“Black Hawk Down” is an official phrase used on combat situations, by the United States military, to inform the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter.

Michael Durant's helicopter, Super64, heading out over Mogadishu on Operation Code 'Irene' (October 3, 1993). Super64 was the second helicopter to crash on the course of the operation.

The phrase became popular after the release of a book titled Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. The book chronicles the U.S. military attempt of 1993 to capture a warlord, Mohamed Farrah Aidid, in Mogadishu, Somalia, and the intense battle that resulted between U.S. forces on duty with the United Nations against local militia and citizens.

The raid quickly became the most intensive Americans have engaged in since the Vietnam War. The events of the raid were later baptized as the Battle of Mogadishu by international media, as opposed to the operation name, Operation Code Irene.

The book is based on a series of articles written for the Philadelphia Inquirer by writer Mark Bowden. It was later turned into a film of the same name by Ridley Scott in 2001.

External links

• Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War (http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/) - featuring the text of the original articles, photos, and interviews with former soldiers involved in the battle.
• Category at ODP (http://dmoz.org/Arts/Movies/Titles/B/Black_Hawk_Down/)
• Black Hawk Down Exposed (http://exposebhd.freehomepage.com/)

References

• Scott, Ridley (2001). Black Hawk Down (http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/blackhawkdown/). Sony Pictures Entertainment. Culver City, California (USA).
• Bowden, Mark (March 1999). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War (http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/). Atlantic Monthly Press. Berkeley, California (USA).