Modern Naval Battles: US Naval Gunfire in Lebanon (1983-1984)

Lebanon. The engagements mentioned below all occurred within 35 kilometers of Beirut.

The 1982-1984 multinational intervention in the Lebanese Civil War has largely disappeared from the pages of history. When it is remembered at all, it is for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. In many ways this neglect is understandable as the mission was both a complete failure and was overshadowed by the many high profile events of that period. However, this little-known conflict marked the most extensive use of naval gunfire since Vietnam, with at least eight warships conducting some fourteen missions and expended well over one thousand five hundred rounds of ammunition

Today, the 5" deck gun on American warships is widely regarded as a relic, but in the early 1980's it was the only land attack weapon available. Tomahawk was not declared operational until March 1983, and for the duration of the Lebanon intervention there were just two active Tomahawk ships - the test ship Merill (DD-976) and the battleship New Jersey (BB-62). More importantly, procurement of the non-nuclear land attack Tomahawk variant did not begin until 1985.

American forces first landed in Lebanon on 25 August 1982, when eight hundred Marines went ashore in Beirut. There they joined several hundred Italian and French soldiers in overseeing the recently negotiated withdrawal of Palestinian and Syrian anti-government forces from a civil war that had been ongoing since 1975. This mission was successfully completed and on September 10, the Marines returned to their ships. However, within days, the Lebanese president elect was assassinated, hundred of Palestinian refugees were massacred by militias, and the Israelis launched a major invasion. In response, a new multinational force was authorized and the first of what would eventually be nearly two thousand Marines returned to Beirut on September 29.

Unlike in the previous deployment, where the Marines were seen as a neutral party, they were now perceived as supporting the Lebanese government and soon came under fire. However, casualties remained light until 18 April 1983, when a car bomb exploded at the American Embassy, killing seventeen Americans and dozens of Lebanese staff. Subsequently, direct attacks on the Marine positions picked up, with the Americans responding with rifles, machine guns, and mortars. However, the Navy did not become involved until 8 September 1983, when four rockets landed within two hundred meters of the Marine command post at the Beirut international airport. In response, the Knox-class frigate Bowen (FF-1079) opened fire with her 5” gun. Only four shells were fired (along with six more from Marine 155mm howitzers ashore), but it was just the beginning.

USS Bowen, the first American ship to open fire during the Lebanon intervention

On September 16, following a shelling of the American Ambassador’s residence, Bowen and John Rodgers (DD-983), a Spruance-class destroyer, fired a total of seventy-two rounds, silencing six identified firing positions. The ability to quickly and accurately target hostile artillery was because of the August deployment of the Army's new AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder counter battery radar. This critical system was operated by a thirty-three man team that cataloged all large caliber fire around Beirut and kept the Navy and Marines informed of potential targets. Also of interest, the September 16 mission was the first time the 5”/54 Mk 45 lightweight gun and associated Mk 86 Gun Fire Control System was used in anger, as the Spruance-class had joined the fleet two years too late to see action in Vietnam.

The next mission would prove to be a turning point. On September 19, two Palestinian battalions supported by armor and heavy artillery attacked the Lebanese Army positions on the strategic Souq el Gharb ridge overlooking Beirut. Fighting began early in the morning and the Lebanese forces were soon hard pressed. As their artillery ammunition ran low, the Lebanese government requested support from the Americans. Shortly before noon, John Rodgers and Virginia (CGN-38) moved within three kilometers of the shore and unleashed a withering bombardment on the anti-government positions eight kilometers inland. Five hours and three hundred and thirty eight rounds later, the Palestinians withdrew. While the American government later depicted these action as being self-defense, claiming that the capture of Souq el Gharb would have endangered the Marines based at the airport several kilometers to the west, everyone on the ground viewed it as a direct intervention on the side of the Lebanese government.

The next day, John Rodgers and another Spruance-class destroyer, Arthur W Radford (DD-968), fired over ninety more rounds at various rebel positions in response to another shelling of the Ambassador's residence. On September 23, the Navy was again called to action and Arthur W Radford and Virginia opened fire in response to a four hour attack on Marines ashore. Reinforcements arrived on September 24, in the the form of the newly reactivated battleship New Jersey (BB-62). However, her guns remained silent as a ceasefire was signed on the 26th.

But the ceasefire did not last long, and fighting soon broke out again. On 23 October 1983, a truck loaded with the equivalent of twelve thousand pounds of explosives rammed the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing two hundred and forty one Americans. While the French (who lost fifty eight men in a simultaneous bombing of their barracks) conducted retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian forces in Syria, the United States made no response to this attack.

