SAS CSAR mission near Gorazde in 1994?

[2RHPZ]

This is interesting, but I am not sure if real ... as regards to these pictures. I guess that these soldiers carry SA80. All infos are on Serbian. I am able to understand, unfortunatelly not all.
Taken from this website (http://community.webshots.com/album/48925153SQehWU/0), page 2, newpapers shots

Comments on that:


Zanimljiv tekst o spasavanju oborenog, britanskog pilota iz Gorazda (iz Kalibra) :


Slika ispod koje pise 51-ica pa prikazuje dvoje ljuid za stolom na zidu visi karta.Izmedju njih se na stolu nalazi nesto sto ne mogu identifikovati a tome se nalazi cini mi se (mutna slika pa se ne vidi dobro) mobilni telefon zar ne? Jel ta slika iz rata? Ne znam za SAS-ovce ali znam da se po netu mogu ****aci info da su u vrijeme napada na Gorazde u dubini neprijateljske teritorije operisali pripadnici spec jedinica VJ.Izmedju ostalih navodno i pripadnici 63 padobranske.Svojevremeno je na netu bio nekakav izvjestaj podnesen jednom od komiteta americkog senata gdje je ta operacija predstavljena do detalja.


Nisu to mobilni, to su YEASU 411-ke. (ako mislish na ova tri uredjaja na stolu u sredini)


Nemam pojma za motorole, vjerovatno su korishtene neke kanalne-repetitorske, tokom rata najbolje su se pokazale bash ove firme YEASU od 23, 26, 411, 415, 416. Male ,bez raznih shumova, sa mogucnoshcu prikljuchivanja minijatune KZ-a, velikog dometa, male mase, sa velikim izborom baterija. Koristilie ih sbve strane U BiH.

[moughoun]

The thermal image pic I'veseen before and itis real, but the top one, they have SA-80's but that could be cover so it's anyone's guess :|

[2RHPZ]

About the British Sea Harrier downed over Bosnia in 1994


A British Sea Harrier FRS1 (serial number XZ498, construction number 912022) was downed by an SA-16 man-portable SAM on 16 April 1994. "Two Sea Harriers were guided onto Bosnian-Serb armour on the outskirts of Gorazde by SAS forward air controllers. These were stationed on top of the Hotel Gardina which has a commanding view of the town. The Sea Harriers, under the rules of engagement, were to make a low pass over the area to try and stop the armour advancing on the city. It was on this pass that XZ498 was hit and the pilot ejected. The pilot ejected and landed in the Muslim held lines of the city. The pilot was later handed over to the SAS team in the city. They and the pilot subsequently escaped and evaded and were picked up by a French forces Puma."
Source (http://www.aeronautics.ru/harrierbosnia.htm)


Lieutenant Nick Richardson was a Sea Harrier pilot with 801 NAS when his aircraft ( Sea Harrier FRS.1 XZ 498 ) was hit by a Bosnian Serb SAM over Gorazde on April 16, 1994. His book covers the events leading up to his shoot down and his eventual escape from behind enemy lines.

When Richardson landed on the ground that day he found himself in the middle of a conflict that most outsiders find at best difficult to understand. His story is emotional and from the heart and not the stereotype fighter pilot bluster. That he survived and was returned to safety was through the efforts of many others and he rightfuly gives thanks to them.

More than just an escape story this book deals with life as a frontline pilot in one of its most dangerous forms - flying the Harrier from a small Aircraft Carrier. There are touches of humour and moments of terror, all coming together to make a good read.
Source (http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~gmison/Harrier%20-%20In%20Print.htm)

Lieutenant Nick Richardson wrote a book about this event: No Escape Zone. Anyone read it? According to the review he claimed that he was picked up by local Moslim´s unit.
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0751531022.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Gordon]

Yeh, they're carrying SA80's for cover so they are seen as normal Brit squaddies, I tihnk they also had UN berets with them, or so I remember reading from Richardson's book.

Yeh, he was picked up by locals and taken to the SAS unit by them. He was shot down while trying to destroy 2 tanks and the FAC he was in contact with was one of the troopers in the same SAS squad. It's a good book.

