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Old 12-22-2021, 05:46 AM
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chico20854 chico20854 is offline
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December 22, 1996

Despite the Soviet invasion of Iran, low availability of shipping due to war in Europe and Korea results in the decision to delay the deployment of CENTCOM until after first of the year.

Unofficial:

The Iranian Air Force 33rd Tactical Fighter Squadron receives its last F-20 Tigershark from the converted business jet plant in Savannah, Georgia and flies it to Pensacola to begin a month of training on the new aircraft before returning home and the war raging over its homeland.

The nuclear-powered cruiser Long Beach, on a detached forward air defense/communications relay sortie in the Norwegian Sea is located by a squadron of Osa-class Soviet missile boats (hiding among icebergs in the Arctic night) and sunk.

The Soviet destroyer Udaloy sinks the damaged American attack submarine USS Providence and in turn is sunk by the submarine USS Montpelier, which was attempting toescorts the damaged boat.

The air base in Keflavik, Iceland is struck by 10 SS-N-19 Shipwreck cruise missiles (with fuel-air explosive warheads) fired by the Oscar-II cruise missile submarine K-141.

Poor weather over the Norwegian Sea hampers naval flight operations.

Convoy 105 arrives in the German ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven, less two ships sunk on the 18th. (The ships are divided between ports to avoid overloading port facilities and speed discharge). The convoy is carrying trailing elements of the 5th Infantry Division, replacement vehicles, ammunition, spare parts and troops and equipment for corps and army-level support units, mainly US Army Reserve.

Seoul is subjected to particularly heavy artillery bombardment, while ROKAF and USAF fighters break up a North Korean air raid on the city. Air Force commanders come under increasing pressure to reallocate close air support aircraft from supporting troops in contact to seeking out and striking North Korean hardened artillery firing points.


B-52s launch a second raid on Soviet shipping and bases in Conakry, Guinea, striking targets which had survived the earlier raid. Anti-American riots follow the attacks, ironically in which 2 Soviets are killed but no Westerners.

US troops from the 193rd Infantry Brigade seize the Bulgarian-flag Smolyan as it transits the Panama Canal. It is the last Warsaw Pact ship to enter the canal.
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I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end...
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