For Reference - The Raid at Karabala
The 31 AH-64 Apaches of the 11th Aviation Group took off from Tactical Assembly Area Vicksburg, which was inside Objective Rams. One Apache crashed immediately after takeoff when its pilot became disoriented. When the Apaches turned north toward Karbala,
signals intelligence picked up over 50 Iraqi cell phone calls alerting the Iraqi forward units of their approach. As the helicopters came within range, the Iraqis signaled their troops to open fire by turning off the city's power grid for several seconds. Ground troops then opened up with a barrage of
PKM,NSV,
23mm, and
57mm fire.
Lieutenant Jason King, gunner of Apache "Palerider 16", was hit by
AKM fire
[8] in the neck and suffered a severe
hemorrhage, but he never lost consciousness.
[3] He was later evacuated to Germany for surgery, but returned to his unit a few weeks later.
[8] The Apaches were reluctant to return fire as most enemy fire was coming from houses and the risk of collateral damage was high. The helicopters scattered in search of the Medina Division, but were hampered by poor intelligence.[
citation needed]
Apache "Vampire 12", flown by
Warrant Officers David S. Williams and Ronald D. Young Jr., was forced down into a marsh after gunfire severed its hydraulics. Its radio was also hit, preventing communication with the other helicopters. Attempting to flee the crash scene, both men swam down a canal, but were captured by armed civilians. The Iraqi government would later show the helicopter on TV and claim that it had been shot down by a farmer with a
Brno rifle; however due to the high volume of anti-aircraft fire and the armor of the Apache, it is unlikely that a bolt-action rifle was responsible.
[9]
The Apaches turned back for Tactical Assembly Area Vicksburg after a half-hour of combat. Most were without functioning navigation equipment. At least two narrowly avoided a mid-air collision.
[3] Post-battle analysis indicated the American gunships were targeted in a deliberately planned ambush
[10] with cannon fire, RPGs, and small-arms all emanating from camouflaged fire teams.
Of the 29 returning Apaches, all but one suffered serious damage. On average, each Apache had 15-20 bullet holes. One Apache took 29 hits. Sixteen main rotor blades, six tail blades, six engines, and five drive shafts were damaged beyond repair. In one squadron only a single helicopter was fit to fly. It took a month until the 11th Regiment was ready to fight again. The casualties sustained by the Apaches induced a change of tactics by placing significant restrictions on their use.
[11] Attack helicopters would henceforth be used to reveal the location of enemy troops, allowing them to be destroyed by artillery and air strikes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_attack_on_Karbala
IMO - comletely OT but India needs to study the overall battle of Karbala in great detail and drill hard for it. Any future conflict to our west will see a similar senario. It took the 502 Inf Division and the 101 Airborne 2 days of clearing the city street by street and with the exception of the Apache Raid was text book Combined Arms in a MOUT environment.
