Operation Eagle Claw – The PlanForty-eight hours before the planned assault, an MC-130 cargo plane would take off from Masirah – an island off the coast of Oman – and head for Desert One, a pre-identified site in the middle of the Iranian desert. This location had been picked for its remoteness and its position south of Teheran. It was to be the re-fuelling area for the helicopters, which could not make it non-stop to Teheran, even with auxiliary fuel tanks attached. It had been tested by a dummy flight and landing a couple of weeks earlier. As well as reconnoitring the site, this mission buried landing lights in the sand to guide in the first C-130 on the night of the actual operation. During this earlier recce, a number of trucks and cars had driven past the site on the road. Despite thi
