Naval+Task+Force+Sent+to+Persian+Gulf+G6

=Naval Task Force Sent To Persian Gulf -1988=

Overview
When the US Naval Task Force .was sent to the Persian Gulf in 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts(right) struck an Iranian mine. The mine caused a 25 foot hole in the bottom of the ship and nearly sank it. After the explosion the US sent divers down into the Gulf and these divers recovered more mines. This incident caused the United States to want retaliation. So Operation Praying Mantis was an attack against Iran for placing mines in the Persian Gulf. The battle became the largest of the four major US surface engagements since World War II.

Central Issue[[image:http://www.roberts.navy.mil/site%20images/ship.jpg width="150" height="75" align="right" caption="USS Samuel B Roberts" link="http://www.roberts.navy.mil/site%20images/ship.jpg"]]
The Americans sent in several groups of surface warships and some aircrafts. Two US destroyers USS Merrill and USS Lynde McCormick neutralized the Sassan Oil Platform. The Iranians opened fire on the US however the Unites States' weaponry was too powerful for the Iranians. The other group of ships for the US included two frigates and a guided missile cruiser attacked the Siri oil platform. After these events Iran sent out the Boghammar Speedboats and they attacked many different targets including a US supply ship and a Panamanian supply ship. The United States then dropped to bombs on the speedboats, destroying one and damagiing several others. The Iranian Joshan fought with the USS Wainright and the USS Simpson shot two standard missiles at the Joshan and the Wainright sooned followed with one of its own this led to the destroying of the Joshan. After this, two Iranian F-4 fighters were sent to the Wainwright. One left shortly after and the other launched an attack missile at the Wainwright(left). Then the Wainwright destroyed the F-4. The IS Sahand challenged an American Surface Group. All of the US weapons hit the ship. This caused an explosion aboard the ship.

Conclusion/Historical Significance
The fighting resulted in the Amercian ships damaging the intelligence facilities and Iranian ships on two unoperable oil platforms in the Persian Gulf. The Americans sunk atleast three Iranian armed speedboats, one frigate, and one fast attack gunboat. The Iranians also lost one major warship and a smaller gunboat. The US lost the aircrew of a Marine Corps helicopter gunship and the Cobra, which was flying on reconaissance for the USS Wainright and crashed sometime in the dark.