OPERATION NICKEL GRASS WHEN GD CALLED IN THE

“OPERATION NICKEL GRASS” WHEN G-D CALLED IN THE USAF TO SAVE THE STATE OF ISRAEL Ch, Maj Joseph Friedman Chaplain, 140 th WG, CO ANG

1967: SIX DAY WAR Aftermath • IAF destroyed over 300 Egyptians jets • Israel won decisive land war. • • Egypt: • Gaza Strip • Sinai Peninsula • Jordan • West Bank • East Jerusalem • Syria • Golan Heights Less than a week, territory increased 300%.

1967 - 1970 Ramping up… • September ‘ 67: Khartoum Arab Summit: • Three “No”s Egyptian president gamal Abdel Nasser • No peace with Israel • No recognition with Israel • No negotiation with Israel • Israel erects fortifications in both Sinai and Golan Heights. Nasser and sadat

1970 - 1972 Ramping up… Egyptian president Anwar Sadat • 1970: Nasser dies; Sadat assumes presidency • Assad takes control of Syrian president Hafez El Assad Ø Assad seen as strong; Sadat seen as weak Ø Sadat knows he needs military victory Sadat and Assad

1972… Ramping up… Mi. G 21 T-62 T-55 RPG • End of ’ 72: Egypt begins military buildup • Sadat declares Egypt prepared to "sacrifice a million Egyptian soldiers" to recover lost territory AT-3 Sagger SA-6

Gen Eli Zeira MEANWHILE… Back in Israel… • Israeli defensive plan dependent on 2 -day notice for full mobilization • AMAN, (Israeli Military Intelligence) led by Eli Zeira. • “Conceptzia: ” Ø Syria would not go to war unless Egypt did so as well. Ø Egypt would not attack without Mi. G-23 s and Scuds Scud Mi. G-23

1973… Détente • Soviets / Americans pursuing détente; no interest in seeing Middle East destabilized. • Henry Kissinger (Sec’y of State): • Huge ego; great diplomatic skills. • Richard Nixon in middle of Watergate scandal… Nixon & Kissinger President Nixon & Secretary Brezhnev

APR/MAY 1973… False Alarm • April: Marwan warns Mossad of a planned attack May 15 attack by Egypt/Syria. Ashraf Marwan w/ Sadat • AMAN detects corroborating signals: : • Necessary troops / bridging equipment to cross Suez Canal; SA-6 missile umbrella • Gen Zeira: “probability of war is low” • May: Gen Elazar orders partial mobilization • False alarm; costs hundreds of millions of dollars Gen “Dado” Elazar

SEP 25, 1973: King Hussein of Jordan 1 st ignored warning • Sep: Egyptian/Syrian armies mobilize troops. • Sep 25: King Hussein flies to Tel Aviv to warn PM Golda Meir of impending Syrian attack. • Warning was ignored King Hussein at controls of his helicopter over Jerusalem, circa 1950’s

OCT. 1 -3, 1973: 2 nd ignored warning • Oct. 1: AMAN researcher Lt. Siman-Tov submits assessment = Egyptian deployments/exercises are a camouflage for imminent crossing of the canal. • Oct. 3: Siman-Tov sends a more comprehensive assessment… • Both ignored by his superiors. Egyptian tanks along suez in Oct Egyptian SA-6 batteries along suez canal in Oct

OCT. 5, 1973: 3 rd ignored warning • Mossad receives message from Ashraf Marwan (Nasser’s son-in-law) of impending war. • Nothing done with the information until the next day… Ash. Raf Marwan in the 1980’s Ash. Raf Marwan

OCT. 6, 1973: Yom Kippur • 8: 05 AM: Meir, Dayan, Gen Elazar meet • Dayan: war not a certainty. • Elazar: immediate preemptive attack against Syrian airfields, missile sites, and ground forces. • Meir: no preemptive strike. • “If we strike first, we won't get help from anybody. ” Golda Meir and Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan

3000 MILES AWAY… Military Airlift Command • Military Airlift Command (MAC) busy redeploying US from Vietnam • Primary planes: • C-141 Starlifter • C-5 Galaxy • Length: • Wingspan: • Max takeoff: • Payload: C-141 C-5 168 ft. 160 ft. 342, 100 lbs. 70, 847 lbs. 247 ft. 222 ft. 840, 000 lbs. 270, 000 lbs.

