Officially designated as the Little Bird, the MH-6 helicopter has a more apt, more commonly used nickname: the Killer Egg. The name fits; the MH-6’s 24-foot-long, nine-foot-tall fuselage does bear resemblance to an egg. And the MH-6 does have killer performance specifications. Capable of carrying an assortment of guns, rockets, and missiles, the light helicopter is renowned for its maneuverability – and has been in service for over four decades, successfully performing attack, evacuation, transportation, and observation missions for US Special Forces.
In 1980, while 52 American hostages were held prisoner at the US Embassy in Iran, President Jimmy Carter authorized Operation Eagle Claw – an attempt to rescue the American hostages. The operation’s plan was complex – in short, it called for US Marine Corps pilots, flying US Navy RH-53D helicopters, working in concert with CIA and Army ground forces, to fly to Iran, conduct a rescue raid, and exfiltrate US hostages. For the operation, war planners determined four helicopters would be needed – but to play it safe, the operation would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters made it to Iran. Carter sent eight. Only five arrived safely (one had a hydraulic malfunction, one was caught in a sandstorm, and one had a cracked rotor blade). The mission was aborted. Carter lost his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan, and to this day, when asked what he would do differently about his presidency, Carter says: I would have sent another helicopter.
The US decided to try again. Operation Credible Sport was to be the second attempt to rescue the US hostages in Iran. But the debacle of Operation Eagle Claw demonstrated concretely the shortcomings within the US helicopter inventory. US forces needed a special task force, and a special helicopter if they were going to pull the mission off this time. A special task force was created, which has since become known as the revered 160th Aviation Battalion – the Night Stalkers. For the appropriate helicopter, the root of the solution lay within the existing inventory, with the OH-6 Cayuse.
The MH-6 is a modern variant of the OH-6, which first flew in 1963. The OH-6 was a game-changer; when first introduced, the Light Observation Helicopter set 23 world records – for speed, endurance, and climb rate. Two endurance records still stand: Jack Schwiebold’s 1,739 closed circuit record, which he performed at Edwards Air Force Base, and; Robert Ferry’s long-distance world record, which he achieved when he loaded up a ton of fuel – a ton as in 2,000 pounds – and flew from Culver City, California to Ormond Beach, Florida. Ferry covered 1,923 miles in 15 hours. Indeed, the OH-6 was a capable helicopter.
The MH-6 is even more capable. Whereas the original OH-6 had a four-blade rotor, the MH-6 has a six-blade rotor – and generally improved performance specifications.
While Operation Credible Sport was called off, naturally, when Iran released their US hostages, the US decided to keep the Night Stalkers task force – and their new MH-6s – operational. The Night Stalkers and the Killer Egg have consistently contributed to US special operations for the last forty years, including Grenada, Panama, Somalia, and Iraq. Both the Night Stalkers and the MH-6 are well documented in Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Defense Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison has degrees from Lake Forest College, the University of Oregon, and New York University. He lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken. Follow him on Twitter @harrison_kass.
