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The USS ''Stark'' incident occurred during the Iran–Iraq War on 17 May 1987, when an Iraqi jet aircraft fired missiles at the American frigate . Thirty-seven United States Navy personnel were killed and twenty-one were wounded. ==Incident== USS ''Stark'', an guided missile frigate, commanded by Captain Glenn R. Brindel, was part of the Middle East Task Force assigned to patrol off the Saudi Arabian coast near the Iran–Iraq War exclusion boundary. This is an area of sea off Iran and Iraq. An Iraqi pilot attacked in a Dassault Mirage F1 armed with Exocet missiles. It took off from the airbase of Shaibah at 20:00 and headed south into the Persian Gulf also along the coast. The Mirage was flying above the water at per hour. An AWACS plane on patrol nearby, with an American and Saudi Arabian crew, first detected the incoming Iraqi jet and informed the ''Stark'', which picked up the aircraft on radar, out. When it came within view just before 22:00, the attacker was off ''Stark''s port side beam. Initially not alarmed, at 22:09 Captain Brindel followed protocol and ordered a radioman to send the message: "''Unknown aircraft, this is U.S. Navy warship on your 078 (degrees) for twelve miles. Request you identify yourself.''" The Iraqi Mirage pilot did not respond to the message. The ship's captain ordered a second message sent, to which there was no reply. At 22:10 hrs Captain Brindel was informed the Iraqi aircraft had targeted his ship, locking his Cyrano-IV fire-control radar onto ''Stark''. The Mirage F-1 then fired the first Exocet missile from the ship, and the second Exocet from . The pilot then banked left and began to withdraw. ''Stark''s search radar and ESM systems failed to detect the incoming missiles and it was not until seconds before the first hit that the Americans realized they were under fire. The first Exocet missile tracked in a little over above the sea surface, and struck the port side of the ship near the bridge. Although it failed to explode, rocket fuel ignited and caused a large fire that quickly spread throughout the ship's post office, a store room, and the critical combat operations center (where the ship's weapons are controlled). The second Exocet also struck the port side. This missile did detonate, leaving a by hole in the frigate's left side. Electronics for ''Stark''s Standard Missile defense went out and Captain Brindel could not order his men to return fire. The AWACS plane was still in the area and just after witnessing the attack, it radioed a nearby Saudi airbase to send aircraft for an interception, but the ground controllers did not have the authority to order a sortie and the Iraqi jet escaped unharmed. The USN rules of engagement applicable at the time allowed ''Stark ''to defend herself after sufficiently warning the hostile aircraft. A total of 37 crew were killed in the attack, 29 from the initial explosion and fire, including two lost at sea. Eight would later die from their injuries. Twenty-one others survived their wounds. Throughout the remainder of the night and the following day, ''Stark''s crew, along with sailors from the destroyer fought the fire, which burned for almost 24 hours. Captain Brindel ordered the starboard side flooded to keep the hole on the hull's port side above water. This helped prevent the Stark from sinking. Brindel quickly dispatched a distress call after the first missile hit. It was received by , which was in the area, and ''Conyngham'' with 2/3 of its crew on liberty in Bahrain. ''Waddell'' and ''Conyngham'' arrived to provide damage control and relief to ''Stark''s crew. Temporary Electronics Communications were installed by ETC Perry and team while ''Conyngham'' provided an escort for ''Stark'' as she slowly made her way to Bahrain. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Stark incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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