The Libyan missile attack against Lampedusa, Italy, was initiated at 16:33 on 15 April 1986, and, despite not having caused any damage, kick-started a period of diplomatic crisis between the nations of Italy and Libya.

Two SS-1 Scud were launched against Lampedusa by the Libyan Armed Forces, to damage the NATO base located in Lampedusa, including the LORAN navigation system located on the base, as a reprisal against Operation El Dorado Canyon.

Background

Between 1985 and 1986 various diplomatic and military tension was built up between Italy, the United States and Libya. Between 24 and 25 March 1986, In the Gulf of Sidra, a naval and air warfare operation by the United States took place against Libya. On 14 April 1986, the evening before the Libyan missile attack on Lampedusa, the United States launched three air strikes on Libya to eliminate President Muammar Gaddafi. The code name of the operation was "El Dorado Canyon". Twenty-four US bomber aircraft attacked the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and six other targets, destroying the residence of Muammar Gaddafi in an operation initiated by President Ronald Reagan, in response to the West Berlin discotheque bombing in Berlin on 5 April 1986, frequented by US soldiers in Germany, with a toll of three dead and 250 wounded.

Gaddafi escaped the bombings, but among the victims of the US bombings, the alleged victims were Hana Gaddafi, one of his 15-month-old adopted daughters, and dozens of civilian victims. The US planes had taken off from the United Kingdom , and the aircraft carriers and , which were cruising in the Gulf of Sidra.

Missile attack on Lampedusa Lampedusa was home to a United States Coast Guard LORAN center "LO.RA.N.-C Slave Synchronization and Transmission Station "Mediterranean Sea / Lampedusa" ("Xray"), located at Capo Ponente. A 16:33 UTC on 15 April 1986, various residents of Lampedusa heard loud noises. The first assessment on the situation stated that the loud noises were likely from a Libyan patrol boat, and then it was speculated that it was an aerial attack. Eventually, it was identified as a missile attack. The commander in charge of the radio station, Lieutenant Ernest Del Bueno, evacuated all the U.S. personnel from the station, however he ordered the Italian one to stay behind. The news of the evacuation of the US military sent the islanders into a panic, and they moved out of the town, occupying the old "dammusi" and the shelter tunnels dug into the rock during World War II.Si trattava di una variante del missile balistico sovietico, denominata SS-1c Scud B - R-300 9K72 Elbrus.

At around 18:00, the US authorities informed the Italian Minister of Defence, Giovanni Spadolini, that Muammar Gaddafi had ordered the launch of two Soviet manufactured SS-1c Scud B - R-300 9K72 Elbrus missiles against the island of Lampedusa. The missiles landed in the nearby sea without causing any damages, the first exploding northwest and the second two kilometres southwest from the Capo Ponente base. The then Air Brigadier General Mario Arpino, Head of the 3rd "Aerospace Forces Planning" Department of the Italian Air Force General Staff, from January 1986 to September 1987, recalled those events in a 2005 interview: The Libyans claimed that they had indeed actually pursued the attack 24 hours after the incident on 16 April 1986, using Abdulrahaman Shalgam as to communicate such operation was real:

Theories On 20 September 2005, the Air squadron general , who was present during the events and at the time of the interview, was also the lead of the Italian Air Force, stated:

General Arpino, according to an article of the L'Espresso newspaper stated:

The statement by Basilio Cottone, not sustained by any kind of source, was later disproven by the Libyan government and Giulio Andreotti, who in 2005, during his tenure as the minister of foreign affairs, commented that:

Operation Girasole (Operation Sunflower)

At sunrise of 16 April 1986, the island of Lampedusa saw the mobilization of the Italian military units from the Paratroopers Brigade Folgore; among others, a component of the 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Regiment "Tuscania" was deployed. Operation Girasole began immediately and lasted until July 1986. Its purpose was to patrol Italian territorial waters and the Strait of Sicily with a naval squadron composed of the following units of the Italian Navy:

Cruiser ; Guided-missile destroyer ; Frigate . Frigate Destroyer Supply ship

The Italian Air Force provided escort for civilian aircraft to and from the smaller islands with F-104 fighter jets, carried out reconnaissance activities with Panavia Tornado, and contributed to patrolling the area with Bréguet 1150 Atlantic. It also transported Army units stationed in Lampedusa with C-130H and G.222 aircraft and, as a precaution, kept a Tornado fighter-bomber alert cell on standby at Pantelleria airport, where the MB.339s were also redeployed.

See also Lampedusa Airport Italy–Libya relations

Bibliography