This is not your average story of military heroism. It did not take place on any battlefront or in any kind of theater. Instead, it unfolded 100 kilometers behind enemy lines. It wasnt a battle that involved a brigade or a battalion, but rather a tiny group of individuals who together executed one of the most daring feats in the history of the Israel Defense Forces. During the Six-Day War, the elite naval commando unit Shayetet 13 suffered a series of setbacks. A force dispatched to attack targets in Syria was unable to fulfil its mission, and another contingent of troops that infiltrated the Egyptian town of Port Said could not locate any targets to attack. Most notably, six soldiers from the submarine crew of the INS Tanin, which had crept into the Alexandria port, fell into captivity. This is the unfathomable story of divers who embarked on an impossible mission and stayed underwater for more than seven hours under incessant bombardment. They weathered these conditions until they were able to attach mines to the gunship. This is a true, miraculous tale. Gadi Karol of Kibbutz Kfar Giladi enlisted in the military in 1961. He served in the Shayetet until his discharge in 1980. In 1973, he was named commander of the divers unit. Karols entire life revolves around the Shayetet. His brother served there. The units clerk became his wife. His daughter served there, and his son was an officer in the unit. Were the Shayetets family, he says proudly. In our sit-down with Karol at the units base in Atlit, he neglects to mention the two citations, including one for bravery, which he earned. Uncomfortable with bragging, he says, There is enough history and tradition in the Shayetet. They dont need us. He is humble even when describing in detail the story of the mission, which was codenamed Operation Collection. Our lack of success during the Six-Day War had a tremendous impact on our way of doing things, he says. There were many lessons learned and we amassed more and more experience. You can say that the Shayetet needed to resell itself to the IDF. So we had reached the Yom Kippur War much more determined and ready. When the war broke out, Karol and his crew were dispatched to Sharm el-Sheikh, which was to serve as their launching point for attacks. We had barely trained in that area, and we werent ready, but we hopped right onto the trucks and drove quickly so that we could get ready for the mission, he says. At Sharm, they were given their mission: to disable two Egyptian gunships docked in the port of Al-Ghardaqa, 100 kilometers to the south. Egyptians had been using the two gunships to launch nonstop bombardments at the Israeli air force base at Jabel Zafra, effectively shutting down all shipping through the Straits of Tiran and the Straits of Govel. We had to eliminate the gunships without making it complicated, Karol said. The mission did not go off smoothly. Nearly every action that was undertaken went awry. Somehow, though, it ended in success. This wasnt a mission that was suitable for rubber boats, he said. It is hard to sail at long distances because the waves are short and strong, but with rubber boats its even harder. But this is what we had, and that is how we went along on the mission. On Oct. 8, 1973, Operation Collection 1 was launched. We set out with four rubber boats, Karol says. For the first 10 kilometers of the trip, we were escorted by Dvora patrol boats until we reached Ras Muhamad. That was when they left us. From there, we were on our own. We had to travel 100 maritime kilometers. The sea conditions were quite difficult, and we made slow progress. When we got to our destination, we were quite behind schedule, and we had almost no fuel left. That was when we saw an Egyptian vessel coming in our direction. We started to do evasive maneuvers, but it took a long time, and we got to a point where we were left with just 20 percent of fuel in the tank. At this stage, the crew needed to make a difficult decision, especially given the troops desire to restore the units glory to its previous stature. The commander of the operation, Mark Eliyahu, ordered us not to execute. We were at that time deep inside, but we were way off schedule and we were without fuel. We had to go back. The divers returned to Sharm. The operation had not succeeded. What was to be done? Should they abort? Quit? No way. They asked me if I was willing to go on the operation again tomorrow, Karol said. Obviously I was happy to get another opportunity. We started to train, we didnt sleep for another night, and the next morning we embarked. We set out in the same formation, but this time we had just two pairs of divers to make room for an improvised fuel tank that we put on one of the rubber boats. Nowadays, nobody embarks on these kinds of missions. Danny Uzieli, Avinoam Braklin and Meir Levy were the three fighters who joined Karol. The second attempt was a successful one, but it was also marred with countless difficulties along the way. The sea conditions were better this time, but at the same time its not good because you are liable to be detected by radar and by other people, Karol said. We got to the target area, and there was a good deal of traffic there. We were two kilometers from the port of Al-Ghardaqa, it was very dark at the time and nobody saw us. On the coast we noticed some activity in a military encampment. After some boats entered and exited the port, we decided that we were going in. This time there was no turning back. At 8 p.m., we descended into the water with our diving equipment attached to our stomachs and the mines on our backs, he said. Immediately after going into the water, we heard explosions. We didnt understand where it was coming from. In the water, we realized that these were depth bombs. We felt them on our bodies as they shook. There were also strong tides that made it much more difficult to move." A depth bomb is a small explosive that is thrown into the water and is meant to target divers. Thanks to the shock waves, these bombs are potent weapons that can hit a target inside a larger radius than a hand grenade. They can easily crush internal organs and kill divers. But the divers were not daunted. We knew we had to put the gunships out of commission, Karol said. We had to get as close to the depth bombs as possible. You quickly find yourself thinking about whether its a good idea to go toward the bombs. In any event, we got closer, and at one point I felt the shock waves grow weaker, which was a sign that we had moved past the small port. Once again, we were on a tight schedule. We absolutely had to carry out the mission by midnight. But at that hour we had just passed the port, and we reached a point south of it. That was when I decided that the two pairs of divers would split up, head down to the coast, and return northward through the shallow water until we reach the port. Luckily for me, I had the best No. 2 in the world, Danny Uzieli. He had a significant role in the success of the mission. At around 1 a.m., we