[fantassin]

Quote:

They and the pilot subsequently escaped and evaded and were picked up by a French forces Puma.

This is confirmed by another book written by a former SAS, maybe "Cameron Spence" in All necessary measures (could be wrong, I read it several years ago).

It was also confirmed to me by a French Army air corps (ALAT) LTC in 1998.

[2RHPZ]

Thank you all for informations!

[Gordon]

To expand more, the SAS team were not there as a CSAR team. They were there as a forward recon and FAC team (sorry if those terms aren't totally correct). Richardson was just lucky that he was guided to the SAS team that happened to be in the area.

The SAS had been in Goradze for a while and were about to get out anyway as the enemy were closing in, they had had one KIA and one serious WIA who had been ambushed in a landie. The body of the KIA was removed in a cease-fire but the WIA guy decided to stay, afterwards however his injury was realised to far more severe than first suspected. He was taken to the local hospital, operated on and his arm was stuck in a metal brace.

The whole team with the WIA guy, Richardson and a local who had been working with the SAS team then hiked out on an 8 hour or so march to get to the pickup point and meet a French (SF?) Puma.

That all comes from Richardson's book.

here's a link to Spence's book: http://books.reviewindex.co.uk/reviews_uk/0140269959.html

[fantassin]

The DAOS (French SF helo flight) was only put formally together in 1998.

Back then, they were "only" very experienced Puma crews to do those sorties or even French Navy Super Frelon operating from aircraft carriers in the Adriatic for the CSAR missions.

At the time, only France and the US could do CSAR in NATO.

[David Lehmann]

C-SAR today in the French army :

At first a quick note about the French Special Forces ... I am forgoting some small units or SF detachments in classical regiments.

The independant special forces command (COS = commandement des operations speciales) is only created in 1992 as a lesson of the 1st Gulf War and contains :

ARMY :

- 1e RPIMa (ancestors of the French SAS during WW2)
- 13e RDP
- GCPs (groupements de commando parachutistes, small groups present in airborne regiments. Each GCP can act alone or they can all be regrouped) ... about 180 men.
- DAOS (Détachement ALAT des Opérations spéciales : helicopters from the ALAT dedicated to SF operations)

During this year one additionnal infantry regiment will join the COS.
An other regiment from the 11e BP (brigade parachutiste) should soon join the special forces.

AIR FORCE :

- CPA 10 (commando parachutiste de l'air n°10
(CPA 30 is specialized in CSAR and CPA 20 is issued to airbases protection but they are not part of the COS ... CPA 40 had been disbanded)
- Escadrille des Hélicoptères spéciaux (helicopters dedicated to SF operations)

http://helicopassion.free.fr/Images/BRGT/BGT01.jpg

NAVY :

5 marines commandos :
- "Jaubert" (assault)
- "De Montfort" (support, sabotage, destruction)
- "Trepel" (assault)
- "De Penfentenyo" (recon)
- "Hubert" (combat frogmen, submarine warfare).

+ the GCMC (Goupement de Combat en Milieu Clos)-(Close Quarters Combat Group), a 17 man force, is tasked with conducting maritime counter terrorist (CT) missions. GCMC operates in close conjunction with Commando Hubert's CT team.

GENDARMERIE :

GSIGN (groupement de sécurité et d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale)
- EPIGN (escadron parachutiste d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale)
- GIGN (groupement d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale)
- GSPR ( groupement de sécurité et de protection de la Présidence de la République

All these units existed before but in 1992 they have been placed under an independant command. Before 1996 the GCP were called CRAP for "commando de recherche et d'action en profondeur".

The 17e RGP, 2e REP, 1e RCP, le 1e RHP, 35e RAP (régiment d'artillerie parachutiste) and all the RPIMa have GCPs in their regiments.

-----------------


Today's specialized C-SAR are only led by Air Force helicopters AFAIK.
The French dedicated helicopter to CSAR (combat search and rescue missions), RESCO in French : at first we used just common PUMAs and COUGARs with some electronical and optical added stuff + armament but we wanted a special machine for that : modified AS535 Cougar Mk II A2 and later EC725 (a modified Cougar Mk2).

