IRIAF F-4s during Iran-Iraq Wars-Accounts

[SBD-3]

 

[bozorgmehr]

Thank you for posting this brother. The interesting thing is that the Iranian government never did anything to raise awareness about what these guys did under very unusual and difficult circumstances. They fought for 8 exhausting years, cut off from the rest of the world, with often defective equipment, lost many comrades and friends and the survivors just quietly moved on without expectations from anybody. If it wasn't for the likes of Tom Cooper who spent a lot of time researching their exploits, we'd still probably know nothing about them today.

 

[SBD-3]

 

[TR.1]

How iran get invaded when they had one of the biggest spending sprees and latest weapons F-14, Chinooks and many more its like us getting invaded by Bulgaria or Greece.

 

[Gold Eagle]

How iran get invaded when they had one of the biggest spending sprees and latest weapons F-14, Chinooks and many more its like us getting invaded by Bulgaria or Greece.

Because of the revolution and total embargo, Iranian army was in a terrible condition.
At start of the war from more than 80 Tomcats, less than 10 were operational. Most of other equipments were out of order.
Beside this, Banisadr (president and the commander of armed forces) administration was betraying . He had done every thing he could to weaken defender forces. This caused the fall of Khoramshahr and if he would remain in power for a month more, Iran would have lost Ahwaz and then the hole khuzestan province.

 

[raptor22]

How iran get invaded when they had one of the biggest spending sprees and latest weapons F-14, Chinooks and many more its like us getting invaded by Bulgaria or Greece.

1. Revolution : actually if it takes place it could change everything in a country . Government , ideology , society etc . army is one of them . after revolution some of the army generals and personnels fled or were executed as a result it took army a while to recover .

2. Military coup : it was the second trouble which made more problems and difficulty for army and destroyed confidence and trust to the army or its officers .

Nojeh Coup

3. Separatist : most of them were led from outside to weaken Iran .

like : Komalah

4. Before revolution our army was completely dependent upon foreign technology and aids all the sudden all of them vanished besides even we didn't know how to operate our equipment because before revolution all of them were operated by American counselor that's why it took time to find some of our ammunition bunkers.

5. terrorists : MKO or Monafeghin was active , in a tape which was found after 2003 in Iraq shows that one of the members of this terrorist organization is reporting to an Iraqi officer that how they had blew up more than 205 bombs cross the country a day before , can you imagine the situation ?


Thus there was a chaos in Iran after revolution.

Then Saddam decided to attack to Iran , one of the most important reasons that led him to think to invade Iran was our situation in those days ,,, surly Saddam was well aware of our weapons , equipment but the point is he was said that Iran would not be able to use them our resist that's why Saddam claimed that he would hold a news conference with journalist within a week in Tehran(idiot).

At the beginning of the war, Iraq held a clear advantage in armour, while both nations were roughly equal in terms of artillery. The gap only widened as the war went on. Iran started with a stronger air force, but over time, the balance of power reversed in Iraq's favour. Estimates for 1980 and 1987 were :

So as you even base on number Iraq had more.

During war Iran destroyed Iraq air force 3 times but as you see the number of Iraq aircraft got increased why? because it enjoyed support while Iran was not able to import barbed wire.

we destroyed Iraqi sea force completely in 1 month

and don't forget oil dollars which were pumped by Arab countries in region , chemical weapons and the hash silent after it no one told him why the hell are you doing .... , even France was building 2 nuclear reactors for him while there was an air line which were suppling Saddam needs daily from Paris.And funny part is we captured Iraqi soldiers from 15 different nationality.

furthermore while we didn't have any information about them Iraqi army was given satellite images by USA everyday.

 

[TR.1]

Because of the revolution and total embargo, Iranian army was in a terrible condition.
At start of the war from more than 80 Tomcats, less than 10 were operational. Most of other equipments were out of order.
Beside this, Banisadr (president and the commander of armed forces) administration was betraying . He had done every thing he could to weaken defender forces. This caused the fall of Khoramshahr and if he would remain in power for a month more, Iran would have lost Ahwaz and then the hole khuzestan province.

