Operation Prime Chance

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Operation Prime Chance
Part of the
M2 machine gun, an 81 mm Mark 2 mortar, and a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher.
Location
Persian Gulf
Planned byUnited States Special Operations Command
DateAugust 1987 – June 1989
OutcomeOperational success
Casualties5 Iranian killed, 26 Iranian captured (during raid on Iran Ajr only)[1]
Other parts of the operation are not included in this number

Operation Prime Chance (August 1987 – June 1989) was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S.-flagged oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation took place roughly at the same time as Operation Earnest Will (July 1987 – September 1988), the largely naval effort to escort the tankers through the Persian Gulf. The operation was begun after the mining of the U.S.-flagged Kuwaiti oil tanker Bridgeton.

Overview

The two operations were intertwined—

explosive ordnance disposal operated from the barges as well. But while Earnest Will was the widely publicized reaction to Kuwaiti pleas for help, Prime Chance was secret.[2]

The army helicopters flew at night, slipping to and from navy flight decks under cover of darkness. The helicopter pilots often flew some 30 feet (9.1 m) above the water, and became the first to use

SH-60 Seahawk helicopters for the same purpose on ship-launched efforts.[2]

Planning

Planning and preparation for Prime Chance was launched soon after a tanker on the very first Earnest Will

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) reached the navy's command ship La Salle
in the Persian Gulf on 5 August 1987.

The detachment was divided into two teams, with call sign SEABAT and one MH-6 Little Bird, two AH-6s, aircrew, and maintainers. On 8 August, one detachment participated in a convoy escort mission aboard La Salle. The other flew onto the

Farsi Island. The following day, the La Salle detachment transferred to the frigate Jarrett and escorted the convoy to the Gulf of Oman
.

Execution

An aerial view of the leased barge Hercules with three Mark III patrol boats and the tugboat Mister John H tied up alongside in the northern Persian Gulf.

Soon afterward, operations began from the barges, dubbed Mobile Sea Bases (MSBs). They were set up as

combat controllers.[3]

Mobile Sea Base Hercules was crewed by East Coast naval special warfare units, including Patrol Boats 777 and 758 from Special Boat Unit 20 and Special Boat Unit 24. Mobile Sea Base Wimbrown 7 was crewed by West Coast units, including Patrol Boats 753 and 757 from Special Boat Unit 13 and Patrol Boats 775 and 776 from Special Boat Unit 12.[3]

On 21 September 1987,

miniguns and rockets. A SEAL team boarded the vessel and quickly seized it. During the attack, five Iranians were killed and 26 were captured. Several Iranian sailors were rescued from the waters of the Persian Gulf after jumping overboard during the attack. After collecting intelligence data the SEALs and EOD scuttled the vessel the following day.[4]

In January 1988, Task Force 118 arrived with

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
helicopters.

Earnest Will ended about five months after the Iran-Iraq ceasefire began in July 1988. Wimbrown 7 soon returned to port, but Prime Chance patrols continued from Hercules until June 1989.[3]

Units

Ships involved in Prime Chance include:

Units involved in Prime Chance include:

References

  1. ^ "Caught In The Act" Time Magazine. 5 October 1987.
  2. ^ a b "Night Stalker History – Operations Earnest Will and Prime Chance". Nightstalkers.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2002. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "The History of the boats in the Persian Gulf". Warboats.org. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  4. ^ "No Higher Honor: Photos: Capture of the Iran Ajr". Navybook.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d Zimmerman, Dwight Jon (27 June 2013). "Operations Prime Chance and Praying Mantis: USSOCOM'S First Test of Fire". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Crist, David M. (Winter 2001–2002). "Joint Special Operations in Support of Earnest Will". Joint Forces Quarterly (29). Archived from the original on 2 April 2003. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  7. ISBN 1-59114-661-5
    .
  8. ^ "Chapter 6 - 1989 DAHSUM". www.history.army.mil. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  9. ISBN 1-55571-493-5
    .
  10. ^ "527882.jpg". U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Prime Chance.

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