Yohay Ben-Nun's Account of the preparations for the operation to explode the ship
Yohay Ben-Nun's Account of the Operation to blow up the Hamir Parock.
"The warning was given three days before the operation. We knew that in order to reach our destination we needed a bigger ship to save fuel and energy. We chose the 'Ben Hecht', that was also used as a ship for illegal immigrants because it had a wide deck stern and could hold six boats. Cranes were installed on the ship that could lower the boats into the water in six minutes and raise them up again in that same time while in motion. The chosen staff practiced the actions until they mastered them.
"There was information of two enemy ships that were to arrive at the Gaza shore bringing supplies for the forces, back up Egyptian forces and evacuate the injured. On October 22nd, when another cease-fire was to be in effect, orders were given to provoke the Egyptians to be the first to open fire.
"We got closer to the Gaza shore and from afar we saw the silhouette of the Hamir Farouck, the Egyptian flagship weighing 1400 tons and having 4 battle cannons and automatic fast cannons. The second ship was an Egyptian minesweeper. The IDF's fleet consisting of 4 vessels (two old korbat, a small and quick minesweeper and the 'Ben Hecht') drew near. Paul Shulman, of American descent, and the First Commander of the Israeli Navy, was in charge of this operation."
The Israeli navy sailed near the Egyptian ship at a distance of only one kilometer, while the Egyptians were in battle position and following them – but still not enticed to open fire. Just as the order was given to break off contact and return, Yohay received a wire from David Ben-Gurion to "act with all the power!"
"I notified the squadron to stay in place (about 15 miles from the Gaza shore) and that only the 'Ben Hecht' should go out alone in a quiet motion. At 21:10 we lowered three explosion boats and a gathering boat but we didn't know where we were in relation to the Egyptian ship. We decided to take a security measure and sailed north so that when we neared the shore we would know to head south. When we neared the shore we turned south and spotted the silhouette of the ship.
"We decided that Zalman would attack the 'Hamir' and Yankaleh Vardi would attack the minesweeper. I stayed with the third boat to decide where I would place the final blow. The two ships were already in motion and saw the boats. Zalman attacked the 'Hamir' but Vardi made a mistake and also attacked the 'Hamir'. After seeing Vardi's mistake, I decided to attack the minesweeper (at 22:00): I stepped on the safety-catch of the explosive mechanism and stormed ahead toward the point between the two floodlights that trapped and blinded me entirely. When I estimated a 100 meter distance, I pulled the handle that also releases the raft so that during detonation, I could be on the raft and not in the water – but it didn't inflate. I saw the target coming near quickly and the opportunity to turn around and come in for a second chance was slim. Thick smoke poured down around me. I jumped from the boat when it was 30-50 meters away from the ship. The boat continued and there was a huge explosion and a huge waterspout raised up from the water.
"I signaled with my flashlight to the gathering boat that arrived quickly and picked me up. We got away from the floodlight coming from the ship that was hit and decided to look for the other boat operators. After a while we heard Zalman's voice calling for help (his raft also didn't inflate and he was forced to jump into the water and while jumping lost his hat with infrared light that was supposed to aid the gathering team in finding him).
Vardi, who also couldn't inflate his raft, turned his boat around for another attack, sped up, jumped to the water and his boat exploded in the center of the 'Hamir Farouck', exploding the boiler room and decreed its fate, drowning the ship. The team was in high spirits. There was some difficulty in finding the 'Ben Hecht' that was 10 miles out at sea. Once we found it, we reported our success: Not only did we sink the ship, we all came back in one piece.
After the Egyptian flagship sank, the Egyptians had 500 missing in action. This development changed the picture of the naval battle during the War of Independence and since then, enemy forces were seldom seen in Israeli controlled waters up to the end of the war.
Yohay Ben-Nun received a 'Decoration of Bravery', the highest decoration of merit received during the War of Independence, that was only received by 12 people.
"There was information of two enemy ships that were to arrive at the Gaza shore bringing supplies for the forces, back up Egyptian forces and evacuate the injured. On October 22nd, when another cease-fire was to be in effect, orders were given to provoke the Egyptians to be the first to open fire.
"We got closer to the Gaza shore and from afar we saw the silhouette of the Hamir Farouck, the Egyptian flagship weighing 1400 tons and having 4 battle cannons and automatic fast cannons. The second ship was an Egyptian minesweeper. The IDF's fleet consisting of 4 vessels (two old korbat, a small and quick minesweeper and the 'Ben Hecht') drew near. Paul Shulman, of American descent, and the First Commander of the Israeli Navy, was in charge of this operation."
The Israeli navy sailed near the Egyptian ship at a distance of only one kilometer, while the Egyptians were in battle position and following them – but still not enticed to open fire. Just as the order was given to break off contact and return, Yohay received a wire from David Ben-Gurion to "act with all the power!"
"I notified the squadron to stay in place (about 15 miles from the Gaza shore) and that only the 'Ben Hecht' should go out alone in a quiet motion. At 21:10 we lowered three explosion boats and a gathering boat but we didn't know where we were in relation to the Egyptian ship. We decided to take a security measure and sailed north so that when we neared the shore we would know to head south. When we neared the shore we turned south and spotted the silhouette of the ship.
"We decided that Zalman would attack the 'Hamir' and Yankaleh Vardi would attack the minesweeper. I stayed with the third boat to decide where I would place the final blow. The two ships were already in motion and saw the boats. Zalman attacked the 'Hamir' but Vardi made a mistake and also attacked the 'Hamir'. After seeing Vardi's mistake, I decided to attack the minesweeper (at 22:00): I stepped on the safety-catch of the explosive mechanism and stormed ahead toward the point between the two floodlights that trapped and blinded me entirely. When I estimated a 100 meter distance, I pulled the handle that also releases the raft so that during detonation, I could be on the raft and not in the water – but it didn't inflate. I saw the target coming near quickly and the opportunity to turn around and come in for a second chance was slim. Thick smoke poured down around me. I jumped from the boat when it was 30-50 meters away from the ship. The boat continued and there was a huge explosion and a huge waterspout raised up from the water.
"I signaled with my flashlight to the gathering boat that arrived quickly and picked me up. We got away from the floodlight coming from the ship that was hit and decided to look for the other boat operators. After a while we heard Zalman's voice calling for help (his raft also didn't inflate and he was forced to jump into the water and while jumping lost his hat with infrared light that was supposed to aid the gathering team in finding him).
Vardi, who also couldn't inflate his raft, turned his boat around for another attack, sped up, jumped to the water and his boat exploded in the center of the 'Hamir Farouck', exploding the boiler room and decreed its fate, drowning the ship. The team was in high spirits. There was some difficulty in finding the 'Ben Hecht' that was 10 miles out at sea. Once we found it, we reported our success: Not only did we sink the ship, we all came back in one piece.
After the Egyptian flagship sank, the Egyptians had 500 missing in action. This development changed the picture of the naval battle during the War of Independence and since then, enemy forces were seldom seen in Israeli controlled waters up to the end of the war.
Yohay Ben-Nun received a 'Decoration of Bravery', the highest decoration of merit received during the War of Independence, that was only received by 12 people.