Lightning for Iraq?

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TomCooper
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اشترك في: الأربعاء نوفمبر 03, 2010 11:01 am

Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة TomCooper » الأربعاء نوفمبر 03, 2010 11:28 am

In 1964, Iraq was apparently interested in purchasing the English Electric Lightning interceptor, and at least some steps have been taken to test-fly the aircraft in the UK and open corresponding negotiations.

Has anybody got closer details about the results of testing and why Iraq then ordered additional Hunters instead of Lightnings?

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TangoIII
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Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة TangoIII » الأربعاء نوفمبر 03, 2010 3:24 pm

Hello to you, Mr. Cooper and welcome here in this forum and we hope to benefit from you and your writing about the Iraqi air force and more achievements from you in general.

Seems that the British government was intending to sell around 30-40 aircraft Lightnings to the countries of the Middle East, and has offered aircraft on both the Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.

It seems that the Iraqi government which was engaged in the war against the Kurds in northern Iraq, which contracted for Hunter aircrafts in 1963-24 planes - Attack ground fighter- back and contracted to buy more planes Hunter - 18 aircraft - In 1965. That have proven better in carrying out fire support , the urgent need for these aircraft in fire support role to Iraqi forces in its war against Kurdish guerrillas did not prefer aircraft type Lightning as fighter interceptor, and others can't carry out the fire support that the Iraqi Army needs in its operations, add to that the Lightning was carry only two missiles air - air, a heavy twin-engined plane not characterized by high maneuvering and Iraq had at the time an aircraft MiG -21 the better-armed and maneuvering.
I think that the Iraqi Air Force has always been preferred light aircraft fighter single-engine for air combat missions.

TomCooper
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اشترك في: الأربعاء نوفمبر 03, 2010 11:01 am

Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة TomCooper » الأربعاء نوفمبر 03, 2010 8:43 pm

Thanks a lot for your welcome and explanation, Tango.

Sounds quite logical to me: under the given circumstances, it's obvious that the "Hunter option" was more appropriate to requirements.

Nevertheless, if somebody happens to know any kind of related details about that decision-making process, or has any kind of documents or publications related to them, I'd be very thankful to see or hear about them. I'd like not only to mention, but also properly describe this episode in the coming Volume 2 of the "Arab MiGs" series of books (for details about Volume 1 of that series, which describes also the Iraqi MiG-17 operations, please see here).

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Khalid
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Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة Khalid » السبت ديسمبر 11, 2010 1:32 pm

Hello Tom...

I have found by chance the memoirs of an old veteran Iraqi jet fighter pilot who participated in many events, including the test drive of the Lightning...

I will upload it soon, so stay tuned :)
Ethics, Faith, Courage.

Mig_25_pilot
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اشترك في: الأربعاء ديسمبر 15, 2010 9:55 pm

Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة Mig_25_pilot » الأربعاء ديسمبر 15, 2010 10:10 pm

Mr.Cooper
nice to see you, i have only recently read your book (iraq-iran war in the air 1980-1988) and thank you for it although and may be due to your resources, you have taken the iranin side of most stories and many iraqi pilots who read your book found it biased towards iran, i will give you one example : do you think it is possible for a pair of F-5E to shoot down a Mig-25PDS flying at 65000 feet + at mach 2.4 with guns!!
no less than 8 aircraft including 2 f-14's took part and he was shot down by a AIM-54 from 60 miles away!
no aircraft was even within 30 miles of him to shoot him wih guns let alone see him in his cockpit!
RIP mohammed

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Khalid
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Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة Khalid » الخميس ديسمبر 16, 2010 5:29 pm

MiG-25 pilot, welcome here Sir...

I think I have seen many of your posts in the web, aren't you the one who managed to ran away from F-15s during Desert Storm by flying fast into the Jordanian air space?

About Lt. Col. Mohammed Rayyan... another MiG-25 pilot told me that he indeed got martyred, but not in the Iranian war, he was shoot down during Desert Storm by a USAF F-15C

May I ask Sir about your rank?
Ethics, Faith, Courage.

Mig_25_pilot
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اشترك في: الأربعاء ديسمبر 15, 2010 9:55 pm

Re: Lightning for Iraq?

مشاركة بواسطة Mig_25_pilot » الأحد ديسمبر 19, 2010 5:08 pm

thank you
that was during 1994-1995 and those were jordanian f-16A, BUT WE DID OUTRUN SAUDI F-15's
i just was to point out that Mr.Cooper was very biased to iran, and he knows that the iranian airforce is out of the battle starting late 1985, i spent the whole war flying, started with 17th sq. on mig-21 then 39th sq on mig 23 then 84th sq on mig 25, we had non iraqi adviser but i finished the war with a rank of colonel i did not hear of any non iraqi flying combat missions into iran, yes they flew test flights of many types inside iraq at H2,H3 but never into iran it was a political descion by saddam just in case one gets shot down and captured.

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