Operation Eagle Claw 1980: The disastrous bid to end the Iran hostage crisis

by Justin W. Williamson, Jim Laurier (Illustrator), Johnny Shumate (Illustrator)

A fully illustrated history of the disastrous 1980 attempt to rescue the 52 US Embassy hostages in Tehran, which involved the new Delta Force and a complex series of airlifts, hides, and refueling stops in the Iranian desert.

Following months of negotiations after the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran on November 4 1979, President Jimmy Carter ordered the newly formed Delta Force to conduct a raid into Iran to free the hostages. The raid, Operation Eagle Claw, was risky to say the least. US forces would have to fly into the deserts of Iran on C-130s; marry up with carrier-based RH-53D helicopters; fly to hide sites near Tehran; approach the Embassy via trucks; seize the Embassy and rescue the hostages; board the helicopters descending on Tehran; fly to an airbase captured by more US forces; and then fly out on C-141s and to freedom. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly given the complexity of the mission, things went wrong from the start and when the mission was called off at the refueling site at Desert One, the resulting collision between aircraft killed eight US personnel.

This title tells the full story of this tragic operation, supported by maps, photographs, and specially-commissioned bird's-eye-views and battlescenes, which reveal the complexity and scale of the proposed rescue and the disaster which followed.

Genres: History, Military History

80 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2020

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

It saddens me to say I didn't enjoy this.
I read a lot of Osprey's but I tend not to review them.

This one was a disappointment.
The actual operation is not particularly interesting and not a great deal happened.

The interesting elements of the operation (the vehicles, politics, terrain and defences) weren't really described.
A lot of pages were used explaining command structures and personal carrers which I found a bit dry.

For a more engaging modern period Osprey Raid I would recommend The Last Boarding Party or Gothic Serpent

[Stuart Bailey]

This book is a good, comprehensive overview of the ill-fated attempt to rescue the American hostages held in Iran. This book is the high quality I expect of Osprey books. (short, concise, well researched, great pictures and diagrams) This read filled in a lot of gaps I had about this operation, but It was painful to read. This operation was just a laundry list of what could go wrong with a complex mission deep inside enemy territory. I don’t see how this plan was ever going to work, and it is easy to see how this story might have been even more tragic if the Delta force had made it to Tehran. Of course, the failure at Desert One gave birth to the US Special Operations forces that were so successful in the post-911 era.

[Eric Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not extensive, the book is about the attempted hostage rescue back when Iran took them. The book outlines the steps that were taken to recover the hostages and the military attempt. It goes into some detail about the raid, and also what had happened afterward, and the ramifications of the attempt. It is a good book though, and I recommend reading it if you're looking for something light to read on the subject.

[Dave Monds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary

A well constructed summary that adds little to the topic other than saving a lot of research for someone interested in the topic. I’d still recommend reading the works of those the author cites in the text for a more detailed and comprehensive insight. There were a few nuggets I hadn’t come across before so all in all an interesting, well written read.

[Tonet Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reveals just how catastrophic this op was. Everyone was gung-ho, lots of planning blunders, lots of executional lapses. Hoo-ah gung-ho mindset doesn't replace genuine valor and mission effectiveness, is the biggest insight. They had so much time to plan it. But there was zero flexibility, and the plan literally did not survive first contact. Disaster.

[Alan Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very accessible account of the planning and execution of the failed attempt to rescue the US diplomats held hostage in Tehran in 1980. From the background (the Iranian Revolution and the embassy takeover), to a complete chronology, the author sets the stage for The Plan, the Raid, and The Aftermath. As with any Osprey book, the maps, photos and paintings add to the narrative. The author, a serving Foreign Service Officer (FSO aka US diplomat) is also a recent graduate of the US Army Command and Staff College - a combination that that gives him solid basis to tell this tale without descending into jargon.

[Matthias Noch · Rating 5 out of 5]

For just 80 pages the reader gets a very high density of facts and background which cover also the recently declassified material. If you just want to have a short and good to read overview of the Operation from the US side, this book will help you. For more detailed studies one has to turn to a couple of other books, as none covers the whole topic from both sides.

[Jeff Farnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had some good information about Operation Eagle Claw. I especially liked the pictures of the Delta operators and the maps and diagrams. The information was good, but sometimes I got the impression it was written for young people the way the wording was in some places. Overall they did a good job of condensing a lot of information into 120 or so pages.

[Grouchy Historian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Lots of detail about the raid planning and the disaster a Desert One.

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, short read about the planning, failure, and aftermath of a daring rescue mission.