DAILY NEWS (Final Edition), New York, April 26, 1980

* Operation Eagle Claw
* Iran Hostage Crisis
* U.S. rescue attempt fails

The front page has the dramatic 2-line banner heading: "HOW WE LOST IRAN GAMBLE" with subheadings: "Chopper failures, crash abort rescue; 8 dead left behind" and "Threaten death to hostages if we try again". The inside contains 8 pages of stories and photos tells of the disastrous effort. See images for details.
Complete in 32 pages, in overall good condition.

Background: In April 1980, the United States launched Operation Eagle Claw, a desperate attempt to rescue 52 Americans held hostage in Tehran after the 1979 Iranian Embassy seizure. The complex plan involved flying troops and helicopters deep into Iran, refueling at a desert staging area called Desert One, and then infiltrating Tehran to extract the hostages. However, the mission quickly went awry due to mechanical failures and poor coordination: several helicopters broke down, and during a refueling attempt, one helicopter collided with a transport plane, killing eight American servicemen and destroying both aircraft. With the mission compromised, U.S. forces were forced to abort and withdraw, marking a humiliating failure that underscored serious deficiencies in joint military operations. The disaster had a profound impact on U.S. morale, damaged President Jimmy Carter’s public standing, and left the hostages in captivity for another nine months, until their release on January 20, 1981.