On the evening of March 27th, 1999, NATO troops carried out the fourth night air raid on Yugoslavia since the war. The F-117 stealth bomber who participated in the air raid not only took the lead in stealth technology, but also created the myth of "the invincible west" after a long battle. Every air raid can always go "happily" and return "safely". Therefore, in the long run, its pilots will be tempered with courage and pride, and there is no danger. This battle is the same as before. They don't care about the Yugoslav air defense forces at all. They always swagger forward and withdraw along the same attack route with one track in mind. However, this time they were not so lucky, and the danger soon came to them. By listening to the conversation between them, the Yugoslav air defense missile company quickly grasped their attack route and bombing plan, and set up heavy troops on its attack route. The ground-to-air missiles slammed and an F-117 plane crashed on the spot. Next, almost at the same time, the American army and the Confederate army found that the pilot of the plane had parachuted to escape, so a rescue and anti-rescue operation began ...
The nighthawk was broken
The pilot of the F-117a Nighthawk stealth bomber that was shot down was Lieutenant Colonel Zelco of the US Air Force, who belonged to the 8th fighter squadron of the US Air Force in New Mexico. When he finished the target bombing of Belgrade and was about to turn around and return to the Italian Air Force Base, he didn't expect the early warning radar on his plane to suddenly keep flashing, and he immediately realized the danger-Yugoslav anti-aircraft missiles were eyeing him! Different from other fighters, the F-117 with stealth performance is relatively poor in maneuverability, and once it is tracked by missiles, it is too late to avoid it. Just at that moment, the missile hit his mount in an instant, and a loud noise and strong fire drove Zelco to close his eyes instinctively. Then, the plane rolled up quickly, and Zelco felt very dizzy. In an instant, he subconsciously pressed the button of the ejection seat, and the cockpit and fuselage were separated immediately.
The parachute and life jacket were opened on time at the predetermined height. Zelco, who was slightly shocked, quickly checked the parachute. As a result, he was surprised to find that the orange and white umbrella was very eye-catching in the bright moonlight, and the brightly lit Belgrade was on his right. He instinctively realized that the enemy was probably searching for him, so an idea flashed in his heart immediately: he must get in touch with his superiors as soon as possible and never be a prisoner! So he shouted for help through the equipped distress radio: "Emergency, emergency, this is Vega 31 (Zelco's flight call sign)! He was afraid that his superiors would not receive the signal, so he called for help for the second time: "I have jumped off the plane and Vega 31 has crashed." Zelco turned off the radio station immediately after only three seconds of calling for help, thinking that the Yugoslav army might be able to intercept it.
Zelco continued to fall to the ground. At a height of about 15 meters from the ground, Zelco passed through a cloud, and suddenly found an open farmland in the south of a village town. There were many cars coming and going on a road next to it. He was very worried that someone would find his parachute. So, Zelco adjusted the control handle of the parachute and quickly landed in the farmland far from the road. He immediately tucked up his parachute and hid it in a deep ditch, and then quickly observed the road. Fortunately, there was nothing unusual. He quickly ran to a dense crop field, fell behind him, immediately grabbed the fertile black soil there and wiped it on his face and neck. This is the simplest way to hide himself that the instructor taught him during his training. It was March, and the spring was chilly. Fortunately, Zelco wore several clothes and tucked an American flag in a close place, which kept him warm in the cold night.
After Zelco calmed down, he concluded that both his own side and the enemy knew that he had parachuted and would soon send troops for search and rescue. Therefore, his next move is extremely crucial. It can be said that he will either go to heaven or go to hell! Therefore, he asked himself not to make any mistakes in every step he took next. He carefully checked his belongings. In addition to carrying a 9 mm pistol, his life jacket also contained a compass, a global positioning system, a small radio, a annunciator, some food and water, as well as batteries, mirrors, whistles, flares, lighting sticks, Bangladeshi fireworks and first aid kits. These seemingly ordinary items can come in handy at critical times, so he figured out when to use what kind of "life-saving baby". At this moment, a dog barking in the distant village interrupted his train of thought. He looked inside, and the light of a flashlight was shaking in the dark village. Zelco's heart swelled: Maybe the search and rescue team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was out. So he subconsciously shrank under the vegetation, planning his next move and waiting for the arrival of the rescue team.
Snatching food from the tiger's mouth
In fact, when Zelco sent out the first distress signal, L aerial tankers and an EC-13 electronic warfare plane (equipped with alarm system, jamming system, radar system and reconnaissance system, etc.) nearby were caught in time. The news immediately spread like an electric current to the campaign headquarters of the military stationed in Europe and America. The US military headquarters in Europe immediately ordered the 2nd Joint Task Force deployed in Tuzla, Croatia to carry out rescue. In fact, before the war broke out, the US military sent three special operations squadrons and one parachute squadron of a special tactical brigade to the war zone. After the start of the war, the US military deployed these special forces into several joint task forces (the second joint task force is only one of them) in the forward position, maintaining a high combat readiness and ready to perform unexpected tasks at any time.
