The Battle of Bubiyan (Also known as the Bubiyan Turkey Shoot) was a naval engagement of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

that occurred in the waters between

Bubiyan Island Bubiyan Island ( ar, جزيرة بوبيان) is the largest island in the Kuwaiti coastal island chain situated in the north-western corner of the Persian Gulf, with an area of . Bubiyan Island is part of the Shatt al-Arab delta. The Mubarak A ...

and the

Shatt al-Arab The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...

marshlands, where the bulk of the Iraqi Navy, while attempting to flee to Iran, much like the Iraqi Air Force, was engaged and destroyed by Coalition warships and aircraft.

History

The battle was completely one-sided.

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

helicopters of the British Royal Navy using Sea Skua missiles were responsible for destroying 14 vessels (3 minesweepers, 1 minelayer, 3 TNC 45

Fast Attack Craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defens ...

, 2 Zhuk-class patrol boats, 2 Polnocny-class landing ships, 2 salvage vessels, 1 Type 43 minelayer, and 1 other vessel) during the battle."The Grey Lynx at War"
The battle saw 21 separate engagements over a course of 13 hours. A total of 21 of the 22 ships that attempted to escape were destroyed. A Canadian CF-18 Hornet fighter recorded an official victory in the beginning of the battle against the Iraqi Navy. Also related to the Bubiyan action was the Battle of Khafji, where

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

sent an amphibious assault to Khafji to reinforce the city against the Coalition attack. This too was spotted by the Coalition naval forces and subsequently destroyed. The last action of the Iraqi Navy was to fire a Silkworm missile from an inland launcher at the battleship . It was intercepted mid-flight by a Sea Dart missile from the British destroyer and successfully destroyed. This marked the first time a ship-launched anti-air missile intercepted an incoming enemy missile in combat at sea. After the Bubiyan action, the Iraqi Navy ceased to exist as a fighting force at all, leaving Iraq with very few ships, all in poor condition.

References

Bubiyan Bubiyan Maritime incidents in 1991 History of the Persian Gulf Bubiyan Bubiyan January 1991 events in Asia February 1991 events in Asia {{US-Navy-stub