It's been 21 years since the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, which ended with 18 dead American soldiers, several thousand dead Somalians, and, as we all know, two downed Blackhawk helicopters.
The storied helicopter crash was relegated to fiction movies and books, only witnessed by the soldiers on the scene until last year, when CBS obtained never before seen footage of the actual crash of the first helicopter, known as Super 6-1, piloted by CW3 Cliff Wolcott.
On Oct. 3, 1993, elite Delta Force operators supported by U.S. Army Rangers were on a mission to capture the top lieutenants of Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid.
The mission was supposed to only take about 30 minutes, with Delta dropping in on a target house as Rangers secured the perimeter. Once the militants were captured, the plan was to get everyone out on helicopters, Humvees and trucks.
The mission quickly changed to a rescue mission after two helicopters were brought down in the city.
These are the radio transmissions that came soon after:
Somalia, Oct. 3, 1993: “We got a Blackhawk going down. We got a blackhawk going down."
— Paul Szoldra (@PaulSzoldra) October 3, 2014Somalia, Oct. 3, 1993: “We got a Blackhawk crashed in the city.” “61” “61 down."
— Paul Szoldra (@PaulSzoldra) October 3, 2014Somalia, Oct. 3, 1993: “6-4 are you ok?” “Roger.” “Going in hard, going down. Ray!” “6-4 is going down. 6-4 is down."
— Paul Szoldra (@PaulSzoldra) October 3, 2014"It took a direct hit to the tail — boom — and started a slow rotation," said Norm Hooten, a Special Operations team leader.
In the clip, CBS Correspondent Lara Logan asks "How hard did it hit?"
"It was a catastrophic impact, that's the only way I'd describe it."
Watch: