F-4 Kurnass call sign CLOSET 1 hit the Mi-8 helicopter with a gun burst, and then, as it flew overhead, the doomed helicopter, the Kurnass afterburners were switched on, and the nose was pulled up…
The initial Arab objective in the Yom Kippur War was to push the regular Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the Suez Canal and west of the IDF fortification line on the Golan Heights. This limited aim was determined by the coverage range of their protective SAM batteries and by an operational concept that relied on infantry divisions to breach and cross, with armor divisions for a follow-up offensive. As Shlomo Aloni explains in his book Ghosts of Atonement: Israeli F-4 Phantom Operations during the Yom Kippur War, the success of this first phase of the Arab offensive depended on achieving these goals before IDF reserves could reach the fronts, thereby fully leveraging the Arabs’ initial numerical advantage. Full IDF mobilization was planned to be completed within 24 to 72 hours, although key “quick call” reserve units were expected to be mobilized and deployed in under 24 hours.
To hinder the arrival of IDF reserve forces at the front lines and to sow confusion in the IDF rear areas, both Egypt and Syria organized commando raids. Because the planned targets lay beyond the protective coverage of their SAM batteries, the Egyptians and Syrians intended to fly their helicopters into Israeli airspace at very low altitude to evade radar detection. The attacks were scheduled for dusk, in the hope that the falling darkness would conceal the slow-moving helicopters and improve their chances of survival.
Ras Sudar—located on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Suez City and thus within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of the Egyptian advance heading south into Sinai—was only lightly defended at dusk on Oct. 6, 1973 (the first day of the Yom Kippur War). Among the IDF forces stationed there was an Israel Air Force (IAF) MIM-23 HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer) SAM battery, which protected the Ras Sudar oil fields and associated facilities.
IDF postwar analysis of the Egyptian helicopter operation determined that two separate helicopter formations were active over the Ras Sudar area: one group of 18 Mil Mi-8 helicopters assigned to deploy commandos to block roads, and another group of nine helicopters designated to drop commandos for a direct raid on Ras Sudar. It appears that the HAWK battery at Ras Sudar engaged the latter group, while a pair of F-4 Kurnass jets from Squadron 107 (CLOSET 1, flown by Egozy/Manoff in Kurnass 151, and CLOSET 2, flown by Yoffe/Pereg in Kurnass 230) was directed to intercept the first group.
CLOSET 1 was credited with five kills. The crew first fired a Deker missile (the IAF designation for the AIM-9D Sidewinder, pronounced “de-ker,” meaning “Pick”), which missed, so they switched to the cannon. All five helicopters were then claimed using gun bursts, with the fourth kill aided by the slipstream. In that engagement, CLOSET 1 hit the helicopter with a gun burst, and as the Kurnass passed overhead, the crew lit the afterburners and pulled the nose up, forcing the helicopter below to smash into the ground.
CLOSET 2 was credited with one kill before it had to break off the engagement. Another indication of the confusion and disarray at the start of the war was that CLOSET 1 and CLOSET 2 took off with different fuel load configurations: CLOSET 1 carried three external fuel tanks, while CLOSET 2 had only two. Because it was running low on fuel, CLOSET 2 was forced to withdraw, leaving CLOSET 1 to continue attacking the helicopters.
A pair of Nesher fighters was also directed to the Ras Sudar area and was credited with shooting down two helicopters, bringing the total claimed to eight. The surviving helicopters broke formation and likely dropped their commandos at scattered improvised landing sites instead of the originally planned concentrated zone. CLOSET’s actions effectively disrupted this Egyptian commando operation.
Ghosts of Atonement, Israeli F-4 Phantom Operations during the Yom Kippur War is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by IDF, Bukvoed via Wikipedia and SSGT CHERIE A. THURLBY / U.S. Air Force
