On This Day
Associated Press
Mourners carry coffins through the streets of Tehran, July 7, 1988, during a mass funeral for
victims who died in the Iran Air Flight 655 crash in the Persian Gulf.
Mourners carry coffins through the streets of Tehran, July 7, 1988, during a mass funeral for
victims who died in the Iran Air Flight 655 crash in the Persian Gulf.
On This Day: US Navy Shoots Down Iran Air Passenger Flight
July 03, 2009 02:00 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
On July 3, 1988, the aircraft carrier USS Vincennes mistook a commercial jet for a hostile Iranian F-14 fighter plane, shooting it down and killing 290 people.
USS Vincennes Fires on Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655 took off from Bander Abbas airport in southern Iran at 10:17 a.m., set for the 150-mile, 28-minute flight to Dubai, according to the Iran Chamber Society.
Previously stationed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Vincennes was in the Straight of Hormuz, a body of water that the aircraft would have to pass over on its route, the Iran Chamber Society reports. The USS Vincennes was sailing in Iranian waters, along with the USS Sides and USS Elmer Montgomery, and had just been in the midst of combat with Iranian vessels.
Crewmembers on board the Vicennes mistook the plane for "an attacking military fighter," thinking its flight pattern was "similar to that of an Iranian Air Force F-14A Tomcat during an attack run," according to the Iran Chamber Society.
According to a letter written to Congress by President Ronald Reagan on July 4, available on BNET, the Vincennes was "firing in self-defense at what it believed to be a hostile Iranian military aircraft." All 290 people on board the plane were killed, the Iran Chamber Society reports.
The United States eventually paid compensation to victims' families on an "ex gratia" basis, The New York Times reported in 1988, "a term of international law meaning voluntarily and without admitting fault or legal liability."
Previously stationed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Vincennes was in the Straight of Hormuz, a body of water that the aircraft would have to pass over on its route, the Iran Chamber Society reports. The USS Vincennes was sailing in Iranian waters, along with the USS Sides and USS Elmer Montgomery, and had just been in the midst of combat with Iranian vessels.
Crewmembers on board the Vicennes mistook the plane for "an attacking military fighter," thinking its flight pattern was "similar to that of an Iranian Air Force F-14A Tomcat during an attack run," according to the Iran Chamber Society.
According to a letter written to Congress by President Ronald Reagan on July 4, available on BNET, the Vincennes was "firing in self-defense at what it believed to be a hostile Iranian military aircraft." All 290 people on board the plane were killed, the Iran Chamber Society reports.
The United States eventually paid compensation to victims' families on an "ex gratia" basis, The New York Times reported in 1988, "a term of international law meaning voluntarily and without admitting fault or legal liability."
Background: The Iran-Iraq war; Attack on the USS Stark
The attack on Flight 655 occurred during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq. The war broke out over both nations' claims to the oil-rich area along their shared border. The exact number of casualties is unclear but it is estimated that 1 to 2 million people died as a result of the conflict, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
U.S. Navy vessels were stationed in international waters in the Persian Gulf in order to prevent Iran from destroying Kuwaiti and Saudi oil vessels. Time magazine published an article on June 8, 1987, recounting that "Iranians have attacked 29 ships in the gulf, 25 of them serving Kuwait."
Approximately a year prior to the Vincennes incident, in 1987, a rogue Iraqi Mirage F-1 fighter launched two Exocet missiles at the USS Stark, killing more than 30 sailors, reports NavyBook.com. The attack was unprovoked and the Stark, not expecting it, did not take defensive measures. The Stark was struck by the first of two missiles as it attempted to contact the Iraqi fighter via radio to issue a warning.
U.S. Navy vessels were stationed in international waters in the Persian Gulf in order to prevent Iran from destroying Kuwaiti and Saudi oil vessels. Time magazine published an article on June 8, 1987, recounting that "Iranians have attacked 29 ships in the gulf, 25 of them serving Kuwait."
Approximately a year prior to the Vincennes incident, in 1987, a rogue Iraqi Mirage F-1 fighter launched two Exocet missiles at the USS Stark, killing more than 30 sailors, reports NavyBook.com. The attack was unprovoked and the Stark, not expecting it, did not take defensive measures. The Stark was struck by the first of two missiles as it attempted to contact the Iraqi fighter via radio to issue a warning.
Opinion & Analysis: Was the U.S. provoking Iran?
According to a subsequent review, particularly of the Aegis system, "a complex network of radar and computers" onboard the USS Vincennes, "blame fell not on the machines but on the men who were operating them," Time magazine reported.
Some observers said memories of the slow American response to an Iraqi air attack on the USS Stark a year earlier, as well as the wartime environment of the Iran-Iraq war, may have induced panic in the crew. But Iran believed that the attack was deliberate, and many journalists suspected a U.S cover-up, speculating that the Navy, anxious for wartime action, had been overly aggressive, reported Newsweek.
A July 6, 1988, New York Times article provides information on the events surrounding the Iran Air disaster, and places the event in the overall context of the Iran-Iraq war. "The evidence suggests that our aggressive patrolling strategy tends to start fights, not end them," wrote Gary Sick for The Times. "We behave at times as if our objective was to goad Iran into a war with us, when our real objective is to get Iran and Iraq to stop fighting."
Some observers said memories of the slow American response to an Iraqi air attack on the USS Stark a year earlier, as well as the wartime environment of the Iran-Iraq war, may have induced panic in the crew. But Iran believed that the attack was deliberate, and many journalists suspected a U.S cover-up, speculating that the Navy, anxious for wartime action, had been overly aggressive, reported Newsweek.
A July 6, 1988, New York Times article provides information on the events surrounding the Iran Air disaster, and places the event in the overall context of the Iran-Iraq war. "The evidence suggests that our aggressive patrolling strategy tends to start fights, not end them," wrote Gary Sick for The Times. "We behave at times as if our objective was to goad Iran into a war with us, when our real objective is to get Iran and Iraq to stop fighting."
Later Developments: U.S.-Iran relations today
Reuters provides details on U.S.-Iranian relations from the Shah's rise to power in 1953 to Iran's nuclear program in 2008.
Modern Iran has been shaped by a series of revolutions and government upheavals during the 20th century. Get the full story by reviewing Iran's Constitutional Revolution, the Pahlavi Dynasty, Mossadegh and the CIA Coup, and the Islamic Revolution in our feature on the History of Iranian Revolutions.
When President Obama was criticized recently for his response to mass protests in Iran, findingDulcinea reviewed how U.S. presidents have dealt with Iran over the last 30 years.
Modern Iran has been shaped by a series of revolutions and government upheavals during the 20th century. Get the full story by reviewing Iran's Constitutional Revolution, the Pahlavi Dynasty, Mossadegh and the CIA Coup, and the Islamic Revolution in our feature on the History of Iranian Revolutions.
When President Obama was criticized recently for his response to mass protests in Iran, findingDulcinea reviewed how U.S. presidents have dealt with Iran over the last 30 years.
Related Topic: Aegis missile system
According to the U.S. Navy, "The Aegis system was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. The heart of the system is the AN/SPY-1, an advanced, automatic detect and track, multi-function phased-array radar."
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
