1:48 scale diecast helicopter by Unimax Forces of Valor Premium Enthusiast Edition 84206. Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk US Army 101st Airborne Div, "Double Vision", Iraq, 1991.

Width 13 inches
Span 14 inches

After the Army of Iraq invaded and captured Kuwait, the first Army command to send troops to Saudi Arabia was the XVIII Airborne Corps. The Corps was made up of the 82nd Airborne Division, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the 101st Airborne Division. On August 17, 1990 the first units of the 101st arrived in Saudi Arabia. 2,700 troops, 117 helicopters, 487 vehicles, and 125 pallets of supplies were transported on board 110 US Air Force C-5 and C-141 transport aircraft. Meanwhile, the remainder of the division was loaded onto transport ships in Jacksonville, Fl and 46 days later arrived in the Saudi port of Ad Daman. The 101st was the first US Army Division to have all of its assets in theater. On January 17, 1991, Desert Storm, the mission to liberate Kuwait began. At 2:38 am, 8 AH-64 Apache helicopters of the 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment destroyed two Iraqi early warning radar sites, clearing the way for US Air Force strike aircraft on their way to Baghdad. The 101st Airborne Division drew first blood in Desert Storm. Blackhawk helicopters of 1st Battalion were on scene in case any Allied planes were shot down and the pilots needed to be rescued. On February 24, 1991, the 101st and the French 6th Light Armored stepped off on their envelopment of Iraqi forces on the left flank of the Coalition line. A total of 300 helicopters lifted the 101st Airborne to their first objective, FOB COBRA, 110 miles inside Iraq. The 101st achieved complete surprise and the Iraqi forces at COBRA were routed; most were taken prisoner. After a rapid refueling, the 101st lifted off and moved another 60 miles. By the evening of the 24th, Highway 8 was cut and the Iraqi�s had lost a key supply line. That day�s operation had been the largest helicopter assault in the history of modern warfare. �Double Vision� led a flight of UH-60A Black Hawks low over the Iraqi desert during the opening assault of the ground war and as the lead assault element they each carried fifteen fully equipped combat troops, extra weapons, rations, water and other equipment deep into Iraqi occupied territory.