Iran Ajr

Iran Ajr,1986
History
Iran
Name	Iran Ajr
Builder	Teraoka Shipyard - Minamiawaji, Japan
Christened	Arya Rakhsh
Acquired	by purchase, 1978
Renamed	Iran Ajr(1980)
Identification	IMO number:7807196
Fate	Seized and scuttled by U.S. Navy, 26 September 1987
Notes	Originally acquired byImperial Iranian Navyas part of pre-1979 Revolution defense build-up. Was intended to be the first of a class of four.
General characteristics
Type	Landing ship/Minelayer
Displacement	614t(604long tons) empty 2,274 t (2,238 long tons) full load
Length	53.85 m (176 ft 8 in)
Beam	10.81 m (35 ft 6 in)
Draught	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines, 2 screws
Speed	11knots(20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement	30
Armament	2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns Variable number of mines of various types

Iran Ajr,formerly known as theArya Rakhsh,was a Japanese-builtlanding craftused byIranto laynaval minesduring theIran–Iraq War.Built in 1978, the 614-ton, 54-meter ship was powered by twodiesel enginesand featured a bow ramp for unloading cargo. She wasscuttledin 1987.

Iran–Iraq War

On 21 September 1987, U.S. forces involved inOperation Prime Chance– the covert part ofOperation Earnest Will,the mission to protect U.S.-flaggedpetroleum-carrying ships in thePersian Gulf– trackedIran Ajrand dispatchedUnited States Armyhelicopters from theUnited States Navyguided-missile frigateUSSJarrett(FFG-33)to shadow her. When the aviators reported that people aboardIran Ajrwere layingmines,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 ofUnited States Navy SEALcommandoslater boarded the ship, confirmed the presence of mines, and detained the surviving Iranians. On 26 September,EODMU5 Detachment 5scuttledthe ship ininternational waters.

When the U.S. Navy guided-missile frigateUSSSamuel 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 aboardIran Ajr.This evidence of Iranian involvement in the mining ofSamuel B. Robertsled to the biggest surface-warfare naval battle sinceWorld War II,the retribution campaign of 18 April 1988 calledOperation Praying Mantis.

The capturedcolorsofIran Ajrare in theU.S. Navy Museum.

Further reading

• Wise, Harold Lee (2007).Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf 1987-88.Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-59114-970-5.
• Crist, David (2012).The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict With Iran.New York: The Penguin Press.ISBN978-1-59420-341-1.

External links

• The attack on the Iran Ajr
• Another narration of the attack
• Photos of the captured Iran Ajr and its detainees aboard U.S. Navy warships