How to cripple an enemy Air Force | Flying Tornados in the Gulf War
2023 ж. 21 Қар.
466 250 Рет қаралды
Mal Craghill was the youngest Tornado Navigator of the Gulf War, and dropped the last RAF bomb of the war. He tells us about his experiences flying the Tornado GR-1 on cross-border combat missions into Iraq. Targeting airfields, these missions played a key role in crippling the Iraqi Air Force during Desert Storm.
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As an American this is probably my favorite British aircraft. My earliest memory of the war on television is watching the news with my grandfather. Seeing his battleship shoot missiles and shells. As well as seeing tomcats, and tornadoes on missions.
Its brilliant to learn people from your community celebrate the RAF. And with the movement towards inclusion, they celebrate you and your lifestyle too. thanks
Fantastic plane but for me it's the vulcan. The sound of that thing was terrifying
It‘s not a 100% British aircraft. Germany and Italy were also involved.
@@RayyMusik Thats true. I was always a fan that the British had a few versions of the aircraft.
for me, It's the Harrier, my first love of aviation. Along with Spitfire, it's really a masterpiece of British engineering
It is a great privilege to hear the stories from the people that were actually there. I love the Tornado. Being in Canada though, I've never seen one fly in real life. They are still one of the most bad-ass looking aircraft ( along with the F4 ), coming in low and fast, with it's wings swept back, looking like a bird of prey about to pounce on it's next meal. A huge thank you to all the men & women of the armed forces - past and present.
My Dad served in the RAF during the 70s and 80s so the Tornado was in active service. I saw many at station airshows. They were awesome at low level where they were essentially designed to operate, the F3 version (ironically the fighter variant) was particularly quick at very low level and often demonstrated this speed at Red Flag events. To RAF servicemen they were know as the Tonka (after the famous children's toy) as they were very hardy machines - again low level puts such stress on the airframe they needed to be somewhat over-engineered.
Unfortunately it depended on where you lived in Canada if you wanted to see Tornado’s, the RAF and German Air Force had Tornado’s permanently based at the Canadian Air Force Base at Goose Bay in Labrador for many years, they were used for low level practice.
They still fly in Germany and Italy, so you still have a chance!
@@InAMinMaths And Saudi, in fact the Saudi’s may end up as the last Air Force flying them, planned retirement is in the early 2030’s.
have a holiday in germany they are still flying tornados i think
I have been to this museum over ten times, seeing this very tornado every time. To have this such a personal story to go with it is fabulous. Respect to this man and all our armed forces alive or not. you lot do a job of a heros.
I was in LAARBRUCH RAFG when we converted to these, remember seeing them take off for the first time like it was yesterday, now they are in a museum. Oh well, getting old sucks!
Yes, it does!@@bepolite6961
Mal's gulf experience covered very well in John Nicol's book 'Tornado'. Respect to all of those crews
I feel unsure that the Tornado Force got due recognition for their hazardous JP233 attacks against the airfields. As an RAF pilot, I was on exchange at the time with the USAF at HQ TAC, as it then was, at Langley AFB, and I spent much time with the TAC/DO who had staff running the in-theatre CAOC. The TAC/DO at the time was a quite exceptional man who went on to great things in the USAF. The overheads of the JP233 attacks on runways were less convincing than Mk84/LGB craters on the runways, but the effect of the various JP233 munitions was just as debilitating to the airfields as the large and visible craters from a MK84 or other munition. I was not a Tornado man, and my knowledge of the JP233 was limited, but I tried to explain to the General that the overheads which showed more of an out of focus smudge, rather than a great big hole, did not mean that the attack had not been effective. Because of the total air supremacy that the coalition achieved in fairly short order, it meant that he could ask his folk to put some big holes in the runways to make him feel more confident that the runways had really been taken out - but by then, many of the Tornado attacks had achieved exactly what they were supposed to achieve, so the subsequent big holes were more icing on the cake rather than the immediate effect which had already been achieved. No criticism of the USAF desire to make certain - they could do it and had the firepower to do so - but the Tornado/JP233 attacks had done exactly what they were designed to do - and at some considerable risk to the crews. I flew Harriers during the Falklands, so I am well aware of how distracting AAA and other things can be. So well done to the folk who did what they did in a pretty hostile environment. All participants in that particular air war did a quite remarkable job.
The low level high speed run at night would be scary enough without being shot at or dropping bombs.
RESPECT to you Sir for your service in GR3 Harriers during the Falklands conflict.
