Black Hawk Falls

On October 2, 1993, U.S. military informants found out that two aides of Somali militant leader Aideid were staying at the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu. After repeated radio verifications by intelligence personnel with informants, the U.S. Army Ranger unit and delta special forces launched a joint arrest operation.

At about 3 p.m. on the 3rd, a team of "Black Hawk" and "Little Bird" helicopters departed from a US military base off the coast of Somalia, and the ground convoy then drove out of the barracks, aiming directly at the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu City.

Everything that began was exactly as the U.S. military imagined, from the aircraft descending to the breakthrough into the hotel, from the thunder capture to the withdrawal of the hotel, the U.S. military moved quickly and captured 24 militants.

Just as the evacuation was about to take place, an accident occurred. Surrounded by Aideid militants, more than a thousand Somalis attacked the U.S. army, and the fighting continued into the evening, with the Rangers and Delta members of the first attacks, some hiding in their cars and besieged, some divided and surrounded by sniper points, and the capture operation became a rescue operation.

In this battle, the US military suffered heavy losses, the "Black Hawk" helicopters codenamed "Super 61" and "Super 64" were shot down one after another, the number of "Humvee" vehicles was destroyed, 19 people were killed, 1 person was captured, and more than 70 people were injured.

(Wang Dongdong, Wu Zhigang)