Operation Secret Squirrel 1991 Strike Against IRAQ

On Jan. 16, 1991, seven B-52 bombers flew 14,000 miles from an Air Force base in Barksdale, La., to Iraq. Their payload? Thirty-nine conventional air-launched cruise missiles, each packing a 2,000-pound-class, high-explosive warhead.

Of those, 35 were launched at priority targets throughout Iraq in what was the opening salvo of Desert Storm. Officially known as Operation Senior Surprise, this bombing run is more commonly known by the nickname its crew used: Operation Secret Squirrel.