RAF Lakenheath Just Unveiled an F-15E That Honors the F-111 Lost Over Libya in 1986

The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath unveiled a specially painted F-15E Strike Eagle on April 14 to mark the 40th anniversary of Operation El Dorado Canyon. The aircraft, serial 91-0311, wears the same tan and two-tone green camouflage carried by the F-111F Aardvarks that launched from the same base in 1986. The nose carries the inscription Karma 52, a direct dedication to the one aircraft and two aircrew that did not return.

The Paint Scheme and What It Carries

The camouflage is an exact replication of the scheme worn by the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing’s F-111Fs during the Libya strikes. The nose radome retains standard grey paint while the rest of the airframe wears the historical three-color scheme. The vertical tails carry multiple layers of markings: the standard LN tail flash and serial on the outer surface alongside the older 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron insignia, a 40 years El Dorado Canyon legend on top, and the 48th Fighter Wing’s Statue of Liberty insignia rising from the base.

On the inner tail surfaces the shape of an F-111 and the 494th’s Panther emblem have been painted. The nose inscription Karma 52 honors Captain Fernando Ribas-Dominicci and Captain Paul Lorence, the pilot and weapons system officer of the F-111F lost during the operation. Neither was recovered.

Why the Tribute Matters

The F-15E that now carries Karma 52 on its nose belongs to the same wing, operating from the same base, that launched the F-111s forty years ago. The camouflage connecting the two aircraft is not decorative. It is an acknowledgment that the mission launched from Lakenheath in 1986 cost two of the men who flew it, and that the wing that sent them has not forgotten.