olemanjoe Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 As the title said, no politics please hehehe. What units? Load outs? And the helo that crashed/suffered mechanical failure, what really happened? Just for reference for a future modelling project. Thanks guys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Hve you checked here? Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
olemanjoe Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Hve you checked here? Regards, Murph olemanjoe mumbles a rather sheepish thanks to Murph... :P Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Before seeing the picture of that wrecked tail boom, I would have guessed Marine 53 Echoes. Their load carrying ability alone would make that seem feasible. Similar to when they were used to pull Capt Scott O'Grady out of Bosnia after his F-16 got shot down. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J.C. Bahr Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Read somewhere tonight that a 3rd chopper was called in to replace the one lost. Hope those birds get ear-marked for future preservation and survive the rest of their military careers, as I for one would like to lay eyes on one of those birds in a museum somewhere, someday! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Check out the Helo Forum thread. One poster put up this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382859/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-Photo-Obama-watching-Al-Qaeda-leader-die-live-TV.html Scroll down a bit and see if you can tell me what helo that piece of wreckage came from? It appears to be some new design never seen before. Either that or a heavily modified Blackhawk, painted silver to boot. Very, very interesting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hemspilot Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 This is no H-60 I know. Either a decoy or this is the first look at some super black stealth mod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 As noted on the helo thread, this raid may finally answer what the "Beast of Khandahar" stealthy, UAV was doing over in Afghanistan for the last few years. It stands to reason that we have been keeping an eye on this compound for quite a while and I don't think we could have gotten away with using non-stealthy, low altitude Predators. Very interesting stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Expat Tomcat Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 CNN reported they were MH-53E helos and seeing as they flew directly back to the USS Carl Vinson from Abbatabad deep in Pakistan, I would speculate they were probably carrying long range drop tanks. I HIGHLY doubt if we'll ever find out specific squadron info for OPSEC reasons and to prevent repriasals by Al Quada. They're keeping their cards pretty close to their chest on this one. But I'd also speculate it was a NAVY MH -53E rather than an Air Force bird. Just my 2 cents and opinion, nothing confirmed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 To me it looks like there were at least 5 blades on the tail rotor. Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flying Penguin Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Guess we'll have to wait for the Military/History/Discovery Channel documentary says. So knights riding magical griffins? Jamie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Expat Tomcat Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Well, I'm not disputing anything that anyone says about this but the MH-53 is the bird of choice for SEAL ops, Chinooks are awefully loud, not that 53 are much quieter, but that double rotor creates alot of turbulence and therefore alot of noise. The tail rotor in the photo suggests a 53 as well, the 5 blade tail rotor is the same as a 53. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
camaroz06 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) Double post again Edited May 4, 2011 by camaroz06 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
camaroz06 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Anyone see this yet: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a275902dd-e7a2-40fd-ab78-d46e3bf922b1&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest I was wondering why during the reports it was repeated that the downed helicopter was destroyed so quickly. I would think why waste the energy and time to destroy a run of the mill transport, just blow it up with a drone later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Well, I'm not disputing anything that anyone says about this but the MH-53 is the bird of choice for SEAL ops, Chinooks are awefully loud, not that 53 are much quieter, but that double rotor creates alot of turbulence and therefore alot of noise. The tail rotor in the photo suggests a 53 as well, the 5 blade tail rotor is the same as a 53. Nooks are fast and maneuverable. MH-53 is not these guys birds of choice specially since the Night Stalkers do not fly them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Expat Tomcat Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Sorry I was mistaken about the tail rotor, 53s have a 4 blade tail rotor. Given the size of the 53s main rotor and the height of the walls it's probably a safe bet that it was something smaller. A MH-53 is 99ft long, that's awfully large for an op like this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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