USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16) - Operation Praying Mantis

Operation Praying Mantis

On 14 April 1988, USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) sighted three mines floating approximately one-half mile from the ship. Twenty minutes after the first sighting, as the Samuel B. Roberts was backing clear of the minefield, she struck a submerged mine nearly ripping the warship in half. The crew stabilized the ship. The Samuel B. Roberts was sent back to the United States for repair.

On 18 April 1988, Operation Praying Mantis took place which was an attack by U.S. Naval Forces in retaliation for the Iranian Mining of the Persian Gulf and damage to an American ship (the Samuel B. Roberts).The battle, the largest for American surface forces since World War II, sank two Iranian warships and it also marked the first surface-to-surface missile engagement in U.S. Navy History. The Americans attacked with several groups of surface warships, plus aircraft.

In the middle of the action, the Joshan, an Iranian Combattante II Kaman-class fast attack craft, challenged USS Wainwright and Surface Action Group Charlie, firing a Harpoon missile at them. The USS Simpson responded to the challenge by firing four Standard missiles, while the Wainwright followed with two Standard missiles. The attacks destroyed the Iranian ship's superstructure but did not immediately sink it, but The three ships of SAG Charlie (the Wainwright, the Simpson, and the Bagley) closed on the Joshan, destroying it with naval gunfire. Fighting continued when the Iranian frigate Sahand departed Bandar Abbas and challenged elements of an American surface group. The frigate was spotted by two VA-95 A-6Es while they were flying surface combat air patrol for the Joseph Strauss. The Sahand fired missiles at the A-6Es, and the Intruders replied with two Harpoons and four laser-guided Skipper bombs. The Joseph Strauss added a Harpoon. Most, if not all, of the U.S. weapons hit the Iranian ship. Fires blazing on the Sahand's decks eventually reached her magazines, causing an explosion that helped sink the ship. Despite the loss of the Sahand, one of Iran's most modern ships, the Iranian navy continued to fight. Late in the day, a sister ship, the Sabalan, departed from its berth and fired a surface-to-air missile at several A-6Es from VA-95. Intruder pilot Engler dropped a laser-guided bomb on the Sabalan, leaving the ship dead in the water. The Iranian frigate, stern partially submerged, was taken in tow by an Iranian tug.