3000 x 2250 px | 25,4 x 19,1 cm | 10 x 7,5 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
22 mars 2003
Lieu:
Northern Persian Gulf
Informations supplémentaires:
Aircraft prepare for takeoff on the flagship of America's Fifth Fleet, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), in the northern Persian Gulf. In the foreground, an F/A-18 Hornet of the “Fist of the Fleet” Strike Fighter Squadron 25 moves along the flight deck as it prepares for take-off. It is fully armed with four 2000lb bombs and will shortly be on its way to Iraq. Just beyond it, a ‘COD’ (Carrier On board Delivery) C-2A Greyhound is about to take off. Officially, this was the third day of the war. The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20th March to 1st May 2003 and signalled the start of the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States (prior to 19 March, the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom, a carryover from the War in Afghanistan). The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein.
