Repost: Last Flight From Berlin:

[Matt Wiser]

Reposting this from the previous board: the last escapees from West Berlin...Except for cleaning up a few typos, it is as it was originally written:


Last Flight From Berlin:
Escaping the Alamo of World War III

(From Air and Space: the Journal of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, October, 2009)

Of all the missions flown by helicopter crews on both sides during the Third World War, perhaps the most dangerous was that flown by three U.S. Army UH-60M Blackhawks, the sole survivors of the Berlin Brigade's Aviation Company, on the afternoon and evening of April 27th, 2005. Of the helicopters assigned to the Company, only three UH-60s were left on the morning of the 27th, and since they were unable to participate in the Thunder Run, unlike the British Lynxes, the Army crews felt their last act would be to destroy their choppers before joining the rest of the Berlin garrison in captivity. However, Maj. Gen. Allan Mallinson, the Allied Garrison Commander and the CO of British forces in West Berlin, wanted vital documents, a number of key Allied personnel, and a special courier, to be evacuated by air. With the loss of all three airports, this led to the Army Blackhawk crews getting the call for one final mission on West Berlin's behalf. Not to mention a chance, a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless, of avoiding Soviet captivity, that all of the chopper crews were willing to take.

Capt. Bryan Little, the company commander, would lead the three UH-60s on their desperate, some would call mad, dash for freedom. Thanks to use of a satellite phone, SACEUR was informed of the mission, and a Sitrep was passed to the crews, giving the latest information on the front line' s current location, and advice on avoiding the area centered on I Belgian Corps, as a major battle was taking place, the Soviets' Operation ZHUKOV, and air-defense units on both sides would be doubly alert. The intelligence provided by SACEUR's staff gave the best routes, and Little decided that a flight skimming the Harz Mountains, along the frontal boundary between 1st Western and 2nd Western Fronts, provided the best chance to get through Pact-controlled airspace. It was hoped that they would be able to land in either the III German or V US Corps areas, and one of the updates provided involved current IFF codes, to enable American or West German air-defense assets to identify the UH-60s as friendly.

While the helicopter crews were planning the mission, General Mallinson was preparing his package to be sent out. It contained an after-action report, which included the Thunder Run, along with a complete personnel roster of the Berlin Garrisons, recommendations for awards and promotions, as well as a lessons learned report. He asked all three Allied Brigades to select an officer who might be able to make the trip, and each brigade sent its second-in-command. Mallinson then asked all three to draw straws, and Col. Jacques Lebel, the deputy commander of the French Brigade, drew the short straw. Colonel Lebel said later that he didn't even have time to take final letters home from his colleagues, something he deeply regretted. But the Colonel wasn't Mallinson's only courier. He saw to it that CD-ROMs containing the same information as Colonel Lebel's briefcase were given to the three UH-60 pilots-in-command, with instructions to deliver the CDs to SACEUR personally.

The documents and CDs weren't the only items the UH-60 crews were taking along. They were given letters to mail from their fellow aviators in both the British and French brigades, as well as from their own ground crews, who were staying behind and would join the infantry in West Berlin's last stand. In addition, CWO-3 Angela Manning, the pilot of what was called Omega 23, was given a CD-ROM from the Los Angeles Times' Kathryn Bigelow, the only American reporter in West Berlin, containing her stories and pictures. She knew her next story would be filed after her release from a Soviet POW Camp, and wanted the story of West Berlin's stand, which she compared to the Alamo, to get out to the West. Other Allied soldiers in the Olympic Stadium were also giving letters and cards for the crews to mail to their loved ones, and the crews did promise to mail them, if they made it.

As far as the threat was concerned, the airspace between West Berlin and the Inner-German Border was one of the most heavily defended in the world. Numerous SA-2 and SA-3 fixed SAM sites, along with a number of SA-5 and SA-10 sites (the latter being mobile) were in the way between Berlin and the IGB. There were also large numbers of fixed AAA sites, with 37-mm, 57-mm, 85-mm, and 100-mm batteries defending airfields, command-and-control sites, bridges, and other key targets in East Germany. Then one had to consider the Soviet and East German Air Forces, and their MiG-23, MiG-29, and Su-27 fighters, along with Hind, Havoc, and Hokum helicopters, and just getting to the IGB appeared to be a tall order. But the Blackhawks would have several advantages on the air defense, the first being that of surprise. The Pact air defense crews wouldn't expect the flight, and wouldn't believe the radar tracks without a visual confirmation. Another advantage was the time of the mission: late afternoon, and all three choppers would fly into the setting sun, and that would give both heat seeking AAMs and MANPADS a harder time to achieve missile lock-on. And finally, they would have altitude, flying near treetop level, and in some instances, near nap-of-the-earth, to avoid air and ground threats. For the helicopter crews, and their passengers, it meant “a mighty rough ride”, as CWO Manning put it to a CNN crew after the flight.

