Moment American black hawk helicopter is shot down in Mogadishu 1993
Battle of Mogadishu 1993
وثائقي بالعربية
English documentary
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It was a catastrophic impact': Newly-released footage from the Battle of Mogadishu shows the moment a black hawk helicopter is shot down, stranding U.S. soldiers for hours in enemy territory
Black Hawk Down! Newly-released footage from the Battle of Mogadishu shows the moment helicopter was shot down stranding US troops in enemy territory
Twenty years after the Battle of Mogadishu, new footage sheds light on how a mission to kidnap two Somali lieutenants went awry
The mission was 'flawless' until the men were ready to be airlifted out of the Somali capital
That's the moment when two black hawk helicopters were shot down, stranding soldiers in the city hours
Nineteen U.S. servicemen died in the overnight battle in enemy territory
The 2001 film Black Hawk Down was based on the event
Yesterday marked the 20 year anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu. Two decades later, never-before-seen footage has been released of the operation that was depicted in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.
The footage was obtained by CBS' 60 Minutes and will air this Sunday as part of a special segment on the mission that went awry in the capital of Somalia.
From 1993 to 1995, the United Nations had an operation in Somalia to create enough peace to continue humanitarian operations for civilians.
It was a part of this operation that on October 3, 1993, that 160 soldiers, consisting mostly of U.S. army rangers, conducted a raid in Mogadishu to capture two high-level lieutenants working for the warlord and president-to-be Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
Norm Hooten, who was a Special Operations team leader on the mission, told 60 Minutes that the mission was 'flawless' until the moment they were ready to be airlifted out of the city.
The video shows a black hawk helicopter 'Super 61' pass across the screen to land in the street when it's hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
'It took a direct hit to the tail boom and started a slow rotation,' Hooten said. 'It was a catastrophic impact. That's the only way I can describe it.'
The video continues to follow Super 61 as it slowly rotates to the ground and crashes right in the heart of enemy territory.
What was meant to be an hour-long raid turned into an over-night fight with combatants of the Somali National Alliance that eventually ended with the deaths of 19 U.S. soldiers.
In 1999, journalist Mark Bowden published a book about the mission based on a series of articles he wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which was in turn adapted into a film in 2001 starring Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana and Ewan McGregor.
Many have considered the fight to be the first battle between the United States and al Qaeda.
The United Nations operation in Somalia did not bring lasting peace to the area.Today, the country is as dangerous as ever - now being run mostly by Islamic militant group al Shabab.
60 Minutes will also show one former Army intelligence officer's efforts to recover the wreckage of Super 61 and transport them back the the U.S.
David Snelson and his wife Alisha Ryu have been living in Mogadishu for the past three years and decided to save the wrecked helicopter when they heard that new construction was planned for the crash site.
'Above anything else, you think about the men...what they went through,' Mr Snelson said. 'We didn't do this for anybody else but them.'
In the end, Mr Snelson and his wife were able to save some the wreckage and now Super 61's rotor blade and foot pedals are in the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The U.S. in Africa 20 Years After Black Hawk Down
In October 1993, street battles in Mogadishu, Somalia, led to the deaths of 18 U.S. service members. Here's a quick look at how the so-called Black Hawk Down episode impacted the U.S.'s military footprint in Africa. WSJ's Mark Scheffler reports
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Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
The Battle of Mogadishu, more commonly referred to as Black Hawk Down or, locally, as the Day of the Rangers (Somali: Maalintii Rangers), was part of Operation Gothic Serpent and was fought on 3 and 4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States supported by UNOSOM II, and Somali militiamen loyal to the self-proclaimed president-to-be Mohamed Farrah Aidid who had support from armed civilian fighters.
A U.S. Army force in Mogadishu, consisting primarily of U.S. Army Rangers from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), better known as Delta Force; as well as Air Force Combat Controllers and Air Force Pararescuemen and helicopters from 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, attempted to seize two of Aidid's high-echelon lieutenants during a meeting in the city. Shortly after the assault began, Somali militia and armed civilian fighters shot down two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The subsequent operation to secure and recover the crews of both helicopters drew the raid, intended to last no more than an hour, into an overnight standoff in the city. The battle resulted in 18 deaths, 80 wounded, and one helicopter pilot captured among the U.S. raid party and rescue forces. One Pakistani soldier and one Malaysian soldier were killed as part of the rescue forces. American sources estimate between 1,500 and 3,000 Somali casualties, including civilians; SNA forces claim only 315 killed, with 812 wounded. The battle is also referred to as the First Battle of Mogadishu to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Mogadishu of 2006.
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Mogadishu AH-1 cobra gun run.
An engagement between Somali and US forces just outside the US Embassy Compound, Mogadishu, 16 Sep 1993. Filmed by myself.
Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story
In October 1993, two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, forcing the 2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division (2-14) to engage in a fight to reach the soldiers and bring them home. On October 14, 2019, Colonel Randy Larsen, Brigadier General William David, and Professor Andrew Natsios discussed the events that lead up to the mission as well as the true story of the mission. The panel discussion followed a showing of Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story.
