1 - The Black Vault

THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION
transmissions, no calls were made after the aircraft
passed Cairo and were handed off to military
controllers. The ATC liaison in Cairo worked his
magic with the Egyptians. Even the landings at
Wadi Kena were cleared by way of light signals
from the tower instead of using the radio. Ferkes
was the fifth aircraft to arrive four hours after
Brenci, with Oliver’s crew 24 hours behind him on
21 April. On 22 April Meller’s Combat Talon was
the last to land at Wadi Kena. 107
On 21 April the four AC-130H gunships
launched from Hurlburt Field and flew nonstop to
Wadi Kena, utilizing four in-flight refuelings. Because
the gunship was so distinct, with its guns
protruding from the left side of the aircraft, Kyle
feared that they would draw unwanted attention
if they landed anywhere en route. Also on the
21st, three C-141s carrying Beckwith and his
Delta Force departed Pope AFB and headed to
Rhein Main AB en route to Wadi Kena. They arrived
in Egypt on 22 April and immediately went
into isolation at the airfield. 108
By 22 April Brenci had been at Wadi Kena for
36 hours, and it was time for him to move forward
to Masirah Island. The crews that had ferried
the seven mission aircraft from Hurlburt
Field to Egypt were reconstituted into the five
hard crews for the mission. Brenci, flying the 1st
SOS-assigned Combat Talon 64-0565, followed by
Tharp, Lewis, and Uttaro in the three EC-130Es,
departed Wadi Kena on 22 April. Meller’s crew,
which arrived at Wadi Kena three hours after
Brenci’s departure, remained in Egypt to continue
refining the Night Two plan. Kyle determined
that the expertise found in Oliver’s men
might be essential in launching the aircraft on
mission night, so he authorized them to move on
to Masirah Island with the mission crews. On
board Brenci’s Talon were additional tents and
bare-base gear to make their stay tolerable for
the short period of time they would be there. On
board each EC-130E were two fuel bladders with
a total of 6,000 gallons of fuel. Fully loaded, the
Talon weighed just over 175,000 pounds, and the
EC-130Es grossed over 185,000 pounds. 109 Takeoffs
at that heavy gross weight and at highambient
temperatures challenged the aircraft
and their crews.
After nine hours flying time, the four aircraft
arrived at Masirah Island. Brenci and the three
EC-130Es had flown down the Red Sea and over
the Gulf of Aden just off the coast of Saudi Arabia
in radio silence. Upon landing, all aircraft
scheduled to participate in the Night One desert
landing operation were in place, with a spare
Talon in case one aborted for mechanical reasons
(the 1st SOS Talon would spare the other Talons
and the EC-130E bladder bird, if required). To
anyone who wondered, the aircraft were joining
the 1st SOS already at Masirah Island for the
sea-surveillance exercise. 110 It was 22 April 1980,
and the stage was nearly set for Desert One.
By 23 April, in addition to the seven C-130s
positioned at Masirah Island, six KC-135s were
at Diego Garcia ready to refuel them. At Wadi Kena
19 mission aircraft were cocked and ready, including
KC-135 tankers, C-141 cargo aircraft, AC-
130H gunships, and the Combat Talons. 111 Early
in the morning of 23 April, Thigpen, Daigenault,
and Robb went to the already scorching flight line
and began installing the IR landing-light lenses
and the IR covers for the upper-rotating beacons
on the Combat Talons. The IR lenses and covers
had not been installed before that time so that
the aircraft could use its normal lights during
the long deployment from the states. At Masirah
Island McIntosh, along with Oliver, spearheaded
the IR lens installation on the mission aircraft
there. Ferkes had been put in charge of the
NVGs for the 8th SOS, and he had distributed
them to each crew before departing from
Hurlburt Field. Also at Masirah Island crews
used black paint to cover the belly and the yellowhighlighted
emergency exits on the exterior skin
of the EC-130Es. Their propellers were also
painted black to reduce the probability of detection
while on the ground at Desert One. By late
afternoon on 23 April, all mission aircraft were
operationally ready and cocked for the 24 April
launch.
Kyle had moved forward to Masirah Island
with Brenci and the three EC-130Es. By 1000 on
24 April, he had organized a crew of maintenance
personnel and had begun erecting tentage for
Delta Force, set to arrive at Masirah Island by
mid-afternoon. At 1400 Vaught received the final
aircraft status report at his headquarters at
Wadi Kena—the seven C-130s at Masirah Island
and the eight helicopters aboard the USS Nimitz
were operationally ready and prepared for
launch. At 1445 the first of two C-141s carrying
General Gast and part of Delta Force arrived at
Masirah Island and moved to the newly erected
tentage by way of covered truck. A second C-141
arrived at 1530 with Beckwith and the rest of
Delta Force. With the arrival of Delta Force,
there were now 132 assault-force members at
215