War and Military Atlas

How Battles Were Fought
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Military Operation

Operation El Dorado Canyon

Contemporary

Operation El Dorado Canyon was a United States air strike on 15 April 1986 against targets in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya, in retaliation for the Libyan-sponsored bombing of a West Berlin discotheque that killed American servicemen. U.S. Air Force F-111 bombers and Navy carrier aircraft struck command centers, training camps and airfields; one F-111 was shot down, killing its two-man crew, while Libya suffered dozens of military and civilian casualties. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Operation Type
Retaliatory air strike 1
Start Date
1986-04-15 1
End Date
1986-04-15 1
Location
Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya 1
Participants
United States Air Force 48th Tactical Fighter Wing (F-111F), United States Navy carrier air wings from USS America and USS Coral Sea 1
Objective
Reduce Libya's capacity to support and train terrorists in retaliation for the bombing of a West Berlin nightclub 1
Outcome
Ground targets in Tripoli and Benghazi were destroyed; one U.S. F-111 was shot down with both crew killed; Libya suffered an estimated 40 to 60 casualties 1
Operation Type
Operation Type (category)
Strike / Raid 1
Connections

Commanders and Forces

Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1986 airstrikes on Libya, was flown in part by United States Air Force F-111s from bases in England

Source Wikipedia: Operation El Dorado Canyon

Operation El Dorado Canyon was flown in part by United States Navy carrier aircraft in the Mediterranean

Source Wikipedia: Operation El Dorado Canyon
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Operation El Dorado Canyon
Wikipedia
  • The Raid section (quoting President Reagan)
    Today, we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again.
  • In Category: Military Operations
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