| Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War

Page 205

OH-58 Kiowa and the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Scout–Özai, Turgut

OH-58 Kiowa and the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Scout

Flown from the frigate Nicholas to attack offshore oil platforms that Iraqi troops were using to harass Allied aircraft flying over the Gulf, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Scout was said by aviation writer Elfan Ap Rees in 1986 to be “the newest variant of the Bell OH-58 ‘Kiowa’ to enter service . . . the subject of a major updating program which includes the introduction of a four-bladed main rotor, new avionics and a mastmounted sight/sensor system.” According to the military report Desert Score, “During the run-up to the ground war that ended Operation Desert Storm, OH-58s were used for reconnaissance, forward air control training, and personal transports for commanders. They performed similar functions during the ground war. Two were lost, one as a combat casualty and one to non-combat causes.”

Of the two craft, the one used most by U.S. forces during the war was the OH-58D, of which 118 saw action in the Gulf. Only 15, all stationed on the frigate Nicholas, were equipped with Hellfire missiles. The Saudis also used the export variant, the 406CS, as forward air controllers (FACs) for other coalition craft. The OH-58D is powered by a single Allison 250-C30U turboshaft providing 650 shaft horsepower (shp). The craft has a fuselage length of 34 feet 4.75 inches (10.5 m) and is able to seat two crew members (pilot and co-pilot) and carry two troops. Modifications (not including those done to the models sold to the Saudis) comprise, according to author Tom Clancy, “the installation of weapons pylons capable of taking AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, air-to-air Stingers, 2.75 inch Hydra-70 rockets, and a .50-caliber machine-gun pod.” He adds, “In September 1987, under a ‘black’ program (the very existence of the program was secret) code-named PRIME CHANCE, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed Bell Helicopter-Textron to convert fifteen OH-58Ds to an armed configuration.” Originally called the Kiowa Scout, it was renamed the Kiowa Warrior Scout in honor of its duty during the Iran-Iraq War, when it worked to save tankers from Iranian mines, and its accomplishments during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. An OH-58D craft was shot down over North Korea in December 1994, an incident in which one U.S. airman, CWO David Hilemon, was killed.

References:

Allen, Thomas B., F. Clifton Berry, and Norman Polmar, CNN: War in the Gulf: From the Invasion of Kuwait to the Day of Victory and Beyond (Atlanta, GA: Turner, 1991), 170;

Almond, Denise L., ed., Desert Score: U.S. Gulf War Weapons (Washington, DC: Carroll Publishing, 1991), 94–95;

Clancy, Tom, Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment (New York: Berkley Books, 1994), 145–146;

Rees, Elfan Ap, World Military Helicopters (London: Jane’s Publications, 1986), 40–41.

Oil

The chief argument of those who opposed American involvement in the Persian Gulf was that the war was essentially fought over oil. After all, the Persian Gulf is the world’s preeminent oil shipping lane, and control by Iraq of Kuwait’s and Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves could make Saddam Hussein the preeminent power over world oil supplies.

Just exactly what part did oil play in the prosecution of the war against Iraq? Government analyst Carl Behrens, in a Congressional Research Service brief, “Oil and Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait,” wrote in 1990: “Almost 40% of oil produced by market economies, 17.2 million barrels per day (mbd), comes from Persian Gulf countries. Of that total, Iraq and Kuwait produced 3 mbd and 1.9 mbd respectively, representing almost 30% of Gulf production.” Thus, it was extremely important that Iraqi troops be stopped from taking Saudi Arabi, if that was their intent.

Oil and its power became a huge part of the argument against going to war in the Persian Gulf. Todd Gitlin wrote in the Village Voice, “Given the reality of the world economy, as