Pretty much everyone has seen the 2001 block buster movie, Black Hawk Down, but how accurate is the movie? Well surprisingly, most of the movie is on par with real life events.
In 1991, then Somalian president Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown by a coalition of clans which in turn sparked a civil war. The civil war, raged and involved legitimate state actors such as the Somali National Army but it also included various rebel factions. One in particular was a faction rebel group militia led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a brutal dictator. Although he was not the only one, Aidid led looting and murdering, including stealing UN food supplies and leading over a million people to starvation.
In 1992, then US President George H.W. Bush announced the US Military would intervene and support the UN relief effort in Somalia. General Aidid began attacking UN forces and then shortly afterwards began targeting US targets including military bases in the region. As a result, in 1993, US President Bill Clinton approved a plan that would deploy approximately 400 US Army Rangers and Delta Force operators to back the US marines already there.
On October 3, 1993, the US planned a raid that would capture Aidid’s foreign minister and top political advisor, as well as other key political leaders and hopefully create a hole in Aidid’s organization. The operation was dubbed with the code word, “Irene”. The plan would see Delta operators assault the target building containing the targets via MH-6 Little Bird helicopters. The little birds would be backed by Four Ranger chalks led by Captain Michael Steele, and they would fast-rope down hovering MH-60L Black Hawks. The rangers would create a defensive perimeter around the building to ensure no one entered and no one left. Finally, nine HMMWV’s and 3 M939 five-ton trucks would be led by Lt. Colonel Danny Mcknight to the building to take the entire assault crew and all the prisoners back to base.
So what went wrong?
Well like the movie shows, the vehicle convoy ran into delays after Somali civilians and local militia formed barricades comprising mostly of burning tires. They also used burning tires around the city to accurately target US troop movements which allowed them to effectively move and counter US military.
While the Little Birds and Black Hawks reached the target building without issue they did meet resistance immediately. The Delta Operators were able to quickly take control inside the building and start extracting prisoners. However, during the fast-rope of Rangers, a Private First Class, Todd Blackburn, fell from the helicopter approximately 70 feet from the ground after it suddenly moved to dodge an RPG. Blackburn did not die in the incident but was critically injured and needed to be immediately evacuated. A decision was made to utilize 3 HMMVs to extract Blackburn, and while they were able to get him back to base, Sergeant Doinick Pilla was killed while en route back to base.
At 4:20pm, the first of two Black Hawks, Super 61, was shot down by an RPG. Both pilots were killed in the crash and two crew chiefs were seriously wounded. Two Delta snipers, Daniel Busch and Sergeant Jim Smith survived the crash and began defending the downed bird. A Little Bird was able to land immediately and get Busch and Smith out. Busch later died from gun shoots sustained during defending off the crash site. A combat search and rescue, CSAR, team was deployed via fast rope and began trying to stabilize the crew chiefs. During their fast rope, their black hawk, Super 68, was also hit by RPGs but was able to make it back to base.
Due to confusion and shock of the crash sites, the ground convoy and assault team waited 20 minutes to receive orders to leave. During the wait, the Black Hawks were hovering to provide security and one bird, Super 64, piloted by Michael Durant, was also shot down by an RPG at 4:40pm. Unfortunately, Super 64 landed at a completely opposite part of the city, causing further issues with getting to the bird. Due to massive delays expected, two Delta snipers, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, offered to insert and secure the 2nd crash site. Their two initial requests were denied but after asking the 3rd time they were allowed to insert. Sometime shortly after 5pm, Super 61 fast-roped Gordon and Shughart at the 2nd crash site.
Both snipers attempted to secure the site and located Durant who had a broken leg amongst other injuries. Gordon and Shughart kept a massive mob from attacking the crash site and overrunning them with the assistance of another Black Hawk, Super 62. However Super 62 was also hit by an RPG and had to return to base to land.
Without air support, Gordon and Shughart were overrun and Gordon was killed. Shughart did grab Gordon’s CAR-15 and give it to Durant and he then returned to the helicopter to hold off the mob which he did for approximately 10 minutes on his own before he was killed. Somali rebel forces overran the helicopter and killed remaining US personnel except for Durant who was taken prisoner.
A relief convoy was established utilizing Task Force 2-14 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, and Malaysian and Pakistani UN Forces. While the forces waited for the relief convoy, little birds supported isolated troops with strafing runs. At 2am, the relief convoy arrived and assisted with evacuating all remaining troops.
Did the Mogadishu Mile really happen?
Well sort of yes. At 6:30am, the Somalis were defeated and all US Forces were being evacuated by armored convoy. There was a group of Rangers and Delta operators led by SSG John Dycus who were unable to get on the convoy due to space limitations. This group did walk to a rally point where Pakistani tanks were on standby to take them to the stadium, they did not run out of the city like the movie depicts.
All told, the movie does paint a relatively accurate version of events. The US lost 19 personnel and had 73 wounded. The 2 Black Hawks down were only the 2nd and 3rd to ever be shot down in the combat.
Ben