Operation Mount Hope III

Around one and a half billion dollars worth of military equipment was destroyed or abandoned as they retreated from northern Chad.

[4] This included around 20 aircraft left behind at the former Libyan air base at Ouadi Doum, which was captured by Chadian forces in March 1987.

[1] After lengthy, three-way negotiations between the French, American and the Chadian governments, permission was given to recover two Libyan Mi-25 Hinds from Chad.

[6] Meanwhile the United States was allowed to recover an abandoned Mi-25 Hind from Ouadi Doum,[7] with the Americans handing over two million dollars and a batch of FIM-92 Stinger missiles in exchange for the permission.

[6] The decision was made to transport the helicopter by air and the task was assigned to the US Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

[1] In April 1988, the unit began training for the mission with night-time flights of MH-47 Chinook helicopters around White Sands, New Mexico.

[1] In the second week of June a single C-5 Galaxy flew directly from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to N'Djamena International Airport, carrying both the MH-47's that were to be used, and over sixty personnel.

[1] The transport aircraft landed at dusk and the partially-disassembled helicopters were immediately unloaded; ground crew worked through the night reassembling them.

The helicopters also had unnecessary items removed to save weight, and were fitted with additional tanks in the cargo area that held an extra 600 US gallons (2,300 L) of fuel.

[1] The Libyans carried out many air-attacks on Ouadi Doum in the days following its fall to try to destroy the military equipment they had abandoned there.