A series of photos which were made in April 1986 on board of the US aircraft carrier USS "America" (CV-66) off coast of Libya. Visible are A-7E "Corsair II" of the squadrons VA-72 "Blue Hawks" and VA-46 "Clansmen", which were prepared for their mission against military facilities of the Libyan Armed Forces near the city of Benghazi. One photo shows also F-14A "Tomcats" of squadrons VF-102 "Diamondbacks" and VF-33 "Starfighters".
At that time the USS "America" was part of Operation "El Dorado Canyon", a massive aerial retalitation strike against Gaddafis Libya after a terrorist bombing struck the "La Belle" discotheque in West Berlin earlier that month which killed two US soldiers and a civilan. The attack which originated in Libya, targeted this place as it was a very popular and well frequented spot among US soldiers deployed to West Berlin. Supported by the East German agency STASI, the attack occured during a phase of increased tensions between the US and Libya. With the bombing, this tensions reached a first major peak.
"El Dorado Canyon" included assets of the USAF and USN, also three aircraft carriers, USS "America", USS "Coral Sea" and USS "Saratoga", plus several F-111Fs of the USAF which conducted long range strikes from its bases in the UK.
Carrier Air Wing 1 on board of USS "America" targeted mainly the Benina Airfield, South of the city of Benghazi and the Jamahiriyah Guard Barracks. The latter one was mainly used as a training compound for the military education and training of terrorist groups, something which reached during the 1980s a peak, as Gaddafi offered support for dozens of such groups all around the world. The main attack was conducted by A-6E "Intruder" of VA-34 "Blue Blasters", with A-7E`s as supporting element for SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense) of the Libyan air defense network around Benghazi.
The F-14As of VF-102 and VF-33 conducted MIGCAP over the area. The A-7Es were mainly armed with AIM-9L "Sidewinder" AAM, AGM-45 "Shrike" ARM and MK 20 "Rockeye II" cluster ammunition. The F-14s with AIM-9L and AIM-7M AAM for their MIGCAP role.
The whole Operation not really reached all of it`s targets, but it was a massive iron hammer for Gaddafi which also proved, that the US would not tolerate any attacks from Libyan side against their Armed Forces or civilians, no matter where. At the end it was more a kind of large show of force.