I was a rigger on 3(f) at Gut, 85-89, then a year in Belize on Foxy-Golf.
Really humble navigator. Clearly mission focused, highly skilled and very young at the time. Lucky to come home…
Honestly such an educating and entertaining video, huge respect to these pilots and such a wonderful aircraft.
Mal has has great story telling skills, but his navigator skills were evidently even greater! I'm very happy they didn't get minced by the missile!
An honour to hear the story and the clear stress in his voice of those experiences. To him all who have served, thank you.
I remember Mal from flying training at RAF Finningley. It's scary how little he's changed from those days in the late 80s, still looks very much like the student Nav I knew! Good video, cheers mate.
What a lovely, lovely bloke, maximum respect for his role in Iraq. As a (very!) retired F4 and Tornado pilot I finished up in 1985 so didn't get out to the Gulf. Some of my mates (Harrier pilots seconded to the navy) went 'down south' in 1982 and certainly got some 'experience' against the Argentine air-force back then. Loved my time in the RAF, still keep in touch with many of of my (now getting a bit old) comrades!
My dad was a previous era RAF pilot from WW2 through to the early 70s, we lived on many stations and I loved being surrounded by the many aircraft types of those days...and the displays! Sometime in the early 70s he brought me home an enormous poster that was probably about 1 metre long (3 feet in those days!) of the Panavia MRCA which became the Tornado....wish I still had it.
Great to see this pilot talk about his combat missions with this amazing jet!
Lancasters and Tornados, different eras, different technologies, but two things remain the same: the bomber crews risking their lives over enemy territory with surface fire and enemy interceptors, and the skill and courage of the RAF aircrews remains resolutely the same, to get the needed jobs done.
Lancasters and Tornados and most importantly a dry sense of humor and a stiff upper lip, seriously though makes me proud to be British forever punching above our weight and rarely acknowledged for doing our bit
Another link between the two aircraft is in the shape of 617 squadron as this was the second squadron to have Tornado after IX squadron and was also equipped with Lancasters.
Lancaster faced far worse odds to be fair, not really comparable. The guys in those days faced life and death. These days everyone expects to come home.
@@ironmantooltime Did you miss the part a missile explode close enough to buffer the aircraft lol.
@@furiousscotsman2916 "lol" - ok. How many tornado crews died in the Iraq war? 1. They were shot down by a US patriot missile, aka friendly fire. The survival rate of Lancaster crews was 15%. Something like 25,000 crew died in Lancasters, fighting for your dumb@ss' freedom so you can "lol" at my comment.
Refreshingly frank narrative with well planned footage making for a valuable documentation of the difficulties faced by the RAF in Iraq.
If anyone is interested in hearing more, John Nichol's book, Tornado In the Eye of the Storm is a cracking read. Would highly recommend!
Excellent video. It's always great to hear about events from the actual people involved.
Great commentary spoken with modesty and respect! I enjoyed this video thank you!
i spent 11 years servicing the GR1 and F3 Tornado and was out in Saudi as part of the battle damage repair unit, fortunately we were never called upon. This has brought back many memories of our time there.
I had the privilege to add a minor part in the development of this 'majestic' aircraft. I have watched them at low level through the 'mach loop' utterly awesome. Just to listen this brave Man, describe in detail, how men and machine, risked life and limb, in combat, has left me in tears. Thank you for what you did, but also for sharing it with us.
It's good to hear an honest and open recollection of a horrible situation
3 minutes in and This is already a great Video 👍
thank you very much for that sure many of us can remember watching the little bits of vid on the news at that time of afterburners dissappearing off in to the night on what was probably some of the most difficult sorties, excellent insight in to a trip from inside the cockpit, thank you Mal and IWM for your trouble. a very good episode.
Absolutely the best presentation I have seen on this channel. Excellent work.
Thank you for that concise and comprehensive account of your activities during the Gulf War. It was fascinating and scary at times. Much appreciated👍
My dad served on an airfield with Tornados until the early 90s. He was no pilot, but a creative and well liked man. After his retirement, a formation of two visited us at home. Maybe 150m altitude, close formation, wings swept back, right over our kitchen window. I don't remember the sound, but i vividly remember the sight.
Fantastic video, what an insight into the crew, operations, and the aircraft.
Great video. Really enjoyed listening to the story told first hand
Really great Video ! An iconic aircraft.
Thank you, a very interesting presentation from someone who knows what they are talking about and was out on the front line. I live near the Cumbrian fells, and spend a lot of time on the fells, I love to see you guys training here, quite often the pilot is below me flying through Dunmail raise. Max respect for you guys.
