When Israel attacked the US:
on 8 June 1967 Israeli Air Force jets and navy torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty - "research" ship (actually a spy ship) that was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 47 km northwest of the Egyptian city of Arish.
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on 8 June 1967 Israeli Air Force jets and navy torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty - "research" ship (actually a spy ship) that was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 47 km northwest of the Egyptian city of Arish.
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Prior to the attack, Israeli recce planes flew over the ship and clearly identified it.
The combined attacks hat follow was executed by 2 Mirage III, 2 Mystère IV and 3 torpedo boats.
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The combined attacks hat follow was executed by 2 Mirage III, 2 Mystère IV and 3 torpedo boats.
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Mirages (piloted by Iftach Spector and Moshe Oren attacked the ship with a cannon fire killed 8 and wounded 75. After them, a pair of Mystère IV (Yossi Zuk and Yaakov Hamermish) bombed the ship with napalm.
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The torpedo boats then launched five torpedoes. Only one torpedo hit the ship on the starboard side forward of the superstructure, creating 12 m hole in the ship's "operation" spaces and killing 25 men, almost all of them from the intelligence section, and wounding dozens.
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The torpedo boats approached and strafed the ship's hull with cannons and machine guns. According to some crewmen, the torpedo boats fired at damage control parties and sailors preparing life rafts for launch.
Summary casualties - 34 dead and 171 injured.
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Summary casualties - 34 dead and 171 injured.
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The whole incident was explained as a "mistaken identity" - IAF and navy thought it was an Egyptian warship. Survived US men testified that there was clear identification such as a US flag, visible to IAF pilots while Spector and other pilots claimed the flag wasn't visible.
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According to Israeli sources, gun-camera video records didn't show clear identification marks. Israel officially apologized and paid for the damage and the whole incident was slowly covered up and pushed under the carpet for the sake of "higher" interests.
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All investigations (CIA, NSA, USN, State Department, and Israeli government) similarly blamed lack of communications and found no reason for anyone involved in the accident to face criminal charges.
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Mirage pilot, Iftach Spector became the legend in IAF - an ace with 12 air combat victories, participated in the attack on Syrian AD HQ during the October war, Iraqi nuclear reactor attack, and invasion of Lebanon. He retired as a brigadier-general.
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Documentary:
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In his book "Loud and Clear", Spector described that he and his wingman circled the ship and couldn't see any flag for a positive ID. After they reported to the OC, they were cleared to attack. Somebody in OC probably knew more than pilots and greenlighted them...
In all confusion immediately after the attack and the lack of communications, most likely there was a clandestine attempt to blame Egypt for the attack, however, information about the US retaliation against Egypt with a nuclear strike is unconfirmed.
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Spector, the pilot who started the attack after landing was told that it was firstly an Israeli ship he attacked (friendly fire incident), then a bit later it was a French one. US ship came later.
Even the IAF base didn't have the right info immediately after the attack.
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Even the IAF base didn't have the right info immediately after the attack.
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