Description

This lens was part of a guidance system for a cruise missile that exploded over Baghdad during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Every day during our coverage of that conflict, members of the CNN crew would regularly walk around the grounds of the Al-Rasheed property looking for pieces of munitions that had exploded around the hotel vicinity the night before. (The Government Conference Center was across the street and was a popular target for coalition airstrikes) Likewise, while outside the complex, we would look for items to collect while covering the news. This lens was discovered while walking around the hotel gardens. The impressive images that were broadcast during press conferences at the Pentagon showing cruise missiles hitting their targets were taken using similar lenses.

Cruise missile launch from the U.S.S. Missouri on Jan. 17, 1991, the first day of Operation Desert Storm. Sixteen U.S. Navy ships launched Tomahawk missiles into Iraq during the conflict. (Credit: U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)