special Forces operations against Iranian off-shore oil wells; the missile attack on USS Stark and plenty more. I was in US Army stationed in West Germany during this time.
Welcome back sir!
It’s a good Saturday!
The Exocet is one effective missile.
Read about it any time ago and so very good illustration to the article.
Vampire, vampire, vampire.
This was an excellent breakdown. I've heard if this incident, but never in this detail. Had no clue about the Falcon, I always thought it was a Mirage. Would really like to see you do a video on the Gulf of Sidra incident.
I was an FC2 assigned to the USS Halyburton FFG 40 when the Stark was hit. The FC on watch was my classmate in school in "C". Only by Providence was I not on the Stark, when we picked orders following Mk. 92 C School, his class standing allowed him to pick orders before me. The Stark was out of Mayport and I wanted to be on a ship out of Mayport. I won't mention his name but anyone familiar with the Stark or knew him knows he was from Iowa. I tried to reach out to him years ago but he either ignored me or I had bad contact information. The entire incident was gut wrenching. The Stark was doing BECCE's. Basic Engineering Casualty Control Exercises because they had to complete an OPPE before rotating back to the states. How stupid in a war zone to focus on BECCE's and not the fact that Iran and Iraq took their war into the gulf and were attacking shipping. I believe the Mk. 92 could have picked up the Exocets on the search radar if in the MTI setting (moving target indicator). We tracked low flying jets many times, I know an anti ship missile would not obviously have a large radar signature but you always wonder as an FC. Sorry to go off on the technical side of this. My heart goes out to the 37 who perished!
Quickest click of my life :D
same
Same, couldn't of came at a better time
I served on the Stark. I arrived while she was being repaired in the shipyard. I served with Heros. I also knew two of the 37 from previous commands.
A friend of mine was on the Stark when it got hit. He survived, but his family didn't know until like 2 days later. During the wait, his story and his family were on the local news here in Los Angeles.
I was wondering if you had any plans to do a video on the USS Liberty incident?
That would be a great video !
yeah that would be cool
It would be difficult given the many different records on that
@@PershingOfficial there’s only one record givin by The USS Liberty Veterans Association why would we even consider the Israeli record when they were the murderers in this situation that’s dumb
I can Remember somebody brought in a Magazine Shortly after this Incident . I was Working at Ginna Power Station and as I read about the Damage was amazed how Damage Control could cope with that . A couple of Navy Vets gave some insight as I asked Questions . It seems like yesterday ? Thank you for the Video .
I left this area 2 weeks prior to the attack. The ship I was on (Conyngham) was supposed to be in that patrol area at that time, but Stark was there instead. In news footage, one of the ships alongside helping fight the fires was my (former) ship. I was back in the U.S. when it happened and was wearing my ship ballcap. I almost got into a fight with some codger who thought it was navy ineptitude that caused this. It wasn't; it was the "rules of engagement of the Reagan Administration who were hoping to start a war with Iran but got caught double-dealing on both Iran and Iraq. Stark was retaliation for that by the Iraqis, no matter what anyone tries to tell you.
So, the ROE were to sit still and do absolutely nothing? Not even have your phalanx on at all? When protecting a convoy? Sure buddy, the commanding officer definitely wasn’t inept
Never heard of this incident. Fantastic account, thank you.
The SM-1 the Perry carried should have been able to intercept the missiles as well.
I wonder why they were never detected by the radar.
(Yes I know they fly low, but at some point they should still get detected.)
Of course the CIWS should have been on auto as well in such a situation imho.
In any case it's pretty crazy how back then a modern guided missile frigate couldn't even defend itself reliably against just two sub sonic Exocet missiles.
Yeah missile defense didn't get good for western ships until recently.
Not to mention, it seems everyone took this situation waaaayyy too lightly before it got bad. The military should be alert when they’re traveling next to an active war zone.
The duty watch officer was lucky I wasn't the admiral in charge of that task force. That incompetent would have been charged with 37 counts of negligence resulting in death and dereliction of duty, and that's just for starters.
The Stark was more than capable of defending itself from those missiles, unfortunately the leadership and crew (due to leadership) had gotten way too complacent on mundane patrol of the Persian Gulf. Hell, I have witnessed a fire fight and within 5hrs some of the guys who were actively shooting at bad guys were cokin' and smokin' without a care in the world completely numb to what just happened and totally unaware if there was to be a follow up attack. It is the responsibility of the leadership to maintain discipline and awareness in order not to lose lives.