Here at first a PUMA "Resco" with its team : 4 crewmen and 4 commandos.

http://www.airpixel.com/recherche/multicriteres.phtml?link=oui&ref=804077ee6ec3d47

http://helicopassion.free.fr/Images/PUMA/PUMA-30.jpg

http://helicopassion.free.fr/Images/PUMA/PUMA-92c.jpg

http://helicopassion.free.fr/Images/PUMA/PUMA229.jpg

http://helicopassion.free.fr/Images/EMS/JLB13.jpg

Here the COUGAR "Resco" coded IH from 6/330 seen at Mont de Marsan on 23rd July 2003. Our next generation CSAR helicopter.

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aeromil-yf/Cougar%20resco%20IH.jpg

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ec725/images/EC725_7.jpg

It is the single non-US built helicopter with refueling capacity beside the current RAF's version of the Merlin helicopter.

ARMAMENT :

The helicopter can carry side-firing armament such as two 7.62mm general purpose machine guns and a 20mm cannon. The helicopter can also be fitted with axial pods such as two 68mm rocket launchers or two 20mm cannons.

The helicopter's electronic warfare systems include a radar warning receiver, laser warning receiver, missile approach warner and chaff and flare dispensers.

Look here for info in English language :
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ec725/
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ec725/specs.html

David

[Gordon]

To make a point, though i'm not sure... the Chopper that picked up the team would not necessarily have been a CSAR team chopper.

As I said before, the SAS team was not a CSAR team and hence, not specifically sent in to pick up Richardson, they had been there for a good while.

Hence the pickup was routine and not CSAR orientated, a downed pilot just happened to be with the SF team being picked up.

Again, this is just a thought i'm not sure how right / wrong it is.

[2RHPZ]

I have previously run into the first part of online book written by ex-Regiment soldier. According to all marks on this website it seems to be real, not wannabe ... bu who knows ...


SOLDIER X IN BOSNIA

As I headed for the briefing room, I knew what the destination of our assignment
would be. It was 1994, and the war in the former Yugoslavia was raging. The UN
was struggling to cope, and political pressure was growing for an end to the
war. Some of our guys had already been posted there, now it was my turn.

As we listened to the briefing, it was clear that this was going to be a classic
SAS mission. We were going to operate near the town of Gorazde. The place was
rapidly being over-ran by Serb forces, and the UN feared the entire population
would be massacred and the town burnt to the ground. We were to work our way
into the town, make contact with the BIH (Bosnian army), and set up some OPs
(Observation posts) to monitor Serb forces and direct NATO air-strikes. We would
be given laser designation equipment to help guide NATO missiles to their
targets. This would however only be used when it was safe to do so, as we would
need to get close to the targets to ‘illuminate’ them.

The mission was to consist of 6 men, commanded by `archer`. Archer is one of the
best soldiers I have ever met. A tall man at over 6 feet, he has a slim build,
but is as strong as an ox. He comes from Newcastle, where he earned a reputation
as a hard man. I was to be 2 i.c. (Second in command) for the mission, and was
glad I had someone as good as Archer To lead the mission. The rest of the
section consisted of Adrian, Craig, Ian and Steve. Out of these guys, I had only
worked with Craig and Ian before. Adrian had only been in the SAS for a short
while, and at 24 was the youngest of the group. Steve was a veteran of the SAS
like myself, and could easily have been chosen as 2 i.c instead of me.

Our first problem was how we were going to get into Gorazde. The most obvious
was a heli insert (Helicopter insertion). Serb forces were however armed with
hand held SAMS (Surface to air missiles) which could bring down the heli with
one shot. This was the main concern at the briefing. The briefings are like a
Chinese parliament, with each man allowed his say on what he thinks you should
do. Some of the guys were against the idea of a heli insert because of the
obvious risk. It was even suggested that we do a HALO (High altitude low
opening) parachute drop directly into the town. But after discussing it, it was
decided that it would be best for a heli insert around 10 k`s short of the Serb
front lines around Gorazde, and work our way through the Serb forces to reach
the town. We would have limited air support available if we ran into trouble,
but with a small group such as ours, we thought we could pick our way through
undetected. 12 hours after the end of the briefing, we were on a plane to Italy
ready to start the journey to Gorazde.