C-5 GALAXY: FRED! • Fuel load = gross weight of entire C-141 • Can carry 6 Greyhound buses • Carries enough fuel to drive a car r/t from LA to NY… 130 times!

BACK TO ISRAEL… Yom Kippur: 1400 • Egypt / Syria launch coordinated attack on Israeli positions along Suez Canal / Golan Heights • Egyptian troops cross canal, secure beachhead, breach Bar-Lev line Egyptian forces crossing the suez canal

BACK TO ISRAEL… Yom Kippur: 1400 • Syrians take Mt. Hermon; capture sensitive radar equipment. • IAF counterattacks repulsed by SAM-6 missiles. Israeli troops pinned down on the golan heights

OCT. 7 Oct. 7: New Reality Sets In… El Al Boeing 707 • Syria captures most of southern Golan Heights. • Mid-morning, Meir calls Kissinger • Raises issue of airlift • Nixon, Kissinger, Schlesinger agree for El Al to pick up 80 Sidewinder missiles. Sec. Def James Schlesinger Sidewinder missiles

THE PLAN… MAC • Gen Carlton, MAC commander, sensed USAF would be called on to provide airlift • Began initial preparations, supported by AF Chief of Staff Gen Brown • Gen Paul Carlton considered possible options: 1. MAC flies materiel to East Coast, El Al (or US commercial cargo planes) picks it up 2. MAC flies materiel to Lajes Field in Azores, El Al transships from there. AF Chief of Staff Gen George Brown

END OF DAY TWO… • • Southern Front: Bar-Lev line shattered; 1/3 of Israeli tanks in Southern Command destroyed Northern Front: Syria recovered Golan Heights & Mt. Hermon • Assad knows Israel will counter-attack; seeks cease fire through the Soviets (Egypt rejects the plan) • USSR decides to begin resupplying Egypt and Syria to “show solidarity, ” and to “induce Israelis to negotiate” Mt. Hermon Anwar Sadat & Hafez El Assad (l. to r. ) Nikolai Podgorny, Leonid Brezhnev, Andrei Kosygin

OCT. 8: Black Monday • Israel launches first counterattack against Egyptians; by 5: 00 p, Maj Gen “Bren” Adan orders withdrawal • Of 170 tanks, 70 destroyed, 25 abandoned • Almost 50 jets lost, mostly to SA -6 s. • Meir authorizes “Sampson Option” • Makes sure both US & USSR know about it • Starts carrying cyanide tablet Moshe Dayan and MG Bren Adan

OCT. 9: • 1: 45 AM: Amb Dinitz calls Kissinger; Calls back at 3: 00 AM. • Mid-morning: Kissinger apprised of Israeli losses AND that Meir had not taken nuclear option of the table. • 4: 45 PM: Nixon meets with Kissinger, Scowcroft, Gen Haig (Chief of Staff), and Zeigler. • Announces Israel MUST NOT lose the war. • Dinitz gives Nixon shopping list (Patton tanks, A 4 s/F 4 s). • Evening: Nixon tells Meir “All your aircraft and tank losses will be replaced. ” (Clockwise from top left) Ambassador Simcha Dinitz, NSC staffer Harold Saunders, Kissinger, Nixon and Meir

OCT. 10: Israel hits back… • Assured of resupply, Israel re-engages on both fronts: • Successfully attack Egyptian troops in the South • Recapture most of the Golan Heights in the North.

OPERATION NICKEL GRASS: Hurry up and wait • Gen Carlton begins working out logistics of mission. • Portugal grants landing rights to Lajes Field • 6: 00 pm: Lt Col Strobaugh told to deploy with ALCE • “Hurry up and Wait”: By next day, no movement… Lt Col Donald Strobaugh

OCT. 12: World war III? • Israel crosses into Syria • Dobrynin tells Kissinger: “Soviet forces on alert “ • Kissinger warns Dobrynin: “If Soviets go in, US would as well. ” • Nixon to Kissinger: “Tell them to send everything than can fly. ” Dobrynin and Kissinger

OCT. 12: It begins… • Carlton informs Maj Gen Casey (logistics, JCS), “We are going to have three C-141 s every two hours and one C-5 every four hours on the way. ” (1, 380 tons, or 2, 760, 000 lbs per DAY) • No way Israel could transship that amount on El Al planes. • Conclusion: MAC would be flying into Israel.

