Royal Marine Commando strapped to Apache wings to rescue missing mate.
This is not rumor and confirmed by Army spokesman!!
Rescue bid by heroes strapped to helicopters,17.01.07---http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23382037-details/Rescue%20bid%20by%20heroes%20strapped%20to%20helicopters/article.do
Four Royal Marine commandos flew into a battlefield strapped to the wings of two Apache helicopters to retrieve a missing comrade.
The daring mission to recover Lance Corporal Mathew Ford under fire in Afghanistan is the first time British forces have conducted such a risky operation.
British soldier killed in Afghanistan named
But it ended in sadness when the Marines found the 30-year-old member of 45 Commando had been killed. He is the 46th British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since 2001.
He had been seen to be shot on Monday as he led his men in storming a strongly- defended fort used by the Taliban as a key headquarters.
Enemy fire was so heavy that the troops following him had to withdraw, but comrades were determined to try to find him.
The pilots of two Apaches, which cannot carry passengers, flew back into the combat zone with four Marines on their wings in an operation dubbed Flight of the Phoenix.
The aircraft, carrying two men each, swooped on the compound, while a third Apache hovered above, keeping the Taliban at bay.
When they found his body the four Marines jumped off the wings and strapped it to a landed helicopter. They then mounted the wings of the Apaches again as the aircraft flew back to the British headquarters.
An Army spokesman said: "It was a leap into the unknown. It was an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery of our airmen, soldiers and Marines who were all prepared to put themselves back into the line of fire to rescue a fallen comrade."
The attack was one of the largest offensive operations against the Talibanin Helmand province, involving more than 200 ground troops, artillery, bombers and helicopter gunships attacking Jugroom fort outside the volatile town of Garmsir.
The area is a key supply route for Taliban fighters crossing the nearby border from Pakistan. The fort had been under surveillance for weeks.
Troops from 45 Commando crossed a river at dawn to attack the high-walled compound and came under "ferocious fire from all sides".
Lance Corporal Ford was leading his section of Marines as they charged when he was shot. Four other British servicemen were injured. The lance corporal grew up in Immingham, Lincolnshire, and joined the Marines six years ago.
He lived with his fiancee Ina, a student in Dundee, and had been serving in Afghanistan since October.
Yesterday his family told how he was considering leaving the Marines to settle down and start a family.
His mother Joan said: "We are all devastated by the news of Mathew's death. His love for life and his ability to make everyone laugh will always be with us."
An Apache: The Marines flew in tied to the winds of the helicopters
2.If you are Commander,would you allow them to do so??
sorry i dunt know alreday discussed here--British troops stage daring helicopter rescue in Afghanistanpl stop post in this thread.
