July 21, 1982 (Persian calendar 1361/4/30)
The Last Flight
Major General Abbas Doran (October 22, 1950 Shiraz, Iran 1329/7/30 - July 21, 1982 Baghdad, Iraq 1361/4/30) was an acclaimed Iranian fighter pilot and a national hero.
He flew for the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF), and continued flying after the fall of the Iranian kingdom in 1979. General Doran piloted an F-4 Phantom II.
Major General Doran, known for flying the Phantom II beyond its limits, lower and faster than anybody in the Iranian Air Force, was good with the M-61A1 Vulcan gun, and had a high number of AGM-65 Maverick kills. He participated in the destruction of the Iraqi Navy during 'Operation Morvarid' in October 1980. One of his greatest values to the IRIAF was being the mission planner, because, according to the IRIAF, 90% of his missions in Iraq were successful. When Israel invaded south Lebanon in 1982, Doran was the first pilot to volunteer in case of necessary strike missions into Israel. Some of his mission plans for striking Israel are still kept secret to this day in case of a possible conflict between Iran and Israel. He is also known for writing numerous letters to the new government's heads asking them to stop executing and arresting former IIAF pilots during the time of war.
In 1982, Saddam Hussein planned to host the 7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baghdad to show that Iraq enjoyed stability during the ongoing war. The conference was scheduled to take place at Baghdad’s Al-Rashid Hotel and would have been a big blow to Iran, if Saddam Hussein were to hold it successfully. Iran tried to show that Baghdad was not safe, as the IRIAF planned to bomb Baghdad for the first time. This was the last sortie of Doran. He flew on Wednesday, July 21, 1982 at noon. Doran flew to Baghdad in an F-4E and bombed the Al-Doura refinery in Baghdad. His F-4E was then hit by a Roland 2 SAM. His weapon systems officer 'Mansour Kazemian Mahabadi' ejected from the plane and was taken prisoner. Doran knowing that was the most wanted pilot in Iraq and also the key IRIAF mission planner, he chose to die crashing his plane into the Al-Rashid Hotel. His actions caused the summit to be held in New Delhi instead of Baghdad.
After the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, General Doran became a hero in the IRIAF. Iraq returned Doran's remains to Iran on 21 July 2002 (Persian calendar 1381/4/30).
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