Operation Crescent Wind

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Operation Crescent Wind
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Date7 October 2001 – 17 December 2001
Location
Afghanistan
Result US-UK victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 		Flag of the Taliban.svg Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United States.svg Tommy Franks
Flag of the United States.svg Charles F. Wald 		Flag of the Taliban.svg Muhammad Omar
Units involved

Flag of the United States Air Force.svg United States Air Force

Flag of the United States Navy.svg United States Navy

Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy

Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Royal Air Force
Casualties and losses
3 killed (friendly fire) 6,000+ killed total from Oct–Nov. 2001 (including casualties from the ground war) [1]
3,100–3,600 civilian deaths [2]

Operation Crescent Wind was the codename for the American and British air campaign over Afghanistan in October and November 2001. The bombing campaign was aided by British special forces troops on the ground to provide targeting information for airstrikes. The campaign significantly weakened the Taliban, paving the way for offensives by the Northern Alliance to take place in November which quickly overran Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan.

Contents

Opening strikes

The initial strikes were launched from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri with two B-2 bombers of the 509th Bomb Wing taking off on the night of 7 October, followed by two on the nights of 8 October and 9 October as well. These bombers refueled with the help of KC-10 and KC-135 tankers of the 60th and 349th Mobility Wings along with the 319th Reconnaissance Wing with coordination by the Eighteenth Air Force, first doing so off the coast of California, followed Hawaii, Guam, and the Strait of Malacca, then a fifth refueling near Diego Garcia before striking their targets in Afghanistan with GBU-31 JDAMs. After delivering their ordnance, the B-2s turned back to receive a final refueling over the Indian Ocean before landing at Andersen Air Force Base. At this point the crews were swapped with the replacement crews who flew the B-2s back to Whiteman in Missouri. It took 30 hours of flying just to reach targets in Afghanistan, with the original crews flying 44 hours and 20 minutes total at the longest, and the aircraft operating for 70 hours in total. The operation remains the longest combat bombing sortie in history. [3]

Initial targets included command and control nodes, Taliban Air Defenses, as well as the modest Taliban Air Force, with the airports of Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Zaranj and Mazar-i-Sharif being targeted. The Taliban were believed to have had 40 pilots capable of getting some 50 MiG-21s and Su-22s airborne, though there was less concern about these as traditional interceptors as there was about them eventually being loaded with explosives and used to suicide bomb American encampments. [4]

The opening night's B-2 strike was followed by ten B-52s and either five or eight B1Bs of 28th Bomb Wing from Andersen Air Force Base striking with both JDAMs and Mk 82 unguided bombs, with F-14Ds of VF-213 from CVW-11 of the USS Carl Vinson participating in the strikes with GBU-16s and 12s, while also armed with AIM-54Cs, AIM-7Ms and AIM-9Ls to provide top cover in the low chance of Taliban interceptors. Assistance was also provided by E2Cs from VAW-117. [5] [6] [7] [8] While some of the aircrews on the first night reported encountering AAA and MANPAD SAM fire, Taliban aircraft never left the ground, and virtually the entirety of their air force was destroyed in the first night. [9]

A few hours after the initial strikes, the USS Carl Vinson was joined by the USS Enterprise with more F-14As of VF-41 and EA-6Bs of VAQ-141 from CVW-8. [5] and later by HMS Trafalgar and HMS Triumph, who launched cruise missiles along with the Vinson and Enterprise. [4]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-14</span> United States Navy aviation squadron

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-31</span> Military unit

VFA-31 or Strike Fighter Squadron 31 is known as the Tomcatters, callsign "Felix", a United States Navy strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet. The Tomcatters are the second oldest Navy Fighter Attack squadron operating today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-213</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-41</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-32</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-103</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-147</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-2</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-11</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-146</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-154</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-81</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Air Wing Two</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-192</span> Military unit

Strike Fighter Squadron 192 (VFA-192), also known as the "World Famous Golden Dragons", are a United States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter squadron stationed at NAS Lemoore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Air Wing Eight</span> Military unit

Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Air Wing Eleven</span> Military unit

Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Air Wing Seventeen</span> United States Navy aviation wing

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The 2001 Bombing of Kandahar was a series of military operations conducted in and around Kandahar, Afghanistan, during October 2001, as part of the start of the United States' military operations in Afghanistan.

References

  1. ↑ "Afghanistan News Center – "Over 6,000 killed, Taliban still prepared to fight"".
  2. ↑ "Select a file and format for downloading". Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Haulman, Daniel L. (December 2016). "44 Hours" (PDF). Air Force Magazine . 33–37.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. 1 2 Lambeth, Benjamin S. (2001). Air Power Against Terror: America's Conduct of Operation Enduring Freedom. p. 84. ISBN   9780833040534.
  5. 1 2 Holmes, Tony (2012). F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Enduring Freedom. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 26. ISBN   9781782006732.
  6. ↑ Lambeth, pp. 78-80
  7. ↑ Maloney, Sean M. (2005). Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan. p. 43. ISBN   9781574889536.
  8. ↑ Lambeth, Benjamin S. (18 December 2007). Combat Pair: The Evolution of Air Force-Navy Integration in Strike Warfare. RAND Corporation. p. 50. ISBN   9780833044327.
  9. ↑ Lambeth, p.84

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