Always a sapper
"Who ever placed the dem charges on what may well turn out to be some new supa duper secret squirrel bit of kit will have some explaining to do having left such a large bit intact for the locals to drool over....
When we had to destroy something in situ with a bit of bang we always used to try and 'convert it to very little bits' and place said little bits all over the landscape, preferably in different continents
"
All well and good but a couple of factors.
1. It was a kill raid, not a destroy raid so the likelihood of them
having a huge amount of explosive charges to 'convert it to very
little bits' would not be high.
They probably had some breaching and framed charges for walls, widows et al but breaching a wall / window doesn't take a huge amount of explosive.
2. Chopper, confined space, own people around, the consequences
of shrapnel hitting own people and machines would be high.
3. If left to go off after they leave, what if they don't go off ? Then what ?
Can't go back.
I agree with unchecked. "I doubt one jot that failing to destroy the tail of a helicopter, no matter how superdupersecret, was on anyone's mind as they exfilled."
Machines are expendable, people are not.