Description: Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 attack by the United States on Iranian naval targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. warship four days earlier. On 14 April, the American guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine while transiting international waters as part of Operation Earnest Will, the 1987–88 effort to protect reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iranian attacks during the Iran–Iraq War. The explosion pierced the hull and broke the keel of the Samuel B. Roberts, which nearly sank but was saved by its crew with no loss of life. Praying Mantis was the largest of the U.S. Navy's five major surface engagements since World War II. It saw the U.S. Navy's first exchange of anti-ship missiles with opposing ships, and its only sinking of a major surface combatant since World War II. Ships engaged: Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), Enterprise (CVN-65), Simpson (FFG-56), Bagley (DE-1069), Wainwright (CG-28) Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), Enterprise (CVN-65), Simpson (FFG-56), Bagley (DE-1069), Wainwright (CG-28), Merrill (DD-976), Lynde McCormick (DDG-8), Trenton (LPD-14), Joseph Strauss (DDG-16), Jack Williams (FFG-24), O’Brien (DD-725) and Gary (FFG-51).
Price: 10 USD
Location: Suffolk, Virginia
End Time: 2024-12-12T15:14:52.000Z
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Patch
Force: Navy
Theme: Militaria
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
