Iraqi Jets Buried in Sand

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-08-03 01:13am

The last estimate I saw for the Iraqi air force was 180-300 aircraft off all types, some inoperable or flying with reduced capability. Basically all there Su-24's did escape and the remainder along with there H-6's where destroyed when twenty F-111's there base. The Tu-22's also where hit hard.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-08-03 01:57am

I think I'm going to cry. Here's how well they were buried:

StarshipTitanic · Post by **StarshipTitanic** » 2003-08-03 02:05am

That looks ransacked, not buried. Look at the plastic wrapping near the bottom and the lack of a canopy.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-08-03 02:08am

StarshipTitanic wrote:That looks ransacked, not buried. Look at the plastic wrapping near the bottom and the lack of a canopy.

The canopy is unhinged- it's still there. The plastic wrapping was probably on there before they opened it up to see what it was- buggered if I know who took off the nose cose (exposing the laser rangefinder) or opened up the panel.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-08-03 05:06am

Vympel wrote:I think I'm going to cry. Here's how well they were buried:

It might have been uncovered partially by the time that photograph was taken.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-08-03 05:07am

Vympel wrote:
The canopy is unhinged- it's still there. The plastic wrapping was probably on there before they opened it up to see what it was- buggered if I know who took off the nose cose (exposing the laser rangefinder) or opened up the panel.

I'd hope that was us and that the Iraqis really were not stupid enough to bury an aircraft in the sand with those parts removed.

Axis Kast · Post by **Axis Kast** » 2003-08-03 09:53am

Well, the wrecks that they littered around the airfields to distract attention from the nearby aircraft they hid in relaitve plain sight (hiding a plane in a cemeterary for example) had to come from somewhere. 300-400 aircraft sounds awfully high- does that factor in the aircraft that went to Iran, for example?

The planes might have been buried at a more obvious location than not, though consider that our satellites still didn't manage to find them in the work-up to war. Visual confirmation after the fact would still have - and did - require people on the ground, in-country.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-08-03 04:36pm

Vympel wrote:I think I'm going to cry. Here's how well they were buried:

Looks like the wind did a lot of the excavation work.

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-08-03 06:14pm

Vympel wrote:I think I'm going to cry. Here's how well they were buried:

Wow, if they buried their WMDs as well as that, all we needed to do was get them to bury them and let nature do the rest.