Omega Flight would have two escorts; two of the three remaining British Lynx gunships belonging to the British Brigade's 7th Flight. They would fly ahead of the Blackhawks, and clear a path for them by taking out any air-defense systems in the Potsdam and Werder areas, but after that, the Blackhawks would be on their own. One British officer remarked that it seemed like certain suicide for all involved, but with things so desperate, and with reports of a fresh Soviet Motor-Rifle Division arriving, any escape attempt, no matter how crazy, desperate, or insane, had to be attempted.

After the American and British helicopter crews had finished with their mission planning, General Mallinson came to give them some final words of encouragement. He remarked that to the Americans that probably they were feeling like those who had flown out of Saigon in April 1975. The General reminded the crews that the people and documents they were taking with them had to be delivered to SACEUR, and if shot down, while it would be unfortunate if their passengers were captured, the documents and CDs had to be destroyed. General Mallinson then closed with “Good luck, Godspeed, and give Ivan a last poke in the eye for us.” He then saluted the crews, who returned it, and then they went out to preflight their helicopters.

Omega 21, flown by Capt. Little, with CWO-2 John Duwe as copilot, with Staff Sgt. Jose Sores as crew chief, and Sgt. Troy Pearson as gunner, would take Colonel Lebel, two USAF officers who had been involved in a SIGINT operation, and a BND officer carrying a report from their Berlin Station. Everyone was also carrying many personal letters and cards from those staying behind, written on any scrap of paper that could be found. They promised that those messages would be delivered, one way or another.

Omega 22, with CWO-4 Dean Wilson (pilot), WO-2 Tony Schneider (copilot), SSgt. Brian Patrick (crew chief) and Sgt. Joel Scott (gunner) took two U.S. Army intelligence officers, a British intelligence officer with a package for MI-6, and a courier from the CIA's Berlin Station. They too, were carrying personal messages from those staying behind, and CWO Wilson told his ground crew, “I can't guarantee that we'll make it, but if we do, those notes will get to your families.”

Omega 23 had CWO-3 Angela Manning (pilot), WO-2 Darlene Kirby (copilot), SSgt. Hank Kowalski (crew chief) and Sp4 Melissa Anderson (gunner). They took two French intelligence officers, one of whom was a courier for the DGSE station, a pair of RAF intelligence officers, and a USAF officer. Again, all were carrying personal notes from those left behind, and all promised to deliver them, if at all possible. All of the crew members and passengers were armed, the pilots with MP-5 submachine guns, the gunners with M-4 carbines, and the passengers had their own personal weapons, if issued. The USAF officers had to “borrow” M-4s from casualties, while the CIA man packed an Uzi.
Everyone was in uniform, and even the two civilian couriers were in either U.S. or West German uniform, so that even if captured, they wouldn't be summarily shot as spies. All were prepared to destroy the documents and CDs if shot down, and some were more than willing to fight it out on the ground, as not too many were willing to get started on a diet of Soviet or East German prison rations.