After the 2nd Joint Task Force received the order, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Lanshaw, the squadron leader of the 55th Special Operations Squadron (as the captain of the task force), led more than 3 commandos, and immediately took two "low-altitude paving" MH-53s and one "paving eagle" MH-6 helicopter (each carrying a full set of medical equipment) to the accident site for rescue. These two kinds of helicopters have the characteristics of large volume, high speed and advanced equipment. During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the US military successfully rescued a pilot with several MH-53 helicopters, which made him famous.
to support and cover the rescue operation, the U.S. military Aviano Air Force Base Operations Center also dispatched four A-1 attack planes to escort the rescue helicopter (two duty planes have been sent to the accident site. The attack aircraft is loaded with "Mavericks" anti-tank missiles, laser-guided bombs and rockets. In addition, the EC-13 electronic warfare plane that received Zelco's distress signal has been hovering at a safe height over the war zone, monitoring the movement of the Yugoslav army in the parachuting area of Zelco at any time.
Three helicopters joined the A-1 attack aircraft over the border of Yugoslavia and flew directly to their destination. On the way, Lieutenant Colonel Lanshaw received a report from EC-13 electronic warfare plane, saying that a large number of Yugoslav troops were gathering in the parachuting area of Zelco. Obviously, they were preparing to carry out a large-scale raid. Lieutenant Colonel Lanshaw did not dare to neglect, and immediately ordered the aircraft formation to go ahead at full speed, demanding that Zelco be rescued before the inferior.
Zelco, who was lurking in the vegetation, calmed down, gently took out the global positioning system he carried with him, measured his exact position and immediately sent it out by password. The EC-13 electronic warfare plane that was patrolling in the air immediately deciphered the code and found out the exact location of Zelco on the map. As a result, it was found that Zelco was thousands of meters south of Luma town, not near the town that was initially thought. It immediately informed the contingent commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ranshaw.
At this time, three helicopters led by Lieutenant Colonel Ranshaw entered Serbian airspace after refueling. In order to avoid being detected by VJ radar, the helicopter used a triangular formation to fly at low altitude. Flying too low, a helicopter almost hit the high-voltage line.
A few hours later, Zelco was cold and hungry, looking around the sky from time to time, anxiously waiting for the arrival of rescue troops. At this time, the Yugoslav military police are stepping up their search. He can clearly see that the Yugoslav army is coming from far and near, and the lights of flashlights and searchlights are also sweeping from time to time. A police dog keeps barking near him. He can clearly hear the conversation between the Yugoslav military police. He judges that they must have found some clues. Zelco was so scared that he closed his eyes painfully, thinking that he was doomed, and he was even ready to give in easily. But the goddess of fortune still pulled him. I don't know why, after a commotion, the Confederate army did not continue to approach him, but searched far away.
Two A-1 attack planes that arrived over the parachute landing area of Zelco in advance have contacted Zelco and told him that the rescue team will come soon. The A-1 attack plane sent Zelco a code to turn on its signal equipment. Zelco was ecstatic, and immediately turned on the signal with this code, waiting for the arrival of the rescue team.
At this time, the task force led by Lieutenant Colonel Lanshaw, under the guidance of the A-1 attack aircraft, has flown over the parachute landing area of Zelco. However, this airspace is densely covered with clouds, so Rancho Middle School decided: A-1 attack aircraft should keep in touch with Zelco and provide air cover; Three helicopters crossed the clouds to carry out rescue. MH-6 will land and pick up people, and two MH-53s will hover above for cover. The helicopter has arrived 2 miles away from Zelco, but they failed to find the signal sent by Zelco's annunciator, which made Lieutenant Colonel Lanshaw's mood suddenly heavy. Zelco on the ground was equally worried. He was very puzzled: he could clearly hear the roar of the helicopter close at hand, but why couldn't the helicopter find him? It's like an invisible wall between them.
