Israeli F-4E crews shooting down very low-flying Egyptian Mi-8 helicopters
The American-built F-4 Phantom II served multiple roles for the Israeli Defence Force/Air Force, known as the Kurnass (Sledgehammer). While equally capable in air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, the Israeli preference for Mirage delta fighters meant the F-4 was predominantly used for ground attacks.
On the first day of the Yom Kippur War, October 6, F-4 crews confronted an extraordinary challenge at dusk. Egyptian Mi-8 helicopters were penetrating the Sinai, carrying commandos targeting critical IDF rear sector installations. With frontline units fully engaged and reserves still mobilizing, only limited forces stood ready to counter the threat. The F-4 squadrons ultimately proved decisive, with the two-person crews and the jet’s combat capabilities providing a crucial intervention.
Using the afterburner’s thrust to push the helicopter down into the ground
According to Shlomo Aloni and Mads Bangsø’s book “Yom Kippur War 1973: Airpower in Israel’s hardest-fought war”, ILAF Squadron 107’s CLOSET and Squadron 113’s OSCAR intercepted the Egyptian commando insertion in the Ras Sudar sector, approximately 40km south of the Suez Canal, Kilometer 160. The Israeli postwar report detailed an operation involving 18 Mi-8 helicopters inserted into two landing zones east of Ras Sudar. The ILAF subsequently credited CLOSET 1 with five kills, CLOSET 2 with one kill, OSCAR 1 with two kills, and Hawk Unit 139’s Battery A with one kill.
Engaging helicopters proved challenging, with pilots targeting them either as slow-flying air targets or fast-moving ground targets. All eight air-to-air kills in the Ras Sudar interceptions were attributed to gunfire. Squadron 107 Deputy A Shlomo Egozi and navigator Roy Manoff in Kurnass 151 notably added a distinctive technique to one kill: after striking a helicopter with gunfire, they executed a pull-up directly above the Mi-8 and activated the afterburner, using the engine’s thrust to push the helicopter into the ground.
Pinpointing Mi-8 crash sites
Despite the Egyptian commandos successfully inserting and blocking Route Panic and effectively isolating Ras Sudar from Command South, the Israelis identified seven Mi-8 crash sites in the sector. Additional helicopters likely crashed into the Red Sea’s Gulf of Suez west of Ras Sudar. The Mi-8 credited to Unit 139’s Battery A was engaged during the helicopters’ egress approximately 12km west of Ras Sudar, almost certainly resulting in its crash into the Red Sea.
Yom Kippur War, 1973 Airpower in Israel’s hardest-fought war is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Artwork by Mads Bangsø