It was just after 1500 when the three Blackhawks and their Lynx escorts lifted off from West Berlin's Olympic Stadium, and just after liftoff, a storm of artillery fire began coming down, and the pilots gunned their birds. All three UH-60s had the ESSS installed, with two fuel tanks to give them greater range, as their low-level flight would burn up a lot of fuel on their mad dash to CENTAG's sector. The two Lynxes flew on ahead, encountering some small-arms fire from Soviet and East German troops, but they held their TOW missiles for more important targets. Just as they came over the Berlin Wall, the Lynx leader, Omega 11, found two East German 2S6 Tunguska air defense vehicles and a mobile radar. Both Omega 11 and 12 engaged, killing the Tunguskas before Omega 11 killed the radar. Both Lynxes went on ahead to the Potsdam area, destroying a couple more Tunguskas, an air-defense command track (a modified MTLB), and several opportunity targets in the vicinity. Both Lynxes then declared “Winchester” (weapons expended), and Omega 11 told Capt. Little, “Good luck, mate. Wish we could go with you the whole way.” Little responded, “Thanks, guys, for kicking the door open. Good luck to you.” The two Lynxes headed back to the Olympic Stadium, where they were later destroyed by their crews before the city's surrender. The three UH-60s, with the door open, headed over Potsdam and then split up, all three on a general southwesterly heading, but on different courses. Each chopper crew would have a different story to tell when it was all over, but for one crew, their report would be somewhat delayed.

Omega 21 went on a heading that would take it to the Nordhausen area, and Little noted that the Soviet fighter base at Zerbst was almost in their flight path. He skirted north of the base, and surprisingly ran into little or no opposition. CWO Duwe, looking out the left side of the Blackhawk, noticed MiG-29s taking off and landing. Everyone's heart skipped a beat when a MiG flew right over them as it made its final approach, but nothing happened as the MiG pilot made a normal landing, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No MiGs came up after them, and despite being near two additional Soviet airfields, no fighters or Hokums came up after 21.

Omega 21 then made it into the Harz Mountains, where terrain masking made it easier to avoid the air defense systems, and their own RWR equipment noted many radars active. After skirting the Nordhausen area, they headed due west, hugging the hills as they went. When 21 got close to the IGB, they noticed that the East Germans were still maintaining the border fortifications, as the border controls were an effective means of controlling stragglers and rounding up NATO aircrew shot down in East Germany who attempted to evade to friendly lines. Capt. Little saw that he had no choice but to go past a watchtower, and he knew that the East Germans would sound a warning. He gunned his chopper, and blew past the tower and went over the IGB southeast of Gottingen. They were right on the Frontal boundary, and both crew and passengers could see the dust clouds of Soviet vehicles on the ground, moving forward. Omega 21 then passed north of Kassel, and then ran into the FEBA. The threat receivers lit up from all sides, as the Blackhawk was fired on by both the Soviet 8th Guards Army and by the West German III Corps. Little took the Blackhawk as low as he could possibly get, and gunned his chopper due west. His crew chief and gunner saw “more SAMs than we can count,” as not only did SA-15s from the Russians came up, along with some MANPADS, but had their scariest moment when a Roland came up from the West Germans and passed very close to the chopper. Omega 21 got past the FEBA, but it wasn't over yet.

About two minutes after passing over the front line, 21's threat receivers went off again, as they were lit up by a Gepard. Capt. Little turned on his IFF, hoping the signal would tell the Gepard crew the target they were seeing was friendly. Suddenly, the Gepard sent a hail of 35-mm shells their way, and a 35-mm round slammed into the tail rotor. Little and Duwe were able to autorotate, and they made a hard landing near the town of Arolsen, in the sector defended by the West German 5th Panzer Division's 17th Panzergrenadier Brigade. Unlike the air-defense people, the soldiers of the 17th recognized the UH-60 as a friendly helicopter, and came to render assistance. Fortunately, no one aboard Omega 21 was seriously injured, but the Blackhawk was a total loss. Colonel Lebel made it unscathed, and the West Germans quickly arranged transportation first to their division HQ, and then Lebel hopped a West German NH-90 for the trip to NATO Headquarters and a meeting with SACEUR, General Baker. The BND man made his delivery to Bonn, while the Americans secured transportation to V Corps HQ.

