Gulf of Sidra incident 1981
E783516
The Gulf of Sidra incident 1981 was a Cold War-era aerial confrontation in which U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan fighter jets over disputed waters off Libya.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Cold War incident
ⓘ
aerial incident ⓘ military engagement ⓘ |
| airspaceStatus | over international waters according to U.S. ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | 1981 Gulf of Sidra shoot-down NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| belligerent |
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| casualtiesLibya | 2 aircraft shot down ⓘ |
| casualtiesUS | 0 killed ⓘ |
| category |
1981 in military history
ⓘ
Air battles involving Libya ⓘ Air battles involving the United States ⓘ |
| commandStructure | U.S. Sixth Fleet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| conflictType | air-to-air combat ⓘ |
| countryInvolved |
Libya
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States of America ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| date | 1981-08-19 ⓘ |
| disputedArea | Line of Death in Gulf of Sidra NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| engagementType | beyond-visual-range and within-visual-range combat ⓘ |
| era | late Cold War NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | symbol of U.S. challenge to Libyan maritime claims ⓘ |
| involvedWeaponSystem | AN/AWG-9 radar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalStatusOfWaters | disputed territorial claim by Libya ⓘ |
| LibyanAircraftLost | 2 ⓘ |
| LibyanAircraftType | Sukhoi Su-22 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| LibyanClaim | airspace over Libyan territorial waters extended to Gulf of Sidra ⓘ |
| LibyanLeaderAtTime | Muammar Gaddafi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| location |
Gulf of Sidra
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mediterranean Sea NERFINISHED ⓘ off the coast of Libya ⓘ |
| notableFeature | first air-to-air kills by U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcats ⓘ |
| partOf |
Cold War
ⓘ
Gulf of Sidra conflicts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| politicalContext | tensions between United States and Muammar Gaddafi regime ⓘ |
| relatedEvent | Gulf of Sidra incident 1989 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result | U.S. victory ⓘ |
| trigger | Libyan attempt to enforce territorial claim over Gulf of Sidra ⓘ |
| USAircraftLost | 0 ⓘ |
| USAircraftType | Grumman F-14 Tomcat NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| USCarrierInvolved | USS Nimitz NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| USDoctrine | freedom of navigation operations against excessive maritime claims ⓘ |
| USOperation | freedom of navigation exercise ⓘ |
| USPositionOnWaters | international waters ⓘ |
| USSquadronInvolved |
VF-41 Black Aces
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
VF-84 Jolly Rogers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| weaponsUsed |
AIM-7 Sparrow missile
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
AIM-9 Sidewinder missile NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| year | 1981 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.