Black Hawk Down Delta Force Loadout Guide

My previous post showing some of the production stills from the filming of Blackhawk Down has proved incredibly popular. The vast majority of traffic that I get through this website from google are people searching for delta force pictures,  so it’s probably not much of a surprise that the behind the scenes pics of the SFOD-D guys from Blackhawk down have been received with interest. 

With this in mind I’ve put together the following guide for those that are interested in the kit worn by the actors portraying various Delta Force operators in the movie Blackhawk Down from an airsoft perspective.

Generic Delta Operator:

To start with I'll give a guide for a generic Delta Force look, I'll go into the popular named charachters later.

• Raid Modified 3 colour "coffee stain" desert BDUs
• Blackhawk Hellstorm Knee Pads*
• PT Armour**
• Blackhawk Urban Assault Vest***
• Alice LC1/2 Belt, 2x 5.56 pouches, compass pouch, 2x canteens & buttpack
• Blackhawk drop-leg Omega holster
• Protec half shell helmet****
• SWD Goggles / Bolle X500*****
• Colt commando (M733, M727)

* The hellstorm knee pads are out of production now, but various chinese copies can be picked up from ebay or HK based retailers.
** Chinese copies of the PT armour are available but are pretty small and very much suit a runners physique.  Guarder used to make a bigger one that can be picked up second hand.  Getting the real item is pretty tought these days.
*** Blackhawk have altered their products over the years and this vest is the closest (the new stlye D.O.A.V is pretty close too.  I wouldn't worry about getting this part perect as they were all tailored in the movie, any pre-molle, black, US style vest would look the part imho.
**** Get the real item, they don't cost much.  Sand down the shiny finish like the real guys did.
***** Personal preference here, in the movie they have a mix of X500s and Oakley goggles, but issue SWD goggles would be apropriate.  Pick what you are comfortable wearing, it's only a game afterall!

See my article HERE for an overview on airsoft Colt Commando's.

Hoot (Eric Bana):

 

Eric Bana's character ‘Hoot’ is one of the most popular loadouts you see copied from the movie.  His loadout differs from the generic guide above in a couple of ways.  His assault vest has had all of the pouches removed, using it as an expensive set of suspenders for his belt load.  Over the top of this he wears a 6 pouch chest rig (4x 5.56, 2x .45) made by Blackhawk, though similar chest rigs were produced by Eagle at the time and are cloned by King Arms and a Chinese Firm.  Rather than using the DOAV style vest as a set of suspenders, it makes more sense to use an LC1/2 set of suspenders as 90% of it is concealed below the chest rig. 'Hoot' wears a pair of Blackhawk .45 pouches on his belt rig.

Gary Gordon & Randy Shughart:

By far the most popular Black Hawk Down Delta loadouts are those of Shughart and Gordon, the two Delta snipers that heroically chose to face certain death defending the second crash site.

As far as loadouts go they follow the general outline of the other kits with a couple of exceptions.  The actor portraying Gordon wears an Alice Y harness combined with the 5.56 chest rig (as suggested in the Hoot loadout above).  The actor portraying Shughart has a modified LBV88 instead of an LC1 Y Harness.  This seems to have been tailored to remove the back mesh panel and the front pouches.  This is a bit odd, as the LC1 ammo pouches will only hold 2x M14 mags each, meaning that he can in theory only carry 5 mags total.  For skirmishing purposes you could sneak a couple more LC1 ammo pouches onto the belt rig and it would still look pretty authentic. 

A note on Gary’s CAR15.  This is often incorrectly identified as an M733, however it is actually an M727 with a slip over suppressor.  These were very common in the early 90’s with delta, Rangers and Airforce Special Operations (there are images of them in use during Desert Storm and Somalia).  The company that manufactured them is called Ops Incorporated, king arms make an airsoft clone of this suppressor.

Boots:

The boots worn in the film by the SFOD-D operators are Adidas GSG9 boots, which are as rare as hens teeth these days.  I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over this part of the impression as boots would have varied from operator to operator depending on personal preference.  Many of the images from the real conflict show the use of the standard issue Jungle Boots or desert boots, which can be picked up brand-new, unissued for a very small outlay.

