Something I'm very curious about. During the Entebbe rescue operation, Sayaret Matkal deployed vehicles - a Mercedes, a BTR-60 and Land Rovers - from the cargo bay of a moving C-130 for fast access. Did the Israelis pioneer this technique or was the idea taken from somewhere else?
Entebbe raid question
- Thread starter STURM
- Start date
I don't have an easy answer, but I have a question on how you define "pioneering"Something I'm very curious about. During the Entebbe rescue operation, Sayaret Matkal deployed vehicles - a Mercedes, a BTR-60 and Land Rovers - from the cargo bay of a moving C-130 for fast access. Did the Israelis pioneer this technique or was the idea taken from somewhere else?
Pioneering using a C-130 in a CT role? Entebbe was probably the first use for something like that.
Pioneering in terms of loading vehicle inside a tactical airlifter? That has been going on for quite a while. In WWII, gliders were employed to deliver jeeps, howitzers and other equipment very close to the action.
Since Entebbe, there has been occasional interest for moving wheeled or mechanized forces for aircraft. For a while, US Army Europe kept a company of M113s as a quick reaction force. The Stryker, was, of course, supposed to fit on a C130 (with a waiver) as part of the "anywhere in 96 hours" concept behind the stryker Brigade Combat Team, which hasn't really popped up for a while.
-Q
He's talking about the way they nearly ruined their ramps by dropping them to the ground and driving vehicles off them while still moving.
As opposed to LAPES, which was pioneered around fifteen years earlier.
From a realistic viewpoint this kind of fast insertion and evacuation modus operandi would, by most nations, preferably have been done with helicopters deploying from Nairobi or another pseudoneutral nearby airport.
As opposed to LAPES, which was pioneered around fifteen years earlier.
From a realistic viewpoint this kind of fast insertion and evacuation modus operandi would, by most nations, preferably have been done with helicopters deploying from Nairobi or another pseudoneutral nearby airport.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
It never occured to me but yes, the ramps would have been damaged! I recall reading many years ago that this technique or idea [if we can call it that], was later copied by Delta Force. I suppose for the Israelis at that time, it was the most ideal solution for a fast insertion, to provide the troops with mobility, surprise and armoured protection. What I don't get is how the Ugandans were meant to be momentarily deceived into thinking that the Mercedes was Idi Amins Mercedes when it was seen being delivered from a foreign aircraft, along with other vehicles.He's talking about the way they nearly ruined their ramps by dropping them to the ground and driving vehicles off them while still moving.
Idi Amin had C-130s flying around for him. Both Ugandan Air Lines ones, with American crews, and Lybian C-130s of course.when it was seen being delivered from a foreign aircraft, along with other vehicles.