Another great video IWM
Fascinating stories, I could listen to them all day, many thanks👏🏻👏🏻
If you already. Also, check out YT channels like @10 Percent True & @Aircrew Interview. There's loads of interviews like this on them.
Excellent video. I've heard much of the information before but it's completely transformed when hearing it first hand from the guys who were there actually flying these missions. Hats off to you and your colleagues, Mr Craghill, for doing such an outstanding job during the war.
A few years ago I visited the museum in Duxford and was very impressed with the collection of aircraft...I probably saw that famous Tornado too :) Today I regret that I didn't pay more attention to individual planes, because now I learn a lot more about their history and actions.
It's a real privilege to hear those men tells us the dreaded and intense experience they had during war time. The French did similar missions with the Mirage F-1 CT and Sepecat Jaguar A, and joint missions along RAF and USAF. Respect to all of them and admiration for their bravery.
How RAF Tornado's destroyed Saddam air force? Did they really? No, they did not, what complete rubbish. The Iraqi air force had approx 550 combat aircraft, about 250 Iraqi aircraft were lost on the ground, about 40 were shot down while about 200-250 were flown to Iran. The majority of Iraq's air force, were in effect, only obsolete, with little to nothing offensive, and little defensive, many without even a basic radar seeing them relying on ground control, making them of little combat value. Iraq also suffered from shortages of spare parts, and with their maintenance shortfalls, they offered up, pretty much nothing. The majority of their aircraft, like the MiG-21, were outdated and of no combat value. It was really only the MiG-29 one could consider viable, but even they were the export version, so very poor.
Loved hearing this, thank you.
The Tornado was an absolute beast.
We used to see them all the time flying low level in Scotland. I also went to the Falklands many years ago in a 747 leased by an oil company. Two tornados came out to escort us in. It was pretty cool 😎
Same as, I worked as a civvy at Mount pleasant & flew out & back on a RAF Tristar. We had an escourt flying back, 2 x tornado wingtip to wingtip with the navigator giving us a certain hand sign 😂, they escorted us for 10 mins & then peeled away & you could feel the power of the engines vibrate through the tristar.
As a child, I remember the Gulf War footage of the Tornado flying at low level over the desert. One day, on front of every paper were the bruised and battered faces of Nichol and Peters after ejecting from their Tornado. I also remember the interviews with Tornado pilot, Pablo Mason; now there is a name worth googling.
I used to live in an area of the countryside where the Tornadoes practiced in the 90s, the amount of times I have jumped when playing outside, then suddenly Roooooar!! as a Tornado jetted across the sky low flying.
It's good to hear the Air crews perspective of these missions and I have a respect for Pilots , specially those that go deep into enemy territory . The Tornado GR was a beast the Interceptor maybe not so much , how ever still an great aircraft . Thank you Mal Craghill
My mates dad was a tornado pilot and did this exact mission in the first and second gulf war was cool to hear his stories as a kid
Well done! Great video, great story! Keep on going!
Thank you for your candid talk. A brave man.
Thank you to Mr Craghill for sharing your experience.
That was fascinating, thank you.
Respect, Mal 🙏 Hey IWM. Love your work 👍
Great job; thank you for making a difference. At the time, the Tornado was one of only a few aircraft that could achieve Mach 1 at sea level condition.
Amazing story.. thanks for sharing with the world
FYI IWM, this aircraft is the GR1. The dash in 'GR-1' is an Americanism not used in the UK. Apart from that, love the Norfolk Land Shark! The JP233 mines were not just anti-personnel. They were designed to inhibit runway repair and would certainly do anti-personnel but also included a shaped charge. If bulldozed away they would topple over and detonate the penetrator, which was proved to go through the dozer blade, the engine and probably the driver too. Sadly, the GR1 that was lost with two flight commanders, ZA467, is thought to have flown into the ground during a night low-level attack. It is hard to overstate the difficulty of flying these sorts of profiles, at night and at heights way below those normally flown in peacetime, in an effort to avoid enemy air defences. The ground does indeed have a Pk of 1. Brave men all.
He did say the munition had two parts, one containing anti runway, one carrying anti personnel
@@heybabycometobutthead you may misunderstand. The cratering munitions contained a 2-stage shaped charge. They came down by parachute, punched a hole and then fired the second charge into the ground to heave the surface from below. The anti-personnel mines also contained a shaped charge. When they landed they stood up on little springy feet. If they got tipped over they fired their shaped charge at a slight up angle to disable the bulldozer.
