HC Deb 30 January 1991 vol 184 c557W
Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of sorties made by each category of RAF aircraft in the first seven days of conflict in the Gulf.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

During the first seven days of conflict in the Gulf the RAF flew some 650 sorties, of which nearly 300 were offensive and over 180 were air defence. The remainder were carried out on various combat support tasks such as air-to-air refuelling.

Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of sorties made by the allied forces in the first seven days of conflict in the Gulf.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

In the first seven days of conflict in the Gulf the allied forces carried out some 15,000 sorties, of which 8,000 were combat sorties.