Eagle Claw Ii

[ysi_maniac]

OK, I decided to separate back-history from the model http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum//index...showtopic=16333 because both can be discussed separately, I think.  Curiously, this Alternative history begin with several real History data.

I first have to introduce a real, not very known, character.  Following text is likely true, but I cannot guarantee its truthfulness. I found it in a Spanish site and translate it, but Mossie translated a second time from my   english to proper english, for you to read it.

Thanks, Simon.  I think that readers will say thanks too

...

[ysi_maniac]

Major Harald Mors 1911-2001
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Mors

Benito Mussolini was rescued from his prison on Grand Sasso due to a daring plan designed and carried out by Major Harald Mors.  Mors was a commander whose men would follow him to hell without hesitation; he was respected by all who served under him.

The same cannot be said for the Nazi leadership. Instead, he received nothing but contempt.  The achievements of the Fallschirmjager during Operation Eiche (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eiche ) were ignored.  The glory was ascribed to Otto Skorzeny and the Waffen-SS.  Mors protested bitterly, not for his own recognition but for that of his men, despite being General Kurt Student informing that such complaints would fall on deaf ears.  This did not deter Mors, who would talk to anyone that would listen.  He was promoted to Chief of Staff of the 2nd Fallschirmjager Division in order to keep him quiet, but he was sent to the Eastern Front in January 1944 when he refused to bow to political pressure.  Towards the end of the war he was appointed Chief Inspector of the Paratrooper School in Goslar, remaining there until March 1945, before being appointed Chief of Staff of the 3rd Fallschirmjager Division of the 1st Fallschirmjager Army based in Schlemm in the Ruhr area.  Here he was taken prisoner by allied troops.

After a brief time as a POW, Mors luck changed when the Gestapo's file on him fell into US hands.  In it, the Gestapo described him as a political undesirable due to his disagreement with the Nazi version of the Gran Sasso raid.  The version of the truth that had been his own personal nightmare led to his freedom.

In the 1950's, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany called on him to help create the new Federal Army.  Due to his ability to speak several languages, he was promoted to Oberst and appointed in several key positions in NATO.  In 1961 he was appointed to the German Embassy in Madrid as Military Attaché.  Coincidently, Otto Skorzeny was living in Madrid at the time although they never met, as Mors deliberately avoided his compatriot.

In his late 60's, Harald Mors retired from the Army and went to live in Berg.  There he refused to grant any interviews to avoid misrepresentation, but wrote a short memoir on his experiences of the Gran Sasso raid.  He died in February, at the age of 90.

[ysi_maniac]

Harald Mors

[ysi_maniac]

Harald Mors in Gran Sasso

[ysi_maniac]

More real History

Operation Eagle Claw

A.k.a. Operation Evening Light, Eagle Claw was a United States military operation to rescue the 53 hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 24, 1980. It  was designed as a complex two-night mission.  The first stage of the mission involved establishing a small staging site inside Iran itself, near the Tabas in the Yazd Province of Iran. The site, known as Desert One, was to be used as a temporary airstrip for the C-130 Hercules transport planes and RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters which would undertake the actual rescue operation. After refuelling the helicopters, the plan was for the ground troops to board the helicopters and fly to Desert Two near Tehran. After locating and extracting the hostages from Tehran, the rescuers and rescued would be transported by helicopter to Manzariyeh Air Base outside of Tehran ( 34°58′58″N, 50°48′20″E), where C-130 transports would take them out of the country under the protection of fighter aircraft.

An unforeseen low-level sandstorm caused two of eight USMC helicopters to lose their way en route to Desert One, but only after men and equipment had already been assembled there by USAF C-130s. A third helicopter suffered a mechanical failure after landing and was incapable of continuing with the mission. Additionally a civilian Iranian bus came by on a road shortly after the lead C-130 landed. The driver and all 44 passengers were held captive until the Americans left.

Without enough helicopters to transport men and equipment to Desert Two as planned, Col. Beckwith (some sources say that President Carter himself) took the decision to abort the mission. While maneuvering prior to departure, one of the helicopters became disoriented 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.

Up to here real history.

