Zuhair Dawoud Al-Tamimi

Zuhair Dawoud Al-Tamimi
Captain Zuhair Dawood in 1991
Birth nameزهير جري داود التميمي
AllegianceIraq Iraq
BranchIraqi Air Force
Years of service1980–2002
RankIRQAF_Amid_(BG) Brigadier General
Unit96th Squadron
Battles / warsIran–Iraq War, Gulf War
AwardsPresidential commendation, monetary reward, official recognition

Zuhair Dawoud Al-Tamimi is a former fighter pilot in the Iraqi Air Force, who fought in the Gulf War. He is credited with shooting down a U.S. F/A-18 Hornet on the opening night of the war.[1]

Early life and military career

Zuhair graduated from the Iraqi Air Force Academy, Class 37.[2] He initially trained on the MiG-21 and was assigned to the 37th Squadron. In 1984, while holding the rank of lieutenant, he was selected as one of five pilots to undergo conversion training on the MiG-25 in the Soviet Union.[3] Upon returning to Iraq, he helped establish the 96th Squadron, operating MiG-25s. He served with the unit until the end of 2002 and logged over 2,200 flight hours on the MiG-25.[4]

A photo of Mohammed Rayyan, possibly also featuring Zuhair Dawoud.

Reconnaissance missions

Despite being a fighter pilot, Zuhair also conducted high-risk reconnaissance missions, including:

  • A 1997 surveillance flight over Turkish border movements at 15 km altitude and Mach 1.7.[5]
  • A 1999 deep reconnaissance mission along the Saudi border, covering 525 km at 20 km altitude and Mach 3.2, successfully evading U.S. interception.[6]

Gulf War and the Speicher incident

On the night of January 16–17, 1991, Zuhair was scrambled from Al-Qadisiyah Air Base (now Ayn al-Asad) to intercept coalition aircraft.[7] Flying a MiG-25PDS, he engaged and shot down a U.S. F/A-18 Hornet piloted by Lt. Michael Scott Speicher.[8] The engagement lasted mere seconds, with an R-40RD hitting the target at 29 km range. The kill was later confirmed by U.S. reports.[9]

Later in the sortie, he locked onto a second target believed to be hostile, but was ordered to disengage due to friendly identification confusion. He narrowly avoided running out of fuel upon return, landing safely despite U.S. cluster bomb attacks on the runway.

Aftermath and recognition

Although his downing of the F/A-18 was recognized, Zuhair was not immediately honored. He filed over 75 formal requests for commendation between 1991 and 1996. Eventually, after confirmation from joint Iraqi-American investigations at the crash site, President Saddam Hussein approved a reward: a vehicle, cash, and promises of honorary medals to be issued after U.S. withdrawal.[10]

The newspaper reported on Zuhair's achievement, but misidentified the aircraft as an F-15C.

After the 2003 invasion, the base where Zuhair served was renamed "Camp Speicher" by U.S. forces, after the very pilot he had shot down.[11]

U.S. investigation

The fate of Lt. Speicher remained a mystery for years. U.S. teams visited the crash site and recovered parts of the wreckage, ejection seat, parachute, and biological evidence confirming Speicher's death.[12] U.S. authorities initially suspected that Speicher might have survived and been held by Iraq, but this was later disproven.[13]

Zuhair was interviewed by U.S. media (notably CBS) and intelligence teams post-2003.[14] He declined to travel with CBS to the crash site due to security concerns, suspecting it could be a setup.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (3 August 2009). "U.S. Pilot's Death Confirmed in Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  2. ^ Cooper, Tom (2008). Iraqi Fighters: 1953–2003. Harpia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9558790-2-5. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  3. ^ "Iraqi Pilots Trained in USSR". Associated Press. 14 May 1984.
  4. ^ Gordon, Michael R.; Trainor, Bernard E. (1995). The Generals' War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-32172-6. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  5. ^ Cooper, Tom (2009). MiG-25 Foxbat in Iraqi Service. Harpia Publishing.
  6. ^ "Iraqi Air Force Recon Missions". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  7. ^ "The First Night of Desert Storm". BBC News. 17 January 2001.
  8. ^ "U.S. Navy Confirms F/A-18 Was Downed by Iraqi MiG-25". Reuters. 5 January 1991.
  9. ^ Tyler, Patrick E. (12 January 1991). "Pentagon Confirms Iraqi MiG Downed Navy Jet". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Iraqi Pilot Finally Recognized". Al-Sabah. 20 March 1997.
  11. ^ "Camp Speicher Named for Missing Pilot". Stars and Stripes. 15 April 2003.
  12. ^ "Speicher Case Closed". BBC News. 11 August 2009.
  13. ^ "Pentagon Ends Search for Speicher". CNN. 12 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Interview with Iraqi Pilot". CBS News. 3 May 2004.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.