Omega 22 had a much different ending, although the beginning of the flight went off without a hitch. CWO Wilson took his chopper to the south of Zerbst, and he also noticed the MiG-29s taking off and landing. However, he drew some light 23-mm AAA fire, and apparently the word got out about his chopper, for after he made his turn west north of Halle, there was “murderous” AAA fire coming up. Unfortunately for Omega 22, they had made the turn north of a Soviet assembly area for units arriving to reinforce the 8th Guards Army, and there was 23-mm and heavy machine gun fire coming up. The chopper took a number of machine-gun hits, but CWO Wilson managed to avoid the heavy stuff and made his turn westwards. It was bad luck for him, his crew, and passengers, that the helo next overflew an East German division, and the Blackhawk was sprayed with 30-mm fire from a Tunguska, before taking an SA-16 hit. The chopper crashed near Mansfeld, East Germany, killing the copilot, WO Schneider, Sgt. Scott, the gunner, and one of the U.S. Army intelligence officers, and severely injuring the CIA courier. CWO Wilson smashed the CD General Mallinson gave him, while the crew chief and the other Army officer, Maj. Gary Shannon, dragged themselves out of the wreck. CWO Wilson told the CIA man that the three uninjured were going to try to escape and evade on foot, and he replied “Go. This stuff, Ivan won't get. Burn the chopper.” The CIA man took a suicide pill, and Wilson, noticing the leaking fuel from a ruptured tank, put the man's briefcase in the fuel before shooting a flare into the fuel, igniting the fuel and not only destroying the wrecked chopper, but the briefcase and its contents as well. The three survivors split up, but by the morning of the 28th, all three had been captured. Fortunately, all three made it through captivity to be repatriated at war's end, and Omega 22's story was fully told. The CIA man, whose name the aviators didn't know, was later honored with a memorial star at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Omega 23 had a similar ride to Omega 21, but they went the farthest before reaching safety. CWO Manning took her chopper on a route between the E6 Autobahn and Highway 2, the Leipzig-Wittenberg-Berlin highway. She avoided one Soviet air base, and maintained a southerly heading before turning west at the Mude River. Her secret to avoiding detection was simple; maintain low altitude, with only pop-ups to avoid obstructions such as power lines, communications towers, and the like. She said later that “at no time did we fly above 100 feet.” The tactic worked, and as Omega 23 flew on its way, the crew and passengers even noticed civilians on the ground waving to the helicopter!
Specialist Anderson asked Manning, “What do we do?” And CWO Manning replied, “Wave back; if they think we're friendly, they won't report us.” And so whenever Omega 23 saw civilians waving, the crew and passengers would wave back.

After Omega 23 made its turn to the west, they overflew an East German Army training area, and everyone noticed T-55 tanks, older model BTR-60 APCs, and towed artillery pieces. The East German Army's 16th Motor-Rifle Division was in the process of shaking down, and this mobilization-only unit was absorbing reservists and new inductees when Omega 23 flew over. After the 16th MRD was committed to combat, and was mauled by the U.S. 8th Infantry Division (Mech), one of its survivors, Pvt. Gunther Schmidt, told his interrogator of seeing the Blackhawk overfly his unit. Having seen Blackhawks on the officially forbidden, but eagerly watched, West German TV, he told his Sergeant, “Comrade Sergeant, there's an American UH-60!” The Sergeant looked up, but Omega 23 was gone. He then turned on the private and thundered, “You're always seeing things, Schmidt! Now drop and give me 40 push-ups! NOW!”

Omega 23 was now flying into the setting sun, and CWO Manning then dropped the fuel tanks hanging on the ESSS. They were empty now, and only created drag. The Blackhawk thundered on, skimming the trees, while one of the two RAF officers kept an eye on the map for any obstructions, leaving the two pilots to concentrate on flying the helicopter. The RWR gear, though active, and showing numerous radars up, hadn't yet signaled lock-on. As the chopper flew into the Harz Mountains, Manning was able to use the terrain to her advantage, and when she was locked on by an SA-11, she was able to get behind a hill and break the lock. The SA-11 didn't fire, and Manning gave the SA-11 battery a wide berth before resuming her course.

The Blackhawk crossed the IGB west of Mulhausen, and 23's occupants also noticed the still-active defenses on the Border. Just like 21, Manning had no choice but to buzz a watchtower, but instead of going above it as Capt. Little did, she went brazenly right by it, and Specialist Anderson later swore the Border Guards inside had their mouths wide open as 23 blew past. The East Germans no doubt sounded the alarm, but 23 encountered no fire as it continued on into West Germany. Manning then made a southwesterly turn and skimmed the northern edge of the Fulda Gap, keeping the terrain between her and the Gap.

