IRQ - Iracké vojenské námořnictvo [1958-2003]

al-Quwwat al-Bahriya al-Iraqia
The Iraqi Navy has undoubtedly undergone an interesting evolution since the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq in 1958 until its de facto demise in 2003.
But an accurate account of its history is difficult given the paucity of available information. It is, after all, the smallest component of the Iraqi armed forces, and many veterans are either no longer alive or difficult to contact, either in Iraq or in exile, where many of them live.


Even shortly after the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of friendly relations with the USSR, arms and ammunition were supplied. Among the first shipments of new equipment were twelve torpedo boats of the P-6 "Burevestnik" type (Project 183). These small vessels, of 67 tons displacement and armed with two 533mm torpedoes, were delivered during 1959-1961.
In 1962, delivery of submarine destroyers of the SO-1 type (project 201M) took place in the number of three pieces. With a displacement of 215 tons, armament of depth bombs and special RBU-1200 throwers, they constituted a reinforcement of the Iraqi Navy.
Other known deliveries from the USSR were two T-43 minesweepers (Project 254K) delivered in 1969. It is possible that these were ships from the armament of the USSR Navy.
The Iraqi "mariners" had to wait until 1972 for their first "combat" units, when six OSA-1 missile boats (Prospect 205) were delivered in the following two years, along with 48 P-15U Termit/SS-N-2B Styx missiles and other armament.
These deliveries were followed by a contract for eight units of the more modern OSA-2 version (Project 205U "Tsunami", Iraqi class designation: "Nissin-7") and 64 more P-15 anti-ship missiles. These deliveries were completed in 1977.
How the command structure changed during these years is unknown. But the number of sailors gradually increased and by the late 1970s was approaching 4,000.
As a bi-product of good (if complicated) relations with the USSR, many Iraqi sailors were trained in Eastern Bloc countries. Many Soviet advisers worked directly in Iraq and were also involved in the construction of the modern naval base at ash-Shulaiba. In addition, in 1977-79, four landing craft, the Polnocny-? (project-771?). In addition to the Soviet types, the Yugoslav ship "Spasilac" (alias the Iraqi designation "Aka") was delivered in 1978.
In the summer of 1980, at the end of the war with Iran, the Iraqi Navy had more than 4,000 personnel and a number of ships of various types.
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It is not known exactly what specific tasks the war plan assigned to the Iraqi Navy in the event of war with Iran. But given the quantity and quality of the Iranian Navy and Air Force (despite the extensive purges in the ranks of the command corps), they must have been limited.
According to the website : www.acig.org, the first successful strike was claimed by the crew of an Iranian naval helicopter, AB.212ASW, which attacked an Iraqi OSA missile boat as early as 21 September 1980.
In naval encounters, unfortunately, throughout the war, the Iraqis pulled the short end of the stick. Firstly because of the already mentioned superiority of the Iranian Navy, but also because of the obvious obsolescence of their own equipment and probably also because of the lack of training.
The "Judgement Day" of the Iraqi Navy, however, came on 28 and 29 November 1980, when Iran launched Operation "Morvarid" (Pearl). The objective was to neutralize the two oil platforms, Al-Bakr and Al-Omajeh, south of the Al-Fao peninsula, which the Iraqis were using as basic early warning sites. It was a combined operation of navy, commados and air force. First, the Iranian Air Force launched a diversionary attack on the airfields around Basra, which was exploited by the Marines, who transported a naval assault detachment to the two platforms, which seized and mined both platforms. After successfully destroying all the installations, the Iranian troops withdrew and their retreat was covered by two IRINS missile boats, the Yashan and the Pajkan. It was not until the morning of 29 September that the Iranians reacted and attempted a counter-attack. In the first attack they lost two OSA-type boats, but then IRINS Pajkan got into trouble and the Iraqis managed to hit and sink it. A squadron of Iranian F-4E Phantom aircraft, led by Abbas Dowran and Ali-Reza Yassini, struck back. Their aircraft were armed with AGM-65B Maverick missiles and their crews immediately went "to work". In the course of a few minutes, the pilots claimed the hits of three OSA men, four P-6 boats, and, in the Iraqi port, one Polnocny landing craft, a T-43 minesweeper, and two patrol boats.
After these events, the Iraqi Navy found itself in severe shock and virtually resigned to any major activity. Thus, the entire "agenda" of attacks against Iranian shipping had to be taken over by air units and a naval intruder squadron. The latter was armed with SA.321GV Super Frelon helicopters. In 1981, SA.321H versions were also delivered, along with several dozen AM-39 Exocet missiles. These helicopters proved quite effective in attacking shipping near Iranian ports. They are also credited with the successful interception and sinking of the Iranian corvette IRINS Kahnamuie in 1982.
