Early in the day on May 17, an Iraqi jet had fired on a Cypriot tanker, crippling it.
Shortly after 8pm, an AWACS detected an inbound aircraft, and the USS Stark's radar operators tracked it from 200 miles away. Due to the common Iraqi warplane presence, the ship's captain was not significantly concerned. He did, however, order a radio message requesting identification - twice. There was no response, but as the targeting radar on the plane was not locking on the Stark, it was expected to veer off.
By 10:10, the plane suddenly turned towards home. Undetected, the French-built Iraqi Mirage had launched two Exocet air-to-surface missiles, which slammed into the Stark only seconds after they were spotted. From the 10' x 15' hole at the point of impact, fire spread up into the combat information center, crippling the ship's electrical systems. The destroyer USS Waddell picked up a distress signal, and responded.
The AWACS called for airborne Saudi planes to pursue the Iraqi plane, but ground controllers in Dharain stated they were unable to do so. The Iraqi plane escaped back into home airspace.
The Stark's crew battled fires all through the night. They succeeded, and the Stark was able to make it back to port. She was repaired, with only a memorial plaque to mark what had happened.
37 Sailors lost their lives. In the wake of the incident, Congress ordered analysis of what had gone wrong, and delayed shipment of aircraft to the Saudis because of what was seen as it's apathetic response to the call for pursuit of the Mirage.
The USS Stark was decommissioned in May, 1999.
More information can be found here:
Wikipedia - USS Stark
USS Waddell History
Shipmates Not Forgotten
Haze Gray & Underway - The USS Stark
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