This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(March 2013) |
Operation Rooster 53 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the War of Attrition | |||||||
Former Egyptian P-12 radar at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Israel | Egypt | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Haim Bar Lev | Saad El Shazly | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 wounded | 2 killed 4 captured |
Operation Rooster 53 was an Israeli military operation during the War of Attrition to capture an Egyptian P-12 radar system. [1] Often referred to as merely Operation Rooster, it was carried out on December 26 and 27, 1969. Participating forces included the 50th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, the elite paratrooper reconnaissance unit Sayeret Tzanhanim, and the Israeli Air Force.
The War of Attrition raged along the Suez Canal, as Egypt attempted to recapture the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had conquered during the Six-Day War. Egypt had received a considerable amount of military equipment, including tanks, radar systems and weapons, from the Soviet Union. During the Six-Day War, Israel had captured some of these shipments of equipment, which had allowed it to gain a lot of intelligence on the weaknesses of the Egyptian air defense. As newer systems arrived in Egypt, Israel had an effort underway to learn how to deal with these. Reconnaissance missions showed that a P-12 radar system had been placed on the beach of Ras Gharib. An attempt to destroy it with an aerial strike was cancelled.
Planning of the mission started on December 24. It received approval from the IDF chain of command and training began on radar systems which had been captured during the Six-Day War. Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters were chosen to carry the radar to Israeli territory.
The mission was launched at 9 p.m. on December 26. A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms began attacking Egyptian forces along the western bank of the Suez canal and Red Sea. Hidden by the noise of the attacking jets, three SA 321 Super Frelons, carrying a force from the 35th Paratroopers Brigade, led by Lieutenant colonel Arie Sidon and his deputy Doron Rubin, made their way west towards their target. Making their approach carefully in order not to be spotted beforehand, the paratroopers overwhelmed the light security contingent at the radar installation and quickly took control of the site. [2] By 2 a.m., on December 27, when the paratroops had taken apart the radar station and prepared the various parts for the CH-53s, the two helicopters were called in from across the Red Sea. One CH-53 carried the communications caravan and the radar antenna, while the other took the heavier, four-ton radar itself. [3] The two helicopters made their way back across the Red Sea to Israeli controlled territory.
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from 6 to 25 October 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The majority of combat between the two sides took place in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights—both of which had been occupied by Israel in 1967—with some fighting in African Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt's initial objective in the war was to seize a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and subsequently leverage these gains to negotiate the return of the rest of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula.
The Israeli Air Force operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. As of April 2022, Aluf Tomer Bar has been serving as the Air Force commander.
The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970.
The history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intertwines in its early stages with history of the Haganah.
The 1st "Golani" Brigade is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the others being the Paratroopers Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, the Givati Brigade and the Kfir Brigade. Its symbol is a green olive tree against a yellow background, with its soldiers wearing a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the IDF. The brigade consists of five battalions, including two which it kept from its inception, one transferred from the Givati Brigade (51st).
The 35th "Paratroopers" Brigade is a brigade of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) consisting of airborne infantry. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.
The CH-53 Sea Stallion is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The Sea Stallion was originally developed in response to a request from the United States Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons made in March 1962 for a replacement for the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave helicopters flown by the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
The Battle of the Chinese Farm took place during October 15 to October 17, 1973 between the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as part of the Yom Kippur War. It was fought in the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Great Bitter Lake and just east of the Suez Canal, near an Egyptian agricultural research station. The area was known to the Israeli military as the Chinese Farm – a misnomer resulting from the research station's use of Japanese-made equipment, with Japanese writing on the machinery mistaken by Israeli observers for Chinese characters.
Operation Bulmus 6, also known as the Green Island Raid, was a military raid conducted by special operations units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against what was believed to be an Egyptian early-warning radar and ELINT station located on a small artificial island in the Gulf of Suez on the night of 19 July 1969.
Operation Boxer was an aerial offensive undertaken by the Israeli Air Force along the Suez Canal in July 1969. The first major IAF operation since the 1967 Six-Day War, the operation signaled a new phase in the War of Attrition.
Shayetet 13 is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary reconnaissance units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding. The unit is trained for sea, air and land actions. The unit has taken part in almost all of Israel's major wars, as well as other actions.
Bir Gifgafa is an airfield in the Sinai, 90 km east of the Suez Canal. During the 1960s and 1970s it played a significant role in Arab–Israeli wars, at different times serving both Egypt and Israel.
Operation Raviv, also known in Egypt as the Zaafarana accident or the Ten-Hour War, was a mounted raid conducted by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Egypt's Red Sea coast during the War of Attrition. Taking place on September 9, 1969, Raviv was the sole major ground offensive undertaken by the IDF against Egypt throughout the war. The operation saw Israeli forces masquerading as Egyptian troops and using captured Arab armor.
The Battle of Ismailia took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the last stages of the Yom Kippur War during October 18–22, 1973, south of the city of Ismailia, on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The battle itself took place as part of the larger IDF-launched Operation Abiray-Lev, in an attempt to seize Ismailia and thereby sever the logistical and supply lines of most of Egypt's Second Field Army across the Suez Canal.
Operation Rhodes was an Israeli heliborne raid against the Egyptian island of Shadwan on 22 January 1970, during the War of Attrition. It was carried out by Israeli paratroopers and Shayetet 13 naval commandos, who took control of the island for over a day before leaving with 62 captured Egyptian soldiers and radar equipment.
The History of the Israel Air Force begins in May 1948, shortly after the formation of the State of Israel. Following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, its pre-state national institutions transformed into the agencies of a state, and on May 26, 1948, the Israeli Air Force was formed. Beginning with a small collection of light aircraft, the force soon transformed into a comprehensive fighting force. It has since participated in several wars and numerous engagements, becoming what has been described as "The mightiest air force in the Middle East".
Danny Matt was a decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of major general and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars, including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation involving leading a paratroop force across the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War. The operation was the beginning phase of a larger Israeli counter offensive that ultimately led to the victory of the Israeli army.
El-Sa‘ka Forces, is an Egyptian military commando force established in 1955 by Major General Jalal Mahmoud Fahmy Al-Haridi. High fitness is required and training is conducted at the El Sa‘ka Academy built by Major General Ahmed Ragai Ateya. Unit 777 and Unit 999 are divisions of the Sa'ka forces.
Operation Abirey-Halev or Operation Abirey-Lev also known as Operation Stouthearted Men and Operation Valiant, code-named Operation Gazelle, was an Israeli operation that took place in the center of the Suez Canal on 15–23 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.
The following is a timeline of military preparations and engagements during the Suez Crisis.