M1026 GUN TRUCK
The Museum of Military History presents its rolling memorial to the brave souls who lost their lives on October 3-4, 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent (Mogadishu, Somalia).
US VETS GO HARD RUCK LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE TO WTC 10-4-14
SOLDIERS PAYING RESPECTS TO THE 9/11 MEMORIAL AND
HONORING THE 21ST ANNIVERSARY OF BLACK HAWK DOWN
In 1993, following the ouster of the central government and start of a civil war, a major United Nations military operation in Somalia is authorized with a peacekeeping mandate. With the bulk of the peacekeepers withdrawn, the Mogadishu-based militia loyal to the faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who led the overthrow, have declared war on the remaining U.N. personnel. In response, U.S. Army Rangers, Delta Force soldiers, and 160th SOAR aviators are deployed to Mogadishu to capture Aidid, who has proclaimed himself president of the country.
To cement his power and subdue the population of southern Somalia, Aidid and his militia seize Red Cross food shipments, coercing the cooperation of the people, while the U.N. forces are powerless to directly intervene. Outside Mogadishu, Rangers and Delta Force operators capture Osman Ali Atto, a faction leader selling arms to Aidid's militia. Shortly thereafter, a mission is planned to capture Omar Salad Elmi and Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdiid, two of Aidid's top advisers.
The U.S. forces include experienced men as well as new recruits, including PFC Todd Blackburn and a desk clerk going on his first mission. When his Lieutenant is removed from duty after having an epileptic seizure, SSG Matthew Eversmann is placed in command of Ranger Chalk Four, his first command.
The operation is launched and Delta Force operators successfully capture Aidid's advisers inside the target building. The Rangers and helicopters escorting the ground-extraction convoy take heavy fire, while SSG Eversmann's Chalk Four is dropped a block away by mistake. Blackburn is severely injured after falling from one of the Black Hawk helicopters, so three Humvees led by SSG Jeff Struecker are detached from the convoy to return Blackburn to the U.N.-held Mogadishu Airport.
SGT Dominick Pilla is shot and killed just as Struecker's column departs, and shortly thereafter Black Hawk Super-Six One, piloted by CWO Clifton Elvis Wolcott, is shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and crashes deep within the city. Both pilots are killed, the two crew chiefs are wounded, and one Delta Force sniper on board escapes in another helicopter.
The ground forces are rerouted to converge on the crash site. The Somali militia erects roadblocks, causing LTC Danny McKnight's Humvee column to get lost, while sustaining heavy casualties. Meanwhile, two Ranger Chalks, including Eversmann's unit, reach Super-Six One's crash site and set up a defensive perimeter to await evacuation with the two wounded men and the fallen pilots. In the interim, Super-Six Four, piloted by CWO Michael Durant, is also shot down by an RPG and crashes several blocks away.
With CPT Mike Steele's Rangers pinned down and sustaining heavy casualties, no ground forces can reach Super Six Four's crash site nor reinforce the Rangers defending Super Six One. Two Delta Force snipers, SFC Randy Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon are inserted by helicopter to Super Six Four's crash site, where they find Durant still alive. The crash site is eventually overrun, Gordon and Shughart are killed, and Durant is captured by Aidid's militia.
McKnight's column gives up the attempt to reach Six-One's crash site and returns to base with their prisoners and the casualties. The men prepare to go back to extract the pinned-down Rangers and the fallen pilots, and MG Garrison sends LTC Joe Cribbs to ask for reinforcements from the 10th Mountain Division, including Malaysian and Pakistani armored units, to mobilize as a relief column.
As night falls, Aidid's militia launch a sustained assault on the trapped Americans at Super Six One's crash site. The militants are held off throughout the night by strafing runs and rocket attacks from AH-6J Little Bird helicopter gunships of the Nightstalkers, until the 10th Mountain Division's relief column is able to reach the site. The wounded and casualties are evacuated in the vehicles, but a handful of remaining Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are forced to run from the crash site back to the stadium, in the UN Safe Zone. During the run, they were shortly left behind because the vehicles went too fast and could not hear the soldiers' call to slow down and were forced to kill anyone who got in their way.
The closing credits detail the results of the raid: 19 American soldiers were killed, with over 1,000 Somali militants and civilians dead. Durant was released after 11 days of captivity. Delta Force snipers Gordon and Shughart were the first soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. On August 2, 1996, Aidid was killed in a battle with a rival faction. General Garrison retired the following day.
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (Миль Ми-24, NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and more than 30 other nations.
In NATO circles, the export versions, Mi-25 and Mi-35, are denoted with a letter suffix as Hind D and Hind E respectively. Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the flying tank, or летающий танк (letayushchiy tank). More common unofficial nicknames were Crocodile (Крокодил or Krokodil) due to the helicopter's camouflage scheme and Drinking Glass (Стакан or Stakan) because of the flat glass plates which surround the cockpit of the Mi-24.
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