American F-14 Tomcat fighter. Photo: Playbuzz.

August 19, 1981 was an important milestone for the American F-14 Tomcat fighter line. That was the first time it performed an air-to-air combat mission and shot down an enemy fighter, according to Aviationist.

In 1974, Colonel Gaddafi, leader of Libya at that time, declared that the country’s territorial waters extended to latitude 32°30′. This is considered inconsistent with international law, but the US has not responded. Even when American reconnaissance aircraft were attacked in this area, President Jimmy Carter still ordered the 6th Fleet to stay away from the area.

However, when President Ronald Reagan came to power, everything changed. He ordered the US navy to conduct a Freedom of Navigation (FON) operation, culminating in a missile launch exercise in waters that Libya considered its territorial waters.

In August 1981, the US Navy conducted the FON campaign with the participation of the aircraft carriers USS Forrestal and USS Nimitz, aiming to demonstrate to Tripoli that Washington is serious about the right to deploy naval power in national waters. international.

The rules of engagement for FON operations allow commanders in the field to take whatever action is necessary without orders from higher levels, but fighter pilots are not allowed to fire unless under attack.

To deal with the US Navy, Libya deployed fighters and fighter bombers such as the Soviet-made Su-22, Mig-23 and Mig-25, along with French Mirage F-1 and Mirage 5D fighters.

When the FON campaign began on August 18, 1981, a MiG-25 squadron approached the US aircraft carrier group, but was quickly attacked by F-4J fighters on the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier and F-4 fighters. 14 on the USS Nimitz launched a blocking sortie.

On the first day, Libyan aircraft sortied about 35 times to spy on the US aircraft carrier. Even though no fighting broke out, American fighters and the Libyan air force still performed many dangerous maneuvers.

The Libyan Air Force moved to a higher state of combat readiness on the second day. On the morning of August 19, two American F-14 fighters controlled by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Kleemann and Lieutenant Larry Muczynski were on combat patrol off the coast of Libya when they discovered a Su-22 fighter squadron approaching.

“Apparently they came towards us and flew to an altitude of 6 km above us, then accelerated to 1,000 km/h. Kleemann’s plane was in the lead and I was at the 3 o’clock position about 1.6 to 3.2 km away from him. When approaching the Libyan aircraft, we saw that they had very good ground guidance forces. Every time we turned to take advantage, they also turned to neutralize them. “, Muczynski recalls.

The two F-14s could not gain an initial advantage over the Su-22 fleet. The American pilot decided to turn on maximum power mode and accelerate to 926 km/h.

Su-22 aircraft of the Libyan Air Force. Photo: Photobucket.

When Kleemann’s plane was more than 300 meters away from the enemy, he banked to the left to pass and identify the enemy. But at this time, a halo of fire appeared on the left side of the Libyan lead plane when the rocket engine activated. A large yellow streak of light and smoke rushed out of the plane and headed toward Kleemann. It then circled toward Muczynski’s planes but none of them were hit.

After firing missiles at the US F-14 fleet, the two Libyan Su-22s were considered to have declared war and the US pilots had the right to fire back.

Kleemann chased the lead Su-22 but when he saw Muczynski’s plane approaching the target, he turned around to aim at the plane behind. When about 1.2 km away from the enemy, Kleemann launched an AIM-9L missile, hitting the tail of the Su-22, causing it to somersault. The Libyan pilot quickly ejected his parachute to escape.

Muczynski then launched a missile to shoot down the remaining Su-22 aircraft. The enemy pilot also ejected from the plane, but Muczynski did not see the parachute open. The two F-14s then returned safely to the aircraft carrier, while the Libyan side began a search and rescue operation for the pilots.

An hour later, two MiG-25 fighters flew at a speed of Mach 1.5 toward the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. But F-14 fighters launched interceptors, forcing them to turn back.

The air battle between the F-14 and Su-22 marked the first real combat of the F-14, and was also the first air battle between swing-wing fighters. The battle took place in less than 45 seconds, from the time the Libyan plane launched a missile until the second Su-22 was shot down.