I agree. I wonder if anyone knows what happened to Captain Brindle after this. In the Royal Navy, the loss of one's ship leads to a mandatory Court Martial of the Captain. Is it the same in the US Navy?
Loved the video @The Operations Room! Can't wait for the next video guys! Saw your Intro to @Rimmy - Downunder Gaming's "Back Again: 1975" ArmA 3 series and I was wondering if you two had anymore similar videos planned!
Great channel mate! Someday could you do one about the Gallipoli landings? I loved Robert K Massie's book about naval battles of the Great War, and the Gallipoli landings and the battle of Jutland (where afterwards Jellicoe was wrongly criticized and Beatty was named in his place) and the most interesting for me.
Look up Sabaton history Cliffs of Gallipoli. They have detailed maps of what happened.
You're referring to Massie's masterpiece "Castles of Steel" about naval warfare during WWI. I've reread this book probably 5 times. Wonderful piece of literature!
best DC instructor i had in the Navy...was a shipmate who served on the Stark.
Can you guys do a USS cole incident? As somebody who was recently in the navy I can tell you they teach about it in bootcamp & Submarine School. So seeing it in an updated animated version would be cool as what they show going through the pipeline is outdated.
It is a very interesting incident indeed. A pre 9/11 clash with Al-Qaeda.
Man those heroic men especially the fire man trying to put out the fire even though it instantly turned to steam. 3 thousand degrees man such a harrowing idea those boys were in.
The Iran Iraq war would definitely be an interesting topic…
Yes it would. Unfortunately, due to the nature of secrecy of both governments of the day, we would never be able to get an accurate understanding of what was going on. England and the US officials would also not share data as it may tip people off how much we can know what an enemy is doing via our surveillance technology.
the detail put into this is AMAZING. your getting so good.
I'd love to see a video on operation praying mantis. The largest naval battle since ww2
My youngest brother was on the Samuel B. Roberts during that time. His ship was struck by a mine when sailing in that area.
I was stationed aboard the USS LaSalle (Great White Ghost) during this incident. If the second missile hit aft, then it would have to be the one that didn't explode, because the forward hit caused immense damage. The USS Stark was tied alongside the LaSalle when she got back to the dock and our crews were fighting secondary fires for the following week. I don't recall seeing any damage outside of the gaping wound just aft of the forcastle.
if I remember correctly, the first missile exploded and the second missle entered the ship through the same hole and didn't explode. it broke apart spreading jet fuel all down the passage way leading to the galley.
Your assessment is incorrect. As a member of the Stark during the attack I can tell you it was the second missile that exploded. As the video explains, the unspent fuel of the first missile caused extreme fires as the first missile traveled completely through our ship. I stood on top of the warhead that fell into the starboard passageway. It fell there as the missile exited the starboard hull.
@@chuckpierce5756 I was onboard the Stark during the attack & the 1st missile passed completely through the ship & did not explode. Its warhead fell into the starboard passageway just before the missile tore through the hull. I stood on that warhead (Unknown to me at the time) & fought the fire.
Funny you should say that because I am reading something that describes this incident and they mentioned that the first missile did not explode but some of the crew who were sleeping, were immediately incinerated. How could that be, unless the fuel ignited immediately and sent a huge fireball through the quarters. It didn't really make sense.
Excellent as always. Please do both the ‘one day war with Iran’ and also the Liberty incident. Thank you!
Do a search for Operation Praying Mantis 1988. I was there on USS Enterprise watching it happen in real time. A great day for the USN.
I want a rts game based on your animation style
I was aboard the USS COOK FF-1083 in the I.O. on WESPAC when this happened. My ship was ordered to relieve the STARK and escort two American tankers, one at a time out of the Strait of Hormuz. My ship did not have the Phalanx system installed after the BPDMS system was removed. All we had were ASROCS and harpoons.
and knowing the US Navy, great chow
Exocet the best antiship missile in 80
Bro we appreciate all the work & time you put into making these videos!!! any chance of Iraq invasion video coming soon or any modern warfare recent events ?
LOVE FROM CANADA!
Crazy to think we were actually on Sadaam Hussein’s side at one point. I honestly did not know that. Didn’t last very long though.
Yeah, after the Iranian revolution a few years earlier, and the Iranian revolutionaries seizing the US embassy & holding the ambassadorial staff hostage for a year, US-Iranian relations went down the sink. "Enemy of my enemy" and such. Iran was very hostile towards the US, as it has been ever since. Although the US was neutral in the Iran-Iraq war, the Americans still sent some intel to Iraq on their enemy. For a brief period anyway. The relations with Iraq were luke-warm at best, however, and the incidents with Iraqi forces during this period made it worse.
