Operation Ellamy | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of 2011 military intervention in Libya | |||||||
RAF Tornado GR4 attacks a warship in Al Khums naval base, 20 May 2011 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Elizabeth II David Cameron Liam Fox Philip Hammond AM Sir Stuart Peach (CJO)[2] Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell (Air)[2] Rear Admiral Ian Corder (Maritime)[2] |
Muammar Gaddafi † (De facto Commander-in-Chief) Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr † (Minister of Defence) Khamis al-Gaddafi † (Khamis Brigade Commander) Ali Sharif al-Rifi (Air Force Commander) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 helicopter carrier 2 destroyers 3 frigates 2 mine hunters 2 submarines 10 multirole fighters 16 strike fighters 3 AWACS 1 signals intelligence plane 4 attack helicopters | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None |
200 tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, & SAMs destroyed[3][4] (until 12 April) 1 corvette destroyed 1 corvette damaged |
Operation Ellamy[5] was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya.[6] The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 which stipulated that "all necessary measures" shall be taken to protect civilians.[7] The coalition operation was designated by NATO as Operation Unified Protector, by the US as Operation Odyssey Dawn.[8][9] The Canadian participation as Operation Mobile[10] and the French participation as Opération Harmattan.[11] It was confirmed in December 2011 that the cost of the operations was £212m – less than was estimated, including £67m for replacing spent munitions, is all expected to be met from the Treasury reserve.[12]
The no-fly zone was proposed during the Libyan Civil War to prevent government forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from carrying out air attacks on anti-Gaddafi forces. Several countries prepared to take immediate military action at a conference in Paris on 19 March 2011.[13]
The randomly generated codename, "Ellamy," is an alternative spelling of the Early Modern English word, Elami (E-la-mi), a musical solmisation designating the note E in the context of a tetrachord.[14] The spelling "Ellamy" is found in a poem frequently attributed to John Skelton, "The Harmony of Birds".
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