143
Figure 39.
Day 1 Night (Kyle, 1995, p. 204); Day 2 Routes (Kyle, 1995, p. 206)
Figure 40.
Disaster Strikes (Kyle, 1995, p. 340)
The rescue operation called for six MC-130’s to transport the assault into Iran to a
remote desert
landing strip named DESERT ONE, located 265 nautical miles from
Tehran. Simultaneously, eight RH-53 helicopters,
with Marine pilots, would launch from
an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea and rendezvous with the other elements at DESERT
ONE (Mis, 1998, p. 3). At DESERT ONE, the assault force would transload into the
helicopters, while the helicopters refueled.
Afterward, the helicopters would transport the
assault element to a remote mountain location fifty miles from Tehran, where they would
144
remain concealed until darkness fell again the following night.
The intent was to
infiltrate the target area by vehicles
64
under the cover of darkness and storm the embassy.
During the post assault phase, the RH-53 helicopters were scheduled to fly to the
embassy and recover the hostages and the rescue element. From there,
they would fly to
another airstrip at Masirah, thirty-five miles to the south, already secured by a Ranger
security team. There, C-141 aircrafts
would land, and all personnel would transload for
their return flight to freedom. One of the contingency plans known as PYTHON FORCE
consisted of 90 Force Recon Marines led by Major Oliver North; they were prepositioned
in the eastern sector of Turkey
as a backup extraction element, ready to intervene if any
of the helicopters or the assault element became trapped (Bolger, 1988, p. 126).
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