Why hasn't the U.S. blown up the downed Apache helicopter?

T

TRBON8R

Active Member
Joined
May 29, 2001
I know we have some military personnel that can probably answer this. On tv they've been showing all morning the Apache helicopter that was forced to land. Unfortunately it sounds like the pilots have been taken prisoner. :( I was hoping they were going to be rescued. :( Anyway, I always thought that the military usually calls in an airstrike to blow up military equipment rather than having it fall into enemy hands? It seems strange to just see the helicopter sitting there with all those rag-wrappers dancing all over it. What's the deal?
 
Probably will be dust & fiber soon, and you can bet our "eyes in the sky" update their pics of it very often.

It's definitely vapor the moment it's being moved or dismantled.

Interesting to watch, for sure.
 
I was wondering the same thing myself. My uncle was a chopper pilot, and gunner in Nam. He said whenever he got shot down (on more than one occasion), he would lob a couple of thermite grenades at the chopper and melt it down. I dont wanna ask him about it, because I dont think he really likes to talk much about it.
 
This particular Apache is one of the latest models, with lots of classified gear aboard...that Putin & other friends of Saddam would LOVE to have to study & use.

Which reminds me...when a Stealth fighter was lost in the Clinton regime change in Yugoslavia, he did not order it destroyed, despite what a gift that was for Russian military aviation.
 
Originally posted by TRBON8R
I know we have some military personnel that can probably answer this. On tv they've been showing all morning the Apache helicopter that was forced to land. Unfortunately it sounds like the pilots have been taken prisoner. :( I was hoping they were going to be rescued. :( Anyway, I always thought that the military usually calls in an airstrike to blow up military equipment rather than having it fall into enemy hands? It seems strange to just see the helicopter sitting there with all those rag-wrappers dancing all over it. What's the deal?
Click to expand...
Personally I think they are waiting for Saddam Insane to pose in front of it to have his picture taken, then BAM, bye-bye chopper and the madman himself!
 
Originally posted by TRBON8R
I know we have some military personnel that can probably answer this. On tv they've been showing all morning the Apache helicopter that was forced to land. Unfortunately it sounds like the pilots have been taken prisoner. :( I was hoping they were going to be rescued. :( Anyway, I always thought that the military usually calls in an airstrike to blow up military equipment rather than having it fall into enemy hands? It seems strange to just see the helicopter sitting there with all those rag-wrappers dancing all over it. What's the deal?
Click to expand...

Usually they use artillery to take out stuff like that.
Calling in a 117 to take out a chopper just ain't cost effective.
If it had any really secret stuff in it, it would be dealt with.

Now auger a B2 in, and you'll see part of the earth's crust disappear.

*Neutralized something, one time*
 
I think they have to find it first. If they knew where it was,I think they would destroy it. Aren't all images on Iraqi TV?
 
I thought that was standard procedure, you can see they did not crash land, i would have thought they would have destroyed it:confused: :confused:

Also what is the deal with all of our troops getting caught, i thought the Marines were bad ass dudes that would die before getting caught or am i asking for too much:confused:

I think the media should be ripped out of there and we should just start round the clock B52 missions. They will surrender, this damm political way of doing things, here we are taking wounded Iraqi's to get medical help and they are shooting our boys in the head while pretending to surrender.

I say 2-3 generations should be allowed in the US, The rest we need to ship back, close the borders, and be self efficent. As we all can see the French, Russia, China, Mr. Blitz from the UN they all are covering Sadam's ass because they have deals cut with him that they are not suppose to. Take the French for example, we have liberated them twice and they knife us and do not support us. When all this crap unravels you will see the true Germany, the true French. And where the hell is Israel, we have been covering their ass for years, do they have thousands of troops in Iraq with us:confused: You would think that they would be right next to us fighting and dying. Enough Politics bomb,bomb,bomb deal with the west wing people later:mad:
 
I usually don't get into these discussions but..... I think we have too many pokers in the fire now. I have been watching closely and when I saw the Brit's crash the choppers into then fly over a Patriot battery and get downed I started to wonder how dumb they were coming across and was in hopes it wouldn't continue. It is nice to have others join in but IMO that can be a double edge sword that can cut you both ways. The Brit's do train with us but Isreal may do more harm than good in battle. I would rather others that want to support do it in $$$ or a support role not battle related and let us do the job we set out on.

