Article: History Behind Corgi AA35908A: The MH-60L ‘Super Six One’ Black Hawk
History Behind Corgi AA35908A: The MH-60L ‘Super Six One’ Black Hawk
INTRODUCTION
In October 1993, U.S. special operations forces deployed to Mogadishu under Operation Gothic Serpent, aiming to capture key lieutenants of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The plan relied on speed, surprise, and helicopters to insert and extract forces quickly from the city.
One aircraft at the centre of events was “Super 61” (MH-60L Black Hawk), flown by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). What began as a targeted raid on 3 October 1993 escalated into a drawn-out fight that would become one of the defining urban battles of modern warfare.
QUICK FACTS
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Aircraft: Sikorsky MH-60L Black Hawk
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Callsign: Super 61 (Super 6-1)
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Unit: 160th SOAR (Airborne)
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Operation: Gothic Serpent
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Location: Mogadishu, Somalia
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Period: 3 October 1993
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Model represented: 1:72 Corgi Aviation Archive AA35908A
OPERATION GOTHIC SERPENT AND HELICOPTER-BORNE RAIDS
Operation Gothic Serpent was built around rapid, helicopter-led assaults - Rangers and Delta Force operators inserted by fast ropes, targets secured quickly, then everyone extracted before large hostile crowds could converge.
In that environment, helicopters were both an advantage and a risk. They provided speed, overwatch, and flexibility in a dense urban setting, but they also had to fly low and slow enough to support troops on the ground - making them vulnerable to small arms fire and RPG fire.
SUPER 61 AND THE BATTLE OF MOGADISHU
During the raid on 3 October 1993, Super 6-1 was hit by an RPG and crashed into a narrow city street. The crash site became an immediate focal point, with surviving crew members and nearby operators defending the area under intense, sustained fire while U.S. forces fought to reach them.
Shortly after, a second Black Hawk, Super 6-4, was also shot down. With two crash sites to secure and extract, the situation escalated into a prolonged battle lasting through the night. By the end, 18 Americans were killed and around 80 wounded, with Somali casualties reported far higher.
LEGACY AND COLLECTOR APPEAL
Although key targets were captured, the losses and the political shockwave that followed led the United States to scale back and later withdraw from Somalia. The shoot-down of Super 6-1 is widely seen as the moment the raid shifted into the broader Battle of Mogadishu, later depicted for many audiences through Black Hawk Down.
For collectors, Corgi Aviation Archive AA35908A captures a defining moment in modern helicopter warfare - a 1:72 MH-60L Black Hawk tied to the most famous events of Operation Gothic Serpent, and to the demanding, high-risk world of the 160th SOAR.
