"USS Liberty (1967)" Topic

Hmm …

I don't understand why I never learned about this incident in school and, to my knowledge, never once heard about it in the media. Then again I was only 2 years old when it happened, and media has a tendency to suffer from attention deficit and quickly move on to the new stuff.

It was a chance Google image search of large battle-damaged ships that brought me to several seriously bitter articles from both sides of the story. Too much editorializing in each case. Lots of dead links too.

Well, now that this is no longer current news …

Can someone please explain to me how this really happened? There must be some of you here who were alive and grown up somewhat, as all this was taking place, I hope.

Are we talking gross incompetence on both sides? Trigger itch on both sides? A simple mistake?

Is there some simple timeline of the events you can refer me to? The simpler the better. :)

Thanks,

Dan

Sorry, Dan. I cant/wont discuss this online.
Keep searching though; the truth is out there and it ain't pretty.
RC

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats, on 8 June 1967, during the Six-Day War.[3] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[4] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][5]

Israel apologized for the attack, saying that the USS Liberty had been attacked in error after being mistaken for an Egyptian ship.[6] Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the ship's identity,[2] though others, including survivors of the attack, have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[7]

In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3,323,500 (US$22.5 million 2015) in compensation to the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3,566,457 USD to the men who had been wounded. On 18 December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 USD million as settlement for the final U.S. bill of $17,132,709 USD for material damage to the Liberty herself plus 13 years' interest.[8]

link

link

Thanks.

Was it a single pass? How long did the attack take? Are there transcripts of the communication attempts?

Dan

Editor,

I am really confused as to why this was removed from the Modern Aviation Board, since a discussion of the communication capabilities, visual obstacles, etc., of the aircraft is highly relevant, don't you think?

Also, removing it from the General Modern Discussion Board simply tucks the topic into a tiny crack very few go into.

Why the partial censorship? If you don't like the topic, why not simply delete it, as if it was never posted? What gives?

Dan

I can assure you Dan that it WAS "all over the media" back when it happened.
But it did stay shrouded in mystery.

Dan, stop being paranoid. It's posted where it belongs.

"Censorship?" Seriously?

When you have all Boards turned ON, you don't worry about whatever niche it is in. I have always thought that complaining about specific boards is pointless.

Interesting.

Dan

Multiple attacks over a number of hours, IIRC, with US flags on display on the vessel, and communications to the Israelis, by aircraft and MTBs.

Various theories as to why and how the attack occurred.

I don't subscribe to the misidentification theory, since I doubt Israeli intel is really that bad.

Could language difference have been a factor?

Dan

Why the partial censorship? If you don't like the topic, why not simply delete it, as if it was never posted? What gives?

If you were to wargame this, it would be naval wargaming.

So … Without any planes?

Dan

Winston: "Dan, stop being paranoid … 'Censorship?' Seriously?"

Funny you should say that. If you only knew what Bill did to me just 5 minutes ago … Awesome timing.

It's only paranoia if it isn't happening.

Dan

back then our spy ships were basically unarmed. In addition to this incident there was also the Pueblo where North Korea took one of our ships.

Now our ships are well armed.

CC,

Multiple attacks. It was NOT one pass and done. IIRC, the XO was killed in a strafing run while trying to remove drums of oil that were either burning, or close to something that was burning… I don't remember exactly. Point is, they had already been attacked, severely damaged, and suffered casualties, when this strafing run occurred. The XO was awarded a Navy Cross (Posthumously) for his attempts at saving the ship.

Yes, I remember it also … I think the one theory was and it kind of makes sense, the Israelis picked up or thought that the US ship was passing intel off to the Egyptians … Why ? I don't know ?

I remember the incident. I was 11 at the time. From what I understand the chip was strafed three times before being boarded. The Israelis claimed it looked like a ship the Egyptians had been using. To me they didn't look very similar, but in the midst of combat things happen. I'm not sure it happens three times (or more)to the same target.

We could ask Brain Williams. I'm pretty sure he was there on board.

Actually(and this dates me) I was serving in Naval Intelligence at the time and I remember the bulletin coming in over the teletype(!) as the attack was happening and we immediately went to DefCon 1.

Geez!

Dan

Wow ! DefCon 1 ! Of course with all that was happening with the Cold War, the 6 Day War, Vietnam, etc. … anything could happen …

It was also flying a very large American flag, or flags, apparently, in clear, blue sky, IIRC.

Flying the colors doesn't necessarily guarantee identification; flying false colors being a well known tactic in wartime (and Israel and Egypt were at war).

A friend of mine did his masters thesis on the Liberty Incident concentrating on the various elements that went into the event. His conclusions were that a whole host of bad communications, bad assumptions, and bad decisions made with incomplete and/or wrong information in a inadequate bureaucratic structure stressed by a full blown war led to a truly tragic outcome. His analysis showed no one event or decision (or 'smoking gun' so loved by the conspiracy crowd) was responsible. What it did show was a whole lot of screw-ups (most by the Israeli's and some by the US Navy) that should have never happened.

As he put it to me once, 'it was overworked and stressed people making bad decisions due to a busted bureaucracy and bad information.'

That 34 good men died for it is the real tragedy….

Very interesting coastal2 … thanks for the intel.

As he put it to me once, 'it was overworked and stressed people making bad decisions due to a busted bureaucracy and bad information.'

And there in many trageties occur …

That 34 good men died for it is the real tragedy….

Very sad …

"And there in many trageties occur …"

And ain't it the sad truth…..

It seems that almost all disasters take place due to a series of mishaps that taken together make it happen. People seem to like the cause of disasters to be due to one nice and neat fact. It just does not happen like that.

Oops … Sorry in my haste and Ogryn like fingers … I misspelled tragedies … < hangs head … feels shame >

It seems that almost all disasters take place due to a series of mishaps that taken together make it happen. People seem to like the cause of disasters to be due to one nice and neat fact. It just does not happen like that.

Yes, some have been referring to such an incident as "The Perfect Storm" paradigm … 1+1+1+1+5 = OH !!!!!!!!!!!