The shots of the shamefully abandoned and burnt-out American helicopters at one time went around the world.
Photo from the magazine "Soldier of Fortune"
On the anniversary of the failure of the CIA operation in Iran
Thirty years ago, in May 1980, then-US President and Supreme Commander Jimmy Carter declared mourning in the country for eight American soldiers killed. The fact is not quite ordinary. After all, the war in Vietnam was over five years ago, and before the next, in Iraq, it was still eleven long years. The guys for whom there was nationwide mourning died in the fighting. But in actions of a special kind - in a special operation on the territory of a sovereign state.
KHOMEINI VS CARTER
In February 1979, power in Iran passed into the hands of the clergy, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, who proclaimed the creation of an "Islamic republic." After the overthrow of the Shah's regime, relations between Tehran and Washington sharply deteriorated …
On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students, adherents of the spiritual leader of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, supported by the Iranian government, seized the American embassy in the Iranian capital. 53 embassy employees were held hostage.
This was done under the pretext that the embassy had become an "espionage nest" against Iran and the Islamic Revolution. Which, by the way, was confirmed by the documents later published, seized in the American diplomatic mission. The students demanded that America extradite former Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (the monarch left the country with his family) and return the stolen wealth placed in Western banks.
According to some reports, the current head of state, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was among those who held the American embassy. Shortly after the Islamic Revolution, he volunteered for the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (During the Iran-Iraq war, Ahmadinejad took personal part in reconnaissance and sabotage operations in Iraq.)
Then, in 1980, threats to Iran from the US State Department did not help. And the United States decided to release the hostages using the American special forces group "Delta Force", or in everyday life - just "Delta". In addition to rescuing American agents and diplomats detained at the US Embassy in Tehran, it was important to restore Washington's tarnished image.
On March 22, 1980, President Jimmy Carter approved a special operation, codenamed Eagle Claw. “For its implementation,” testified Zbigniew Brzezinski, “we secured the generous cooperation of one friendly country and, without its knowledge, ensured the cooperation of some countries in this region.”
The executors identified the now infamous Delta Commando Detachment under the leadership of Vietnam War veteran Colonel Charles Beckwith and the then-created in strict secrecy Helicopter Special Unit 160 (Night Hunters) under the command of Air Force Colonel Dan Kyle. Special Forces 160, formed from experienced volunteer pilots, was equipped with the latest Little Bird helicopters - ultra-fast, maneuverable and quiet. The commander of the Night Hunters, Brigadier General Hannies, said that "the best of the best are gathered here, who know how to impeccably operate at the limit of the possible."
According to the plan, military transport aircraft "Hercules" C-130, accompanied by helicopters "Sea Stallion" ("Sea stallions") were to deliver a detachment of commandos to the area of night refueling in the Deshte-Kevir desert ("Desert-1"). After refueling, the helicopters are to transfer the Delta group to the Desert-2 holding area at an abandoned salt mine 50 miles from Tehran. After waiting out the day in shelters, the next night, the Delta group fighters, dressed in civilian clothes, were to make a dash into Tehran in cars that would be provided by American agents previously abandoned in Iran. Upon reaching the embassy, the commandos destroy the guards and free the hostages. The evacuation of the special forces and hostages was planned to be carried out with the help of RH-53D helicopters, which should land on the territory of the embassy or at the nearest stadium. Air fire support was provided by three AC-130 aircraft armed with rapid-fire cannons.
Next, helicopters evacuate the commandos and hostages to the abandoned Manzariyeh airfield, 50 miles south of Tehran. This airfield by that time should be captured and held by another ranger squad. Military transport aircraft C-141 land there, which take all participants in the operation to a secret air base in Egypt under the cover of carrier-based fighters of the US Navy.
The plan of Operation Eagle Claw, declassified only a few years ago, was complicated by the length (two nights), multi-stage (due to the remoteness of Tehran from the sea borders) and the need to operate in a large city. Therefore, the raid participants trained throughout the winter of 1980. The exercise and training took place in a desert area in Utah, where the natural conditions and landscape are similar to the Deshte Kevir Desert. The participants were consulted by specialists from West German intelligence, the Israeli Mossad and the British SAS (Special Air Service).
EVIL ROCK
In mid-April, Colonel Beckwith, widely known in narrow professional circles as Attacker Charlie since the Vietnam War, and Colonel Kyle reported their readiness to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jones. But as it later became known, the leaders of the operation did not report "upstairs" that the March control exercises showed "a complete lack of professional training in the helicopter unit." In the final night exercise, the helicopters landed a mile apart. Be that as it may, US President Jimmy Carter received Beckwith and Kyle at the White House, solemnly promising them that each participant will be awarded the highest award of the country - the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The operation began on April 24, 1980. Previously, the S-130 squadron was transferred to Egypt under the pretext of participating in joint exercises. Then they flew to Masira Island (Oman). After refueling, the Hercules squadron crossed the Gulf of Oman in the dark. At the same time, eight Sea Stallions took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "Nimitz" in the Gulf of Oman. Although, in principle, two RH-53D helicopters, designed for 50 people, were enough for the operation. But taking into account the above-mentioned sad conclusion about the low training of helicopter pilots, Colonel Beckwith decided to play it safe by as much as 4 times. And as he looked into the water (of the Gulf). One "stallion" fell into the water at the deck of the "Nimitz", the second lost orientation and returned to the aircraft carrier. The third helicopter retired due to a hydraulic failure.
