The Day in the Gulf

* U.S. LOSSES: Three U.S. aircraft were lost in noncombat crashes. An Air Force B-52 bomber went down in the Indian Ocean; three of its six-member crew were rescued and three were missing. And two Marine helicopters, a Cobra and a Huey, crashed in separate incidents, killing six.

* FRIENDLY FIRE: Investigators found that seven Marines were killed by a missile fired by an American warplane during a battle along the Kuwaiti border last week, the U.S. military said. Officials said four other Marines killed in the battle were hit by an Iraqi tank round. A second incident involving the death of a Marine apparently by so-called friendly fire remains under investigation, they said.

* WAR TAB: The Bush Administration expects the Persian Gulf War will add at least $15 billion to the soaring deficit in the 1992 federal budget, Budget Director Richard G. Darman said. He said America’s allies so far have pledged to pay $51 billion, but the rest of the war’s costs would have to be financed with loans obtained by the U.S. government.

* 40,000 SORTIES: The allied air war passed the 40,000-sortie mark--some 10,000 more missions than were flown against Japan in the final 14 months of World War II. The bombers have destroyed or significantly damaged about 25 of 35 major bridges leading to Iraqi front lines, officials said.

* OIL SPILLS: Persian Gulf nations gathered in Bahrain to weigh the consequences of three massive oil spills moving toward their coasts. Iran, which has declared its neutrality in the Gulf War, offered its expertise in fighting the oil slicks, gained during its own eight-year war with Iraq.

* DAY OF PRAYER: Churchgoers across the country heeded President Bush’s call for a day of prayer for those on both sides of the Gulf War. Bush attended services at Camp David, Md.