Iran Ajr

Iran Ajr, 1986
History
Iran
NameIran Ajr
BuilderTeraoka Shipyard - Minamiawaji, Japan
ChristenedArya Rakhsh
Acquiredby purchase, 1978
RenamedIran Ajr (1980)
IdentificationIMO number7807196
FateSeized and scuttled by U.S. Navy, 26 September 1987
NotesOriginally acquired by Imperial Iranian Navy as part of pre-1979 Revolution defense build-up. Was intended to be the first of a class of four.
General characteristics
TypeLanding ship/Minelayer
Displacement
  • 614 t (604 long tons) empty
  • 2,274 t (2,238 long tons) full load
Length53.85 m (176 ft 8 in)
Beam10.81 m (35 ft 6 in)
Draught3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Propulsion2 × diesel engines, 2 screws
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement30
Armament
  • 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns
  • Variable number of mines of various types

Iran Ajr, formerly known as the Arya Rakhsh, was a Japanese-built landing craft used by Iran to lay naval mines during the Iran–Iraq War. Built in 1978, the 614-ton, 54-meter ship was powered by two diesel engines and featured a bow ramp for unloading cargo. She was scuttled in 1987.

Iran–Iraq War

On 21 September 1987, U.S. forces involved in Operation Prime Chance – the covert part of Operation Earnest Will, the mission to protect U.S.-flagged petroleum-carrying ships in the Persian Gulf – tracked Iran Ajr and dispatched United States Army helicopters from the United States Navy guided-missile frigate USS Jarrett (FFG-33) to shadow her. When the aviators reported that people aboard Iran Ajr were laying mines, the U.S. commander in the Persian Gulf ordered the pilots to "stop the mining." The helicopters fired on the ship, killing some of the crewmen and chasing others into the water. A team of United States Navy SEAL commandos later boarded the ship, confirmed the presence of mines, and detained the surviving Iranians. On 26 September, EOD MU5 Detachment 5 scuttled the ship in international waters.

When the U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) struck a mine in the Persian Gulf in April 1988, U.S. Navy explosive ordnance specialists matched the serial numbers of nearby unexploded mines to the ones aboard Iran Ajr. This evidence of Iranian involvement in the mining of Samuel B. Roberts led to the biggest surface-warfare naval battle since World War II, the retribution campaign of 18 April 1988 called Operation Praying Mantis.

The captured colors of Iran Ajr are in the U.S. Navy Museum.


This page was last updated at 2023-12-12 23:53 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari