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Operation Ivory Coast
On Nov. 21, 1970, a meticulously prepared force of US Special Forces in 1 HH-3 helicopter (call sign Banana) and 5 HH-53 helicopters (Apples 1 to 5), and supported by more than a hundred combat aircraft, raided the POW camp at Son Tay, North Vietnam, just 23 miles west of Hanoi, seeking 61 American prisoners during Operation Ivory Coast.
As told by Justin W. Williamson in his book Son Tay 1970, The Operation Ivory Coast POW rescue mission, a joint Army-Air Force assault, with the Navy flying diversionary missions, the Son Tay raid was the first operation to be conducted under the direct command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ranks among the most important moments in the development of modern US Special Operations Forces.
Having trained for months in secret, and utilizing the best troops and air crews possible, the raiders executed the mission flawlessly.
Blueboy Assault Group under Captain Dick Meadows had the riskiest and most important mission of all – to crash land Banana 1, an HH-3, in the middle of the camp and then assault the prison cells, freeing the prisoners.
Earlier ideas of fast-roping into the compound were deemed too risky and time consuming. Instead, planners counted on the audacity and ferocity of this assault to take the prison guards completely by surprise.
Banana 1, the HH-3 helicopter that intentionally crash-landed at Son Tay

H-hour for the raid would be when the lead helicopter, the HH-3, call sign Banana 1, intentionally crash-landed in the courtyard of the objective.
On Nov. 21, 1970 at 0221 hrs, Banana piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Herbert E. Zehnder and his crew of Major D. Kalen and Technical Sergeant Leroy M. Wright, came in fast and hard. Onboard were the 13 men of Dick Meadows’ assault group. The ramp, window, and door gunners fired at their targets, tracer rounds lighting up their targets.
Banana, flying at treetop level, “tore into one tree like a big lawn mower,” Major Kalen later recounted. The blades were damaged, but Banana was coming in as planned. Banana slammed into the ground, inside the compound. The impact jostled the assault team, lying on mattresses to absorb the impact.
First Lieutenant George L. Petrie, thrown out of the HH-3 by the impact, was the first raider out of Banana.
As the men fan out to assault the prison cells, Captain Meadows announces on a bullhorn several times, “We are Americans! This is a rescue!”
The assault team, armed with primarily 5.56mm CAR-15 rifles, carrying acetylene torches and bolt cutters to cut through holding chains, clear the buildings decisively, helped in their precision shooting by Singlepoint red dot rifle sites and countless hours on the range and camp mockup back in Florida.

Within moments, North Vietnamese guards were dead, buildings were ablaze, but the POWs were nowhere to be found as they had recently been moved to another camp.
“Negative items”
The raiders found that the prison camp held no POWs. They reported “negative items” (no POWs) on the radio, boarded two helicopters and withdrew. As the force left North Vietnam, one Wild Weasel F-105 fighter was hit with a surface-to-air missile. Its crew ejected over Laos, and two of the returning Son Tay helicopters quickly rescued them. The raid had taken 27 minutes, and the raiders suffered one broken ankle and one minor wound. All 56 Army personnel plus the aircraft crews returned safely.
Despite rescuing no prisoners, the raid proved a success in other ways. It caused North Vietnam to gather POWs in fewer locations to prevent similar raids, making POW communication and organization easier. POW morale soared. Later, one recalled that “…the Son Tay rescue attempt dispelled all doubt: We were not forgotten; our country cared!!” The daring raid so close to Hanoi demonstrated that the U.S. had the will and means to carry out exceptional operations to ensure POW well-being. The Son Tay raid was one of the most complex and dangerous missions of the Southeast Asia War. It laid the groundwork for future joint forces operations by serving as a model of organization, cooperation, and flexible execution.
Son Tay 1970, The Operation Ivory Coast POW rescue mission, is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo credit: Mikhail Nikiporenko / U.S. Air Force
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