As for the Apache I was in hopes you would see a cruise missile come in at any point and blow it with all the smiley faces 100 ft. in the air. I don't understand it myself:confused: At first I heard it didn't look bad and they may try to salvage it by picking it up. Then I thought that wouldn't happen and shortly it would be replaced with a crater. You mean to tell me the pilots don't have a "scuttle" mechanism that gives them ample time to get away and it destruct:confused: Would have been priceless about 100 opposition looking it over thinking they had got a trophy thenBOOM
 
They have now destroyed it.

The Brits have the same "IFF" - Identification Friend or Foe - transponders that we do. That should have kept them from being shot at. Something went wrong, obviously, on one side or the other.

The Isreali's don't train with us near as often, and are not part of the fight.
 
Bob beat me to it! Just heard on Fox that it has been destroyed by a fighter jet:)

Edit: And they just said the inclemate weather prevented them from destroying it earlier. Damn sandstorms must be Hell.
 
Cool, glad they got it. It would be a real shame if the bomb droped by the fighter took out a few "civilians" like the farmer that was shooting at the Apache with his rusty old Mauser rifle. There's no way I buy the Iraqi's story that some crazy old farmer took down that bird with an old Mauser.
 
And now we're whining in the media about their "despicable" behavior....faking surrenders, putting soldiers in civilian uniforms, etc. Whining about the Russians selling them stuff.

psssst.....IT'S WAR!!!!!!!!!! W...A....R!!! Suck it up or get the f*** out. There are no rules.

Our political correctness will be the death of us. We can't expect to treat the savages like we treat each other. They have not evolved with the rest of us and they do not play by the rules established by civilized society.

We will prevail, but the American people have to realize that despite our being accustomed to instant gratification that war takes a long time. People die. Lots of them. People who have fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. People who ARE fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. We've been at war for a few days. As soon as people start to get hurt or taken prisoner, we shut off our TVs and pretend it isn't happening. We stop talking about it.

We're going to be there a while....we all need to get behind this now regardless of what we thought about it before we went in.

Jim
 
Originally posted by turbojimmy
And now we're whining in the media about their "despicable" behavior....faking surrenders, putting soldiers in civilian uniforms, etc. Whining about the Russians selling them stuff.

psssst.....IT'S WAR!!!!!!!!!! W...A....R!!! Suck it up or get the f*** out. There are no rules.

Our political correctness will be the death of us. We can't expect to treat the savages like we treat each other. They have not evolved with the rest of us and they do not play by the rules established by civilized society.

We will prevail, but the American people have to realize that despite our being accustomed to instant gratification that war takes a long time. People die. Lots of them. People who have fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. People who ARE fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. We've been at war for a few days. As soon as people start to get hurt or taken prisoner, we shut off our TVs and pretend it isn't happening. We stop talking about it.

We're going to be there a while....we all need to get behind this now regardless of what we thought about it before we went in.

Jim
Click to expand...

AGREE 100%
 
Originally posted by turbojimmy
psssst.....IT'S WAR!!!!!!!!!! W...A....R!!! Suck it up or get the f*** out. There are no rules.
Jim
Click to expand...

Jim,

I agreed with every word you said except these. There are a few rules that have to be obeyed. Like not shooting pow's in the back of the head with a 9mm. War is war, but right is right.
 
i have been on missions wehre we lost a bird, once it was an apache, and we did end up blowing it up called scuddling, what probably happened was that the bird went down, pilots were taken and ALL sensitive equipment was taken and sold to china so taht they can interprit its capabilities and use it against us, once all the sensitive iteams are taken its nothing more than an aluminum shell with some blades, we will blow it, but chances are that the locals will burn it as they have in past conflicts, and the damage is already done, it was done 3 minutes after it crashed, so as of now it is not worth the risk.
Grant
 
Hey Grant

Good to hear from you, I wish you the best. Where are you located? Be Safe!
 
Just think about it, this war has been going on 5 days. WWII lasted 4 YEARS with civillian targets being hit on a daily basis in Europe.

Little known fact; the US mainland was attacked as well by an Axis balloon which dropped ordinance here in Michigan. It fell harmlessly into a field.
 
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