Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm

by John Nichol

At the start of the conflict, 2,430 allied aircraft had been based in the region, or close enough to project air power into it. The RAF initially contributed 135 aircraft: 18 Tornado F3 fighters, 46 Tornado GR1/1A attack and recce aircraft, 12 Jaguars, 17 tankers, three Nimrods, 31 Chinook and Puma helicopters, seven Hercules and one HS125 transport aircraft. Countless other transport and supply aircraft flew missions in and out of the region. By the start of the land war, a further twelve Buccaneers and more Tornado GR1s had flown into theatre to support the precision-guided bombing attacks. Around 3,000 RAF personnel were deployed across the Gulf.11 When the ceasefire came into effect, the allied forces had flown 110,000 sorties, of which the RAF flew over 6,100 – the largest number of any nation except the US.