Revolution was in 1979 and you bought F-14 not long before if I'm right and how many you bought? Also you bought alot of attack helicopters Shah was spending like he's buying nuts

 

[Serpentine]

Revolution was in 1979 and you bought F-14 not long before if I'm right and how many you bought? Also you bought alot of attack helicopters Shah was spending like he's buying nuts

You should read a little bit of history.

In first years of war,Iranian pilots did not even have pressure suits,so they couldn't fly in very high altitudes!
American experts,before leaving Iran,sabotaged some of Iran air fleet so that they woudn't be a danger to them after the revolution.
Besides,Iran had no working ground forces at the first of war and it was only air force that took burden of the war in first stages.

They did their part at best,they had a kill ratio of 5 to 1. Isn't that enough?
Iran destroyed half of Iraqi air bases and lots of jets on the ground in the second day of war.
With Arab oil money and American and Soviet support,Iraq renewed it's whole army dozens of times during the war,if Arabs hadn't give Iraq the money and France and USSR had not sold them modern jets and other equipment,Iraq would have been defeated within months.
On the other side,Iran was under total embargo,barely could buy anything from other countries.

 

[Worldinrules]

Revolution was in 1979 and you bought F-14 not long before if I'm right and how many you bought? Also you bought alot of attack helicopters Shah was spending like he's buying nuts

Don't forget, Iran also buy 300 f-16 but not delivered until now.....

 

[TR.1]

Don't forget, Iran also buy 300 f-16 but not delivered until now.....

Wtff 300? Iranians here critise SA, 300 f-16 them times would have been cost so much no wonder why usa loved you then. You was probably biggest buyer.

 

[raptor22]

Wtff 300? Iranians here critise SA, 300 f-16 them times would have been cost so much no wonder why usa loved you then. You was probably biggest buyer.

If Iran had not helped Grumman it wouldn't have been able to continue F-14 project .

 

[Surenas]

Wtff 300? Iranians here critise SA, 300 f-16 them times would have been cost so much no wonder why usa loved you then.

No wonder why Iranians hated the Shah you probably mean.

 

[Azatavrear]

How iran get invaded when they had one of the biggest spending sprees and latest weapons F-14, Chinooks and many more its like us getting invaded by Bulgaria or Greece.

Iranian Air force was killed after the revolution by the new regime and the top flying officers targeted because it was the pride of the King of Iran who was a pilot himself.

Your comparison of a Greek or Bulgaria invasion is nowhere close to the challenge Iran faced, even with operational Air Force. Also number of aircraft or size of the defense budget does not always win wars, it is who is behind the controls.....Turkey and Iran are not the same country and Iran operates in a much different league so I can understand your confusion.

Iran Murders Its Own Air Force

Before Khomeini seized power on 11 February 1979, the U.S.-trained Iranian Imperial Air Force was widely regarded as second only to Israel's in the Middle East—more than a match for Iraq and a serious adversary for even the Soviet Union. The Khomeini regime, however, regarded it as a waste of money that rightfully belonged to the mostazafin (poor oppressed masses).

One of the new government's first acts was a purge of the armed forces, particularly the officer corps, which was (probably correctly) thought to be a hotbed of monarchist sentiment. The Air Force, where virtually the entire fighting element—the combat pilots—is composed of officers, was especially hard hit. To make matters worse, Iran's best combat pilots had been trained in the United States and Israel, making them particularly suspect.

After the Iraqi invasion of 22 September 1980, skilled pilots in Iran were hastily rehabilitated—some going directly from prison cells, where they had been awaiting execution, to the cockpits of F-4s and F-5s to defend the regime that had been about to shoot them. One such case, Colonel Mohammed Mo'ezi, became Iran's most distinguished combat pilot and most famous early war hero. However, in June 1981, Mo'ezi took his leave of the Islamic Republic for good, taking his F-4 and deposed President Abol Hasan Bani-Sadr with him.

