Operation Eagle Claw 1980

by Justin W. Williamson

Osprey Publishing

Reviewed by Graham Carter

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The latest in Osprey’s RAID series, this 80-page monograph covers the disastrous US bid to end the Iran hostage crisis in November forty years ago.

Printed on quality paper allowing for excellent photo reproduction the book has thin card covers with  great piece of cover art by US painter Jim Laurier showing  three RH-53Ds en route across the desert. The author readily admits that getting a ‘true’ picture of what happened four decades ago had been a challenge due to secrecy surrounding the mission, although reams of ‘secret’ documents were released a couple of decades ago. As well, faulty memories of participants and errors in the transliteration of manuscripts have not helped in getting a true picture of the event.

This is a detailed description of the lead-up, execution and aftermath of the rescue bid in seven chapters with a comprehensive bibliography and index at the end.

The Chapters are :

• ORIGINS - tracing the Iranian Revolution and the attack and take over of the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 leading to the capture of 66 Americans, later reduced to 53 after 13 were released.

• CHRONOLOGY - almost day-to-day list of the events

• INITIAL STRATEGY

• THE PLAN

• THE RAID

• THE AFTERMATH

• ANALYSIS  AND CONCLUSION

Photos are rare but quite a few have been used to illustrate many aspects of the raid, as well as two double-page colour renditions by Johnny Shumate showing the attack on an Iranian petrol tanker and the catastrophic collision between one of the helicopters and a Hercules at the landing site. There are also large colour maps and oblique drawings of the area and the plan for the raid.

This appears to be a well-researched and methodically-presented treatments of this low point in US clandestine operations in the Middle East. Recommended to both the military and geopolitical historian and the modeller interested in the event, although there is little specific modelling information. A brief coverage of this raid is also presented in Air Britain’s publication ‘Aviation World’ for Spring 2020.

Recommended to both the military and geopolitical historian and the modeller interested in the event, although there is little specific modelling information..

Thanks to Osprey Publishing for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2020 by Graham Carter
This Page Created on 20 April, 2020
Last updated 20 April, 2020

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