Operation PRAYING MANTIS Combat Operations vs. Iran 1988

Operation Praying Mantis was an April 18, 1988 attack by U.S. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of the Persian Gulf and the subsequent damage to an American warship.

The battle, the largest for American naval forces since World War II, sank two Iranian warships and three armed speedboats. It also marked the first surface-to-surface missile engagement in U.S. Navy history.

On April 18, 1988, the Americans attacked with several groups of surface warships, plus aircraft from the carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). The action began with coordinated strikes by two surface groups. One group, consisting of the destroyers USS Merrill (DD 976) and USS Lynde McCormick (DDG 8), plus the amphibious transport dock USS Trenton (LPD-14), neutralized the Sassan oil platform. The Iranian personnel on the platform were given the opportunity to abandon it for a tugboat waiting alongside, but instead chose to open fire on Merrill, whose 5 inch, 54 caliber guns quickly dispatched the smaller, platform-mounted Iranian gun. Immediately afterward, U.S. Marines from Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) 2-88 fast-roped onto the Sassan platform, gathered intelligence, and set explosives to render it unusable. The other group, which included a guided missile cruiser and two frigates, attacked the Sirri oil platform.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Operation
• Praying
• Mantis
• Iran
• oil
• platforms
• combat
• US
• Navy
• USS
• Merrill
• Sirri
• Sassan
• 5-inch
• gun
• naval
• gunfire
• Persian
• Gulf

[austpers]

Not praying, but preying. Pray is when you pray to god or something. Prey is when you hunt.

[jaglavaksoldier]

That is known but this operation is named after the predatory insect: The Praying Mantis...

[acr225]

Good job USN. Fuck Iran.

[souldesign09]

@acr225 Uhhh whats your problem?

[woofdogmeow]

looks like the Iranian govt forgot what happened to them back in 1988. Shame you just got done building your 1st frigate pity we will have to sink it just like the old ones.

[redsiinpa]

And 14 years later, history appears to be repeating itself. And Iran is still using speedboats for a Navy.

[daltonagre]

Uncle Sam won this naval battle.

[USB740]

There's another way to look at it. Operation Praying Mantis can be seen as a retribution for what we (Iranians) did in the opening days of the Iran-Iraq war. We destroyed two Iraqi oil platforms and managed to sink 80% of the Iraqi Navy in Operation Morvarid. The Iraqis could not reach some of our Oil platforms (whilst Iranian navy had effectively blocked all Iraqi ports, and knocked out all Iraqi Oil platforms), so the USN did the job for them! These two operations almost mirror each other!

[USB740]

@valinasab Exactly, it was actually the Iraqis who initiated the tanker war by attacking shipping with F.1 Mirage equipped with Exocet anti-ship missiles. It was a shrewd tactic on their part, since they knew that Iran would respond the same way, and that it would draw the attention of the superpowers to get involved to ensure free passage of the shipping lanes (gaining protection for the Kuwaiti, Saudi and Soviet tanker fleets & supply ships who were delivering weapons to Iraq).

[hiarvandi]

@warrenjlc84 this is not my people who have made the world an unsafe place my friend, but there is a bunch of war mongers in your government who are ready to sacrifice everything even their own people to protect Israel and to do every thing to make AIPAC happy.every body knows the war in Iraq was not at the interest of the US, American guys are killed in Iraq simply because your govt wanted to get rid of Saddam who was a threat to Israel. We Iranians like Americans ,but not their government.

[MrVaalium]

@godzillasdad I was a Fire Control Technician (the guy that works the computers that aim the guns) during this operation..two things..those are powder cans not "shell casings" like the narator says, a shell would sink. But in answer to missing a "static" target-the ship rolls, pitches and yaws-as well as traveling forward...as far as the computer is concerned, the target IS moving and the ship remains stationary (it's how the computer calculates the ballistic equations). Hope that clarifies.