S2                                        U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 199O~I991


Precision weaponry disabied the ~urrel of this iraqi T54B/T55 series lank near the inner breach
of 1st Marine Division \s Task Force Ripper on 24 February 1991, about 14 kiiometers southeast
of Al Jarber Air Base. The holes were pmbab~ caused by IO5mm sabot artnor-piercing, fin-
stabilized depleted uranium  rounds fired from Ripper's M6OAI tanks.

small and ill-directed.      In no way did they reflect the large numbers of artillery
pieces in the area or the high-volume Soviet-style tactics heretofore practiced by
the Iraqis. Enemy artillery fire continued in diminishing amounts until the night
of 25-26 February.         By comparison, this was a small fraction of what Marine
artillery was sending in return.       To the southeast, the 1st Marine Division
mechanized task forces, Ripper and Papa Bear, moved north out of their second
barrier to drive abreast of the southwest corner of the intensely burning Burqan
Ojlfield.
    A few thousand meters ahead of the forward line of troops, Marine Bell
AH-tJ and -15 Sea Cobra attack helicopters provided close in fire support using
TOW and laser-guided Hellfire missiles respectively. Ahead of the Sea Cobras,
Marine aircrews aloft in F/A-18D two-seater Hornets acted as forward air
controllers ("FastFACs"), directing two streams of Marine F/A-iS Hornet and
AV-8 Harrier jets onto targets.       The Hornet aircrews also radioed down their
observations to the divisions concerning Iraqi dispositions ahead of flie force.
The primary targets of the Marine jets were Iraqi artillery and armor.  Although
spates of bad weather and poor visibility hampered operations at times, the
pilots' attacks with MK20-Rockeye cluster munitions plus MKS2 500- and MKS3
1,000-pound  conventional         high-explosive bombs disabled Iraqi  guns  and
detonated their ammunition bunkers.         The devastating effects of the attacks
terrorized the Iraqi artillerymen, many of whom became afraid to man their
weapons as the day wore on.         Some of the Iraqi tanks along the primary lines