What a bad ass looking jet. To think it was designed in the 60s is just crazy. Miss the sound of them as a kid when they flew around Northumberland. Respect to the navigator
My uncle worked on the prototype,it was out of date when finished! But still a great aircraft.
My father helped test & develop the RB199 engines that powered the tornado at the ngte, pyestock, Farnborough. Rip dad.
Thank you for your service
When we talk about hero's, legends etc. These are the real hero's. The men and women that put themselves at risk at the command of often crazy politicians. Thank you for your service one and all. The Tornado was a fabulous aircraft, saw plenty at air displays and one particular display at Southport Beach where two of them went through a full attack display. Seeing them coming in from distance diving down and then splitting off from one another to enact an attack ....incredible
School freind Gary Lennox gave his life during this conflict,he was a great guy.
Flying for a HEMS unit right over the peri fence at RAF Waddington, I was privileged last year ( 2022) to see the German Airforce join a joint Exercise with a Squadron of their Tornadoes- yes they still have them although I don’t think fir much longer. Fantastic to see!
Back in the 50/60s the Promissory note was called the Ghoolie Chit.
I love the Tornado jet fighter. It's a beast. I adore it's engines roar when it goes in low and fast. But what I like most about it, is that it brought back home so many of our war fighting heroes. Sir, I love the Tornado for bringing you and your pilot back home. Keep you attitude. There is no shame in getting caught by those experiences.
Thank you.
They reminded me of the landspeeder off star wars the movie flying so low beneath the radar because you could see the shadow on the desert floor! I couldn’t believe a fighting jet could do this
Hey there, love your videos, what software you use for editing? Can you please share??
Thanks IWM for the video. Thanks Mal to you & all your comrades for your bravery & service ! (Nuff said from me, far better comments below).
Amazing document.
“This aircraft was a dream to fly”… as an RAF ATCO having served at a Tornado base, I’ve never heard a single GR4 pilot say that. More often, “This jet tries to kill you” 😂
Fascinating!! And the Tornado is such a beautiful aircraft.
You, sir - and your comrades have my upmost respect....
when i finished my apprenticeship at Marconi i worked in airborne systems division building the TI and fox hunter systems for the Tornado...great job.
Incredible video IWM! Thank you to Mr Craghill for sharing your experience. Thank you for your service and your bravery.
What a remarkable guy, fantastic video guys.
as someone with an Anglo-French upbringing and heritage,on my british side,my cousin Lesley,her other half Peter(Fenlon-Smith) flew Tornados during the Gulf war and was mentioned in dispatches and on my french side,one of my cousins on the other side of the channel,before joining the national police force in 1994,served in the military and was in one of the Divison Daguet's reconnaissance units.Their job was to cross the border on the left flank and advanced into Iraq three hours before the French main body of troops attacked.A very surreal moment to have two cousins on active combat duty in the same war,one in the air and the other on the ground.
I miss seeing the Tonka in our skies!
Thank You Sir (:
True living history. Respect.
Mal and (Mike, mentioned much later) on FK, wow. 6 weeks. Imagine 30 missions WWII. Good history. Heroes.
Absolutely fascinating, an insight into what actually happens. Explained by a very brave and knowledgeable guy
Gulf War is still vivid in my memories, was the first major conflict I saw in my life
I was at RAF Waddington for 3 years and we were phasing out the Vulcan when I left for Germany. I spent 3 years on 17(F) squadron, helped set up the tornado squadron at RAF Bruggen in 1984 when we phased out the jag.
Some of the in cockpit footage looks familiar. Years ago i had a vhs about the tornado which featured it, id love to get a copy somewhere.
Brilliant story and very insightful. I was stationed in Germany on an EW Range at Borholzhausen and was part of the Tonka Sqns work up for deploying. I was also deployed to RSAF Tabuk for the duration of the Gulf War and randomly had my photo taken next to Foxy Killer (she had the best name) and on my return home, I was fortunate enough to be able to get a Sqn Print of FK signed by the POW aircrew including John Nichols and I have built the kit of FK! I plan to go to Duxford and recreate the photo of a young me standing next to the legendary Foxy Killer, just wish they would paint her in her Gulf colours. For a really good insight into the Tornado and crews flying during the Gulf War, read John Nichols - Tornado. Great read.
