Iraqi errors report - Part 2

[Marcello]

The first post on iraqi air assets, some changes for aviation weapons and planes.

Weapon n.182: 12.7mm Gat
It could be be renamed 7.62mm TMP-5. This was a gun pod housing two 7.62mm machine guns and was the gun armament of choice for the western supplied helicopters and light turboprop attack planes.

Weapon n. 187: 23mm GSh-23L
It should be overwritten with weapon n.39 12.7mm (4) YaKB from OOB 11 Russia
Currently it equips only unit n. 125 Mi-25, but the iraqi Mi-25s actually carried the 12.7mmYaKB.

Weapon n. 194: 50kg Bomb could be overwritten with weapon n.195 100kg Bomb from russian OOB.

100kg bombs (FAB-100 and similar) were used in substantial numbers.Given the shortage of weapon slots I suggest overwriting weapon 194 because the 50kg bomb was.
a)Far less frequently used.
b)The units which are currently using it would have to be rearmed with something else anyway.

Weapon n. 245: 1000kg Bomb could be overwritten with weapon n.196 500lb Bomb from OOB 7 Great Britain.

The use of bombs of size greater than 500kg is not documented, that is not surprising as the iraqis had in their arsenals weapons that were hardly ever used, for various reasons. 500lb Bomb would be more useful in order to arm early british supplied planes.

Weapon n.199: HE Cluster Bomb
HE penetration should be reduced drastically.
The iraqis used several specialized antipersonnel cluster bombs, ranging from RBKs filled with HE bomblets to purpose built south african CB470 with bouncing submunitions. Such weapons would have only a very limited, if any, effect on armored targets.

Unit 129 Gladiator
It should be rearmed with two weapons 191 50lb Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3
It seems logical that both bombs would have been dropped at the same time.

Unit 130: Fury FB.11
1)FC rating is too high, it should be lowered to 5 as it would be more consistent with aircrafts of that vintage.
2)It could be rearmed with two 500lb bombs, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3

Unit 131: Beaufighter X
It could be deleted : one source mentions it but it seems it was a misreading of primary sources where transport planes were mistaken for Beaufighters. There is no other mention of it nor of any combat use.

Unit 133: DH-112
1) Bombs in slots 2-3-4 should be deleted and replaced with two weapon n.198 1000lb Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3
2) Final availability date should be extended to 12/1967.
They still equipped a fighter squadron during the Six Days War, they were replaced only in 1968.

Sources for the above and the following posts are

Acig.org
In particular articles such as:
Iraqi Air Force Since 1948, Part 1
Iraqi Air Force since 1948, Part 2
I Persian Gulf War: Iraqi Invasion of Iran, September 1980
Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982

Which can be found here

Arab Air Forces on 5 June 1967
Which can be found here

Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 units in combat by Nicolle,Tom Cooper
Iraqi fighters 1953-2003: Camouflage & Markings (excerpts)
Plus various others sources.

[Marcello]

Unit 124: Mi-24
It should be deleted, Iraq did not get this version.

Unit 125: Mi-25
1) Initial availability date changed to 1/1980
2) Weapon n.145 Malyutka ATGM should be replaced with weapon n. 147 Falanga ATGM
3) Weapon n.185 2x 57mm S-5K in slots 2 and 3 replaced by weapon n. 186 4x 57mm S-5 with 16 HE rounds for each

A typical load would have been four UB-32 32 rounds rocket pods and Falanga ATGMs, as seen in this captured iraqi example.




Note also the standard 12,7mm gatling as gun armament; as noted previously iraqi Mi-24s did not carry 23mm guns.



Source for the pictures: http://www.fas.org

Unit 135 J-6
It has a wrong armament and is redundant, I suggest it to be deleted.

Unit 136: J-6
1) Availability date should be changed to 1/1983-12/1986
2) EW rating should be reduced to 0
3) Rocket ammo in slots 2-3 should be reduced from 5 to 4.
4) FC rating could be reduced to 7

The reduction in rocket ammo would make it consistent with four 8 rounds rocket pods, a typical MiG-19/J-6 load, or two UB-16 16 rounds pods. 57mm S-5 rockets were usually carried in pods with 8 16 or 32 rockets capacity. These were pretty spartan planes, lacking EW equipment and with a very short lifespan.

