{"id":1465421,"date":"2026-06-03T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=1465421"},"modified":"2026-06-11T18:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T16:11:12","slug":"operation-ivory-coast-the-son-tay-raid-that-changed-special-ops-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-ivory-coast-the-son-tay-raid-that-changed-special-ops-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Ivory Coast: The Son Tay Raid That Changed Special Ops Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\nThe rotor wash tore across the darkened compound like a hurricane at 2:18 in the morning. Tracer rounds carved neon arcs through the North Vietnamese night as a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant deliberately crash-landed inside the walls of Son Tay prison camp, its fuselage grinding to a halt in a courtyard designed to hold American prisoners of war. Fourteen Green Berets spilled from the wreckage with their weapons already firing. Twenty-three miles west of Hanoi, deep inside enemy territory, the most audacious rescue mission of the Vietnam War had just begun.\n\nIt was November 21, 1970. Operation Ivory Coast \u2014 the Son Tay Raid \u2014 would last exactly 27 minutes on the ground. And when it was over, every single raider would make it home alive. The prisoners they had come for, however, were already gone.\n\nThe story of how 56 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers flew 400 miles into the heart of North Vietnam \u2014 and what their mission meant for the future of American special operations \u2014 is one of the most remarkable chapters in military history.\n\n\n<div style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1a1a2e 0%,#16213e 100%);color:#fff;padding:28px 32px;border-radius:12px;margin:28px 0\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 16px;font-size:20px;letter-spacing:1px;color:#5C91FF;padding:0\">QUICK FACTS<\/h3>\n<table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px\">\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa;width:40%\">Operation Name<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Ivory Coast (Kingpin)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Date<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">November 21, 1970<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Ground Force Commander<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Colonel Arthur D. &#8220;Bull&#8221; Simons<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Overall Commander<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">Brig. Gen. LeRoy J. Manor<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Assault Force<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">56 U.S. Army Green Berets<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Time on Ground<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">27 minutes<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a;color:#aaa\">Aircraft Used<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #2a2a4a\">1 HH-3E, 5 HH-53s, 2 MC-130s, 2 HC-130s<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 12px;color:#aaa\">U.S. Casualties<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 12px\">2 wounded, zero killed<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Man Called &#8220;Bull&#8221;<\/h2>\n\nColonel Arthur D. &#8220;Bull&#8221; Simons was no stranger to impossible missions. A World War II and Korean War veteran who had already led a successful raid to free prisoners from a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, Simons was the kind of soldier who inspired both fear and absolute loyalty. When the Pentagon needed someone to lead 56 men into the most heavily defended airspace on Earth, they chose Bull.\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;You are to let nothing \u2014 nothing \u2014 interfere with the operation. Our mission is to rescue prisoners, not take prisoners.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Col. Arthur D. &#8220;Bull&#8221; Simons<\/strong> &mdash; Ground Force Commander, Son Tay Raid<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\nThe intelligence indicated that up to 61 American POWs were being held at Son Tay prison camp, a small compound 23 miles west of Hanoi. Satellite imagery and reconnaissance photography had confirmed the presence of prisoners. What the intelligence failed to detect was that the prisoners had been moved in July 1970 \u2014 four months before the raid \u2014 after the camp&#8217;s wells became contaminated by flooding.\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Building &#8220;Barbara&#8221; at Eglin<\/h2>\n\nThe planning for Operation Ivory Coast was extraordinary in its detail. At Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the raiders constructed a full-scale mockup of the Son Tay compound for night rehearsals, working alongside a detailed tabletop model of the camp codenamed &#8220;Barbara&#8221;, built from reconnaissance photography. They rehearsed the assault more than 170 times over a period of several months, always at night, always in conditions simulating the real approach.\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=1065207704  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/general-manor-president-nixon-son-tay-raid.jpg\" alt=\"Brigadier General LeRoy Manor with President Nixon after the Son Tay Raid\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Brig. Gen. LeRoy Manor briefs President Nixon on the Son Tay Raid. Despite finding no prisoners, the operation was considered a tactical masterpiece. (U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\nThe assault plan was elegantly simple but required split-second coordination. Three groups \u2014 Blueboy (the assault element that would crash-land inside the compound), Greenleaf (led by Simons, landing outside the walls), and Redwine (the command and security element) \u2014 had to execute their roles in sequence while Navy diversionary strikes occupied Hanoi&#8217;s air defenses 100 miles to the east.\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bhJdGP04dnE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">27 Minutes in Enemy Territory<\/h2>\n\nThe raiders lifted off from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand just after midnight. The formation \u2014 one HH-3E and five HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant helicopters, escorted by MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft and A-1 Skyraiders \u2014 flew low-level at treetop height through mountains and river valleys to avoid radar detection. HC-130 tankers refueled the helicopters en route.\n\nAt 2:18 a.m., the HH-3E &#8220;Banana 01&#8221; deliberately crash-landed inside the compound walls. The crash landing was intentional \u2014 the courtyard was too small for a conventional helicopter landing. The 14-man Blueboy assault team stormed the buildings within seconds.\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re Americans. Keep your heads down.&rdquo; \u2014 called out through a bullhorn as his team cleared the cell blocks. Within minutes it was clear the camp was empty, and Meadows radioed the code words: &ldquo;Negative items.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Dick Meadows<\/strong> &mdash; Captain, U.S. Army Special Forces, Blueboy Team Leader<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\nMeanwhile, Simons and his Greenleaf team accidentally landed at a secondary school 400 meters south of the target \u2014 a compound that appeared nearly identical from the air. There, they encountered and eliminated a group of enemy soldiers before re-boarding their helicopter and landing at the correct compound within minutes. The entire ground operation was completed in 27 minutes. Every American raider returned safely, with only two men wounded.\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bpxNJNKrQjU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Empty Bunks, Full Legacy<\/h2>\n\nThe discovery that Son Tay was empty was devastating. The POWs had been relocated to a camp the prisoners called &#8220;Camp Faith,&#8221; 15 miles closer to Hanoi. The intelligence failure was significant \u2014 but the raid&#8217;s tactical execution was virtually flawless.\n\nThe aftermath, paradoxically, improved conditions for American POWs. Alarmed by the audacity of the raid, the North Vietnamese consolidated their scattered prison camps, bringing hundreds of isolated prisoners together into larger facilities. For the first time, many POWs who had been held in solitary confinement for years found themselves with companions. Morale soared.\n\nMore importantly, the Son Tay Raid exposed critical weaknesses in how the U.S. military organized and executed joint special operations. The lessons learned led directly to the establishment of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in 1980 and the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in 1987. Every special operations mission conducted since \u2014 from the Bin Laden raid to modern hostage rescues \u2014 traces its doctrinal DNA to those 27 minutes at Son Tay.\n\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:32px\">Sources: U.S. Army, National Museum of the USAF, Air &#038; Space Forces Magazine, Defense Media Network<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rotor wash tore across the darkened compound like a hurricane at 2:18 in the morning. Tracer rounds carved neon arcs through the North Vietnamese night as a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant deliberately crash-landed inside the walls of Son Tay prison camp, its fuselage grinding to a halt in a courtyard designed to hold [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1465177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1465421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Operation Ivory Coast: The Son Tay Raid That Changed Special Ops Forever | MiGFlug.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On November 21, 1970, 56 Green Berets flew 400 miles into North Vietnam to rescue POWs from Son Tay prison. 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