Other naval encounters involving Iraqi ships are documented as far back as 1986. During fighting in July 1986, two Iraqi OSA boats were sunk in the vicinity of the Al-Omajeh oil platform and another was sunk in September.
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The exact scale and intensity of combat operations during the Iraq-Iran war is difficult to reconstruct, as is the state of the Iraqi navy at the turn of 1988-1990. The following paragraph is a compilation from available sources.
In the summer of 1990, shortly before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Iraqi Navy was thought to have about 5,000 personnel (including a brigade of "Marine infantry" that fell under the command of the Special Forces Division of the Republican Guard). Headquarters were in Basra, with naval bases at Ash-Shulaybah, Zubayr and Umm Qasr.
The armament consisted of a motley mix of vessels. The frigate "ibn Khaldoum" was of Yugoslav origin and was mainly used for training. The number of OSA-class missile boats can be estimated at five (unless, of course, further deliveries were made, which cannot be ruled out). The survivability and especially the combat value of the P-6 torpedo boats is very questionable. For auxiliary purposes the patrol boat "Bogomol", three(?) patrol boats SO-1, two "Poluchat" type boats, two "Nyriat-II" and one patrol boat of "Zhuk" class were used. The minesweeper fleet included two vessels of the "T-43" class, three "Yevgeniya" class vessels, and also a trio of Yugoslavian "Nestin" class vessels. The armament was supplemented by two landing craft "Polnocny" and about 150 small guard boats of the "Swary" class manufactured directly in Iraq.
In addition, in 1986 a mega-contract was awarded to the Italian shipyard "Fincantiery" for the rearmament of the Iraqi Navy. These were four frigates of the "Hittin" class (derived from the LUPO class), four corvettes of the "Abdulla ben abi Sark" class and two helicopter corvettes of the "Mussa ben Nussair" class (this was a modified type of the original model - based on the "Mragh" type built for Libya). In addition, the supply ship "Agnadiin" and a 6,000-ton floating dock were also ordered! Although the Italians proceeded vigorously to fulfill the order, by the time the arms embargo was imposed as a result of the invasion of Kuwait, neither of the ordered ships could be delivered. The Agnadine is still "stuck" in Alexandria harbour to this day, the frigates Hittín were eventually added to their armament by the Italian Navy, and the corvettes Abdulla ben abi Sark were bought by Malaysia (as the "Laksanam" class). Only a pair of Ban Nussair corvettes were paid for, and the Iraqi sailors began to train on them as well. What the future fate of these ships will be is unknown, although there is speculation that they will eventually be delivered to Iraq after all.
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During Operation Desert Tree, the Iraqi Navy did not participate in any significant actions, mainly due to the lack of training and the obsolescence of its vessels. Although Iraqi forces did manage to capture five Lurssen FPB-57-class missile boats and one Lurssen TNC-45-class boat, as well as several dozen Exocet missiles from Kuwaiti depots. There was neither the time nor the means to actually train the crews and deploy these vessels.
The Iraqi Navy thus lost a large number of vessels (up to 19 sunk and 6 damaged) in the course of the air strikes. The frigate "ibn Khaldoum" was badly damaged and several ships are said to have sailed into Iranian ports where they were interned.
The Iraqi navy was virtually unmoved until the following war in 2003. The number of sailors dropped to about 2,000. According to published figures, one OSA-class missile boat, one Nyriat, and two or three smaller smoothboats survived in a seaworthy condition. Several dozen small Sawary-class guard boats also survived. Of the auxiliary craft, the minesweeper T-43(or Yevgeniya) and the "Sallam al-Diin" (Yugoslav Nestin), the landing craft "Atika" (Midnight) have survived. The salvage ship Spasilac, called "Aka" in Iraq, also apparently survived the war, and the fate of the three Al-Zahraa-class landing craft, delivered from Denmark in 1983, is unknown.
The luxury presidential yacht "Al-Qadisiyah" was destroyed in airstrikes in 1991 and the second ship "Al-Mansour" was destroyed in 2003. According to testimonies, it was destroyed by several anti-ship missiles from US naval aircraft and the wreck was later looted in looting. The remaining ships were apparently destroyed or badly damaged and may also have been targeted for looting.


Source: http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/mideast/iraq.htm
www.globalsecurity.org
ATM 10/2004: Ivan Zajac: Saddam's Forgotten Navy
ATM Iraq Conflict Special/Facts and Data.
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