MYSTERY OF THE GRENADIAN CHOPPERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100130026-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: October 25, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100130026-2
IJASHINGTO"~ POST
25 October 1984
1P~~~t AND~ERS4N
~iyster~r of the Grenadian Choppers
year ago today American troops landed on
the Caribbean island of Grenada, yet the
public still doesn't know the full story of the
_
invasion. -.-----
Not only were reporters barred from Grenada
for three days, but the Pentagon has yet to release
after-action reports on the operation. ~ "
How did the Marines and Rangers perform in _.
combat? Were they properly led, or were they
hampered by poor intelligence and command
confusion? Did their weapons work the way they
were supposed to?
The American public may never know. All we
Goldberg and John Dillon found the Hughes
choppers listed on the Army's internal master
inventory. They include the OH6 and newer, - ~ .
improved versions as well. = -
There are at least three different; specially
equipped models of the Hughes helicopter, loaded
with classed electronic surveillance equipment, as
well as three MH6 versions believed to be mod~ed
"for night missions. .
According to sources, the mysterious helicopters
used in Grenada were based at Fort Bragg, N.C.~ -
home of the Army's Special Forces. ' F
The Hughes choppers have roamedJfarther '"'
have to go on, even after a year, is the Pentagon's .afield. They have shown up in Central America in -
assurance that the Grenada operation was carried - the hands of CIA-backed contra guerrillas fighting
off brilliantly In every'respect.
One illustration of the military's secretiveness is
the case of the. mysterious helicopters used in the
invasion. Eyewitness accounts-confu-med by _
photographs-told of several Hughes 500-MD
scout helicopters used extensively on Grenada.
Film footage shows one of the choppers crashing
and exploding:
The mystery is this: the Hughes 500-MD
helicopter is not part of the Army's inventory. In
response to a congressional inquiry, Gen. John W.
Vessey Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did .
not list the Hughes craft as part of the Grenada
invasion force, despite the eyewitness and
photographic proof that some were indeed used.
Officially, the Pentagon hasn't bought any
Hughes helicopters since 1969, and those were the`-
older.OH6 model. But my associates,Donald
"the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Eden
Pastors, leader of one anti-Sandinista faction, had
three of the helicopters. "
Mare recently, two Alabama National Guard
volunteers died in the crash of a Hughes helicopter
during a raid over Nicaragua. It was the same type
that was on Grenada.
Congressional sources suspect that the CIA
supplied the Hughes helicopters to the contras. If
so, this might have violated congressional "
restrictions on aid to the guerrillas. The fact that '
the aircraft isn't listed in the official inventory
makes it difficult to tell whether there was a
violation..
Did the CiA supply the Hughes choppers seen on
Grenada? If so, why? Or does the Army have
helicopters that aren't listed on the inventory?
My office put these questions to the Pentagon,
_ but a spokesman.declined to comment.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100130026-2