Rangers from C Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, during Operation Urgent Fury, Oct. 25, 1983. The C-5 was the largest transport in the Air Force inventory. No antiaircraft fire greeted the helicopters at the landing zones, and only a few Grenadian soldiers were in evidence to make a token resistance. US Army Rangers conduct Airborne Assault during Invasion of Grenada. The failure to design an adequate concept of a joint operation at an early stage indicated that the joint headquarters in question, Atlantic Command, was neither trained nor manned to mount a complicated ground force operation in the time allotted, whatever the size. Worse yet was the fact that three exposed Rangers from one of the flights were killed and another four seriously wounded.At 2130 on 24 October, the first MC130s carrying Rangers took off.
The UH-60 crashed around 0640 just on top of Amber Belair Hill with such force that the helicopter broke in half and the main rotor blades fell over the cliff in the water and rocks below. The soldiers of the Grenadian Army’s Motorized Company drove directly into the Ranger’s positions, firing their machine guns wildly in all directions. Little was known about the enemy they faced, no tactical intelligence, or details of locations. Army Chief of Staff General John A. Wickham went further and directed the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command to prepare an in-depth analysis of the operation. 1st Battalion, in addition to securing the airfield and True Blue, would also reinforce the sixty Special Operations soldiers in the St. George area of operations with fifty to sixty Rangers while the 2nd Battalion would attack the PRA base at Calivigny. In retrospect, General Vessey considered this rigidity to be the main flaw in the initial plan because a pause in ground force operations was guaranteed while Trobaugh and his staff assumed control of the ongoing operation from Scholtes and his headquarters.in the assault. It was triggered by the strife within the People's Revolutionary Government which resulted in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop Both units were highly trained in airfield seizure operations and, although activated only in 1974, they already had reputations for high morale and levels of readiness. Three of the four crew members were killed.The Grenadian military, even with outside training and support, was not a formidable force.
Of course, more time for preparation would have allowed the participants to perfect these plans, but the paucity of information suggested that the Grenadian government was in disarray—creating a period of maximum danger for the students but also one of great opportunity for their rescuers. They also changed the target listing for the special operations forces by adding (at State Department insistence) the Richmond Hill prison. The commander of Cuban forces on the island, Col. Pedro Tortoló Cosmas, underwent a secret court-martial that reduced him to private for his inability to mount an effective defense. Operation Urgent Fury successes Their main objectives were to capture the Point Salines International Airport and Pearls Airport, and rescue U.S. students and Governor General Paul Scoon. Previous military operations, especially involving the potential rescue of hostages, had more time for planning. The administration decided during the early days to deny media representatives—print media and TV news—access to the operation. There were no U.S. casualties. The last battalion of the brigade, the 2d Battalion, 0th Infantry, pulled out on 12 December.