Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)
In the Action in the Gulf of Sidra, codenamed Operation Prairie Fire, the United States Navy deployed aircraft carrier groups in the disputed Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea. Libya had claimed that the entire Gulf was their territory, at 32° 30' N, with an exclusive 62 nautical miles fishing zone. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi asserted this in 1973, and dubbed it "The Line of Death". The United States claimed its rights to conduct naval operations in international waters, a standard of 12-nautical-mile territorial limit from a country's shore. This engagement followed the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident and preceded another in 1989.
A VMFA-314 F/A-18A lands on USS Coral Sea
Operation Attain Document III in March 1986.
An A-7 aboard USS America during flight operations against Libya in 1986
A F-14 from VF-74 lands on USS Saratoga
Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
In the first Gulf of Sidra incident, 19 August 1981, two Libyan Su-22 Fitters fired upon two U.S. F-14 Tomcats and were subsequently shot down off the Libyan coast. Libya had claimed that the entire Gulf was their territory, at 32° 30′ N, with an exclusive 62-nautical-mile fishing zone, which Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi asserted as "The Line of Death" in 1973. Two further incidents occurred in the area in 1986 and in 1989.
A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4J Phantom II of Fighter Squadron VF-74 "Be-Devilers" escorting a Libyan Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 over the Gulf of Sidra in August 1981.
Fast Eagle 102, one of the two F-14 Tomcats on the deck of the USS Nimitz immediately following the incident
F-14 BuNo 162592, painted to depict the F-14 (BuNo 160403) flown by Kleemann and Venlet on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California