Operation Kaman 99
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Operation Alborz (), more commonly known by the code-name Operation Kaman 99 (),"Kaman" (, meaning "bow"), is a reference to the legendary figure Arash the Archer, and 99 is a reference to the 99 pages of the plan of the operation. Se

/ref> was an operation launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Iranian Air Force in retaliation to Iraqi surprise aerial attacks on
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
the day before which marked the
beginning Beginning may refer to: *''Beginning'', an album by Pakho Chau * ''Beginning'' (play), a 2017 play by David Eldridge * ''Beginning'' (2020 film), a Georgian-French drama film * ''Beginning'' (2023 film), an Indian Tamil-language drama film *"Begin ...
of the 8-year-long
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
. Involving nearly 200 aircraft (of which more than 140 crossed into Iraq), it is considered the largest operation carried out by the IRIAF. The outcome was clearly successful, as the Iranians achieved
air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...
for the first years of the conflict. Launched only 3 hours after the formal beginning of the war, the main attack was formed by 140 to 148 Iranian fighter-bombers, plus 60 interceptors and tankers were involved in this operation, and at least 380 air force personnel were also involved, making this the most large-scale operation conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Iranian Air Force.
Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...
, Al-Rasheed, Nasiriya,
Habbaniyah Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya (, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during World War II. Lake Habbaniyah is als ...
(including Tammuz), Shaiba,
Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...
, and
Umm Qasr Umm Qasr (, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr. Kurdish: ئومقەسڕ, Ûmqêsir'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the P ...
airbases, as well as
Baghdad International Airport Baghdad International Airport , previously Saddam International Airport from 1982 to 2003, () is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Ira ...
and Al-Muthanna Airport were bombed during the operation.


Prelude

On 22 and 23 September 1980, Iraq launched surprise air strikes on strategic locations in Iran employing a total of 166 to 192 fighter and bomber aircraft for a total of 250 sorties. At 1:45 pm local time, 6 Iraqi MiG-23 Floggers bombed an Iranian Air Base near
Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...
. Half an hour later, Iraqi MiG-23s attacked Mehrabad Airport in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
. At the same time the Iraqis also bombed 8 other major Air Bases in Iran. Radio Baghdad asks Iranian pilots to defect to Iraq in a message after this operation.AJA News
However, having learned from the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
, Iran had built hardened aircraft shelters where most of its combat aircraft were stored, thus the Iraqis succeeded mainly in cratering Iranian
runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
s (which were quickly repaired), without causing any significant damage to Iran's Air Force. Now the Iranian Air Force started preparing for a counter-attack which was to be launched the next day. Two hours after this Iraqi attack, the Iranian air force conducted Operation Entegham (, "Revenge"), bombing Shaiba,
Umm Qasr Umm Qasr (, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr. Kurdish: ئومقەسڕ, Ûmqêsir'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the P ...
and
Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...
Air Bases in Iraq.


The battle

At 5:00 AM on 23 September 1980, Iran launched Operation Kaman 99 as 40 F-4 Phantoms, armed with Mark 82, Mark 83 and
Mark 84 bomb The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is a American general-purpose bomb, general purpose aircraft bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb. At the time, ...
s and
AGM-65 Maverick The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, a ...
missiles, took off from Hamadan Air Base. After refueling in mid-air the Phantoms reached the Iraqi capital
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, where they attacked al-Rasheed,
Habbaniyah Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya (, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during World War II. Lake Habbaniyah is als ...
and
Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...
airbases. Meanwhile, eight more F-4s took off from Tehran's Mehrabad and launched a second attack on the al-Rasheed Air Base.Razoux, p. 27. Iran launched 58 F-5E Tiger IIs from Tabriz Air Base, which were sent to attack Mosul Air Base. After the attack on Mosul Air Base, 50 F-5Es attacked Nasiriya Air Base, which was heavily damaged. As all 148 Iranian F-4s and F-5s had been sent for a bombing raid on Iraq, 60
F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...
s were scrambled to defend Iranian airspace against a possible Iraqi retaliation. Iranian F-14s managed to down 2 Iraqi
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...
s (1 MiG-21RF and 1 MiG-21MF) and 3 Iraqi MiG-23s (MiG-23MS), an Iranian F-5E also shot down an Iraqi Su-20 during the operation. Timeline of the air raids are as follows: * 48 F-5E fighter-bombers from Tabriz Air Base bombed Mosul Air Base. The Air Base was not operable "for months". * 40 F-5E fighter-bombers from Dezful Air Base bombed Nasiriya Air Base. * 16 F-4E fighter-bombers from Hamadan Air Base bombed Kut Air Base. According to Iranian reports, the airbase was completely destroyed. * 12 F-4E fighter-bombers from Bushehr Air Base bombed Shaiba Air Base. * 12 F-4E fighter-bombers from Hamadan Air Base bombed Al-Rasheed Air Base near Baghdad, destroying 80% of it. Several
MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...
s were destroyed on the ground. * 8 F-4E fighter-bombers from Hamadan Air Base bombed
Baghdad International Airport Baghdad International Airport , previously Saddam International Airport from 1982 to 2003, () is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Ira ...
and Northern Habbaniya Air Base (including Tammuz airbase) west of Baghdad. * Kirkuk Air Base, Al-Muthanna Airport and other targets were bombed in later air raids. The Iranian planes flew so low that a billboard of Basra municipality got hooked on the tail of one of the Iranian F-4s, which was discovered upon landing at Bushehr Air Base. The Iranian aircraft were flying so low that the power cables on the outskirts of the major Iraqi cities became a significant risk for the Iranian pilots if they were not cautious enough.


Aftermath

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
and the Iraqi military were dealt a heavy blow when Iranian Air Force vulnerabilities failed to materialize. All Iraqi Air Bases near Iran were rendered inoperable for weeks and, according to Iran, Iraq's aerial efficiency was reduced by 55%. The Iranians on the other hand had taken heavy losses as well, as up to 67 aircraft had been shot down during the operation over Iraqi airspace by a combination of AAA, SAM, and Air defense fighters. According to most observers, this is one of the biggest air battles in history. This operation, allowed the Iranians to regroup and prepare for the upcoming Iraqi invasion. However, Iraqis would advance deep into
Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...
and it would take the Iranians up to 2 years before they would finally expel the Iraqis from their territory and eventually enter Iraq. The War endured another 6 years, becoming the longest conventional war of the 20th century in which perhaps close to one million were maimed and killed.


In popular culture

* Iranian book "140+8 Aircraft" (), written by Brigadier General Ahmad Mehrnia *
Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; ; born 22 November 1969) is a French-Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her best-known works include the graphic novel ''Persepolis (comics), Persepolis'' and Persepo ...
mentions the battle in a chapter of her autobiographical graphic novel
Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
, where the father of her former classmate Pardisse Entezami was killed in action.


See also

* Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force#Iran–Iraq War (1980–88)


References


External links


Video of Iranian TV (Persian)

Video about the Operation
* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaman 99 Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 Iranian airstrikes during the Iran–Iraq War Cross-border operations into Iraq 1980 in aviation September 1980 in Asia Airstrikes in Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War Baghdad airstrikes 1980s in Baghdad 1980 building bombings Building bombings in Baghdad Airport bombings in Iraq Attacks on airbases in Iraq Baghdad International Airport Military operations involving airports 1980 in Iraqi Kurdistan History of Nasiriyah History of Al Anbar Governorate History of Basra Governorate Military history of Kirkuk 20th century in Kirkuk Attacks on military installations in 1980 History of Kut Building bombings in Kurdistan Region (Iraq)