The most common mistaken claim I've seen people say, over the years, is that the US supplied Iraq with weapons which isn't true. The Iraqis bought a small handful of unarmed observation helicopters at one point, an airframe which was also sold on the civilian market (Kiowas or "Little Birds" IIRC). Iraq's arsenal had been purchased from the USSR and France. Not sure where the misinformation came from regarding this back then, but I think it may have been suggested in some news media shortly after the first Gulf War in the 90s and circulated by word of mouth for a long time.
Saddam was considered the lesser of two evils until he invaded Kuwait and then we all know what happened from there.
USA is always your friend before becoming your enemy when you dont give your oil.
You were supporting both sides actually
Awesome, your documentaries are always so informative. Thanks, man!
Well, there’s a new missile strike to do in 20 years
I love how he hints at a forthcoming video on Operation Praying Mantis.
There's an error on USS Stark ship model on your video. USN OHP class frigates doesn't have Mk.41 8 cell VLS unlike the refitted Turkish G class frigates and Australian (now Chilean) Adelaide class frigates.
Yeah man
Good catch! Just noticed that.
The Perry class only has one arm launcher
Just adding to the comments of how great this channel is. Hopefully you cover the one-day war
AWESOME
A video on that "one day war" would be pretty cool tbh
Yes
Wayne Weaver was hero that day and 37 brave sailors gave their life so the whole ship could live. My ships ( USS 🇺🇸 Leahy and USS Rentz 🇺🇸) entered the gulf in general quarters with only one safety on my CIWS control panel. I was safe because of the Stark attack counter measures. Blessing to the families of the Stark.
One safety? What does that mean?
@ryand1410 One safety switch on the ( LCP or RCP ) control panel allows the system to fire the weapon if energized. Once you have the ammunition loaded and all the other safety measures removed you can control the ability of a loaded and deadly weapon to fire or not fire on a target live or simulated. That was my job in the Navy to operate the CIWS.
@@johnlarocco3348 Thx. So I don't understand why this ship didn't have any means of defending itself. Apparently,, Iraq said the ship was inside the exclusion zone and U.S. said outside. It seems irresponsible, regardless of zones, not to be on high alert when you know attacks on shipping is occurring. What do you think about what happened? The poor crew were like sitting ducks.
@@johnlarocco3348 I bet you had a lot of perks. Did everyone want to be your mate knowing you could literally save their lives? Thanks for replying.
My uncle was on the ship and he carried out 2 men out of the hit compartment sadly only 1 survived he was un injured luckily
Ever wondered if you could attach some French Exocets onto your private jet?
have you considered doing breakdowns of 19th century battles or earlier? it would be amazing to have videos about these battles in your style.
Can you do when the USS Seattle, an AOE, took on Iraqi gun ships. I mean really, a replenishment ship going up against gun boats.
i was on the o'bannon, which was in the persian gulf just before the stark, and we were all just devastated tho hear what happened. all those sophisticated electronics and the missile was first spotted by a lookout.
The location of the second missile hit is not accurate in the video. All accounts indicate that it actually impacted slightly forward of the first missile. Every picture you’ll find of the Stark only show one hole in the ship, not a separate one further back.
My instructor and mentor served on the USS Waddell and im proud to her hear name in this video
Operation praying mantis next??
Thank you for the content.
I hope you have similar content planned for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war
I was a couple of weeks from leaving for basic training when this happened... I don't recall being too put out by it but I remember my parents were horrified.
Contrast and compare this to the Muskva sinking.
nothing to compare, not the same missile, not the same ship type, and not the same luck ( first exocet warhead didnt explode )
@@Klara906090 Correct, they’re different. Yet they’re the same… nothing built by socialists performs well. There’s no Cuban appliance store in Seattle. There’s no North Korean car dealership in Dallas. Russian subs are death traps.
And the Exocet warhead that didn’t explode, also produced in a socialist economy, or more socialist than the US anyway.
@@mgtowbylogic5592 because US warhead always explode ? you didnt follow well recent conflicts.
@@Klara906090 yes they always explode. That’s what I said.
When the TAO first considered the radio warning, he should have positioned Stark with her stern aspect toward the threat, and armed the auto mode of CIWS. IMHO, this is a CRITICAL error. Also, a few of the crew who would have otherwise survived the attack were killed by electrocution trying to egress the berthing compartment. Good coverage here sir. Thank you! Many navy personnel believe if both warheads would have detonated, the ship would have been lost. Very heroic action by the crew and USS Worden saved her as it was.