Royal Marines Apache Rescue

BBC News footage from Afghanistan, 2006. British Royal Marines strap themselves to the sides of 2 Army Air Corps Apache Longbow gunships in order to retrieve a fallen comrade from the battlefield.

3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, had withdrawn following a prolonged battle with Taliban forces. When it was realized that a Marine had been left behind, his comrades devised a plan to retrieve him, dead or alive.

The Apache was not designed to carry troops into combat but it has provisions for the retrieval of downed air crew. The daring British commandos sat in front of the engine intakes, strapped to the fuselage.

With a third Apache flying as cover, the 2 Apaches, with their commando cargo, flew low in over the scene of the battle. Once landed, the men fanned out, found their comrade's body, retrieved him, and then pulled out.