LITTLE BIRD DOWN !!!!!

Little Bird helicopter tail number 4055-1 is coming to the end of it's regular military life and scheduled to return to the states to be refitted and assigned to a National Guard unit.

Her crew is taking the old bird on her last mission and looking forward to the new model waiting for them at base. The mission is to extract a Delta recon team who's been out a week and are ready for some much earned R&R.

Pickup is complete and went with out trouble and the group are in a good mood when a radio call comes in that a heavy weapon has been spotted in the area they are now flying through. No sooner is the transmission is complete than the old war horse is hit by a fatal burst of fire from the heavy weapon as well as some small arms fire. The engine instantly starts to seize , the co-pilot is hit in the right leg by shrapnel and the pilot starts transmitting for help while forced to do a crash landing in which the co-pilot is again injured in the head.

Once she settles smoke begins to bellow out

The crew and passengers start to climb out as the smoke flows

As soon as they realize the co-pilot can't walk the pilot pulls him out covered by the 'D' boys

Delta moves into a defensive position .

The pilot has the wounded crew man and starts to move to better spot even though the fire seems to be out in the bird to attend to him under cover of Delta

.

The D team leader safeguards the helo crew and leads them to the spot he wants to defend from.

The team saw gunner is 1st to spot the enemy moving in for the kill and opens fire.

The rest of the team begins suppressive fire.

The pilot runs for cover w/ his buddy.

Meantime Delta has popped smoke and a South African SAR bird caring a U.S. medic has heard the distress signal and starts to insert it's P.J. and medic.

 

The medic is on the ground covered by his P.J.

Now he starts working on the wounded pilot.

I.V.'s started and he begins working on the leg wound.

A mortar round comes in close , things are getting desperate.

Delta and the Para jumper start talking about moving to another location when they hear the sound of incoming rotorblades.

It's the quick reaction team from the airbase.

Once on the ground they quickly deploy and start returning fire , pushing back the attackers for the moment.

To be continued.