In the distance we could hear the airstrikes. The Kremlin (SAS headquarters) had
decided that some diversionary strikes on Serb forces on the far side of Gorazde
would give a better chance of a clean insertion. The decision proved to be
correct, and as we lay in our defensive position on the Yugoslavian hillside, I
couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead. We watched and listened incase any Serb
forces had seen or heard the heli coming in. If they had we would have to
withdraw to our ERV (Emergency rendezvous) and call the heli back in on the
radio to pick us up. We waited for about 20 minutes, until Archer gave the
signal and we moved out towards Gorazde. We patrolled carefully and cautiously,
aware that we could run into a Serb patrol at any time. Every 30 minutes we
would stop and go to ground in a defensive position to watch and listen for
Serbs. If any were following or tracking us, we would be able to detect them.
Progress was slow. It is mentally and physically demanding to patrol like this.
The professionalism of the regiment takes over. Less well trained soldiers would
switch off and stumble into an ambush or enemy patrol.

We continued on towards Gorazde. Craig was lead scout, followed by myself, Ian,
Archer, Steve and Adrian. We were making slow but steady progress without any
problems when Craig gave the signal to stop. Everyone went to ground in a
defensive formation, and I moved upto Craig to see what the problem was. He
could see a Dirt road up ahead, and knew we had to be careful how we crossed it.
We had been avoiding roads and paths because of the danger of them being ****y
trapped, or of running into Serb patrols. The regiment always moves across
country as part of its SOP (Standard operating procedure). I told Craig to keep
watching the road from a distance, and went back to tell Archer what was
happening. Archer decided we should watch the road to see if anything moved
along it, and then cross it if it seemed safe. Due to our location, there was as
much chance of there being a Bosnian patrol, as a Serb. If we saw a Bosnian
patrol, there was a chance we could make contact with them there. The section
moved up closer to the road and waited. Archer had a quick look at the map and
saw that we were only around 1 km from a village, so there was a good chance
that we would see some civilians as well. The road was also one of the main
routes to Gorazde.

We waited. In the distance I could hear the sound of machinery. Ian heard it as
well. Then everyone was aware of the distant rumble. Adrian got his Binos out
and scanned the area. Nothing. The sound appeared to be getting gradually
closer. Then Steve, who was watching the left flank, tugged his comms cord which
was between himself and me. A patrol was moving down the road from the far side.
I passed the info onto Archer and he told us to pull back further from the road.
We moved back to a position were we could still see the majority of the road. As
we waited, the patrol came closer. Through his binos, Adrian identified them as
a 5 man Serb patrol. What do we do I thought. We could take them out, but that
would make noise and the patrol would be missed by the Serbs. It was also not
our mission. I turned to look at Archer and he shook his head. He was right. It
was better to let them pass and then continue to Gorazde. Moments later the
decision proved correct. Steve saw more serbs moving down the road. But not just
soldiers. There slowly plodding along the road was a T-55 tank. The first group
had only been a scout group. Altogether there was around 30 Serb soldiers, too
many for our patrol to fight. If we had engaged the scout group, the main party
would have been on us in minutes, and the tank would have made a nice mess of
us. We all lay in our positions as the T-55 rumbled past. Then a thought hit me.
There can only be one place they are heading. The Bosnian village 1km down the
road.

