Wreck of IS Sahand (F-74)

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Laid down at the Vosper Thornycroft shipyard in 1969 as a Mark V Class Frigate and commissioned into the Iranian Navy in 1972 as the ITS Faramarz (DE-74), the IS Sahand and served the Shah until 1985 when she was renamed following the Islamic Revolution. Homeported at Bandar Abbas with her three sisterships, the Sahand and her crew were on the front lines of a new warzone in the long-running Iran-Iraq War as she engaged in patrols and offensive operations against Iraqi and Kuwaiti merchant ships and tankers.

In what would later be known as the "Tanker War", the Sahand was often involved with hostile actions against vessels supporting Iraq and Kuwait, and between 1985 and 1987 the Sahand lent her part to the 546 commercial vessels damaged 430 civilian mariner deaths from combined Iranian Navy and Air Force actions. Worst affected was the merchant fleet of Kuwait, whose government was forced to seek international assistance to protect their merchant shipping from Iranian attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The United States Navy stepped into the fray in July 1987 and began Operation Earnest Will; the armed escorting of re-flagged American Oil Tankers to and from the open ocean to Kuwait. The presence of US Navy ships dramatically increased tensions between Iranian and US forces and a series of armed clashes through the end of 1987 quickly ensued across the Gulf as both sides vied to establish control of the merchant sea lanes.

The military situation in the Gulf finally reached its breaking point on April 14th, 1988 after the Frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) struck an Iranian Mine in international waters which resulted in severe damage to the ship and injuries to her crew. Four days after the attack the US Navy responded forcibly with Operation Praying Mantis and sent two surface groups to destroy the oil platforms at Sirri and Sassan, which the US contended were being used as observation posts and staging areas for attacks on merchant shipping. By 1100hrs on April 18th both oil platform complexes were in ruin and reports reached Bandar Abbas that the missile boat IS Joshan had sighted and was engaging US Navy ships withdrawing from the Sirri area. The Sahand and her crew were anchored off Bandar Abbas at the time the first reports came in, and the ship was promptly readied for deployment.

Weighing anchor at approximately 1400hrs on the 18th, the Sahand and her crew sped South with orders to attack oil platforms in the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates and to challenge any enemy ships or aircraft they came across. At approximately 1515hrs the Sahand was picked up by the radar systems aboard the USS Jack Williams (FFG-24) and USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16), ships of the US Navy’s Surface Action Group Delta, as she passed Larak Island and entered the Strait of Hormuz. The Joseph Strauss provided a vector to two A-6E Intruder's flying from the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) to investigate the contact, and the planes quickly diverted and soon were in visual range of the Sahand as she passed approximately 10 miles Southwest of Larak Island.

Reports from Iranian and American sources differ on the exact course of events which followed, but the generally accepted version states that the A-6's were targeted and fired upon by the Sahand's main guns and missile battery at 1530hrs but were able to out maneuver the flak and missiles. Both A-6's then each fired a Harpoon missile into the Sahand, leaving her all but dead in the water. A third Harpoon fired from the USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16) then slammed into the ship, causing further damage to her hull and machinery as the A-6's dropped four 1000lb AGM-123 Skipper II laser-guided bombs onto and around the ship. On their final pass, the planes released two Rockeye Cluster bombs onto the Sahand, which only added to the damage and devastation of the ship. After photographing the heavily damaged ship as she listed to Port and burned, both aircraft promptly withdrew from the area and left the Sahand to her fate.

Casualties to the crew of the Sahand were heavy but have never been officially released or confirmed. US Navy ships and aircraft monitored the drifting hulk of the Sahand for several hours after the attack until approximately 1800hrs when the numerous uncontrolled fires reached the ship's magazines and caused their detonation, sending a huge fireball into the sky visible for miles. Shortly after this final explosion, the IS Sahand sank in this general area and now lies in approximately 200 meters of water.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Praying_Mantis