Unit 139: MiG-17D
1) Renamed MIG-17F (the iraqis got MiG-17F and MiG-17PF versions)
2) Availability dates could be changed to 1/1959-12/1973
3) It should be rearmed with two weapons n. 194, one in slot 3 and an other in slot 4.

Unit 140: MiG-17F
1) Final availability date restricted to 12/1973
2)Ammo load for weapon 186 4x 57mm S-5 in slot 3 would be reduced from 5 to 4 rounds, consistent with two pods carrying 8 rockets each.
3) Speed could be lowered to 11 (consistent with Unit 134 MiG-17F value in the Russian OOB)

Unit 141: MiG-17PF
1) Availability dates changed to 1/1959-12/1973
2) It could be rearmed with two weapon n. 196 250kg Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3
3) Speed could be lowered to 11

Unit 142: MiG-19S
1) Rocket ammo in slots 2-3 should be reduced from 5 to 4.
2) Final availability date could be restricted to 12/1970 or 12/1973 (they were already being phased out in 1967)
3) FC rating could be reduced to 7

[Marcello]

Unit 143: MiG-21MF.
1)Fire Control should be increased to 10.
2)EW should be increased to 1, the plane did have a RWR.
3)Armament would changed to two weapon n. 196 250kg Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3.

The MiG-21MF gunsight, bombsight and EW equipment were comparable or more advanced than those installed on the MiG-21PFM. I suggested rearming it two 250kg bombs because there is already one MiG-21 available with 500kg bombs and two 250kg bombs was apparently a more common armament anyway. The performance penalty (loss of range etc.) from carrying two 500Kg bombs was reportedly very high.

Unit 144: MiG-21PF
1) Night vision rating should be reduced to zero:
2) Rocket ammo in slots 2-3 should be reduced from 8 to 4. The plane carried two UB-16 rocket pods with 16 rockets each.

Unit 145: MiG-21PFM
Night vision rating should be reduced to zero.

The MiG-21PF lacked a gun while the PFM could at least carry a gunpod in the ventral hardpoint.
These MiG-21s did not have any optical night vision systems or a radars capable of detecting a ground target; insofar ground attacks went they were purely day fighters.


Units 150-151: Su-7BMK
1) Night vision rating should be reduced to zero.
2) EW rating should be reduced to 1.
3) Final availability date should be changed to 12/1986.
4) Unit 150 should be rearmed with four 250kg bombs (weapon n.196) , two in slot 2 and another two in slot 3.


Unit 123 SA-342K
Weapon n.233 7.62mm NF1 MG in slot 1 should be deleted

No machine guns were reportedly carried together with the HOT missiles and in any case doing so would have meant reducing the number of missiles carried. Four HOT missiles was the typical fit.

Unit 121 SA-341H
1) Name change to SA-342K
2) Final availability date extended to 12/1991
3) Weapon n. 145 Malyutka ATGM replaced by weapon n. 163 HOT ATGM with two rounds of ammunition

According to some sources such a mixed HOT/Strela armament was used to counter the threat posed by iranian Cobra gunships. according to SIPRI versions supplied were SA-342K and SA-342L

Unit 127: H-500D
1)It should be rearmed with weapon n. 182.
2)night vision rating could be reduced to 10 or 0.


Unit 128 MDH-530MF
1) Armament could be changed to weapon n. 213 2x Hydra 70 with six rounds of HE ammunition.
2) night vision rating could be reduced to 10 or 0.


Units 187-188 Il-28
1) The weapons in slot 3 for both units could be deleted; max practical bomb load was eight FAB-250 or four FAB-500
2) Final availability date should be restricted to 12/1982. The sources indicate that the iraqi Il-28 were, if not already out of service at the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, at the end of their service lives.

Unit 189 Il-28
It could be deleted,
It has incorrect armament, besides units 187-188 are sufficient.

Unit 119: MB-339
It could be deleted.
Italian sources which MB-339 don’t mention Iraq as being supplied with them, nor there are mentions anywhere of its combat use in the iraqi air force.

Unit 963: AH-1 Cobra/TOW
Initial availability date should be pushed forward to 1/2015.
Insofar it is known there are no plans to purchase Cobra gunships, nor the US has many to spare to start with. Still I would wait before deleting it.