The turbo fan leaky can. RB199. The engine that could shove the flying brick around the place in the most noisy way possible. Mostly good memories of the GR1 - Op Granby. Even ended up RHWR system while at the Air warfare centre. Ex 14 Sqn member - I spread my wings and keep my promise.
interesting video, I worked on JP233 for 6 yrs in the 1980s.
In my opinion, the Tornado GR.1, Saab Viggen, and Saab Grypen are the 3 best old school airframes in Europe.
The Saab Gripen entered service in ‘96.
Thank you..........
good video
The Tornados of various services were also used in the Bosnian War, Kosovo War, Iraq War, in Libya during the 2011 Libyan civil war, as well as smaller roles in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria. Including all variants, 990 aircraft were built.
Very reassuring
I met Mike some years ago now, at his house in M. My friend and I built a thing made of wood for his boys.. Real pleasant man. I asked him how fast he flew Tornado, he replied words to the effect, "Not that fast, but when you are flying at around 600 knots only a few hundred feet above the ground things do seem to go by quite quickly".
Love this kind of program I can relate to the people who died the night before you went out my granddad severed in the RAF and he told me the story’s about the war
These aircrews had the biggest cahones .I remember watching videos of them flying low level in the war , f***ing awesome .Tornado is one sexy beast
this was really interesting. thanks for posting the interview. I signed up to the RAF in 1990 when I left school, then changed my mind when I had to wait 12 weeks for basic training. grr I would have been out there getting shot at too
I doubt it. Only 6.75% of RAF personnel were deployed and with less than a years service you would have been well down the list for getting sent. I volunteered and still didnt go.
Thank you for your fine service to our country Mal.
Seems like a decent, professional bloke.
Beautiful Warbird
Really interesting stuff on escape and evasion - it would be really interesting to have a video about what happens to pilots ejecting over hostile country.
Look for clip about John Peters & John Nichols - they were the poster POW’s for gW1
A lot of their shall we say techniques, are covered under the official secrets act...
Fantastic account
Amazing insight into the air-warfare in the Gulf War, the promissory note is fascinating . I loved the Tornado, shame it had such a short life-span .
As is written, approaching Bagdad and having your target downtown seemed to be looking at a fireworks display from port... Once the aircraft turned to it's initial waypoint to drop bombs you were going straight for the fireworks, realizing it was anti air fire... Bombardiers would set their seat to the lowest position, so to focus on the map screen and not outside.. Tornado's were the perfect aircraft in the Gulf War, with all risks calculated they suffered some important losses but changed the whole Ground War destroying important Iraqi airfields like H2 and H3..
As a young American child living in a rural area in the Rocky Mountains, because of what l had learnt about the British in the Amaerican Revolutionary war and the war of 1812, I was not happy about those people who lived across the pond. My teachers explained we were great allies now and my dad and uncle who fought in WW2, had only glowing things to say about their British counterparts. I guess since I heard about them being our enemies first was what determined that. By the time I had become a teenager and by watching a lot of war documentaries on the boob tube, I realized my suspicions were based on things which happened over 150+ years earlier were rather silly. Now after two world wars, Korea, and a whole slew of wars and skirmishes our two countries have fought together, I have nothing but deep respect which only grows more fervent as I age. I pray and hope the respect and friendship only gets stronger. The videos which pit America against the rest of the world in an imaginary war really piss me off. I never want to even think about a war between America and Britain...or even Canada. Good friends always have each others backs. Sir, I salute you for you doing your duty which was very dangerous, a duty it seems you never hesitated to do, and I think it's awesome you drop the last RAF (I really hope I got that right.) bomb in that war. That makes a great story to tell your grandkids. God bless you and yours.
I appreciate your honesty; ist sad that they taught that, but it wasn't Americans against British. It was some British colonists, French and Indians against some British colonists, British regulars and some Indians. The American war of independence was Americas first civil war. Since independence its been spun as a story to unite Americans against a then common enemy. George Washington was a proud Englishman till the day he died.
I have seen them taking off from Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. They were VERY LOUD!
Very interesting.
I was fortunate enough to work on a decommissioned RAF airfield in Norfolk 2014-2017. I saw the Tornados flying in the skies overhead most days, along with the occasional F15 from Lincolnshire. They didn't use the airfield but they certainly used it's airspace. It was fantastic to see them every time. Sad to see them go. I wish they had been supplied to Ukraine to help them, but sadly not. SUPERB aircraft, by all accounts. Whatever the political motivations, you guys are heroes in my eyes even though you were just doing your job. Deep respect and thanks.