Destruction and Sinking of the IS Sahand 74

Table of Contents

The IS Sahand (74)

The Iranian frigate IS Sahand F 74 (Persian: سهند) belonged to the British-built Vosper Mark V class, also known as the Alvand class or Saam class frigate. IS Sahand was part of a quartet of ships ordered and initially bore the name Faramarz, inspired by a character from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Following the Islamic Revolution, the frigate was renamed IS Sahand, after the Sahand volcano.

A starboard bow view of the Iranian destroyer escort ITS Faramarz (DE 74), redesignated as IS Sahand (F 74)

The United Kingdom built all four ships which were originally armed with nine Sea Cat anti-air missiles and five Sea Killer anti-ship missiles. Iranian Navy has replaced the missiles with Chinese equivalents.

The IS Sahand (74) and VA-95

During the ongoing Gulf conflict, the Iranian frigate IRIS Sahand (74) set out from Bandar Abbas to confront an American naval group. The frigate was detected by two A-6E aircraft from VA-95, which were conducting a surface combat air patrol for the USS Joseph Strauss.

The IS Sahand launched missiles at the A-6Es, prompting them to retaliate with two Harpoon missiles and four laser-guided Skipper missiles. Additionally, the Joseph Strauss launched a Harpoon missile. The missiles struck their target, inflicting severe damage and igniting fires on the IS Sahand. The fires eventually spread to the ship’s munitions magazines, causing an explosion that led to its sinking.

The IS Sahand (74) burns after strikes by U.S. Navy ships and VA-95 A-6E Intruder aircraft on 18 April 1988

Left heavily aflame, dead in the water and listing to port, IS Sahand burned for several hours before fires reached her ammunition magazines and they detonated, sinking her in over 660 feet (200 metres) of water southwest of Larak Island. Forty-five members of her crew were killed.

An aerial view of the Iranian frigate IS Sahand (74) burning on 18 April 1988

At 1459, in a bold maneuver, the IS Sahand, a sister ship to the IS Sabalan, departed from Bandar Abbas. Though not as notorious as the IS Sabalan, the IS Sahand had its own history of attacking unarmed merchant vessels and now appeared to be on a mission to retaliate for the platform strikes. U.S. intelligence monitored the sortie closely, though the exact identity of the frigate was initially unclear. Consequently, SAG Delta was alerted to remain vigilant.

The Enterprise continued dispatching aircraft, rotating crews in search of the IS Sabalan or another viable target. As the day progressed, fatigue began to set in for the pilots. Commander Arthur “Bud” Langston and his bombardier/navigator embarked on a reconnaissance mission from the Enterprise in an A-6 Intruder, heavily armed. Accompanied by an EA-6B Prowler and two F-14 escorts, they headed towards the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly after takeoff, the EA-6B from VAQ-135, an electronic warfare and communications aircraft, notified Langston of an Iranian frigate possibly underway. Langston put his plane in a holding pattern over the Strait of Hormuz.
They did not have to wait long; the Sahand was rapidly advancing to join the conflict. “We were flying high, around 15,000 to 20,000 feet, and spotted a frigate leaving the harbor at high speed, creating a lot of white water,” Langston recalled. The frigate’s location and silhouette matched intelligence reports, but Langston needed to confirm its identity amidst the hazy Gulf conditions. He decided to take a closer look, aware of the potential international repercussions if he was wrong.

His A-6 descended rapidly to near-surface level, trailing the swiftly moving frigate by a couple of miles. As he pulled out of the dive, the ship opened fire. “That pretty much confirmed it wasn’t friendly,” Langston said. The A-6 streaked past the ship at about 50 yards, dodging tracers from its antiaircraft guns and shoulder-fired weapons. The aircraft then climbed to a safer altitude, about 15 miles away.

Langston quickly notified the Enterprise of the target and called for the full strike group’s launch. The rules of engagement allowed an immediate attack since the enemy had fired first. However, he first broadcast a warning: “I called on guard to the [hostile] ship, unsure if they were listening, and warned the Iranian frigate that fired on the A-6 Intruder to abandon ship within five minutes or face attack.”

Onboard the Enterprise, Commander John Schork, executive officer of Attack Squadron 95 (VA-95), received the go-ahead for the strike group to launch its seven aircraft—one A-6 and six A-7 Corsairs. As these planes hurried to the scene, Langston waited the specified five minutes before initiating a solo attack.

Langston began with an air-to-surface Harpoon missile, which exploded just behind the frigate’s bridge, rendering it dead in the water. He then launched two Skipper bombs and followed up with laser-guided bombs, setting the IS Sahand ablaze.

As the strike group arrived, they launched Harpoon missiles at the IS Sahand. Schork and his team coordinated their attack with SAG Delta, which was also preparing to strike. “The fog of war is real,” Schork later remarked. “Just as I was about to launch the Harpoon, someone on the Joseph Strauss radioed to stop our attack, saying they were going to fire. In our cockpit, we decided to proceed.” The Joseph Strauss and Schork’s aircraft fired Harpoons almost simultaneously, both striking the Sahand. Official reports later described this as a “coordinated” attack from both air and sea.

The overwhelming assault continued as others in the strike group launched their weapons at the Sahand. The O’Brien and other SAG Delta ships, though too distant to see the action, were aware of the unfolding events. “You could hear the impacts. My crew grew very quiet, realizing the gravity of what was happening beyond the horizon,” recalled Commander Robert Johnston, executive officer of the O’Brien.

Schork continued the assault with Skipper bombs, targeting parts of the ship not yet engulfed in flames. “I couldn’t tell if it was the bow or the stern,” he admitted. Approaching closer, he saw only a few survivors in an orange life raft and decided to end the attack. “I was the senior officer. Seeing the damage, I said, ‘That’s enough.’ We don’t kill those clearly abandoning ship. That’s not how we operate,” Schork concluded. The strike group then returned to the Enterprise.

SAG Delta ceased fire as well. Iran dispatched boats to rescue survivors, and U.S. ships did not interfere. The IS Sahand, engulfed in thick black smoke, remained afloat for several hours before sinking late that night. Iran later reported 45 dead and 87 injured from the Sahand.

The IS Sahand (74) Specifications

Name IIS Faramarz
Namesake Faramarz
Ordered: 1960
Builder: Vosper Thornycroft, Woolston
Yard number: 1080
Launched: 30 July 1969; 55 years ago.
Commissioned: February 1972
Renamed: Sahand, 1985
Namesake: Sahand volcano
Homeport: Bandar-Abbas
Fate: Sunk in Operation Praying Mantis, 19 April 1988

General Characteristics

Class and type: Alvand-class frigate
Displacement: 1,100 tons (1,540 tons full load)
Length: 94.5 m (310 ft)
Beam: 11.07 m (36.3 ft)
Draught: 3.25 m (10.7 ft)
Propulsion: 2 shafts, 2 Paxman Ventura cruising diesels, 3,800 bhp (2,830 kW), 17 knots 2 Rolls-Royce Olympus TM2 boost gas turbines, 46,000 shp (34,300 kW), 39 knots (72 km/h)
Speed: 39 knots (72 km/h) max
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 125-146

Armament

5 × Sea Killer anti-ship missiles
1 × 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mark 8 gun
1 × twin 35 mm AAA, 2 × single 20 mm AAA
2 × 81 mm mortars
2 × 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns
1 × Limbo ASW mortar
2 × triple 12.75 in torpedo tubes

1980’s U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf Books


America's First Clash with Iran: The Tanker War, 1987–88	Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History	Tanker War: America’s First Conflict with Iran, 1987–88	Liberty Call	Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988