List of Gulf War pilots by victories explained

The following is a list of air force pilots of the Gulf War by number of aerial victories.

List of air-air victories

Name Country Service Aircraft Flown Victories Notes
Capt. Thomas Dietz[1] Air ForceF-15C3
1st Lt. Robert HehemannAir ForceF-15C3Nearly scored two more kills in another air battle which would have made him the war's only "ace".
Capt. Cesar Rodriguez[2] United StatesAir ForceF-15C2Rodriguez would go on to score another air-air kill in 1999 over Yugoslavia.
Capt. Rhory Draeger [3] United StatesAir ForceF-15C2
Capt. Robert Graeter [4] United StatesAir ForceF-15C2His second credit was maneuvered into the ground by an unarmed American EF-111. Graeter received credit for the kill as he was giving chase to the Iraqi fighter jet at the time.
Capt. Jay Denney[5] United StatesAir ForceF-15C2
Capt. Anthony Murphy United StatesAir ForceF-15C2
Capt. Benjamin Powell United StatesAir ForceF-15C2
Capt. Iyad Al-Shamrani[6] Saudi ArabiaAir ForceF-15C2Shot down two Iraqi Mirage F1s who were attempting to bomb a Saudi oil refinery. Was the first coalition pilot to shoot down multiple aircraft.
Capt. Richard Bennett / Capt. Dan Bakke [7] United StatesAir ForceF-15E1Captain Daniel Bakke was the Weapon Systems Officer and Captain Richard Bennett was the pilot for the kill. It is the only known instance in history of one aircraft purposefully bombing another aircraft in mid-air.
Capt. John Donesky United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Jon Kelk United StatesAir ForceF-15C1Kelk was the first to claim an air-to-air kill of the war by shooting down an Iraqi MiG-29. He is also the first pilot to claim a victory in an American F-15 Eagle.
1st Lt. David Sveden[8] [9] [10] United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Maj. Randy May United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Greg Masters United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Charles Magill United StatesMarines[11] F-15C1
LT. Donald Broce / CDR Ron McElraft[12] United StatesNavyF-14A1Commander Ron McElcraft was the Radar Intercept Officer and LT. Stuart Broce was the pilot credited with the kill.
LCDR Mark Fox United StatesNavyF/A-18C1
LT Nicholas Mongillo United StatesNavyF/A-18C1
Col. Rick Parsons United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Lawrence Pitts United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. David Prather United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. David Rose United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Anthony Schiavi United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Tod Sheehy United StatesAir ForceA-10A1
Capt. Robert Swain[13] United StatesAir ForceA-101Captain Robert Swain attained his aerial victory in an A-10 Warthog, a close air support aircraft that was not designed for aerial combat. It was the first of two air-air victories of that aircraft type.
Capt. Steven Tate United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Richard Tollini United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Craig Underhill United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Capt. Donald Watrous United StatesAir ForceF-15C1
Zuhair Dawood[14] Iraqi RepublicAir ForceMiG-251Credited with downing Commander Michael Speicher, in the US's first combat loss of the war.
Capt. Stephen Dingee United StatesAir ForceF-15C0.5Captain Stephen Dingee and Captain Mark McKenzie shared a kill of a Mi-8 helicopter.[15]
Capt. Mark McKenzie United StatesAir ForceF-15C0.5Captain Stephen Dingee and Captain Mark McKenzie shared a kill of a Mi-8 helicopter.

