Operation Airborne Dragon
Operation Airborne Dragon | |||||||
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Part of Operation Iraqi Freedom | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Iraqi insurgency | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lieutenant Colonel Ken Riddle | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
First Wave: 173rd Airborne Brigade Reinforcements: Task Force 1-63: 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment 5 M1A1 main battle tanks 5 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles 5+ M113 armoured personnel carriers Military Police Company Combat Service Support Platoon 1 Battalion command post |
Local Defences: Unknown Regional Defences: 6 Iraqi Army and Republican Guard Divisions | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
US Unknown ? Equipment: Unknown ? |
Iraqi Heavy Equipment: Multiple of tanks and armoured vehicles. | ||||||
The first expeditionary insertion of a U.S. armored force into combat by air. |
Operation Airborne Dragon was a part of Operation Northern Delay in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. US airborne troops seized Bashur air base in northern Iraq, and were then reinforced by air with tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The combined force held the airfield until the arrival of ground forces.
On 7 April 2003, Task Force 1-63 landed 5
Units involved
The US forces were mostly made up of the 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, a subordinate unit of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.[1]
Operation
On 26 March 2003 the
On 7 April 2003
Aftermath
Operation Airborne Dragon shortened Operation Iraqi Freedom and saved the lives of many coalition soldiers.[
References
- ^ "Operation Airborne Dragon, Northern Iraq" (PDF). Military Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2017.