By Tom Brennan
Israel’s latest sub and a brief history of the Israeli Navy.
Except for the friendly Nations of Jordan and Egypt, Israel’s back is to the Mediterranean. The first emigrants arrived by ship in the 1900’s and the wave of post Holocaust Returnees came in by stealth, past the British Navy in the pre-1948 Mandate years. The Palyam, was a coastal group that helped bring illegal immigrants into the the Land when the British began to restrict immigration under pressure from the Muslims. Israel has always had a naval presence, not in battleships but in ships of hope and ships of defense. Recently a new high tech submarine was delivered to the Israeli Navy. Israel has been a small but supremely effective and successful naval power for years. For a naval arm of its size, its victories against larger ships and more numerous forces make it one of the best in the world.
The INS Tanin was formally accepted into the Navy of Israel in September. The Dolphin class submarine was built in Germany and joins three other ships or her class in the fleet. In 1953 Israel and what was the West Germany opened formal diplomatic relations in a dramatic move that was intended to began healing an open wound and aching heart from the Holocaust. The wisdom and courage this diplomatic step has proven it to have been a far sighted step. Recently Angela Merkel, German Prime Minister denounced publicly to a German and global audience that anti-Semitism would not be tolerated in Germany and she was believed wholeheartedly by her German and Israeli audience. Included in the agreed upon reparations for the inestimable harm done to the Jews of Europe by the Nazis, a discount on arms purchases from German manufacturers was written into the agreement. The Dolphin class submarines are a part of this on going agreement. Instead of decommissioned ships transferred or bought from other allies, Israel has new-builds of the latest technology and fighting capabilities. The ships are further equipped with Israel’s own high tech arsenal of Israeli-developed weapons.
The Dolphin class of submarine is a non-nuclear powered vessel with high technology features that allows it to stay submerged indefinitely. It has the acknowledged capability to deliver nuclear weapons as well. This gives Israel a non-land based platform from which to respond to an attack. For its duties in the Mediterranean the Dolphins are superb. Two more are due by 2019.
When the War for Independence began in 1948 Israel had a small number of surface ships, castoffs from war surplus from the navies of other nations. In spite of being out-classed, outgunned and outnumbered (all of these as usual), Israel prevailed and the Emir Farouk, flagship of the Egyptian Navy was sunk. In 1956 the Suez crisis saw the Navy successfully supporting the IDF 9th Division on its way to Sharm el Sheikh . Navy commandos also captured the Egyptian destroyer, Ibrahim el-Awal. The ship was refitted and added to the Navy s the INS Haifa
The Six Days War saw the Navy in action in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. There were two losses in this time. The INS Eilat was sunk by a Styx missile attack from Egyptian Komar missile attack boats and later the INS Dakar, a submarine purchased from Britain disappeared with all hands on its first voyage fro Portsmouth to Israel to join the fleet. The 1973 Yom Kippur War saw victories in surface actions against Egyptian and Syrian ships. Military actions in Lebanon saw support roles for the Navy.
Today the Navy sees much activity in coastal patrol intercepting illegal arms shipments to Hamas in Gaza and being ready to defend Israel against threats from any combination of hostile nations and terrorist groups. Saar class missile patrol craft are the main force and the new Dolphin Class submarines give Israel an edge far beyond the cast-off days of before. The Navy of Israel my be outgunned, outnumbered and undersized compared to other opposing nations, but it will never outclassed in skill, dedication and bravery in defense of The Land.
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