stood watch over the port, but we didnt spot the gunships among all of the vessels. We dived a bit more, and each time we took a peek toward the dock in hopes of spotting the gunships. At that time, depth bombs started exploding all around us, getting closer to us. We waited, and we crunched together. We were doing somersaults in the water when the bombs exploded. We knew that if we went above water, we would either be shot or taken captive. During one of the bombardments, I saw the structure of a gunboat. I pointed upward and signaled to Uzieli. We went underneath what I thought was the gunboat. At this point, the bombs were really fierce, and we found ourselves 20 meters underwater. I was worried about our direction, and Uzieli was in charge of health concerns and cautionary measures. We finally reached the ports platform, and I saw four anchors come out of the bottom of the vessel. This was a sign it was a warship. It was precisely at this moment that we took two bombs. We were saved solely by the fact that we grabbed onto the bottom of the gunship. After more than seven hours underwater, Karol and Uzieli finally located the warship. Uzieli took two mines off my back. We had to stick them onto the boat, but the bottom of the boat was made of stainless steel, and the mines magnets did not stick. We ended up using an improvised clamp made out of rubber. We released the fuse and set the timer for the bomb to explode in a few hours time. The mission was accomplished, but they weren't safe yet. I thought that we would have time to get to the second gunship, but we were already way behind schedule and we had to get out of there, he said. We continued eastward, and then we went underwater and moved north, toward the rubber boats. We were completely exhausted. It was 2 a.m. At one point, we started swimming, and we fell asleep along the way. Somehow, at around 3 a.m., we got to the boats, completely exhausted. This was after more than seven hours underwater. We thought that we would be out of there immediately, but when we got to the boat we realized that Braklin and Levy had not come back yet. We waited and waited. There was no sign from them. When rays of sunlight started to break through, just before dawn, we noticed a green spark coming from the port. We started the boats and moved in to get them out of there. We got them onto the boats and fled. Once we entered the territory of the port, they started to shoot at us like crazy with cannons. That was not all. Suddenly their boat was stuck. Danny and I said to ourselves, This is war. Maybe there is no other choice but to continue on our own. But I decided to return. The shooting going on around us was not enough [to deter us]. We got them onto our boat, we left the other boat behind with an explosive mechanism that would blow it up, and somehow we managed to escape. It was truly a joyous moment. The destruction of the warship was a huge military success, as well as a huge boost to morale. When we got to Sharm, we saw the vessels springing water. They were damaged. We didnt see the explosion, but once we arrived we learned something no less important -- the warship that we took down was the same one that sank the INS Eilat [an IDF destroyer that was sunk by Egyptian missiles, killing 47 Israeli soldiers]. Braklin and Levy did not manage to hit the other warship. The mission was not complete. Other operations were launched in an attempt to disable the other gunship. In the next operation, which was carried out with better-equipped boats, the Shayetet fighters also missed the target. For the next operation, the soldiers set off armed with the first shipment of LAU missiles from the U.S. The unit ultimately succeeded in hitting the warship. Operation Collection was successfully completed. The fighters of Shayetet continue to act with bravery and courage. For obvious reasons, there are no media reports about the daring operations undertaken by the unit, which is active both at sea and on land. In its history, the unit has lost 84 soldiers. Lt. Col. A, the commander of the Shayetet commando school, took stock of the changes in the unit over time. After 40 years of huge improvements in technology, the enemy is also changing, he said. But I believe and think that what has remained constant is the spirit of the crew, their adherence to the mission and their determination. There is friendship here. Everyone leans on each other. Ultimately, very few people are with you when you enter the field, and the only ones who are with you are your friends. There is no whole battalion here. These crews are a very tight, nuclear bunch. Obviously, this demands a great deal of mutual trust, coordination, and an understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it. In my time, I havent had to deal with a comprehensive war, but only with operations. But these are the same values that are present in Gadis story. Maj. R., the deputy commander of the commando school and a Shayetet history buff, adds, The Shayetet is the oldest, most special unit in the IDF. I have heard all of these stories, like the one told by Gadi, dozens of times and they still tickle me each time. There is something there that really connects with what we are experiencing here, from the training regimen all the way through operational activities. You are dealing here with complex situations on both a mental and a professional level. The sea is full of challenges, and we want to show what we can do. We feel at home here, and this is not something that should be taken for granted. This is our kingdom. Karol interjects to clarify. Even today, the fighters of Shayetet act with courage and are not willing, at any price, to miss their mission, he says. That is how they carried out the takeover of the [Mavi} Marmara [during the 2010 Gaza-bound flotilla] from the beginning of the operation until its end. Toward the end of our meeting, Karol admits something very surprising. Im a huge coward, he says. Im afraid of all sorts of things, but if you are trained properly and if you learn the proper way, as well as keeping a clear head and staying focused, you will succeed. When I was in the waters of Al-Ghardaqa, I could have thought to myself, Why should I go underwater here when I know that in any event Im not coming back, and even if I do sink a warship its not going to determine the outcome of the war- These kinds of thoughts can't be taken to heart, because otherwise you start making sloppy errors. That is why this machine that is known as a combat soldier needs to be perfect.
During the Yom Kippur War it regained its reputation. After racking up a number of spectacular successes, the unit regained the army's confidence, reinvigorating the sense that it could be trusted.
Revenge of the commando
On Oct. 8, 1973, eager to redeem their unit after the Six-Day War, four unit divers from the elite naval commando unit Shayetet 13 set out on a mission to destroy Egyptian warships in the Suez Canal. Against all odds, they succeeded.
Load more...