OCT. 12: It begins… • Planes had to fly dangerous route • Two US 6 th Fleet carriers along route (every 600 mi), destroyers (every 300 mi). • By end of mission, USAF allocated 72 C-141 s / 12 C 5 s

OCT. 13: 1: 01 AM • C-5 #00461 lands at Lod Airport • On board: 93. 1 tons of ammunition M-60 Patton Tank unloading at lod airport • Israeli workers off-loaded 22 pallets • Ammunition on Northern Front in 3 hrs; Sinai in 8 hrs. M-110 self-propelled howitzer and ammo unloading at lod airport

OCT. 14: Where are the planes? • Many C-141 / C-5 s were out of commission. • Gen Carlton orders all C 5 s from Pacific returned to US. • Increases weight limits to 265, 000 lbs. Col Strobaugh at ALCE HQ (Lod Airport), in front of the all-important Aircraft Movement board

OCT. 16: Here are the planes! • Israeli troops cross Suez Canal. • Sadat asks USSR to convene meeting at UN to seek a ceasefire. • By day’s end, Strobaugh’s men off-loaded 753, 337 pounds from five C-5 s and 499, 352 pounds from ten C-141 s. • Total for the day: 1, 252, 689 lbs of materiel. Israel’s famous “roller Bridge”

OCT. 17: Golda and the C-5 • Col Strobaugh showed Prime Minister Meir around a C-5; • “For generations to come, all will be told of the miracle of the immense planes from the United States. ” Meir at Lod Airport, being shown “the immense planes” by the crew and Lt Col Strobaugh (out of uniform)

OCT. 17: Impact of operation nickel grass • Sadat accepts a ceasefire. • “I have accepted, with a heart that bled, the call for a cease-fire. I am willing to fight Israel no matter how long, but never the U. S. A. ”

THE WAR ENDS…

OPERATION NICKEL GRASS Stats • 567 missions in 31 days (average 18/day) • 22, 325 tons (44, 650, 000 lbs) of tanks, artillery, ammunition, and supplies. • Additional 28, 000 tons (56, 000 lbs) sent by cargo ships • TOTAL: 51, 000 tons (100, 000 lbs) Soviet airlift: • 935 missions in 40 days (average 23/day; to multiple countries) • 15, 000 tons (30, 000 lbs) • Additional 85, 000 tons (170, 000 lbs) sent by cargo ships • TOTAL: 100, 000 tons (200, 000 lbs) Total Cost to US taxpayers: $50 million ($267 million in 2016) Actual cost of materiel: $10 million ($53 million in 2016)

OPERATION NICKEL GRASS Stats • Four C-5 s / twelve C-141 s daily (Avg: 1 plane every 1. 5 hours for a month). • Peak: Oct 21 = Six C-5 s / twelve C-141 s landed. • C-5 s carried 48% of total cargo, but flew only 26% of missions (145/ 567). • C-5 s carried (on avg) 73 tons • C-141 s carried (on avg) 28 tons. Painting at AMC Museum (Dover AFB) of M-60 tank offloading from C-5 at Lod.

AFTERMATH C-5 • Before Operation: Since its introduction in ‘ 70, C-5 plagued by problems. Early in ‘ 73, bill introduced before Congress to cancel funding for “FRED” • After Opertion: Performance of C-5 during Operation Nickel Grass proved its value; assured of continuing Congressional funding. C-5 Galaxy

AFTERMATH Air refueling • Before Operation: Nickel Grass revealed severe deficiency in USAF airlift capabilities. Without Portugal's assistance, mission would not have been possible. • After Opertion: USAF greatly expanded aerial refueling capabilities; made long-distance flight operations standard rather than exception. C-5 refueling

AFTERMATH Gen Brown • After Operation: Almost forced to resign as CJCS over comments made during address at Duke University Law School. Gen Brown as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff • “…It's so strong you wouldn't believe now. We have the Israelis coming to us for equipment. We say we can't possibly get the Congress to support that. They say, 'Don't worry about the Congress. We will take care of the Congress. ' Now this is somebody from another country, but they can do it. They own, you know, the banks in this country, the newspapers. Just look at where the Jewish money is. ”

OPERATION NICKEL GRASS legacy • “…for generations to come, all will be told of the miracle of the immense planes from the United States bringing in the materiel that meant life to our people. ”

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