The purpose of our task force was to provide support for the United Nations efforts to feed the people of southern Somalia. It was an eerie scene, being a part of a large naval force within sight of land. Just a few miles off the coast of southern Somalia we joined with three amphibious assault ships from the Marine Expeditionary unit, the USS Tripoli, USS Juneau, and USS Rushmore. The Carrier, USS Ranger (CV-61) and her escort ships, the Aegis cruiser USS Valley Forge and the destroyer USS Kinkaid, had split from the rest of the carrier strike group (CSG-2) in the Persian Gulf and sprinted through the Strait of Hormuz, out the Gulf of Oman, and past the Gulf of Aden in support of United Nations Resolution 794. It was early December 1992 and we had been in-country for a few days, getting a sense of the situation and the lay of the land. However, the closest I ever came to expending ordnance in anger was during Operation Restore Hope over Somalia. Heading to the “Danger Zone”ĭuring my two decades flying for the US Navy, I flew in multiple combat zones on two different continents.
Therefore, there’s no better person to guide us through the time, back to 1992, for a thrilling show-of-force mission against Somali warlords during Operation Restore Hope. Throughout his military career, Paco deployed to conflict zones from Somalia to Iraq, and accumulated nearly 3,000 tactical hours, 400 carrier landings. Navy aircraft carriers: a former fighter pilot, during his active duty career in the US Navy, Paco flew the Intruder (with the VA-155 “Silver Foxes”) and the F-14A Tomcat and then moved on to the F-5 Tiger II for a further ten years as a Bandit concurrent with his employment as a commercial pilot. A 1986 Grumman A-6 magazine ads (Image credit: /)įrancesco “Paco” Chierici is one of those pilots who most enjoyed (and learnt from) flying the A-6E from aboard U.S. The A-6E, the last model of the Intruder that carried a multi-mode radar and an improved computer, was the backbone of the Navy and Marine Corps attack capability for more than three decades, during those it was used for close-air-support, interdiction, and deep-strike missions. The A-6C, born of the SEAsia war, incorporates electro-optical sensors to observe and attack vehicles moving under cover of darkness.” The A-6B, whose primary job was the suppression of surface-to-air missiles, was basically an avionics modification of the A-6A with provisions for the Navy’s anti-radiation missile. Rose Reynolds, USAF)Īccording to the Navy records, “the Intruder first entered service in February 1963 with VA-42. The Corsairs are armed with cluster bombs.
and NATO air-to-ground weapons in its five external store stations: a payload worth 18,000 pounds.ĭue to its ability to “see” targets and geographical features regardless of the effects of darkness or bad weather thanks to an integrated navigation and weapons delivery system, the Intruder was used both as an attack platform and as a pathfinder for other types of attack aircraft, allowing their use under conditions which would not normally permit a successful mission.Īn A-6E Intruder aircraft and Attack Squadron 46 (VA-46) A-7E Corsair II aircraft fly in formation as they prepare for refueling during Operation Desert Storm. The aircraft was an extremely accurate, low-altitude, long-range, subsonic platform capable of carrying all U.S. The aircraft was the world’s capable of detecting and identifying tactical or strategic targets, and delivering both conventional and nuclear ordnance on them under zero-visibility conditions. Still, it was a real beast and clearly excelled when it dealt with the ability to carry out all-weather attacks. Manned by a crew of two, pilot and bombardier-navigator, seated side by side, the A-6 Intruder would never have won a beauty contest. Former Intruder Pilot Recalls Flying Combat Missions over Somalia During Operation Restore Hope.
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