Netz Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Today is the Anniversary of the raid on the Iraqi Nuclear power plant. The IDF/AF had their F-16's for only 10 months before performing this raid. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) Can't help being a big fan of IDF/AF! ...one day, i'll have to do one of those F-16 involved in that mission! Edited June 7, 2014 by mingwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Interesting Operation.A violation of international law and no actual proof their actions were justified. Preemptive attacks will always be a bone of contention. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) Interesting Operation.A violation of international law and no actual proof their actions were justified. Preemptive attacks will always be a bone of contention. A bit like Gulf War II then? I mean we found all those WMD's eh? If this had not happened would Sadam have had the bomb? Edited June 7, 2014 by Julien (UK) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomCooper Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 ^^Nope. Iraqis were not working on a 'bomb' as of 1981. They've had only about 200 nuclear scientists at that time, and there was not only no intention, but no capability to work on one. Furthermore, Saddam never threatened to nuke Israel (the story about some Kuwaiti newspaper citing such statements by Saddam was a hoax). On the contrary, it was precisely the 'Operation Opera' that prompted them to start a super-secret project of developing a nuke. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fulcrum1 Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 One of the most badass raids ever conducted, surgical strike before we even knew the term. This was absolute brilliance in planning, rehearsing, and executing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 One of the most badass raids ever conducted, surgical strike before we even knew the term. This was absolute brilliance in planning, rehearsing, and executing. Totally agree. Operation Thunderbolt (Entebbe raid) ranks right up there with it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Today is the Anniversary of the raid on the Iraqi Nuclear power plant. The IDF/AF had their F-16's for only 10 months before performing this raid. Curt God bless the IDF/AF . I don't think the world truly realizes just how much of a favor IDF/AF did for all of us. Iraq has already shown they are more than willing to use WMD against their own people let alone some other country. Thanks sharing and reminding me/us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 c'mon guys, who seriously thinks Saddam was not trying to produce a bomb? All these oil rich countries building reactors for "energy"? You have oil you have no energy problems and no need for a reactor except to make a bomb. Operation Opera whether you agree with the politics or not was awesome and done without laser guided bombs. I'm thinking of building the Netz numbered 107 in 1/48, using one of the early Hasegawa F-16 kits I have, I'm assuming it has the small rear stabilizers. The articles/books I have read about the raid, mention chaff dispensers scabbed onto the side of the vertical stabilizers. i have seen photos of these mounted on both port and starboard sides and some with none and some with the dispenser censored out of the photo, so my question is this, do you guys think the F-16s carried the dispensers on one side or both or does it depend on the particular ship? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I almost got shot at MacDill AFB during the 1980 open house. MacDill's flight line is a huge "L" shape. The static displays were along the short leg of the "L", and the bulk of the 56th TFW's F-16As and Bs were ganged together at the far end of the long leg of the "L". My roommate and I 'casually' walked down that way, me with my 200mm telephoto lens. We noticed some very odd looking F-16 tails parked in among the gray painted tails of the "MC" coded airplanes. They were in desert camouflage!! Now, remember that in late 1980, the F-16 was *very* new, and there were *no* F-16s that weren't painted gray. It didn't take long to figure out what those desert colors were, so I started merrily snapping away. Not much was visible, given the distance and the fact they were 'hidden' in among the wing's regular airplanes. I'd snapped a few frames with the trusty Minolta SRT-202 when a blue pickup truck came screaming up to us and an SP with an M-16 jumped out (said M-16 pointing at us). We were asked in no uncertain terms to vacate the area forthwith and to cease and desist taking photos anywhere except the air show display area :) A few months later those airplanes became rather famous! J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 c'mon guys, who seriously thinks Saddam was not trying to produce a bomb? All available evidence (and there is a LOT of evidence) says that in 1981 he wasn't. The Osirak reactor was in no way, shape, form, or fashion suitable for producing nuclear weapon type material. It would be like trying to make a 747 using a toaster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 All available evidence (and there is a LOT of evidence) says that in 1981 he wasn't. The Osirak reactor was in no way, shape, form, or fashion suitable for producing nuclear weapon type material. It would be like trying to make a 747 using a toaster. Then why did he need a reactor with the worlds 5th largest oil reserves? I remember around this time as a kid listening to troll reporter Helen Thomas tell President Reagan that the Israelis did better with the aircraft we sold them that were essentially stripped down versions of what we spent money on and ask why we spent money on things like electronics. I thought she was really stupid. If the IAF was going to bomb the Iranian reactor, I wonder if they would use the F-16I or the F-15I or both, I like building model aircraft that have a combat history, before Desert Storm the only modern US aircraft that saw combat were Israeli, and of course the F-111F, but making one of those accurate is another story.