Combat· Persian Gulf Naval Action (Op PRAYING MANTIS)
Op PRAYING MANTIS 1988
Operation Praying Mantis was the American naval retaliation against Iran in the Persian Gulf, mounted after an American warship struck an Iranian mine while protecting reflagged tankers during the Iran-Iraq War.
The operation struck Iranian naval targets and oil platforms used for military purposes, and it grew into the largest American surface naval engagement since the Second World War as Iranian forces fought back. The Marine contribution centered on the assault force that seized and destroyed one of the Iranian gas-oil platforms and on Marine aviation that supported the action. The operation dealt Iran's navy a severe blow, sinking or damaging several vessels and destroying the targeted platforms, and it helped pressure Iran toward the ceasefire that ended its war with Iraq. The Marine role, a platform assault and supporting air power embarked with a Navy surface group, was a sharp expeditionary action within a predominantly naval battle in the Gulf.
Engagements in this conflict (1)
Record no. 834