PATCH - BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW - 16 jan - 28 feb 1991

Army Patch

Desert Storm 1991

Baghdad International Airshow 16 Jan - 28 Feb 1991

The Gulf War effectively began when an F-117A bombed an air-defense control center in Baghdad. A USAF after-action report found that Iraqi forces could not detect the F-117A approaching and often would not start shooting until the bombs exploded. During operation Desert Storm , the F-117A enabled it to fly 1.271 combat sorties in 42 days without losses. Although only 36 stealth fighters were deployed in Desert Storm and accounted for 2.5 percent of the total force of 1,900 fighters and bombers, they flew more than a third of the bombing runs on the first day of the war. In all during Desert Storm, the stealth fighter conducted 1.271 sorties, dropped more than 2,000 tons of bombs, and flew more than 6,900 hours.