Movie accuracy:

The kit used by the delta operatives in the movie is a pretty decent homage to what was used in Somalia.  The general look and feel of the loadouts is very close, particularly with all of the tailored kit.  However one has to remember that the movie was made nearly 10 years later, with kit provided by Blackhawk Industries, often using more modern equipment modified to look like that of the period.  As the movie is only a rough impression I think it is fair that an airsofter attempting this type of loadout use the same approach.  The pics below are a couple of the real operators from the conflict to give you some idea of how close the film got.

Operation Urgent Fury - Image Post

Operation Urgent Fury was the codename for the US led invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983 in response to the military coup that had ousted the revolutionary left wing government.

US ground forces comprised primarily of 82^nd Airborne, 1^st & 2^nd Ranger Battalions and 22^nd MEU (Then MAU), with the special operations community represented by 1^st SFOD-D, SEAL teams 4 & 6 and 160^th SOAR.

A contingent of 82nd Airborne wearing the then new K-Pot.

 

Ranger, wearing dated gear.  Rangers were easy to identify in Grenada due to their Vietnam era fatigues and web equipment.

Unknown US personnel wearing the then out-dated ERDL fatigues.  The soldier to the left sports a claymore mine carrier, while the RTO on the right has a medium Alice pack with frame, concealing what is most probably an AN/PRC-77 VHF man pack radio.

Despite the introduction of the M16A2 a year earlier this 82^nd airborne member carries an M16A1 assault rifle.

More 82^nd Airborne here, this time wearing the PASGT protective vest.  The soldier on the left of the image has a CW-503 Accessory bag attached to the side of his AN/PRC-77 VHF Radio.  This pouch was used to stow the AT-271 Fish Pole Antenna and AT-892 Tape Antenna when not in use.  The AT-892 is affixed to the PRC-77 in this image.

An iconic image of Rangers in Grenada.  This image was used by the US Government as a propaganda image with the tag line “People of Grenada, your Caribbean neighbours with U.S support have come to Grenada to restore democracy and insure your safety”.

Some secret squirrel types.  I’ll leave you to muse over what unit these guys might be affiliated with, but they are most often attributed to SFOD-D.

 One of the most interesting aspects of the Grenada era is the mixture of equipment and weapons on display.  The US military was in a transitional period after the Vietnam War and a lot of the equipment was still in use alongside the newly introduced PASGT system, the M16A2 and of course the M81 BDU.

Firesupport Giveaway

It's not often I pimp retailers on here, but Firesupport are probably the best retailer in the country and are having a pretty epic prize draw in January.  www.fire-support.co.uk




Firesupport £3000 Prize Giveaway Jan 2012. All INTERNET orders of £100 or more qualify.
32 prizes. Every day a winner is drawn from the qualifying orders that day. At the end of the month all qualifying entries from the whole month then go into a final draw to win a Systema PTW. Entries open to all people. UK or World, Gun prizes in UK can only go to UKARA registered players, rest of Europe can win any prize (additional postage will be needed from non UK mainland winners). Other top prizes inculude Marui recoil AEGs, several Marui GBB pistols, other GBB pistols, magazines, webbing, bbs
and more. Prize winners and prizes announced on facebook every day.

Please LIKE us on  to see the results every day

Paintball M4 Video. Slow Motion

Paintball RAM Colt M4, flimed in slow motion.  I thought this was pretty neat, and I understand you can get an earlier M733 for those of you that like your Colt Commando's in cold war flavour.

I'm not too big on paintball myself, but it does look like it's becoming a much more mature sport than it was when I first stepped on a paintball site 15 or so years ago.  Now if we could only get rid of all of the neon clothing, paintball markers that look like bad sci-fi props and the horrible greasy paint I could be tempted back. Are paintball pellets still ridiculously expensive?

The Colt M727 Carbine, the M4's older brother.

The last Cold War CAR15

The Colt Model 727 carbine is what can be considered the last true colt commando model prior to the mass adoption of the M4 and as it happens one of my personal favourites of the cold war period.  The Colt 700 series rifles and carbines began to appear in the early 80’s, with the 727 appearing towards the end of the decade.  I’ve yet to see pictorial evidence that any made it to Panama or Iraq during Desert Storm, all of the images I have seen show earlier 600 series car-15s.  Operation Gothic  Serpent did however see a large number of 727 carbines in the hands of Rangers, CAG and SEALs as can be seen from the image below.

