Remembering Operation Ghost Rider and El Dorado Canyon Published April 12, 2016 By Mr. Christopher Koonce 20th Fighter Wing Historian SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- April 14-15 marks the 30th anniversary of a retaliatory raid against Libya called El Dorado Canyon. In the mid-1980s, Libya was a major contributor to terrorist activities worldwide and responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths. However by April 1986, tensions escalated after Libyan terrorists attacked LaBelle Disco in West Berlin, Germany. In the attack, a bomb exploded injuring hundreds and killing two, including an American. The 20th Fighter Wing was instrumental in the planning and practice phase for the operation and directly supported their tenant unit: the 42nd Electronic Combat Squadron for the mission. At that time in the 1980s, the wing’s mission was to maintain a high state of readiness at all times to deter soviet aggression in Europe. At that point, the 20th FW flew the F-111E Aardvark, which was an effective fighter for that era due to its range, bomb capacity, and ability to penetrate air-defenses at low level, at night, and in bad weather. On Oct. 16, 1985, the 20th FW received orders to leave Royal Air Force Upper Heyford, UK, in 46 hours, bomb a simulated runway target in a remote wilderness area 100 miles southwest of Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada, and return. This was the start of Operation Ghost Rider. Due to the wing’s mission, they never planned for an operation of this magnitude in an area outside of Europe. So in their short time window, the wing identified the aircrews, planned the route, arranged for refueling, accomplished flight planning, built strip maps, developed radar predictions of the target, worked up defensive tactics for simulated air-defenses, developed a communication plan, defined abort procedures, and more. This was a monumental task and a base-wide effort which required assistance from every squadron and agency within the wing. Even though the planning was immense, wing personnel stepped up to the plate and accomplished it prior to the deadline. In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 1985, 10 F-111E’s, along with four backup aircraft loaded with 500 pound inert bombs, left Upper Hayford followed by seven tankers from RAF Mildenhall, UK. As planned, all aircraft were to rendezvous 250 miles northwest over Machrihanish Island, UK. However due to air traffic delays at Mildenhall, the tankers fell behind schedule. This had a trickledown effect as the F-111E’s were strung out ahead of the tankers instead of behind as planned. It took approximately 40 minutes to get everything on track and the mission was close to being called off. However, there were no issues with the 10 F-111E’s and the fleet had a strong headwind to make up time, so the 20th FW commander decided to continue with the mission and sent the four spares home. Once the air armada hit the shore of Canada, they went into low-level orbit and took off as single ships separated by one minute. They then traversed the last 350 miles to the target flying 400 feet above the ground at 480 knots. The simulated target area was five pairs of radar reflectors spaced at 2,000 foot intervals and each aircraft had a distinct aiming point to simulate cutting the runway into segments of 2,000 feet. Of the 80 bombs dropped, 50% impacted the simulated runway. Of the remaining 50%, some munitions went long of the target and one aircraft had a release malfunction and was only able to discharge one bomb. However, the wing accomplished their mission and returned safely. After the operation, 20th FW prepared a detailed after action report citing three main lessons learned which were used in the El Dorado Canyon mission. First, timing for mission planning was critical. Second, tanker rendezvous procedures were updated to account for weather. Last, the wing advised that a test be conducted of each aircraft’s weapons systems prior to takeoff. Operation Ghost Rider was the dress rehearsal for attacking Libya. However, the 20th FW did not participate because they did not have the pave tack pods which gave the aircrews better night visibility and enabled the use of laser precision guided bombs. So the Air Force decided to use the 48th FW, which used the pave tack pods, from RAF Lakenheath, UK, along with the 42nd ECS from RAF Upper Hayford, UK, for the Libyan raid on April 14-15, 1986. Ultimately, the success of El Dorado Canyon was contributed to the 20th FW’s Airmen who were an integral part of the planning and practice phase.