At this time, the situation on the spot is increasingly unfavorable to the US, and the danger is approaching Zelco step by step. The air defense forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia seem to have found the tracks of the A-LO attack aircraft, and fireworks-like anti-aircraft guns and missiles shot fiercely into the sky. A-1 pilots immediately used decoy bombs, jamming pods and flight maneuvers to avoid deadly attacks. On the ground, the vehicles of the confederate army are coming along the highway like lightning.
in the face of a critical situation, an A-1 attack pilot can't care so much. He growled at Zelco loudly on the radio: "The helicopter can't receive your signal. Give me a signal quickly, whatever it is." Subsequently, Zelco answered and lifted a lighting stick. Because the lighting stick is very bright, the pilot of A-1 attack aircraft believes that when he discovers Zelco, the nearby Yugoslav military police can also see him. So he quickly ordered Zelco to put out the lighting stick. Under the guidance of the A-1 attack pilot, the MH-6 helicopter suddenly landed 1 feet away from Zelco, and two crew members dressed in black combat uniforms jumped off the helicopter before the plane stopped and went straight to Zelco. I saw Zelco kneeling on the ground, holding up his hands and posing as a non-resister. When the task force saw this, it fully met the requirements of pre-training and soon confirmed his identity. "Are you all right, sir?" One of the players said gently. "We've come to take you home." Zelco, who was extremely excited, wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice choked. With the help of the team members, Zelco, who spent six hours in panic, finally boarded the helicopter to pick him up. After that, three helicopters, like runaway wild horses, quickly disappeared into the darkness. At this time, the vehicles of the South Military Police have already driven to a distance of 5 yards. Behind the helicopter was a flurry of gunfire.
"Scored twice"
In the early morning of March 29th, only two days before the first rescue mission, the rescue team of special operations forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the United States rescued another pilot.
Although the shooting down of the F-117 stealth fighter has greatly shaken the US government and the public, it has basically not affected the pace of air strikes by the US military. After reassessing the air defense capability of the Yugoslav army, NATO launched the fifth round of air strikes against Yugoslavia while strengthening air defense measures.
As soon as more than 6 planes sent to carry out bombing missions entered Yugoslav airspace under the cover of night, thousands of anti-aircraft artillery shells and dozens of surface-to-air missiles roared into the sky. Suddenly, the smoke and fire reflected a large sky, and the F-116 fighter group was washed apart by these "uninvited guests". F-16 is a low-altitude fighter, generally flying at an altitude of less than 16, meters. Once the surface-to-air missile is pursued at the speed of more than three times the speed of sound, its response time is extremely limited. Suddenly, a shrapnel from a missile kissed an F-16 intimately, and the plane suddenly flashed red and spiraled down.
The fighter pilot who was hit called "Hammer 3-4", and he didn't panic in the face of the rapidly falling plane. Instead, he kept reporting the situation of the plane and the height of the decline to his superiors, while preparing for skydiving. When "Hammer 3-4" was only 3 meters away from the ground, he pressed the button of the ejection chair. Suddenly, an umbrella flower opened in the air and slowly landed on the ground carrying "Hammer 3-4". When Hammer 3-4 fell, other F-16 pilots used radar to track and measure the landing position.
U.S. special operations command soon learned about "Hammer 3-4" and quickly made a rescue plan. Subsequently, a rescue team composed of dozens of team members led by Lieutenant Denehan, carrying all kinds of combat equipment and appliances, boarded three helicopters already on standby-two MH-53J "low-altitude paving" helicopters and one MH-6G "paving eagle" helicopter, and embarked on a journey just 1 minutes after Hammer 34 was shot down.
The rescue team knows that this rescue is more dangerous than the last one. Because, since the last time the US military successfully rescued the pilot from the nose of the Yugoslav military police, the highest authorities of the Yugoslav army were greatly annoyed and quickly formulated powerful "anti-rescue" measures, which intensified the crackdown on the US rescue operation.
Although the rescue team was psychologically prepared, when three helicopters flew over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, they were still surprised by what they saw. The air defense capability of the Yugoslav army is stronger than expected. In the night sky, the aerial fire network composed of anti-aircraft artillery shells and missiles of red, blue and white colors made the helicopter formation have to hide left and flash right. Like acrobatics, they kept twisting their bodies and alternately took the lead, avoiding the attacks of surface-to-air missiles and artillery shells in the air. Lieutenant Denehan, while commanding three helicopters to keep formation as far as possible, loudly reminded the team members to be ready to abandon the plane and parachute at any time.
In order to avoid the monitoring of the FRY radar, the helicopter formation flew close to the ground and soared into the sky. With superb driving skills, helicopters sometimes fly at a low altitude of only 3 meters from the ground. To this end, the nose had to be lifted slightly to avoid hitting an obstacle. Sometimes it rises directly to the maximum height allowed by the performance of the aircraft and shuttles in the airflow. During the formation flying over Yugoslavia, NATO headquarters also mobilized several satellites for real-time monitoring, closely watched the progress of the rescue team, and kept it informed of every move of the ground air defense forces of Yugoslavia.
When the helicopter formation is about 2km away from the target area, the members of the rescue team finally checked their equipment. Subsequently, the three helicopters turned off the radio at the same time.