Two M727 Carbines in the hands of Rangers during Gothic Serpent

The Colt Model 727 is often mistaken for the similar looking M4 carbine, however the differences between the two models are quite easy to spot once you know what you are looking for.  The easiest to spot at a glance is the hand guards, all pre-M4 models sport slender, streamlined hand guards whereas the M4 and its derivatives have chunky, overweight looking examples that ruin the lines of the weapon.  The other major difference is that the 727 carbine, like all other CAR15 variants has a fixed carry handle, whereas on the M4 this is removable to reveal an accessory rail.

A model 727 on display at the SEAL museum,

A SEAL RTO with M272 and M203 Grenade Launcher

As I can't have a real one over here in the UK I have a M727 replica for use with my airsoft loadouts, you can see a post about it here: http://operationbushmaster.blogspot.com/2011/08/airsoft-colt-commandos.html

The Airsoft Colt Commando - An Overview

Cold War Airsoft Weapons - CAR15

The Colt Commando or CAR15 was the special forces weapon of choice during the cold war period up until the introduction of the M4 in the mid 90's.  Any Delta Force, SEAL, CSAR, CCT etc. airsoft loadouts will need a replica CAR15. There have been quite a few airsoft replicas of the various models of Colt Commando, this guide is meant as an overview of the subject rather than an indepth guide.

As far as airsoft CAR15s go you have the following options:

M609 (XM177E1) - G&P
M629 (XM177E2) - G&P, TM (out of production) and CA
M653 - G&P & TM (limited edition)

M635 - G&P
M723 – G&P (ehobbyasia special with M500 weapon light)
M727 - G&P (ehobbyasia special)

M733 - G&P, TM and JG.

G&P: In terms of quality the G&P Commandos are top of the pile, followed by CA and TM.  They sport metal bodies with accurately trademarked receivers and a very nice, period correct dark grey finish. Importantly, they are the only airsoft manufacturer to correctly model the slim line CAR15 hand grips to the correct size and finish. Internally they have a great mechbox, usually pushing between 320 and 360 fps depending on the model.  In my experience the hop rubber is the only part I would consider replacing, which luckily is a 5 minute job, others have found the hop rubber to be perfectly adequate however.  There were some reports with earlier batches of G&P armalites of spur gear axel failures; however reports of this seem to have gone away and are not something that I or anyone I know has personally experienced.  I’d always go for a G&P Colt Commando if I had the option.  I have a G&P M733 for use with my airsoft loadouts

CA: The Classic Army armalite range is a bit like a Ford Focus, perfectly good mechanically but a bit bland in the looks department.  The biggest problem for most is the trademarks, white screen printed “armalite” logos look nothing like the correct engraved colt markings.  The receiver finish on every model bar the XM177 and M16VN is a satin black, rather than the correct dark grey.  There are various detail issues with models representing 600 series carbines too.  Mechanically they are solid and should last a long time if left in their stock configuration but the hop rubbers are pretty dreadful in my experience.  If you’re not too fussed about minor details they are usually much easier to get hold of than G&P models and are a good compromise.

TM:  Sadly the TM Colt Commandos are a bit out of date these days, but they still have many redeeming features.  Their plastic receivers are accurately trademarked and finished in the correct shade of dark grey, they are mechanically bulletproof if left in their stock configuration and the TM hop rubbers are the best stock rubbers of any manufacturer out there.  The TM commando grips are oval shaped to allow a little more battery space, which is a significant negative in the looks department. If you’re not fussed about having a metal body go for a TM M733, they’re great performers, but at around the same price as the G&P version it’s not the way I would go any more.

If anyone has any information on paintball colt commando rifles I'd be very interested in hearing from them.

The Colt Commando is very much my pet subject, if you're interested I wrote an article detailing the development of the real steel CAR15 post Vietnam that can be found here: http://operationbushmaster.blogspot....-commando.html

Airsoft Colt Commandos

Airsoft CAR15 replicas, Cold War Airsoft Weapons.

