1991-Continued

9 April HC-4 returned to Incirlik, Turkey, to become

the primary and first heavy lift helicopter combat logis-

tics support asset for Operation Provide Comfort. The

squadron delivered massive amounts of relief aid to

Kurdish refugees and flew needy people to safe havens.

9 April UN Security Council approved Resolution 689

establishing a United Nations-Iraq-Kuwait Observer

Mission to monitor the permanent cease-fire.

11 April The Persian Gulf War came to its official

conclusion at 10:00 a.m. EDT as UN Security Council

Resolution No. 687, establishing a permanent cease-fire

in the Persian Gulf War, went into effect.

11 April After 28 years in production and 548 deliver-

ies, the final P-3 Orion was turned over to the Navy.

The ceremonies were held at Lockheed Aeronautical

Systems Company's Palmdale, Calif., production facility.

15 April NAVAIR established the HH-1N designation

for many of the H-1 Huey helicopters. The redesigna-

tion was to be completed by 30 September.

17 April Midway returned from the Persian Gulf War

to her home port of Yokosuka, Japan.

17 April Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney signed an

order directing military commanders to begin implement-

ing the president's plan, announced the previous day at a

press conference, which called for the establishment of

several encampments in northern Iraq. U.S., British,

French, and Turkish military personnel had been delivering

relief supplies to the refugees. The U.S. Sixth Fleet's 24th

Marine Expeditionary Unit commenced operations 17

hours after arrival at the Humanitarian Service Support

Base at Silopi, Iraq. A forward humanitarian service sup-

port base was also established at Diyarbakir, Turkey.

18 April America returned from the Persian Gulf War

to Norfolk, Va.

20 April Theodore Roosevelt transited the Suez Canal

and began support of Operation Provide Comfort, the

Allied nations' effort to aid Kurdish refugees who were

in danger of extermination in the aftermath of the

Persian Gulf War.

20 April Theodore Roosevelt joined the U.S. naval

forces, including Guadalcanal, positioned off Turkey

to support an estimated 7,000 American ground troops

participating in Operation Provide Comfort, the relief

effort for Kurdish refugees.

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

375

1 May The Navy redesignated all F-14A aircraft that

had undergone the A+/ A(Plus) conversion as F-14B

aircraft.

7-8 May Two A-6E Intruders on a reconnaissance

mission over northern Iraq were attacked by Iraqi ar-

tillery units. These were the first confirmed incidents of

hostile fire since Allied forces began occupying a des-

ignated security zone for Kurdish refugees. The planes

were unscathed, continued their mission, and returned

safely to Theodore Roosevelt, positioned off the coast of

Turkey to support U.S. military operations in northern

Iraq.

12 May Eight ships of an amphibious assault group

headed by Tarawa arrived to begin a large-scale relief

effort in Bangladesh, which had been devastated by a

cyclone on 30 April. During Operation Sea Angel, CH-

53 Sea Stallions, CH-46 Sea Knights, UH-1N Iroquois

and AH-l T Sea Cobras carried food, medical supplies,

and rescued people who had been isolated by the

floods.

15 May The ES-3A Shadow made its first flight at the

Lockheed plant in Palmdale, Calif.

22 May The House Armed Services Committee

voted to allow women to fly combat missions in Air

Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft. The measure

was included in an amendment to the 1992 defense

budget.

23 May Commander, Naval Forces, Middle East de-

clared the Kuwaiti port of Ash-Shuwaikh free of ord-

nance and Iraqi mines, making it the fifth and final in a

series of port-clearing missions by Allied forces.

30 May Forrestal, leading a battle group, departed

from its home port of Mayport, Fla., for a scheduled

deployment to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the

Theodore Roosevelt battle group on station in the east-

ern Mediterranean in support of Operation Provide

Comfort.

3 June An LC-130 Hercules based at NAS Point

Mugu, Calif., landed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to

complete the first mid-winter medical evacuation of

critically ill personnel since 1966. Navy pilots and crew

from VXE-6 evacuated a member of New Zealand's

Division of Science and Industrial Research.

6 June America was among the 10 U.S. Navy ships

whom, returning from the Persian Gulf, sailed into

New York Harbor as part of the city's fourth annual

Fleet Week celebration.