IRIN Sikorsky RH-53D Sea Stallion (S-65C-4), 9-2702 (cn 65-413)
IRIN RH-53D and tethered minesweeping sled
IRIN minesweeping sled
Foreground: IRIN Hendijan class general purpose tender (MIG-S-4700)
IRIN Sea Stallion crewmember
Foreground: IRI Marines
Veteran IRIN helicopter aviator
Background: IRIN Fokker F-27-400M Troopship, 5-2601 (cn 10509)
Video:
Photos: Hassan Mousavi at Fars News Agency
Good to see Iran developing indigenous capabilities. More amazing to see the Sikorsky RH-53D Sea Stallion in such pristine condition. Some of these are upgraded ones from the failed US "Eagle Claw" (more like Chicken hawk) disaster at Tabas (Desert One staging area) that the fleeing US delta force left behind. Iran made it a matter of pride to repair the captured US helicopters and other equipment left behind.
ReplyDeleteNone of the equipment shown here is ingenuously designed, as you said the Sea Stallions are American. A couple (~4) were captured while the others (30) were sold to Iran during the Shah. The Sled shown is an American Mk-105 which is designed to sweep magnetic and moored mines (mines not used much by western navys anymore), it was 1st used to sweep the mines in Haiphong harbor IIRC.
DeleteInterestingly this is the only major mine countermeasures asset still operated by the IRIN since dedicated mine sweepers have been discarded or converted to other duties such as dive tenders.
The sledges also sweep for acoustically actuated mines as well,I imagine like a lot of equipment of western origin it would have been modified or upgraded.The truth is mine warfare has been neglected in western navies and wasn`t a huge priority even during the cold war.In the event of any conflict iran would be the one laying the mines and the western navies would have to try to deal with that,tho` how they would do that in places like the straits were the fields would be protected by antiship cruise and ballistic missiles and Anti air weapons I have no idea
DeleteFor the historical buffs, here is an official US account of the failed raid and how the most advanced RH-53 ending up in Iranian hands and how the whole CIA operation in Iran was decimated with over 200 agents executed in the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteDuring the following frantic evacuation by the C-130s, the helicopter crews attempted to retrieve their classified mission documents and destroy the aircraft. The helicopter crews boarded the C-130s. Five RH-53 aircraft were left behind mostly intact, some damaged by shrapnel. The Iranians gained at least four of them.
The C-130s carried the remaining forces back to the intermediate airfield at Omani Masirah Island (off the coast of Oman), where two C-141 medical evacuation aircraft from the Night Two staging base at Wadi Abu Shihat, Egypt (referred to as Wadi Kena by the U.S. forces due to its location near Qena) 26°33′18″N 33°07′58″E picked up the injured personnel, helicopter crews, Rangers and Delta Force members, and returned to Wadi Kena. The injured were then transported to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The Tehran CIA team left Iran, unaware of their compromised presence.
http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f226/operation-eagle-claw-iran-april-24-1980-a-119117/
Documentaries about the failed US rescue mission.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36u3o-Jsvpw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HksB2h2kZrE
A few more clips regarding the botched US air intrusion.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ideX1jxsMF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg6Krggx3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGSAgPSzGIg
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And another documentary that touches on the recent violations of Iranian airspace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlRYbiA913Y
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/09/14/why-the-rescue-failed/print
DeleteOnly the second country in the world?? I assume they mean after the US Navy. These stupid people.
ReplyDeleteOk granted you have reached this capability but why make a fool of yourselves by saying something so stupid. So the British navy , the Russian Navy, The French navy , the German Navy, the Chinese Navy.... (Not to mention the Australian and Canadian navy) do not have this capability?
With all due respect, the rust bucket Australian and Canadian "navies" can't even stop asylum seeker leaky wooden boats from Sri Lanka and Indonesia let alone deploy a modern ASW system. Just last month a Sri Lankan trawler with 157 asylum seekers sneaked into Broome harbour startling the lunchtime crowd totally undetected. So Australia is not a good example.
DeleteHowever, USN, Russian and Chinese navies do have robust and modern ASW systems. Just give the Iranian media some room for exaggeration. However, Iran is rapidly developing an impressive naval capability and all based on indigenous capability. Iran is a formidable asymmetrical warfare foe to any potential aggressor in the narrow, shallow and target rich confines of the Persian Gulf.
Iran is the second country and only export operator of, RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters.
DeleteWith all due respect, the rust bucket Australian and Canadian "navies" would have little trouble sinking the Iranian navy and puncturing not merely the inflatable boats of Iran's silly little naval force, but also the false pride of fools thinking otherwise...
DeleteBoth Australia and Canada are puny British colonies and have rust buckets from the second world war. Try buying a newspaper once in a while.
DeleteAnonymous May 10, 2013 at 10:16 PM
DeleteYou`re quite wrong,even the americans would have a hard time of it in the gulf if hostilities broke out,the straits would be a virtual no-go area,the canadians and australians without aircover would be sent to the bottom very quickly,thats if the mines,antiship cruise and ballistic missiles,fast attack craft and submarines didnt get them first.The truth is those navies would play a very minor auxiliary role at best and would be kept well clear of the fighting in any war as back home politically there would be little appetite for yet another american war
Anonymous May 10, 2013 at 4:47 AM
ReplyDeleteConsidering how lax the us has been when it came to anti mine warfare it wouldn`t surprise me if a lot of the others were just as lax as well,out of all of these only the russians and chinese take mine warfare seriously,sadly the russian will be years repairing the damage from the last 2 decades of rot and the chinese are still years away from a potent blue water force.When it comes to the gulf naval forces iran is easily the most powerful and the most capable in mine warfare considering it would play a large part in shutting down the gulf and either denying nato forces access to,or bottling them up in the gulf.Certainly irans mine sweeping capabilities would be up their with the best of them
The great nation of IRAN's owned-classes of 'know-how' technologies and capabilities and perhaps, quite a great number of them(technologies and capabilities) are much more efficient than those of the U.S. and Israel's. I do believe.
ReplyDeleteMark, you should move to Iran and join the Iranian navy. Will you?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about Mark, but I suggest that you join the Italian navy as it has designer uniforms and glass hulled ships so that they can see the old Italian navy at the bottom of Taranto harbor.
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