Here's a couple of pics of my airsoft Colt Commando carbines that I use in cold war airsoft scenarios, as always, click for full size images.

First up is my M727.  This has been bashed from a TM Recoil-Shock SOCOM model, grafting an A2 upper receiver onto the new style sopmod one.  The CAR-15 hand grips are by G&P.  It was a lot of ward work to build, but she's my pride and joy.

Next we have a G&P M733, a lovely solid piece of kit.  Some of the wear is artificial, some of it is from use.  I use this with quite a few of my airsoft loadouts, it's a very versatile and compact shooter.

Operation Desert Storm - 82nd Airborne

Post Cold War, an interesting time for Kit

Here's a selection of images from Operation Desert storm and Desert Shield in the middle east during 1991.  This was an interesting conflict that is rarely covered by re-enactors and airsofters despite the iconic kit and uniforms.  The post cold war setting marked the beginning of the shift in Western interest from the spread of communism in the East and South America to the Middle East.

 

The first image shows a group of 82nd Airborne with an interesting mix of kit.  Of note in this image is the mixture of all black Hot Weather Boots and the black/green Jungle Boots, the M17 Gas Mask Carriers and the fairly new at the time M9 Bayonet.  

 This image shows the same group as the first.  The difference in size between the M60 and M249 Mk1 can clearly be seen here.

 An RTO with an M14 rifle.  The tan coloured water carrier is from what I can tell a private purchase item and not something that was issued.  M56 LBE was still common during the first gulf war, in this case the Ammunition Carriers being designed to fit the M14 magazine would have been a big help.  The Smaller LC1 Ammunition Carrier will fit 2x M14 magazines with modification, but they are not held securely.

 I don't know much about the origins of this particular image, but the kit is very interesting.  Unlike the majority of troops durind Desert Storm/Sheild this Soldier is using the then newly introduced Load Bearing Vest (LBV) with an LC1 belt kit.  The M653 is interesting as well, somthing that doesn't show up very often in pictures from the conflict.

 

This image illustrates more iconic pieces of kit from the conflict, the 6 colour cover for the Alice Pack, along with the Sun, wind and Dust Goggles.

That's all for now, but Desert Storm is a big subject, I'm working on a kit guide and a couple more pictorial articles on the subject. For now, check out all of my other cold war articles.

Black Hawk Down Production Stills

Black Hawk Down Delta Force, Behind the Scenes

Nothing 'Real Steel' today, but interesting none the less.  Here are a bunch of production stills from the set of Black Hawk Down, probably the finest movie of it's type ever made.

Click images for full size:

The Ciener Ultimate Under / Over Shotgun System

A recent discussion regarding the Masterkey shotgun system on one of the airsoft forums has prompted me to write this article on one of its competitors.  Back in the 90’s Ciener offered a method of mounting an M870 shotgun to Colt Commando carbines. The applications for this sort of combination within special operation forces are obvious, having a shotgun for entry purposes without having to sacrifice ranged firepower in the small teams that they usually operate being an attractive proposition. The Knights Armament Masterkey system also allowed an M870 shotgun to be mounted to AR15 variants using a modified version of their M203 Grenade Launcher mount, ultimately making the shotgun quicker to remove.

Click images to view full size.

The Ciener Shotgun System:

The Knights Armament Masterkey:

The Knights system proved to be more successful, though the widespread use of under barrel shotguns has not occurred.  However, what makes the Ciener system interesting to anyone that has more than a passing interest in 90’s US Forces was its use in Somalia during 1993. The photographs below show a Delta Force operator during Operation Gothic Serpent, clearly showing an M653 Carbine with Ciener M870 mounted under the barrel.

 The same weapon can be seen carried by one of the guys on this MH-6 little bird.

The weapons and equipment used by the various forces that made up task force ranger is varied and interesting. The movie Black Hawk down somewhat simplified a lot of this, which is a shame for a gear nut like myself, but is inevitable in the creation of such a movie.

This would be a very simple conversion to do at home for paintball or airsoft games, as the attachment is at the bayonet lug and front receiver pin, rather than using a barrel mount like the masterkey system.  A home made solution knocked up from some scrap aluminium would be perfectly acceptable as there is little load in this sort of application.