Navy cruiser delivers first strikes in war on Iraq

ABOARD THE USS BUNKER HILL-More than a dozen cruise missiles raced off this cruiser in the northern Persian Gulf Thursday morning local time, leaving black trails in the hazy early dawn sky as they fell over the horizon to deliver some of the opening punches in the war against Iraq.

The Bunker Hill launched a total of 13 Tomahawk missiles. Beginning at about 5:15 a.m., the cruiser fired four missiles. Then the ship sharply banked, repositioned itself in the sea, and about 20 minutes later launched a salvo of nine rockets just minutes apart over the Bunker Hill's port side. The strikes concluded at about 5:45 a.m. as the sun rose.

The missiles rose from hatches in the rear of the ship and paused upright for three seconds, their tails belching fireballs. Then, with a loud pop, the missiles' ignition systems kicked in. The rockets flattened out and streaked off toward shore, leaving flaming debris trailing behind.

"Happy trails aft," one of the ship's officers yelled as the missiles soared out of sight, signaling a successful launch. Dozens of enlisted sailors packed the ships mid-decks taking photographs, recording the missile launches with video cameras and letting out cheers as the ship's weaponry roared away.

In the Bunker Hill's wardroom, officers ate breakfast after the launches while watching news reports on CNN and listening to President Bush address the nation. A cheer went up when the ship's strike officer, who oversees the launches, entered the room.

Shortly before the launch, Capt. Faris Farwell, skipper of the cruiser, took to the ship's intercom. He praised his crew for not faltering during the ongoing war on terrorism, and concluded by saying "God bless the Bunker Hill." Asked how the launch went, Farwell told reporters, "Just like it was supposed to."

Farwell acknowledged that the war did not start as "we all thought it would," with an overwhelming "shock and awe" strategy of mutiple strikes from air and sea. Rather, he said, his crew "rallied" to pull off a strike aimed at the Iraqi leadership. He likened the launches, which were based on last-minute intelligence about the whereabouts of Iraqi leaders, to going into a car and "barely having time to adjust the mirror before driving off."

Sailors on the ship boasted Thursday about having landed the first missile in Iraq, but Farwell said he had no way of knowing whether that was in fact the case.

Farwell coordinated the launches from the ship's windowless, high-technology Combat Information Center beneath the bridge. He called the scene there "unbelievable" as the crew learned they would be part of the "opening act" in the war.

The exact number of the nearly 20-foot Tomahawk missiles carried on board is classified. However, the ship's Vertical Launch System has a capacity of 122 missiles, which could include Tomahawks and other air, surface and land attack missiles. The Tomahawk has a range of about 800 miles, weighs about 700 pounds and can travel at more than 500 miles per hour.

The Bunker Hill, which launched some of the first strikes in Operation Desert Storm, is a member of the aircraft carrier Constellation's battle group based in the Persian Gulf. In total, about 130 U.S. and allied ships are operating in the region. Farwell said he was concerned about possible retaliatory strikes by Iraq. "We are in the envelope of [Iraqi] weapons and have to be on our toes," he said.