by Dave Becker
1/350 USS Horne CG-30 (Iron Shipwrights)
Model is a Iron Shipwright/Commander's Series 1/350 scale USS Horne
kit. The kit is for a 1985 version of the Horne. I wanted a
Gulf War version so I had a little bit of upgrading to do - an easy job
with this fine kit. Now a little history, on December 7, 1990 Horne
deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert
Storm. While on station as the northernmost navy ship in the Persian Gulf,
Horne controlled more than 570 aircraft. In support of the air campaign,
tanker aircraft under Horne's control dispensed over 16 million pounds
of jet fuel to coalition aircraft. Horne also controlled naval strike aircraft
in attacks on fourteen Iraqi surface ships, destroying six with six being
heavily damaged and put out of action. Horne's ability to provide air control
and missile coverage over the gulf contributed directly to the total destruction
of the Iraqi navy. Toward the end of the campaign, Horne was on station
10 nautical miles northwest of USS
Tripoli and 7 nautical miles northeast of USS Princeton when those
vessels struck mines. Despite the demonstrated danger of the minefield,
Horne remained on station providing anti-air protection for the stricken
warships. While on station Horne detected three moored contact mines and
Horne's helicopter flight crew sighted a drifting Iraqi mine which Horne
destroyed. After the cease fire and the Iraqi disclosure of the location
of their minefields, it was determined that Horne had been sailing in Iraqi
mine fields for 12 consecutive days!
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