One way or another, on April 24, six American C-130 transport aircraft and eight helicopters with 90 special forces on board crossed the state border of Iran, thereby violating its sovereignty, and headed to Tehran. (Special agents were sent there in advance to collect intelligence). From the south, the invading air group was covered by a large number of other aircraft, including electronic countermeasures. They circled over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
But after a six-hour flight about 400 kilometers from the Iranian capital over the Deshte-Kevir desert, the planes and helicopters were caught in a sandstorm. The commander of the leading vehicle reported that it was necessary to return immediately.
Another pilot insisted that he could not take the steering wheel. Charlie's attacker, aka Colonel Beckwith, shouted at his subordinates in response, calling them "cowards" and "goats."
According to the plan of the operation, refueling on the ground of the remaining five "stallions" was provided, which were to transfer the Deltaians from "Pustyn-1" to "Pustyn-2". But it went smoothly on paper, that is, on a map: the CIA made a clear mistake when choosing the site of "Desert-1". She found herself next to an active highway. Not surprisingly, the participants in the operation soon saw the lights of car headlights. The commandos thought they were Iranian soldiers. However, it was a regular bus with forty passengers. The Americans stopped him and, at gunpoint, forced the Iranians to lie face down in the sand.
From that moment it was clear that the factors of secrecy and surprise were lost. A request went to Washington what to do with the Iranians? Without further ado, they decided to load everyone into the "Hercules" and take them out of Iran.
CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
But all the calculations were broken by the last accident. After refueling, one of the helicopters, taking off in a cloud of dust, crashed into a Hercules air tanker. A powerful explosion rang out. Both cars burst into flames. All fuel for the operation has burned out. Ammunition exploded and even dry rations sealed in cans. The panic began. It seemed to a group of commandos located not far away that this was an attack by the Iranians. They opened fire indiscriminately. In the confusion, the helicopter pilots abandoned their cars and began to scatter wherever they looked. Secret documents, maps, codes, tables, the latest equipment, thousandths of dollars and rials remained in the cabins. (Secret documents found the next day by the Iranians allowed them to arrest agents operating in the country, while the surviving helicopters were handed over to the Iranian Air Force.)
In this situation, Colonels Beckwith and Kyle had no choice but to give the order to get out of the damned desert: "We drop everything, load onto the Hercules and get out!" The gallant colonels did not even think to destroy the remaining helicopters. When the group took off, five "stallions" and eight "birds" remained on the ground. Operation Eagle Claw cost America $ 150 million and eight GI deaths.
As is customary not only in the American army, it was necessary to find "switchmen". Those who were no longer alive were declared as such, adding here the disagreements with the equipment. The Air Force officials said that the incident was the result of the cancellation of the draft, which led … to a decrease in the qualifications of pilots and technicians. After analyzing the reasons for the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, a joint special operations command was formed and reorganizations were carried out in the military department.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS - A LESSON TO TODAY
On October 5, 1981, special unit 160 "Night Hunters" was officially formed from the helicopter pilots - participants in the operation. It took part in all reconnaissance and sabotage operations of the Pentagon. Grenada, Zambia, Panama, the Persian Gulf … It was the "Hunters" in the fall of 1987 that sank the Iranian tanker "Ajr" in the Persian Gulf. After the beginning of the well-known events in Yugoslavia (March 1999), they were transferred to Macedonia by order of President Clinton.
And what happened to the hostages accused of espionage? They were held at the American Embassy in Tehran for 444 days, until January 20, 1981. It is symbolic that this was the last day of the presidential term of Carter, who lost the election to Ronald Reagan. They were released after a series of diplomatic negotiations, specifically after the United States agreed to make certain concessions (for example, the unfreezing of Iranian accounts in American banks).
Every April, several thousand Iranians gather in the desert where US military helicopters crashed. The actions in the desert, where the American helicopters crashed, were held under the slogan "Death to America." A statement released by the organizers said: “Divine providence has always protected the Iranian people. We will insist on our right to develop nuclear technology, because victory is always with those who are patient. " And Iranian parliamentarians have repeatedly advised Washington not to repeat its mistakes. “The United States should be reminded of what happened on April 25, 1980” - these are the words of the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Golyam Ali Hadad-Adel.
If successful, Operation Eagle Claw, according to experts, could cause a large number of civilian casualties and lead to a serious complication of the international situation. As for the current situation in relations between Tehran and Washington, how not to remember that overseas military action against Iran is not ruled out. Against the backdrop of events in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan, this could lead to a military fire not only in