By July 1981, the Iranian regulars, backed by hordes of Revolutionary Guards, had stopped the Iraqis cold and driven them back behind the old borders. In a stunning display of ingratitude, once the immediate danger had passed, the mullahs resumed their purge of the armed forces.

 

[Cherokee]

I have to give this to Iranians . Iraq was Armed to the teeth and "Arab Brothers " were funding the war for Iraq specially Kuwait and Saudi ( there might be others i am not aware about ) but Iranians Kept on fighting for 8 long years , had massive losses as well but never gave up .

Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia ($30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion), and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion).In all, Iraq received $35 billion in loans from the West and between $30 and $40 billion from the Persian Gulf states during the 1980s.

The Iraqgate scandal revealed that a branch of Italy's largest bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), in Atlanta, Georgia relied partially on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans to funnel $5 billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989. In August 1989, when FBI agents raided the Atlanta branch of BNL, branch manager Christopher Drogoul was charged with making unauthorized, clandestine, and illegal loans to Iraq – some of which, according to his indictment, were used to purchase arms and weapons technology.

They Thought They could Take Khuzestan Province from Iran and Exploit oil resources later on to compensate the war losses but oh boy they were so wrong . This might be the reason why Saudi today spends more than 8 percent of its GDP in defense purchases ...

 

[Uhuhu]

I have to give this to Iranians . Iraq was Armed to the teeth and "Arab Brothers " were funding the war for Iraq specially Kuwait and Saudi ( there might be others i am not aware about ) but Iranians Kept on fighting for 8 long years , had massive losses as well but never gave up .

Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia ($30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion), and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion).In all, Iraq received $35 billion in loans from the West and between $30 and $40 billion from the Persian Gulf states during the 1980s.

The Iraqgate scandal revealed that a branch of Italy's largest bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), in Atlanta, Georgia relied partially on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans to funnel $5 billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989. In August 1989, when FBI agents raided the Atlanta branch of BNL, branch manager Christopher Drogoul was charged with making unauthorized, clandestine, and illegal loans to Iraq – some of which, according to his indictment, were used to purchase arms and weapons technology.

They Thought They could Take Khuzestan Province from Iran and Exploit oil resources later on to compensate the war losses but oh boy they were so wrong . This might be the reason why Saudi today spends more than 8 percent of its GDP in defense purchases ...

That's Right.
At the end of war, Iraq's economy was completely destroyed and Iraq had to pay back lots of money to Arabs and other countries in the world and also pay the living cost of their huge army and need to enough money to rebuild their economy, beside that, there was only cease fire between IRan and Iraq and Iraq had to keep ready around 1 million soldiers in the border.
after 1 year the gov didn't know what they should do ,because There was no job for them and They were afraid of Iran to attack them and after one year these soldiers were angry because they couldn't come back home yet and had to serve and be ready All the time for nothing(the war was over around 1 year ago), as a result, Iraq invaded Kuwait to get money to fix this situation. and you all know what next happened.

Wtff 300? Iranians here critise SA, 300 f-16 them times would have been cost so much no wonder why usa loved you then. You was probably biggest buyer.

It's not just about F-16s. The F-4s and F-5s were temporary in Iran for a few years til Iran receive the new fighters like F-16.
After revolution, Iranian F-16s delivered to Israel.
beside 300 F16s, Iran was buying more F14s and 80 F/A 18s. F/A 18 and F-16 were meant to be manufactured under license in Iran by the very early 1980s by Iranians.
also Iran bought 10 Boeing 707 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) in 1977 .
-7 c5 galaxy 1975.
-7 Boeing 707 G3
-7 Boeing 707 320C
-12 Boeing 747 131
-4 Boeing 747 200F

All above airplanes only belonged to The Air force and til 1979 some of these boeings delivered. The civilian airplanes and Iran Air have another story.