As we waited, the silence was broken by small arms fire. Then the thud of the T-55`s
main gun. I could only imagine what was happening. It was possible that some
units of the BIH were engaging the Serbs, but it seemed unlikely there would be
enough of them to do anything anyway. Archer decided to report the contact to
HQ. If NATO jets were available, they might be able to overfly the area and
assess the situation. Archer called HQ with the satcom. ( even using the satcom,
and can take time to get through, depending on the atmospherics). Archer was
frantically adjusting the satcom and re-trying to make contact with HQ. The rest
of us could only sit and wait, keeping watch incase the Serbs returned along the
road. All the time we could hear a battle raging, and the frightening sound of
the T-55. After about 10 minutes, the noise died down, with only isolated bursts
of fire. Finally Archer reported the Serbs position to HQ. After he had
finished, he called me to him (using a field signal to avoid making any noise).
He then whispered that we were going to quickly push onto Gorazde and leave the
Serbs. I didn’t say anything, I just nodded to him. But as I passes the message
on to the rest of the patrol, I coundn`t help but wonder what had happened to
the people in the village.

We knew the Serbs could return along the road at any time, so we had to cross as
quickly as possible. We sent 1 scout around 50 m parallel to the road, hidden in
the undergrowth, to watch down the road for Serbs. The rest of the patrol then
crossed one at a time and took up defensive positions around 25 metres away from
the road. Once everyone was across, our scout moved back down and crossed. We
then waited and watched for around 10 minutes, incase we had been seen crossing
the road. When Archer decided to was safe to continue, we moved out on to
Gorazde. The next few hours were pretty uneventful. Patrolling, going to ground,
watching and listening. With the GPS (global positioning system, navigation is
pretty simple. All you have to do is follow your waypoints until you reach your
destination.

My first look at Gorazde was somewhat disappointing. The intelligence reports I
had read make the town sound like a fairly large modern town. Of course there
would be war damage to the town, but strangely, I almost felt disappointed as I
scanned the outskirts of the town through my binoculars.

Even though the town was under siege I could still see people going about their
daily lives. The most obvious difference was seeing people running through
certain areas of open ground, to avoid Serb snipers who may be watching. In this
war of ethnic hatred, anyone is considered a target whether a 70 year old women
or a 10 year old boy. Our main priority was to make contact with the BIH
commander as quickly as possible. Archer was on the radio trying to make contact
with their command post while everyone else kept watch in our defensive
positions. We knew the the Serbs would have DF equipment so every second was
important. Eventually, after around 10 minutes of trying Archer was speaking to
the commander who had been given the code name `Attius`. Arrangements were made
for some of his men to meet us and guide us in to the command post. It was now
time for us to check we had the extra pieces of uniform we had been issued, our
UN armbands and blue berets. For this mission we were not officially working for
the British government, we were with the United Nations. If things went pair
shaped, the UN insignia should in theory have granted us some protection. In
reality we all knew they would mean little.

The command post was located in an old factory in the heart of the once
beautiful city. There were sandbags covering the windows and the main entrance,
but half of the top floor had already been damaged by shell fire . The lower
floor where the main area was looked as if it would not withstand much Serb fire
if they located it. We were each in turn introduced to Attius and some of his
officers. He then offered us a drink of the local firewater slivovitz and he
toasted to the defeat of the Serbs. Archer then went to speak with him in
private with a female nurse who spoke near perfect English acting as an
interpreter. The rest of us were left to stand around like spare parts while
they went off. We tried to make small talk with the BIH soldiers but it was
embarrassing that we could not speak more than a few words of Serbo-Croat
between us. After around 5 minutes Archer returned and gave us a short briefing
on the situation around the town. With the BIH soldiers in earshot he didn’t go
into too much detail about our mission. Even though we were there to help them,
we were still foreign soldiers on their land.

The situation was not looking good. The Serbs were advancing towards the town
and there was not a lot the Muslims could do except try to slow them down. The
end seemed inevitable and a few NATO airstrikes would do little to help. Nothing
was said about this by any of our group, but everyone in our group was thinking
what the **** are we doing here. Attius had arranged a place for us to stay and
use as an operations centre. Looking at the place they were using, I wasn’t
expecting much. Our escorts showed us the way, we moved through the gloom of the
streets as night started to fall, I could here the occasional sound of shell
fire, luckily nothing near to us. Eventually we arrived at what was going to be
our home for our time in Gorazde. We were taken through the front door and found
our new home had in peacetime been a bank.