13 Minutes of Constant Cobra Carnage

first published on July 1, 2016 by Will

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Here is a historical and intense 13 minute video from the deepest depths of the Operation Iraqi Freedom footage vault.

The clips are from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269, consisting of AH-1W SuperCobras and UH-1N Hueys, as the initial invasion of Iraq kicked off in March of 2003.

The gunship pilots had been waiting for the green light to fly off the USS Saipan, into and through Kuwait, and begin hitting Iraqi military targets. Finally, that call came, and on a moonless night, they made their move. First they took out a number of Iraqi border checkpoints.

After the border points were destroyed, their mission changed to hitting artillery and mortar positions to protect advancing American troops out of Kuwait. Soon however, the pilots found themselves in a target rich environment, hammering enemy troops, vehicles, buildings, and entrenched fighting positions. They fought near to the ground, directly over the head of Marine Abrams tanks, who were themselves engaged in direct fire battles. Overhead of the Cobras were British GR1 Tornado jets firing missiles past them, down into the chaos.

For weeks the pilots flew several hours a day on very little sleep, dodging antiaircraft fire, power lines, and sandstorms. The Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 flew over 2,000 combat sorties while not losing a single Marine, and as you can see by this 13 minute video, they absolutely demolished the Iraqi military, thus saving the lives of many advancing American and British troops.

To read more on Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269’s historical tour, as written by one of the SuperCobra pilots present, click HERE