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Operation Eagle Claw (or Operation Evening Light) was a United States military operation to rescue the 53 hostages from the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 24 1980. The operation was a failure, and had a severe impact on U.S. President Jimmy Carter's re-election prospects; on a military level, it led to the creation of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the Night Stalkers). The hostages were eventually released via diplomatic negotiations on January 20 1981, Carter's last day in office, after 444 days of captivity.
OverviewImage:Desertone.jpg The wreckage of a Sea Stallion helicopter at the Desert One base in Iran
An unforeseen low-level sandstorm caused two of eight helicopters to lose their way en route to Desert One, but only after men and equipment had been assembled there. A third helicopter suffered a mechanical failure and was incapable of continuing with the mission. Without enough helicopters to transport men and equipment to Desert Two, the mission was aborted. After the decision to abort the mission was made, one of the helicopters lost control while taking off and crashed into a C-130. In the ensuing explosion and fire, eight US servicemen were killed: five USAF aircrew in the C-130, and three USMC aircrew in the RH-53. During the evacuation, six RH-53 helicopters were left behind intact (5 of their serial numbers are 158686, 158744, 158750, 158753, and 158758). These six helicopters now serve with the Iranian Navy. In their haste to quickly evacuate the RH-53s, the aircrews inadvertently left behind classified plans that identified CIA agents within Iran. Wounded personnel, mostly with serious burns, returned with the rest of the Joint Task Force (JTF) to the launch base in Oman. Two C-141 Medevac aircraft from the rear staging base at Wadi Kena, Egypt, picked up the injured personnel, helicopter crews, and Delta forces. The C-141s then returned to Wadi Kena. The injured personnel were then transported to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. AftermathThe failure of the various services to work together with cohesion forced the establishment of a new multi-service organization. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was born and finally established, and became operational in 1988/1989. 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 lack of highly trained helicopter pilots that were capable of the low-level night flying needed for modern special forces missions prompted the creation of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) (Night Stalkers).
Not long after the failure of the mission, on the 6th of May 1980, the Iranian Embassy Siege occurred in London. As for the situation in Iran, the hostages were released after 444 days of captivity on January 20 1981, the day that Ronald Reagan succeeded Carter as president. Retired Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James L. Holloway III led the official investigation in 1980 into the causes of the failure of the operation on behest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Holloway Report primarily cited deficiencies in mission planning, command and control, and inter-service operability, and provided a catalyst to reorganize the Department of Defense, and the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986.[2] Units involved in the operationThese units are known to have participated:
Depictions of Operation Eagle Claw in FictionThe Desert One phase of the operation is depicted in the 1986 film The Delta Force. The sequence in the film shows the explosion of a Sea Stallion helicopter and the subsequent rescue of an injured soldier by a character played by Chuck Norris. The film also depicts the escape from Desert One in a Hercules C-130 aircraft. Notes
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