I wonder if anyone that has a better memory than me [ that’s pretty much everyone ] recalls if Turkey & France joined in as part of the allied coalition during Desert Storm.Thanks ahead guy’s [ and girls’too ] rudedog
France, yes. They sent an Armored Division I believe. Turkey, no.
France were definitely involved. They had troops on the ground during the invasion, and I assume the French air force were involved as well. I’m fairly certain the Turks allowed their airbases (Incirlik?) to be used for strikes into Iraq. I don’t know about an actual military contribution.
Turkey allowed their airbases to be used to drop humanitarian supplies to Kurdish refugees. They did not provide any direct military assistance (for fear of attack because they are a bordering nation). Just in case Iraq won the war, defeated the coalition and became a super power, Turkey wanted to be able to say they did not take part in the attack.
Turkey asked for and did receive some NATO support from European nations in case Iraq launched an attack into their country. I believe they received a fighter/interceptor squadron from Germany or Italy to defend against an Iraqi attack.
I believe France was one of the top 5 nations to provide military support. They had one armor division on the ground.
I was stationed at Incirlik, Air Base, Turkey from 25 July 1990 until 14 July 1994.
While it is true, Turkey didn’t directly join with the allies (they never provided troops or equipment), they did eventually allow FULL use of their country in the cause. Our first aircraft launches on day one of Desert Storm (150+ aircraft) were NOT allowed to cross from Turkish to Iraqi airspace and were recalled with full combat loads. However, within 3 days (if my memory serves), Turkey changed it’s mind and we began full combat air operations deep into Iraq. The primary missions of our aircraft (F-111’s, F-15’s, Tornados, F-16’s, KC-135’s, E-3’s, several copters, and numerous others) was to scour the western and north-western regions of Iraq for hidden Scud missle sites launching on Israel, find and destroy hidden stashes of Iraqi military equipment, and prevent fleeing Iraqi troops from running to Syria or Jordan.
After Desert Storm officially concluded, while the allies continued to patrol the skies, the Iraqi military on the ground began the crackdown of the Kurdish in northern Iraq. These Kurds began fleeing into the nearby mountains and even began crossing into the mountains of eastern Turkey. At that time, our mission shifted to a dual role. We still flew combat cap missions over much of Iraq, but also began humanitarian missions to drop supplies to the thousands of Kurdish refugees.
Hope this helps…
Thanks to all "the Usual suspect’s " You allhave never ceased to amaze me with your Knowledge.My local Barns & Noble doesn’t Even come close. Thanks, rudedog
the duch where in turky with patriot missile systems for defense agains iraqi rockets
There were 31 nations, besides the United States, that joined the coalition for Desert Storm. They were, in alphabetical order:
Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, CCCP, Spain, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom
Others had joined later.
These nations all committed resources but not necessarily military forces. Eight nations few against Iraq with a few other in support roles: US, UK, FR, GR, Saudi, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, Canada… I do not recall the other AFs. Ground forces include: USA, UK, Kuwaiti, Qatari, French, Egyptian, Saudi, Syrian, Afghani, Bahraini, Canadian, Czech(anti-chem), many others in non-combat and support roles. Those not listed in the 31, save Kuwait, were not present for the ground war, but were involved in the peace keeping effort.
I forgot UAE: Troops, Aircraft, Tanks, $$$$.