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Niels Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 ...I'm thinking of building the Netz numbered 107 in 1/48, using one of the early Hasegawa F-16 kits I have, I'm assuming it has the small rear stabilizers. Nope, all the Hasegawa kits have the large ones. For the small ones, you'll have to get aftermarket ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Then why did he need a reactor with the worlds 5th largest oil reserves? Read up on it. The Osirak reactor was *not* what you'd use to create weapons. It just wasn't. You can choose to believe anything you want, but actual evidence says it wasn't. We can never know what Saddam wanted, and clearly at some point he did try (even if half-heartedly) to create a nuclear weapons program. But he didn't do it, and couldn't have done it, with the Osirak reactor. Try building a 100 story office building with toothpicks and thumb tacks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Nope, all the Hasegawa kits have the large ones. For the small ones, you'll have to get aftermarket ones. Or spend *literally* about 5 minutes per side with a razor saw and a sanding stick. You really, truly don't need resin for basic modeling tasks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Read up on it. The Osirak reactor was *not* what you'd use to create weapons. It just wasn't. You can choose to believe anything you want, but actual evidence says it wasn't. We can never know what Saddam wanted, and clearly at some point he did try (even if half-heartedly) to create a nuclear weapons program. But he didn't do it, and couldn't have done it, with the Osirak reactor. Try building a 100 story office building with toothpicks and thumb tacks. as Saddam had done some of the nastiest things a dictator ever did to his own (opposing) population (like use of chemical bombs) ...some might thing that he could have just the intention to make a "dirty bomb" out of nuclear waste... in the better case, he was trying with this first reactor, to train his own people about how works a nuclear plan... probably in hope/waiting to get/develop a more relevant technology to make the atomic bomb... i really don't think that the Opera operation make anything else than convince him to get it faster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 A bit like Gulf War II then? I mean we found all those WMD's eh? If this had not happened would Sadam have had the bomb? Im pretty sure the second gulf war wasnt condemed by the UN. Israel invaded the airspace of 3 countries, destroyed a scientific project and killed many people. In pure military terms it was one hell of an op though! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 The articles/books I have read about the raid, mention chaff dispensers scabbed onto the side of the vertical stabilizers. i have seen photos of these mounted on both port and starboard sides and some with none and some with the dispenser censored out of the photo, so my question is this, do you guys think the F-16s carried the dispensers on one side or both or does it depend on the particular ship? Nope just plain Jane F-16's no add on's. These came later. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
305swag Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Then why did he need a reactor with the worlds 5th largest oil reserves? I remember around this time as a kid listening to troll reporter Helen Thomas tell President Reagan that the Israelis did better with the aircraft we sold them that were essentially stripped down versions of what we spent money on and ask why we spent money on things like electronics. I thought she was really stupid. If the IAF was going to bomb the Iranian reactor, I wonder if they would use the F-16I or the F-15I or both, I like building model aircraft that have a combat history, before Desert Storm the only modern US aircraft that saw combat were Israeli, and of course the F-111F, but making one of those accurate is another story.... Why did he need a reactor? It was a scientific project silly ;) And this was done without the aid of smart bombs and cruise missiles. A toast to the IAF/ IDF. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Read up on it. The Osirak reactor was *not* what you'd use to create weapons. It just wasn't. You can choose to believe anything you want, but actual evidence says it wasn't. We can never know what Saddam wanted, and clearly at some point he did try (even if half-heartedly) to create a nuclear weapons program. But he didn't do it, and couldn't have done it, with the Osirak reactor. Try building a 100 story office building with toothpicks and thumb tacks. dunno all the books I read about it made it seem like he was up to no good (Raid on the Sun, Bullseye One Reactor) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Im pretty sure the second gulf war wasnt condemed by the UN. Kofi Annan called the Invasion Illegal when interviewed by the BBC and he was head of the UN at the time? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Kofi Annan called the Invasion Illegal when interviewed by the BBC and he was head of the UN at the time? If that's the case, he authorized U.N. Resolution 1441 after a unanimous vote by the U.N. counsel. The U.S. and Allies were enforcing said Resolution 1441. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 And this was done without the aid of smart bombs and cruise missiles. A toast to the IAF/ IDF. They felt the use of iron bombs would insure the destruction of the target,and negate the possibility of weapon guidance failure, also relieved the exposure to the target designating A/C. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Here is F-16A s/n 107 as seen by me in 2008 F-16A 107 by Pieter van Polanen Photography, on Flickr Detail of the nose F-16A 107 by Pieter van Polanen Photography, on Flickr This is F-16A s/n 243 also with "Opera" markings as seen by me in 2008 F-16A 243 by Pieter van Polanen Photography, on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 "Raid on the Sun" by Rodger Claire is a very good book about the incident. Really good reading on the actual flight to the reactor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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