Indeed, the Navy did not engage again until December, when F-14’s flying reconnaissance missions began coming under heavy antiaircraft fire, including surface to air missiles. In response, on the morning of the December 4, the aircraft carriers Independence (CV-62) and John F Kennedy (CV-67) launched a twenty eight plane strike against the hostile air defense positions east of Beirut. But the attack was poorly planned and two aircraft were shot down with one pilot killed and another captured. In response to the American airstrike, that night the Syrian-backed forces opened heavy fire on the Marine base, with one 122mm rocket scoring a direct hit on a strongpoint, killing eight Marines and wounding two more. In addition to the response from Marine mortars and howitzers ashore, the Navy replied with 5” gunfire from unspecified ships.

But the airstrike did not bring an end to attacks on American reconnaissance flights. On December 13, the F-14’s were again fired upon from air defense sites some fourteen kilometers inland. This time the Navy responded with a fifty round, fifteen minute bombardment from the brand new guided missile cruiser Ticonderoga (CG-47) and the Charles F Adam-class destroyer Tattnall (DDG-19). The next day, the F-14’s were attacked again and five minutes later the Navy opened fire. Tattnall and Ticonderoga fired another sixty rounds at four targets, but this time they were joined by New Jersey, which fired eleven 16” shells at two additional targets. This was the first time a battleship had fired in anger since 1969 off Vietnam.

USS New Jersey firing her 16" guns off Lebanon

The next day, December 15, the Marines came under fire from mortars and 23mm cannon. From her station just three kilometers offshore, New Jersey responded to the attack with a twenty minute barrage of forty 5" rounds. The 16" guns were not used as the targets were just four to six kilometers inland and close to populated areas. The final engagement in this week of intense action was on December 18, when a reconnaissance flight was fired on once again. In what must have been becoming routine, Tattnall and Ticonderoga, still on station north of Beirut, responded with a twenty minute bombardment of sixty rounds.

The next instance of naval bombardment would not be until 15 January 1984. On that day, the Marines came under a three hour bombardment that began with 23mm cannon fire and included a 122mm rocket setting a fuel depot on fire. Naval gunfire was again called for and New Jersey and Tattnall responded with one hundred and twenty 5" rounds. As with the action on December 15, the 16" guns remained silent.

But that would change and 8 February 1984, would witness the crescendo of the campaign in the form of a nine hour bombardment of some thirty hostile positions ranging from ten kilometers southeast of Beirut to thirty kilometers east of the city. During this action, New Jersey fired over two hundred and fifty 16” shells at fifteen targets while the remainder were engaged with over three hundred 5” shells from the Spruance-class destroyer Caron (DD-970). While the stated reason for this operation was the recent shelling of the Ambassador's residence, the sheer scale of it as well as the targets chosen suggests that was not the full story. Instead, this spectacular display of force appears to have been conducted mainly for political reasons. Faced with a Lebanese Army that was rapidly disintegrating along religious lines and an American public that was increasingly frustrated with the mounting casualties and fruitless nature of the Lebanon intervention, on February 7 the Marines had been ordered to begin withdrawing from the war torn country. Thus, the bombardment was likely intended as a way to demonstrate commitment even while pulling out.

With the Americans on their way out of the country, the antigovernment forces saw little reason to continue attacking them and the withdrawal proceeded smoothly. On the February 25, the district containing the Ambassador's residence was again shelled, and Caron fired seventy rounds in response. On February 26, the last Marines assigned to the multinational force pulled out of Beirut, but the embassy guards and some small detachments remained. An hour after the last boat departed, a reconnaissance flight came under fire and Caron and New Jersey responded with sixteen 16” shells and fifty 5” shells.

The final use of naval gunfire in Lebanon occurred on February 29, when a team of forward observers stationed in Beirut came under artillery fire and the Knox-class frigate Sims (FF-1059) responded with three 5” shells before her gun failed (a common issue with the Mk 42 gun). Fortunately, that was sufficient to silence the enemy fire. While the naval force would not be withdrawn from Lebanese waters until 10 April 1984, with few Americans left ashore, there would be no further need for them to conduct bombardment missions.




TIMELINE:

09/08/83 Bowen: 4x 5”

09/16/83 Bowen, John Rodgers: 71x 5”

09/19/83 John Rodgers, Virginia: 338x 5”

09/20/83 Arthur W Radford, John Rodgers: 90x 5”

09/23/83 Arthur W Radford, Virginia: ?x 5”

12/04/83 Unknown: ?x 5”

12/13/83 Tattnall, Ticonderoga: 50x 5”

12/14/83 New Jersey, Tattnall, Ticonderoga: 11x 16”, 60x 5”

12/15/83 New Jersey: 40x 5”

12/18/83 Tattnall, Ticonderoga: 60x 5”

01/15/84 New Jersey, Tattnall: 120x 5”

02/08/84 Caron, New Jersey: 250x 16”, 300x 5”

02/25/84 Caron: 70x 5”

02/26/84 Caron, New Jersey: 16x 16”, 50x 5”

02/29/84 Sims: 3x 5”