[ysi_maniac]

Alternative History:

First premise:  The civilian Iranian bus does not appear.
Second premise:  No matter who took the decision to abort the mission, the US C-130s and CH-53s took off with out problems and returned to their respective base and carrier. Every footprint of US presence in Desert One was quickly erased by the wind and sand. The world never knew what happened in Iranian desert.

However, President Carter was very upset and ordered a redesign of the entire mission.  He did not want another "shoddy piece of work". He also made some amendments on his part: foreign aid was accepted and the USSR was informed to ensure her silence, in exchange the US granted a free hand in Afghanistan for at least 2 years.
For foreign help, the UK and Germany were contacted, although Israel was left out to avoid problems with Islamic allies. This kind of operation had never been attempted and was much more difficult than the Iranian Embassy siege in London or Mogadishu, so SAS or GSG 9 experience had limited value. But the "recent" experience of Delta Force was much appreciated and several points were agreed:

-No helicopters to fly long periods over the desert
-Only highly experienced pilots should be involved in the mission
-At stages of the mission, alternative routes should chosen in the case of problems, leaving room for unforeseen events

Several meetings were held by anti-terror and Special Operations experts.  During one of them, a German GSG 9 member suggested that small STOL aircraft or gliders could land in a Soccer stadium close to the US Embassy, as in Operation Eiche ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eiche ).  This suggestion along with others was considered promising, including using large STOL aircraft like the C-130, and was thus assessed more deeply.

Some tests with Hercules fitted with rocket engines were disappointing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Credible_Sport ).  Small STOL aircraft such as the Pilatus PC-6 were considered too light for the mission and a former USAF pilot suggested modifications to all available Skyraiders that could be gathered from Davis Monthan or wherever. Poor serviceability of the CH-53 was found to be a major problem in Eagle Claw so the A-1 was considered a good candidate.  Then Ed Heinemann ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Heinemann ) 72 years old, retired, was contacted. He agreed to collaborate, returning to his old El Segundo desk, from which left (fired, in fact) in 1960.

Another respected elder was recruited to planning of the mission: The German Government contacted Harald Mors (1911-2001) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Mors ) and he agreed to travel to the USA as a tourist. While he was considered a consultant without any power or responsibility, his words were allways listened with attention and respect by USAF and Delta Force personnel.

Skyraider Customisation:

A-1H modifications are illustrated in a separate thread in this forum ( http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum//index...showtopic=16333 ).  Modifications on the A-1E, which were basically the same, are not shown.  The A-1E's were equipped with stretchers intended to carry the hostages (as knockout gases were to be used in rescue operation), and the A-1H's were intended for Delta Force troops, these being dubbed "Vector".

Training:

A reproduction of Amjadien soccer stadium was built in Fort Bragg.  Landing and take off maneouvres were drilled hundreds of times by each pilot and airframe.

Plan:

This time, the mission would start from Turkey and only the Desert Three (Manzariyeh) objective was retained from the old plan. A group of ten "Vectors" were to take Manzariyeh Airbase and secure it for C-141's carrying RDF-Sheridans ( http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum//index...508&hl=sheridan ) and other vehicles as a contingency, along with C-130s with more troops (Rangers). Their objective was to immediately move towards Teheran.

The assault group consisted of 12 ambulance Skyraiders with 6 stretchers each & 30 Vectors with 4 Delta Force troops each. Once Desert Three was secured, the group was to overfly Rezäiyeh lake, pass near Tabriz and travel along the south hillside of the Elburz mountains, approx 500nm, too much for any helicopter but not for the "Spad".  On arrival in Teheran, the group was to land in the soccer stadium one aircraft at a time, disembark the troops and then take off with the help of RATO pack.  It would then go to Manzariyeh, less than 100nm from Teheran, for refuelling & to change the RATO packs if required, as they were not designed to be used often.  If required, the aircraft could circle Teheran instead, assuming there was enough fuel remaining.

Once the hostages were freed, the Vectors would return to take them and the Delta Force troops.  If things went wrong however, the Rangers could approach by land from Manzariyeh.  This way several alternatives were always open and a single problem would not result in the cancelation of the mission.

[ysi_maniac]

By the time being, I do not feel inspired enought to continue this history. Maybe one day I could imagine more details about mission execution.

BTW: Many thanks to Simon (aka mossie) for his help in definitive version.