Hobby Master Archive

At the beginning of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991 4 F/A-18Cs from VFA-81 “Sunliners” departed USS Saratoga each loaded with 4 Mk 84 2000-lb bombs. Their mission, bomb Al Walid AB H-3 out of commission. As they approached their target an E-2 notified them of enemy 15 miles away. LCDR Mark “MRT” Fox “AA 401 (BuNo 163508) and Lt. Nick “Mongo” Mongillo AA 410 (BuNo 163502) are credited with engaging 2 MiG-21s and shooting down both aircraft. These were the only USN air-to-air victories. Both aircraft are preserved at Pensacola.