Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle

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Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/28/2019 9:22:49 PM

B52H

Posts: 113
Joined: 6/28/2015
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All,

Are there any known sources detailing the organization of the Iraqi Air Force before Desert Storm circa 1988-1991?

Thanks,

B52H

Post #: 1

RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/28/2019 10:00:07 PM

TheOttoman

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Vol. 5 of the Gulf War Air Power Survey (Fig. 3) has a breakdown which matches pretty well with "Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II. Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective" (https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a484530.pdf), but aside from generalizations, I've found no detailed OOB that list numbers of equipment to squadron other than the wiki for the list of Iraqi Aircraft Squadrons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iraqi_Air_Force_aircraft_squadrons)

(in reply to B52H)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/28/2019 10:06:49 PM

Primarchx

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Also the Military Balance would have info prior to the Gulf War, though more raw numbers (#s of squadrons and air frames) rather than strict OOB info.

(in reply to TheOttoman)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/29/2019 1:59:23 AM

Amnectrus

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Joined: 10/22/2015
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This is also something I looked for a while ago and couldn't find anything really definitive. As noted by TheOttoman above, The Gulf War Air Power Survey (GWAPS) vol. 5 has a table of the overall aircraft roles (e.g. fighters, bombers, etc.) and numbers, but it doesn't break it down any more. In my earlier searching though I found this page on globalsecurity.org that does list the specific airplane types and numbers, though it doesn't have any details on their serviceability or bases. (Tangentially related, see this globalsecurity.org page for information about Iraqi air defenses and SAM sites.)

I also found this ACIG Journal page detailing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which may have a bit more information. The page was offline for a while but now may be back up, behind a registration wall, here and there may be other articles there worth checking out.

Finally, I did another set of searches just now and found a source I hadn't seen before, regarding something called the Gulf War Toolbook (PDF). The PDF linked here is to a 34-page user's guide which seems to be for some kind of interactive software, but I haven't been able to find anything more on it. However, the user's guide cites some sources, in particular, "The Gulf War Fact Book" and "The Gulf War Order of Battle", the latter of which it unfortunately says is unpublished, but lists Larry Bond (of Harpoon and technothriller fame) as an author.

I found The Gulf War Fact Book on Amazon and ordered a copy; when I get it I'll post again with any information I find in it.

(in reply to B52H)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/29/2019 9:23:45 PM

Primarchx

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Andrew Cordesman wrote a study on the Iraqi military from 198-1993 with info on their pre-Gulf War forces.

https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/iraq88-93.pdf

(in reply to Amnectrus)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 1/30/2019 2:03:51 AM

CV60

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Some more details on the AOOB here:
http://www.ausairpower.net/iraq-pre-ds.html

(in reply to Primarchx)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 2/5/2019 10:52:11 PM

Amnectrus

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Joined: 10/22/2015
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I just got my copy of the Gulf War Fact Book and unfortunately it's rather light reading by comparison to these other sources. It doesn't list Iraqi Air Force squadrons or basing. For what it's worth, here's what it has for the plane inventory:

=====

Fighters
MiG-29: 40-80
MiG-25: 18 (most may be used for reconnaissance)
MiG-23: 20
MiG-21: 105
F-7: 20

Fighter/Attack
MiG-17: 30

Attack
Su-25: 20
Su-20: 30
Su-7: 50
F-6: 20
Hawker Hunter: 30

Bombers
Su-24: 10
Mirage F1: 100 (perhaps one-quarter train as fighters)
MiG-23/27: 70
Il-28: 10
Tu-22: 7
Tu-16: 12

Reconnaissance
MiG-25: 18 (some may be used as fighters)

Surveillance and Control
Il-75: 2?

Tankers
An-2: 4

Transports
About 80 consisting of a wide variety of types.

=====

I'm pretty skeptical on some of those numbers (e.g. Hunters and MiG-17s), but anyway that's what this book says. There are a number of maps at the back of the book, including one aeronautical chart showing Iraqi airfields, but there's no indication of what was based where.

(in reply to CV60)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 2/6/2019 1:36:53 AM

Primarchx

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I've been reading the Conduct of the Persian Gulf War Final Report to Congress recently. It's a very good monograph on the whole action. Check it out ... https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a249270.pdf

(in reply to Amnectrus)

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RE: Pre-Desert Storm Iraqi Air Force order of battle - 2/6/2019 2:12:47 PM

stilesw

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Joined: 6/26/2014
From: Hansville, WA, USA
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Primarchx,

Thanks for this reference. I've included it in the CMANO (unofficial) Dropbox reference library.

As always, any forum member can have access to this Dropbox resource. Just PM me with you email address.

-Wayne Stiles

(in reply to Primarchx)

Post #: 9