Operation "Eagle Claw" (1 Viewer)

[DeathHand]

Operation "Eagle Claw" was an American military operation ordered by President Jimmy Carter to attempt to put an end to the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 53 Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on 24 April 1980.

The plan called for a minimum of six helicopters; eight were sent in. Two helicopters could not navigate through a very fine sand cloud (a haboob) which forced one helicopter to crash land and the other to return to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Six helicopters reached the initial rendezvous point, Desert One, but one of them had damaged its hydraulic systems. The spares were on one of the two helicopters that had aborted.

Set 1.

1. Sea Stallions on the deck of the USS Nimitz the day before they flew to Iran.

 

[DeathHand]

As the U.S. force prepared to leave Iran, one of the helicopters crashed into a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft containing fuel and a group of servicemen. Both craft went down.

Set 2.

2. Burned out hull of the C-130 that a Sea Stallion helicopter had crashed into. A second Sea Stallion is seen at the top of the photo that was abandoned after trying to rescue US servicemen.

3. Remains of the Sea Stallion helicopter that crashed into a C-130.

4. An Iranian soldier at the site of the C-130 crash.

 

[DeathHand]

In the ensuing explosion and fire, eight servicemen died: five USAF aircrew in the C-130, and three USMC aircrew aboard the RH-53, with only the helicopter pilot and co-pilot (both badly burned) surviving.

During the following frantic evacuation by the C-130s, the helicopter crews attempted to retrieve their classified mission documents and destroy the helicopters. The helicopter crews boarded the C-130s. Five RH-53 helicopters were left behind mostly intact, some damaged by shrapnel. The Iranians gained at least four of them.

Set 3.

5. Remains of a US serviceman who was aboard the C-130.

6. Remains of another C-130 crew member.

7. Crew member from the C-130 tangled in the wreck.

8.

 

[Time Bomb]

Nice post DH! Great photo's too.

 

[DECADENCE]

Well that mission didn't go too well for them, ooopsies.

 

[devo]

Great post and pix!

 

[RedneckR0nin]

Great thread mang

 

[SAF]

Operation self-pwn, more like.

 

[mrln]

where did you find these photos?
great post,btw?

 

[DeathHand]

where did you find these photos?
great post,btw?

They're not very easy to get - gotta know where to look. The US did not want these getting out and they've done a good job at censoring them for years and hiding them from curious eyes. I have a few others that are related to the failed operation but didn't post them.

 

[mrln]

They're not very easy to get - gotta know where to look. The US did not want these getting out and they've done a good job at censoring them for years and hiding them from curious eyes. I have a few others that are related to the failed operation but didn't post them.

thats why i asked you. this is one of those presidential fuck ups that needed to be covered up. i figured the story will be more accessable after carter dies.

 

[DeathHand]

thats why i asked you. this is one of those presidential fuck ups that needed to be covered up. i figured the story will be more accessable after carter dies.

I think that the story is already out. Carter made a decision, the men trained for it and they knew their mission inside and out. But nature and human error stepped in and blew the whole operation to shit in a heartbeat. The failure of the mission was a huge embarrassment to the US and Carter even agreed that the doomed outcome led to his not being re-elected.

 

[Airbornemama]

Amazing photo's and info DH, it looks as if the crew members never stood A chance once those things caught fire. They burned to the ground and so did the men, only thing I see that withstood the heat was their helmets!

 

[DeathHand]

Amazing photo's and info DH, it looks as if the crew members never stood A chance once those things caught fire. They burned to the ground and so did the men, only thing I see that withstood the heat was their helmets!

Ya, and made worse in that the C-130 Hercules, that the Sea Stallion helicopter crashed into, was loaded with fuel. Once she hit the sand, landing gear down, the fuel ignited the plane into one big inferno.

 

[Airbornemama]

Ya, and made worse in that the C-130 Hercules, that the Sea Stallion helicopter crashed into, was loaded with fuel. Once she hit the sand, landing gear down, the fuel ignited the plane into one big inferno.

There was never any hope.

 

[mrln]

I think that the story is already out. Carter made a decision, the men trained for it and they knew their mission inside and out. But nature and human error stepped in and blew the whole operation to shit in a heartbeat. The failure of the mission was a huge embarrassment to the US and Carter even agreed that the doomed outcome led to his not being re-elected.

yes a doomed outcome,but the gas crisis and the "getting of hostages" didnt help either.

 

[aRyan]

They're not very easy to get - gotta know where to look. The US did not want these getting out and they've done a good job at censoring them for years and hiding them from curious eyes. I have a few others that are related to the failed operation but didn't post them.

Do you happen to have any pictures of Israels attack on the USS Liberty? It was during the 1967 Israeli-Egyptian war. Israel mass executed Egyptian POW's in the Sinai and the Liberty had intercepted talks of it. They decided to attack our ship over that, and on top of it to blame the attack on Egypt to get us involved. They were going to sink our ship then strafe all the survivors in life boats with machine gun fire. IIRC more than 50 U.S. soldiers died, and then the U.S. made the survivors sign documents saying they'd never talk about the incident.

 

[DeathHand]

Do you happen to have any pictures of Israels attack on the USS Liberty? It was during the 1967 Israeli-Egyptian war. Israel mass executed Egyptian POW's in the Sinai and the Liberty had intercepted talks of it. They decided to attack our ship over that, and on top of it to blame the attack on Egypt to get us involved. They were going to sink our ship then strafe all the survivors in life boats with machine gun fire. IIRC more than 50 U.S. soldiers died, and then the U.S. made the survivors sign documents saying they'd never talk about the incident.

I'll check and see what I can get. But I call C-8.

 

[aRyan]

I'll check and see what I can get. But I call C-8.

What is C-8? And thank you.

 

[DeathHand]

What is C-8? And thank you.

Oh, lols, the game Battleship. Although I can't remember if there was a C-8.