As Omega 23 came out of the mountains into the open country, they got close to the FEBA, and then the threat receivers lit up “like a Christmas Tree,” as Copilot Kirby said later. Not only were there Soviet radars, but American ones, as they had flown down into the V Corps sector. The Blackhawk crossed the FEBA, and only then did CWO Manning turn on the IFF. She and Kirby noticed the welcome shapes of M-1A2 tanks and Bradley IFVs, and everyone hoped the ground-pounders would hold their fire. They did so, and CWO Manning began looking for a place to land, as 23 was by now running very low on fuel. She found a spot west of Alsfeld, and spotted a company's worth of tanks and Bradleys parked near a Gasthaus, with a wide open field across the road from the Gasthaus. Manning put the Blackhawk down on the last of its fuel, and shut down. The GIs from Team Alpha , 1/37 Armor, 3rd Armored Division, came down to assist. They saw both the UH-60 crew and passengers get out and kiss the ground.

Capt. Steve Sarson came up to CWO Manning and asked where they had come from, and she replied, “Berlin. We're the last ones out. Now, is that Gasthaus open? Because if it is, everyone on my chopper can use a drink.” Sarson replied that wasn't a problem, as they were on good terms with the owner, whose grandfather had been a panzer officer in WW II, and sure enough, drinks were “On the House” that evening. After a round, Manning used Sarson's communications to arrange for a refueling of 23, and a fuel truck from 3rd AD's aviation brigade arrived to refuel the chopper. Sarson also arranged for the mail from Berlin to go out as well. As for the CDs, she was under personal orders from General Mallinson to deliver them personally to SACEUR, and after resting that night, Manning, along with her crew and passengers, flew on to NATO Headquarters the next morning, and she personally delivered the CDs from Mallinson to General Baker. The CD that the L.A. Times reporter had given her was given to a fellow L.A. Times reporter at NATO's Media Center, and the material went to the Times later in the day.

For those who had made it, there were accolades all around. All eight aircrew who had survived were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the passengers, who had been sharing the same danger as the crews, were awarded the Air Medal by order of SACEUR. General Baker also promoted all of the aircrews one grade on the spot. Omega 23, the only surviving helicopter from West Berlin, survived the war and is now on display at the U.S. Army's Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The crews of both Omega 21 and 23 were lionized in the American and Allied Press, and the stories Ms. Bigelow wrote in Berlin before the flight brought home what was going on in West Berlin. And the crews of 21 and 23 made good on their promises to those left behind, as they mailed, phoned, or e-mailed the families of those who had asked them to contact loved ones. For some, that contact was the last from their relative, as some of those were later killed in the two final days of West Berlin. And Hollywood has gotten into the act, with MGM having announced plans for a movie to open in the Summer of 2010, titled Last Flight From Berlin. But for the crews of Omega 21 and 23, it was just part of the job, and the two crews soon joined the 11th Aviation Brigade of V Corps, and went on with the war. All eight crew members, though, did make it through the war, and were the subject of a best-selling book, Omega Flight: The Escape From Berlin, in 2007. But when one looks at the logbooks of the pilots and copilots, there was nothing remarkable about the flight, just routine entries and a brief description of the flight. As far as the crews of Omega 21 and 23 were concerned, it was a job well done. The U.S. Army, though, made sure that when it came time for Omega 23 to make its final flight to Fort Rucker, the crew of Omega 23 were all pulled from their current assignments and reunited for one final flight, to deliver their old warbird to its new home.

[jemhouston]

Pros doing the job

[Bernard Woolley]

Would certainly make an excellent film.

[Jotun]

Would certainly make an excellent film.

The Lynxes would mutate into Apaches, the Blackhawks would resemble DAPs, the BND guy would be a heel-klicking Nazi expy who is killed instead of the Agency guy (and by his own arrogance and stupidity) and he would turn out to have a cache of Jewish diamonds in his briefcase, there would be a love story, and each helo would take on a motor rifle regiment on its own and win.

Nah, pass

Just kidding, folks

[Bernard Woolley]

[jemhouston]

Would certainly make an excellent film.

The Lynxes would mutate into Apaches, the Blackhawks would resemble DAPs, the BND guy would be a heel-klicking Nazi expy who is killed instead of the Agency guy (and by his own arrogance and stupidity) and he would turn out to have a cache of Jewish diamonds in his briefcase, there would be a love story, and each helo would take on a motor rifle regiment on its own and win.

Nah, pass

Just kidding, folks

Do you have a secret past as a Hollywood screen writer?

[Leander]

Brilliant. Thoroughly enjoyed this.