Claims

Name Country Service Aircraft Flown Victories Notes
James Denton[16] Air ForceEF-1111Captain James Denton was the pilot of an unarmed EF-111 when he came under attack from an Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter. After evading several missiles fired at them, Denton managed to goad the Iraqi pilot into low altitude maneuvering whereupon the Iraqi fighter crashed.[17] Denton and his electronic warfare officer Captain Brent Brandon were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their achievement.[18] The Smithsonian Channel in 2021-22 researched the EF-111 / F-1 low-altitude engagement and subsequently produced and aired in May 2022 the EF-111 Raven's encounter with the Mirage F-1EQ.[19]
Nafie Al-Jubouri[20] Iraqi RepublicAir ForceDassault Mirage F11Claimed an aerial maneuvering kill of an EF-111 that crashed into the ground while attempting to evade a missile fired by Al-Jubouri.[21] The story was debunked by aviation editors.
Jameel Sayhood[22] Iraqi RepublicAir ForceMiG-291The pilot was shot down by Cesar Rodriguez in a dogfight later. He claimed a RAF Panavia Tornado. The story was debunked by aviation editors.[23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Skaarup. Howard. Hawaii Warbird Survivors 2002: A Handbook on Where to Find Them. Writers Club Press. 28 November 2016. 9780595203796. October 2001.
  2. Web site: Bowden. Mark. The Last Ace. The Atlantic. March 2009. The Atlantic. 28 November 2016.
  3. Web site: Cooper. Tom. US Air-to-Air Victories during the Operation Desert Storm. Air Combat Information Group. Air Combat Information Group. 28 November 2016.
  4. Web site: Dogfights of Desert Storm. Youtube. History. 28 November 2016.
  5. Web site: Aces of Desert Storm. Safarikovi. Safarikovi.
  6. Book: Francona. Rick. Ally to Adversary. 1999. Naval Institute Press. 9781557502810 . 106.
  7. Web site: Leone. Darion. Gulf War 25th Anniversary: how a U.S. F-15E shot down an Iraqi Mi-24 gunship with a GBU-10 bomb 25 years ago today. The Aviationist. 14 February 2016. The Aviationist. 28 November 2016.
  8. Web site: Coalition Air-to-Air Victories in Desert Storm. www.rjlee.org. History. 9 January 2023.
  9. Web site: Gulf War Airpower Survey, Volume 5; Norman Friedman, Desert Victory; Robert Wilcox, Wings of Fury; World Air Power Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20090604224140/http://128.121.102.226:80/aakill.html/. 4 June 2009. dead. History. 9 January 2023.
  10. Web site: Mig Killers. skytrailer.nl/mig-killers . History. 9 January 2023.
  11. Book: Steve. Davies. F-15C Eagle Units in Combat. 1 January 2005. Osprey Publishing. 978-1841767307. 43.
  12. Web site: USS Ranger. America's Navy. America's Navy. 28 November 2016.
  13. News: Frantz. Douglas. Pilot Chalks Up First 'Warthog' Air Kill. 28 November 2016. LA Times. Los Angeles Times.
  14. Book: Yarsinske. Amy. An American in the Basement. 2013. Trine Day LLC. Walterville, OR. 9781937584214.
  15. Web site: Coalition Air Air Victories in Desert Storm. Estimative Error Probably. RJLee. 28 November 2016.
  16. Web site: A Brief History of Weird Shootdowns. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20161221134944/https://warisboring.com/a-brief-history-of-weird-shoot-downs-7a5bd5019563#.vd3lhem6m. dead. War is Boring. War is Boring. 28 November 2016. 2016-12-21.
  17. Web site: Dogfights of Desert Storm. Youtube. History. 28 November 2016.
  18. Web site: The EF-111 Raven Managed to Take Down an Iraqi Mirage… Without Ever Firing a Shot. Tactical Air Network. 10 September 2013. Tactical Air Network. 28 November 2016.
  19. Smithsonian Channel "Air Warriors" S10 E3
  20. Web site: [ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153060 ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153060]. Aviation Safety Net. Aviation Safety Net. 30 November 2016.
  21. Book: Mailes. Yancy. Mountain Home Air Force Base. 2007. Arcadia Publishing. Chicago. 9780738548050. 112.
  22. Book: Cooper. Tom. F-15C Eagle vs MiG-23/25: Iraq 1991. 2016. Osprey Publishing. 51. 28 November 2016. 9781472812711.
  23. Web site: Iraqi MiG-29 Pilot Explains how he was able to Shoot Down a RAF Tornado during Operation Desert Storm. 15 July 2019.