The Operation Eagle Claw reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Operation Eagle Claw

Operation Eagle Claw was a United States military operation to rescue the hostages from the U.S embassy in Teheran, Iran on April 24, 1980. The operation was a failure and led to the creation of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the Night Stalkers).

The hostages were released after diplomatic negotiations; 444 days after their captivity.

Table of contents
1 General information
2 External links
3 References

General information

Planned as Operation Rice Bowl, the operation was designed as a complex two-night mission with a small staging site established inside Iran that provided a base for the transport planes and helicopters for the actual rescue operation. After using helicopters to evacuate the hostages, they would be brought to Manzariyeh Air Base outside of Tehran, in order to evacuate them out of the country.

Bad desert storms caused the mission to be aborted after men and equipment were assembled at the staging area, called Desert One, inside Iran. However, the operation ended in disaster when a U.S. Navy CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter flown by U.S. Marine pilots hit a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft, causing an explosion and a fire. Eight servicemen lost their lives in the tragedy, giving severe setback to the Carter administration and his hopes of reelection.

The failure of the various services to work together with cohesion forced the establishment of a new multi-service organization. The concept of USSOCOM was born and finally established; and placed into operation in the 1988-1989 time period. Each service subsequently now has its own Special Operations Forces under the overall control of USSOCOM. For example, the Army has its own Army Special Operations Command (ASOC) that controls the Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF).

The hostages were released after 444 days of captivity on January 20, 1981; the day that President Jimmy Carter left office.

Units involved in the operation (incomplete)



External links




References


  1.  USAF College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education. Air & Power Course: Operation Eagle Claw. United States of America: US Air Force.
    


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