and there are rumours that it was meanwhile flown to the US as well. Another rarity reported to have survived the war at al-Taqaddum were several Ilyushin Il-28 "Beagle" bombers, including one Il-28U training aircraft. Supplied to the IrAF in 1960, this aircraft must have certainly seen quite some service history: they were used during the extensive campaigns against Kurdish rebels, in the 1960s, mid-1970s, and mid-1980s during the war against Iran. 1991 Gulf War At 12:30AM on January 17, 1991, aircraft from CVW-17 on the USS Saratoga CV-60 and CVW-3 from the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67, launched to attack Tammuz Air Base. The main strike was escorted by three EA-6B Prowlers from VQ-130, two sections of F-14A Tomcats from VF-32. Before the Navy aircraft arrived, F-117A Nighthawks attacked the Joint Integrated Operations Center & GCI Radar Facility at Tammuz Air Base. AA-310, an A-7E Corsair II from VA-46 piloted by Jeffery Greer fired ADM-141 TALD decoys, forcing the Iraqi radars to be activated. AGM-88 HARMs from A-6E SWIPs, A-7Es and F/A-18Cs were then expended against the SAM sites near the base and West Baghdad, followed by jamming by the EA-6B Prowlers. During this phase, at 3:50AM, LCDR. Scott Speicher, who preparing to fire the first of two AGM-88 HARMs from his F/A-18C Hornet AA-403 from VFA-81, was downed by an Iraqi MiG-25PDS, with Speicher ejecting but dying shortly after. At 4:00AM, ten A-6E TRAM Intruders from VA-35 and VA-75, attacked the hangars and MiG maintenance depot at Tammuz. Between 4:00AM and 4:03AM, VA-35's four A-6E TRAM Intruders, each carrying four Mk.84 bombs, dive bombed from 25,000 ft at the two large hangars. The MiG-29 assembly facilities were then hit by four A-6Es from VA-75 with GBU-10 Paveway II LGBs between 4:04AM and 4:07AM. On January 24, 1991, seven Tupolev Tu-16/B-6D Badgers being configured with chemical weapons were attacked on the ground at Tammuz Air Base, with 4 being destroyed. A MiG-25 from Tammuz also took part in the Samurra Air Battle on January 30, 1991. Another MiG-25 and it were chased back but landed safely at Tammuz. 2003 U.S. invasion The Iraqi airbase was long-abandoned when U.S. forces occupied it in March 2003. The U.S. Army started to refer to the base as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ridgway. The first U.S. Battalion to occupy the base was the 142nd Corps Support Battalion. The primary mission of the 142nd