Timeline of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu facts for kids

The 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, often called Black Hawk Down, was a major fight involving the U.S. Army in Mogadishu, Somalia. It happened from October 3 to October 4, 1993. This battle became very famous because of the challenges the American soldiers faced.

Task Force Ranger soldiers under fire in Somalia on October 3, 1993.

A map showing the main battle areas during the Battle of Mogadishu.

October 3, 1993: The Battle Begins

Afternoon Events

• 1:50 PM: Special U.S. Army teams, known as Task Force Ranger, found out where some important leaders were hiding.
• 2:49 PM: Two main targets from the Habr Gidr clan were located. They were at a house in central Mogadishu, Somalia.
• 3:32 PM: The mission officially started. A force of 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles, and 160 soldiers moved out.
• 3:42 PM: The attack began. Elite soldiers from 1st SFOD-D went into the target house. Four groups of Rangers slid down ropes from helicopters. One Ranger, Private First Class Todd Blackburn, accidentally fell 70 feet to the street.
• 3:47 PM: Large groups of Somali people started gathering around the area.
• 3:58 PM: One of the military trucks was hit. It was disabled by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), a powerful rocket weapon.
• 4:00 PM: More armed Somalis from Mogadishu began moving towards the battle zone.
• 4:02 PM: The main targets were captured! The soldiers reported that both clan leaders and about 21 others were caught. As the force prepared to leave, three vehicles were sent to take the injured Private Blackburn back to base. Sergeant Dominick Pilla was killed as these vehicles returned, becoming the first American soldier to die.
• 4:15 PM: The group of vehicles, called a convoy, was delayed. There was confusion about who should give the signal to move. After some time, the prisoners were loaded onto the trucks.
• 4:20 PM: First Helicopter Crash: A Black Hawk called Super 6-1 was hit by an RPG. It crashed five blocks away from the target building. Two Delta Force snipers, Staff Sergeant Daniel Busch and Sergeant Jim Smith, survived the crash and started defending the site.
• 4:22 PM: Crowds of armed Somalis quickly moved towards the Super 6-1 crash site.
• 4:26 PM: A convoy of Humvee vehicles began moving. After the prisoners were loaded, the convoy and ground soldiers started heading towards the crashed helicopter. Another Black Hawk, Super 6-4, piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, took the place of Super 6-1 in the sky.
• 4:28 PM: A rescue team slid down ropes to help the crew of the first crashed helicopter. Sadly, both the pilot and co-pilot were already dead.
• 4:35 PM: The convoy made a wrong turn and got lost in the city streets. They faced heavy attacks from Somali snipers and armed groups.
• 4:40 PM: Second Helicopter Crash: Mike Durant's Black Hawk, Super 6-4, was also hit by an RPG. It crashed about a mile away from the target building. Angry crowds of Somalis also started moving towards this crash site.
• 4:42 PM: Two brave Delta Force snipers, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, were providing cover fire from the air. They asked to be dropped at Durant's crash site to help protect him and his crew, even though it was very dangerous.
• 4:54 PM: The Humvee convoy gave up trying to reach the first Black Hawk, Super 6-1. This "Lost Convoy," with many soldiers wounded or dead, fought its way back to the base.
• 5:03 PM: A smaller, emergency convoy called the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) was sent from the command center. It tried to rescue the soldiers stranded at Durant's crash site but immediately faced many problems.
• 5:34 PM: The QRF and the Lost Convoy decided to return to base. Both convoys had suffered many casualties. They joined up and stopped trying to reach Durant. The remaining ground soldiers were gathering around the first crash site, also taking many hits. Ranger Corporal Jamie Smith was among those shot.
• 5:40 PM: Snipers Shughart and Gordon ran out of bullets. They were killed when hostile Somalis attacked Durant's crash site. Everyone in Durant's crew died except for Durant himself, who had a broken leg and injured back. Somali fighters took Durant away. (He was later released to the Red Cross 11 days later.) Both Gordon and Shughart received the Medal of Honor for their amazing bravery.
• 5:45 PM: Both convoys returned to the base. Ninety-nine soldiers remained trapped and surrounded in the city around the first downed Black Hawk. Corporal Smith was bleeding badly, and the medic asked for him to be taken out immediately.
• 7:08 PM: Black Hawk Super 6-6 made a very risky flight to drop supplies. It dropped water, ammunition, and medical supplies to the trapped soldiers. The helicopter was badly damaged and couldn't land to pick up Corporal Smith. It limped back to base.
• 8:27 PM: Ranger Corporal Jamie Smith died.
• 9:00 PM: The Joint Task Force Command asked for help from other military groups. A "Rescue Convoy" was formed. It included soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, the rest of Task Force Ranger, Pakistani tanks, and Malaysian armored vehicles. They started planning the rescue mission.
• 11:23 PM: The rescue convoy moved out. As it got close to the crash site, there was a huge explosion that badly damaged the convoy. This made the rescue almost impossible.

October 4, 1993: The Rescue and Retreat

• Midnight (12:00 AM): The Rangers were still trapped inside Mogadishu. They didn't have important equipment like night vision devices.
• 1:55 AM: The rescue convoy finally reached the trapped Ranger force. A second part of the convoy reached the site of Durant's downed Black Hawk. Durant and his crew were gone.
• 3:00 AM: Soldiers were still struggling to remove the body of Clifton "Elvis" Wolcott, the pilot of the first downed helicopter, Super Six One. His body was stuck.
• 5:30 AM: The Rangers started moving on foot from the city to the Pakistani Stadium. Wolcott's body was finally recovered. Vehicles began to leave the city. Some Rangers stayed behind to cover the vehicles, running to a meeting point on National Street while under gunfire. This dangerous run became known as the Mogadishu Mile.
• 6:30 AM: The entire force returned to the Pakistani Stadium. It was confirmed that 13 Americans were dead or mortally wounded. 73 were injured, and 6 were missing. (Later, 5 of the missing were confirmed dead, raising the total to 18 deaths, and 1 was taken prisoner.)