The USS Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was recently used to strike an Iranian cargo ship with its MK 45 deck gun.
According to The War Zone, this is the first time this type of attack has occurred in nearly four decades. The incident took place last Sunday (19), when the American vessel was used to hit the Iranian cargo ship Touska.
“Based on what we are tracking, the last indisputable example of a Navy ship firing its deck gun at another vessel was on April 18, 1988, during Operation Praying Mantis,” a U.S. Navy official told TWZ, referring to a clash between U.S. and Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
On that occasion, the Belknap-class guided-missile cruiser USS Wainwright, the Knox-class destroyer USS Bagley, and the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Simpson fired on the Iranian Karman-class fast attack craft IRIS Joshan.
Operation Praying Mantis was part of Operation Ernest Will, which began in 1987 when Iraqi and Iranian forces intensified attacks on merchant ships in the Persian Gulf during the final stages of the Iran-Iraq War.
However, although the Spruance strike on the Touska marked the first use of a Navy deck gun against another ship since then, there are more differences than similarities between these engagements.
The Touska is an unarmed civilian cargo vessel that attempted to escape the Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports. While the Spruance’s weapon punched a hole in the Touska’s engine room, the ship did not sink but was boarded and seized.
Additionally, this attack does not appear to have had the same effect on Iran as Operation Praying Mantis. In fact, the effect was the opposite. According to TWZ, for at least certain factions within Iran’s fragmented power structure, the encounter hardened the country’s resolve not to enter a second round of negotiations to end the war.
Photo: U.S. Navy. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
