That Apache....

[solotk]

Ok, Crew are safe, albeit captured, airframe looks in good nick, what happened?

The crew got out ok, and Iraqi TV reporting that a farmer with a Mauser got it. Golden BB?

Idle speculation starts here, and before the usual suspects come howling out of the woodwork, the crew is SAFE , this is not an Anti-American thread , and all the usual stuff. ;)

[Man-on-the-fence]

The crew are POW's that does not mean that they are safe, it means that as of yesterday they were alive.

Whether they stay that way is by no means certain at the moment. Their fate is in the hands of the Iraqis.

As for the Apache, The beeb said today that the US had destroyed it with long range rockets.

[Smoketoomuch]

CNN reporter said 30 Apaches were hit by small-arms fire. Hardly surprising that one might have been unlucky.

[BoeingMEL]

...brought down by a farmer! Cow pat in the tail-rotor? Pitch-fork in the swashplate? Wellington boot perhaps blocking inertial separator? Oh perlease! (Sorry to be flippant by our lovely media luvvies just don't get it.....still!) God's speed to all our boys and girls BM

Jeez..just had another worrying thought! All "our" Apaches are locked in barns right in the middle of Shropshire..... and there are farmers all around the bl**dy place!

[kbf1]

If it came down intact (and it looks as if it did) then chances are it had a problem in the air of some order, which would have meant getting someone in to fix it before it could be recovered which is suicidally risky in anyone's book. Therefore the only thing that surprised me is that they waited as long as they did before bringing the HEX down on it. I would have thought that they would have done it within an hour of confirming its location so that the Iraqis couldn't get their hands on the kit or learn anything from it.

The crew also looked in much better shape than the other POWs, albeit a bit shaken. Let's hope for their sake that they stay that way and don't get subjected to the usual brutality, though somehow I suspect that won't be the case.

[solotk]

No wonder they're not flying. Who needs ZSU's , when an ancient farmer with a blunderbuss is the biggest threat around -lol

Blimey, they must be getting ring-twitch, every time they see "Suspected farm" on the target list :)

[Training Risky]

Including a couple of tw*ts who bought a farm right next to the perimeter, within spitting distance of the de-humidified hangars.

I hope their welly-throwing skills are not as good as those of Abdul the Iraqi farmer...

[MarkD]

hmmm... given the environment they're working in, maybe some of the EastBloc supporters could loan the US some Hinds - small arms doesn't bother them much, apparently!

without breaching security, I presume there is a "scuttle" facility to prevent the Iraqis looting the AH?

[NigelOnDraft]

Firing rockets at the Apache had to be carefully timed! Bear in mind it was surrounded by (civil) "peasants" on live TV... Would not do the Allies' cause much good for a bunch of Mavericks to enter screen left and dismember said peasants... all live on childrens BBC

NoD

[andrewc]

Yeah, looking at the video, showing the reasonably
intact Apache surrounded by happy Iraqi country cousins, I
was thinking - don't you realise this copter is not a safe
place to be hanging around...

I personally would put it down to the sandstorm, but
that is pure speculation.

-- Andrew

[West Coast]

When the video came out a few days ago I saw only images from the port side which appeared intact. Today I saw another Iraqi video of another Apache they claimed to have brought down. It showed only the starboard view which was beat up. It had the same air cav markings as the last one. Perhaps its one in the same.

[BlueWolf]

On the subject of Mavericks, is there any word as to whether the bangy things and other teckonogical bits were removed from the unfortunate airframe (for analysis by Saddam's cunning Yugoslavian Muslim assistants) before the long range rockets got to it?

[steamchicken]

It struck me at the time that dancing up and down on the stub wings perhaps wasn't the wisest thing to do with all those rockets still hanging off it!