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
The Sukhoi Su-17 is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter Soviet service and featured updated avionics. The aircraft also has variants which were designed to be exported to non-Soviet states such as the Sukhoi Su-22 and the less popular Su-20.
Sukhoi Su-17
An Su-20 (left) next to an older, similar Su-7BKL.
A Soviet Su-17M.
Iraqi Su-22M aircraft in a hangar damaged by Coalition air strikes during Operation Desert Storm.
