Battle of Mogadishu, Oct 3, 1993; aka "Black Hawk Down"

 I was thinking of building a Blackhawk helicopter from the "Battle of Mogadishu" 1993 .

However I must confess , I dont know which type of Blackhawk was used .

I have an old 1/72 Italeri UH-60 Blackhawk which I'm about to put back together , so I was wondering if it's possible to make a "mogadishu" version with what I have .

I shortened a pair of ESSS weapons pylons and I have some 50.cal Guns along with some miniguns I think I could use .

I'm not sure which type of Tail plane I should use and are there any other major additions I need to add .

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated .

                           Kind regards John

One thing that made me mad (beyond the stories we heard at the time of the event) was that my ship was transiting the Indian Ocean on our way to the Gulf when we were told we were to be diverted to Somalia.  About a day or so before we were to arrive on station, we were redirected again--back toward the Gulf.  I can't help but wonder if we could have made any difference.  I know it wouldn't have changed the outcome of that particular day, but the air support couldn't have hurt (not our guys anyway).  Years later, I worked with a former crewman from the 160th who told me about that day.  He was still bitter about much of it.  He knew a couple of the guys from the two helos.

J.H., I see you live in Newnan--so do I.  Thanks for your service BTW.

Jim

Thanks for posting that link, Heavy. I remembered seeing that info before, but didn't remember where. Looking forward to building up my MH-60 that's in my stash ... but might just have to wait for the 20th anny.

Anyways, thanks again for the link.

Yes, they were:

91-26324 - Super 61, 'Thunderstruck', Walcot's bird
91-26350 - Super 64, 'Venom', Durant's bird 

For all the info you need on Op Gothic Serpent helos, check this thread.

but we were lucky in that we didn't lose any people to mortar rounds.

Not for SFC Matt Rierson...

Not many people know...but one of the Malaysian Armed Forces personal was killed during the extraction. PFC Mat Aznan Awang from 19 Royal Malay Regiment (Mechanized). While 7 others were wounded.

They might be shooting towards the sky as mentioned briefly in the book Battle of Mogadishu by Matt Eversmann, Dan Schilling and another 3^rd fella. But to be there knowing what you're bound to face needs lotsa courage. Especially more when you're saving souls from country not of your own.

I salute all of them...! And to anyone else who's been to combat when they have the chance of opting not to..

theranddav wrote:

Unfortunately today is the 15th anniversary of that tragic day. Keep these brave men and their families in your thoughts and prayers today.                                                Dave   NOTE: 18 Americans died in the actual battle; SFC Matt Rierson died two days later after a mortar attack on the US compound.

Just a few notes,

There were several U.S. Compounds. At the Airport the Air Force had one at the terminal, and the 160th  and other special ops outfits were nearby, nottoo far from the hospital and bakery operated by the Romanians, the other U.S. Aviation assets were about a 1/2 mile away on the north end of the airfield with additional units set up on the far side of the airfield close to the beach.

The main supply depot and command elements were at the University and Soccer Stadium with an additional compound on the west side of town, so it wasn't as if there were any single compound in the city.

As mentioned earlier, being mortared was a nightly event, at first at about 22:00 or 23:00, later at around 01:00 or 02:00, usually 60mm, but sometimes 81's. Normally, it would be only two or three rounds, just enough to make us man the perimeters and keep us awake. A few aircraft were damaged enough to warrant sending them back to the states for repairs that couldn't be done on site, but we were lucky in that we didn't lose any people to mortar rounds.

jtrace214 wrote:

The movie sent chills down my spine one can only imagine what it was like for real, Don't forget the two Delta operaters were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions , Shugart and I don't recall the other mans name for their efforts to rescue Michael Durant the Blackhawk pilot.God bless all these fine young men and the fine men and women out there protecting our freedoms as I type, I try and take a moment every day to say a prayer for all of them. John

The movie was filmed in Morroco, so while the depection of the city was close, it didn't give the true claustrophobic feel, in Mogadishu, for most of the city, what are called streets are more like alleys anywhere else. Also the scenes in the film showed a much cleaner city. The film also depicted only a short period where little birds (AH-6s) were engaged...in actuallity it went on all night long.

Besides the 160th and Rangers, Delta Force and SF were also involved. I spoke with a couple of the SF guys afterwards and the estimates of Somali dead and/or wounded were close to 3000, Several aircraft besides the ones lost were pretty chewed up. One made it to the port. I was part of the aircraft recovery team (H Co, 159th Avn) that was sent to the port to assess recovery options. Initially, the plan was to load the aircraft on a flatbed and truck it back to the Airfield, but with the streets being so narrow, the risk of ambush was too much. Another option was to sling load the aircraft back utilizing either an Italian CH-47 (they delcined to offer any help) or one of the Russian Mi-26s (These, along with Mi-17s were operated by Russian crews and maintained by Russian mechanics working for Canadian Helicopters, under contract to the UN) at the airfield. Ultimately, the decision was made to fly the MH-60 back to the airfield despite the damage (from the port to the airfield, it's just a matter of a two or three minute flight, while the ground route would have taken 15-20 minutes, due to the maze-like nature of the streets in that city).

I don't have any problem remembering it...I was at the airfield when the proverbial fecal matter hit the rotating ocillator. I was there from Jul 93-Feb 94. and I have no desire whatsoever to go back to that continent...There is nothing I left there that I will ever need to go back for.

Incoming mortar rounds were a nightly fact of life...at least until someone wised up and brought AC-130s back to the Mog. The sad thing is that this was one mess that the United States should have never been involved in.

jtrace214 wrote:

Don't know how I missed that opps sorry   john

John,

It's ok.  We get caught up in our daily lives, and those that haven't served will never have the"knowing" of those that have served.  That you thought about the two brave souls that received their Medals of Honor posthumously is appreciated.

Don't know how I missed that opps sorry

john

jtrace214 wrote:

Don't forget the two Delta operaters were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions , Shugart and I don't recall the other mans name...

He didn't.  From above....

The Delta Force Snipers SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts.

A sad day indeed.  God rest their souls.

The movie sent chills down my spine one can only imagine what it was like for real, Don't forget the two Delta operaters were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions , Shugart and I don't recall the other mans name for their efforts to rescue Michael Durant the Blackhawk pilot.God bless all these fine young men and the fine men and women out there protecting our freedoms as I type, I try and take a moment every day to say a prayer for all of them.

John