2 Israeli F-4s vs 28 Egyptian MiGs - The Fight that Changed the World

On the revered day of Yom Kippur, October 6, 1973, a date marked by divine holiness in Judaism, tranquility was shattered by the fangs of deception. After weaving a web of diplomatic pleasantries, Egypt deployed its covert strategy and launched a colossal surprise attack against a completely unprepared Israel. Their celebrations abruptly transformed into a frantic

fight

for survival. A dark, ominous cloud formed by more than 200 Egyptian aircraft darkened the Israeli skies, foreshadowing the coming storm. The unsuspecting Israeli Ofir Air Force Base in Sharm el-Sheikh came under attack by a deadly enemy formation: 20 MiG-17s and eight MiG-21s, crawling on the horizon with a single, ruthless objective: to eradicate the military stronghold.

Israel, dealing with the sudden ambush and unaware of the enemy's overwhelming numerical superiority, retaliated in the only way it could. They quickly mobilized two F-4E Phantom II

fight

er jets, challenging the 28 threatening MiGs towering above them. As the Israeli defenders ascended, overcoming the cloud barrier, they encountered a chilling sight: a sea of ​​adversaries ready to engage in battle. In the face of overwhelming difficulties, the two brave pilots, instead of retreating, showed unwavering resolve. With no regard for their safety, they abandoned their external fuel tanks and boldly engaged the swarm of enemy fighter jets in a spectacular aerial duel.

Their selfless actions, an immortal testament to bravery, would forever etch their names in the archives of modern warfare... LOGO Intrigue and betrayal It was the early 1970s, the era of the Cold War.  The

world

was divided into two hemispheres: the East, under the influence of the USSR, and the West, governed by the United States. With its strategic importance and rich oil reserves, the Middle East had become a chessboard in this global power game. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel controlled the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. The

world

was watching a rising Israel, and many Arab states, still reeling from her defeat, sought a way to restore her lost dignity.

Egypt and Syria were in the vanguard of these nations;   his desire for revenge boiled beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment. It was in the heart of Cairo where the great plan began. The charismatic Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, known for his bold and daring plans, was the mastermind. Tired of the stalemate and covertly encouraged by the Soviets, he began planning a surprise attack on Israel. He knew that a direct confrontation was too dangerous;   Instead, he imagined a grand deception, a plan that would lead to the Yom Kippur War. To this end, Sadat cleverly masked his intentions by initiating peace overtures with Israel while he embarked on a massive military buildup financed by the wealthy Arab states and armed by the Soviets.

At the same time, he expelled Soviet advisors from Egypt, thereby creating a façade of distancing himself from the USSR and appearing less threatening to the Israelis. Syria, under the government of Hafez al-Assad, was equally hungry for retaliation. They joined forces with Egypt, secretly mobilizing troops and resources.  They adopted a strategic depth approach, establishing fictitious defense lines to fool Israeli recognition. Meanwhile, their actual attacking forces were hidden behind these decoys. As plans progressed, Sadat decided that the attack would coincide with Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, when Israel would be at its most vulnerable, observing a fast with businesses and the military nearly paralyzed.

The date was set; October 6, 1973. Despite intelligence suggesting unusual military activity, Israel was deceived. The Egyptian and Syrian disinformation campaign, coupled with a certain level of Israeli overconfidence derived from its rapid victory in the Six-Day War, led to the imminent attack not being perceived. Just days before the planned attack, Ashraf Marwan, a high-ranking Egyptian official and son-in-law of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser turned double agent for Israel, delivered the warning to Israeli intelligence. But the message came too late and was too ambiguous. The risk of large-scale mobilization based on uncertain intelligence information was considered too high, leading to indecision.

Thus, with the stage set, the clock ticking and the pieces in place, the stage was set for the Yom Kippur War. Flight 114 As the wheel of fate turned, the blame for the growing hostility in the Middle East did not fall entirely on the shoulders of the Muslim nations, nor even Egypt. Israel had also helped fuel the burning cauldron of conflict that would soon lead to the Yom Kippur War.  The unfortunate incident of Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 served as a key accelerant in the escalation of tension. On February 21, 1973, a Libyan commercial airliner unknowingly breached the disputed skies over the Sinai Peninsula, an area then under Israeli control after the 1967 Six-Day War.

A devastating combination of technical failure and A blinding sandstorm had caused the plane to deviate from its designated route. In response to the unidentified invasion, the Israeli Air Force launched two F-4 Phantom aircraft. The pilots attempted to contact the missing airliner and instructed it to land. However, the signals apparently reached confused ears aboard Flight 114, which remained on its trajectory. With no other option and fearing a security breach, the Israeli pilots executed their orders and shot down the plane. The grim consequences resulted in the loss of 108 innocent lives, leaving only five survivors. The protest of the international community worsened the echo of the explosion.

The incident represented a target for Israel, presenting it as a belligerent actor with little respect for international law.   The wave of condemnation spread beyond the Arab world and fueled latent tension in the region. Bracing for impact This catastrophe played into the hands of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He added credibility to his narrative of Israeli aggression and justified the need for a military counterattack. Using this incident, Sadat gained support from other Arab nations and the Soviet Union for his intention to retaliate against Israel.  The raw anguish and cries for revenge among the Egyptian people empowered Sadat to rally the masses in preparation for the next war.

Anticipating retaliation, the Israeli Air Force High Command fortified its defenses, keeping fighter jets on quick reaction alert at the Ofir base under the determined leadership of Ya'acov 'Yak' Nevo. This protective blanket was also intended to neutralize Egyptian MiG threats towards the Israeli Navy flotilla in the Red Sea and the Hawk missile batteries guarding the Red Sea Strait. On October 6, 1973, the holy day of Yom Kippur, war eclipsed the Israeli skies. The Ofir base, which housed a mere pair of IAF 107 F-4E Phantoms and their relatively inexperienced crew, was on high alert. The calm of the day was interrupted by a red alert in the morning, followed by a chilling siren at 1:50 p.m.

When the controller hesitated to act on the incoming radar signals, pilot Amir Nahumi took the reins and quickly launched his planes into the hostile skies. They had no idea what they were facing, how many fighter planes or what weapons they had, but they were the last line of defense and they were unwilling to retreat. Nahumi’s haunting memory painted a vivid picture: (QUOTE) “I decided to take off and seconds later, the runway was bombed. If we had waited any longer, we wouldn't have been able to do it. “There were seven formations of four MiG-17 and MiG-21 boats.” The story of these pilots is a somber testament to the dance of high-stakes war, where timing and bravery make the difference.

Air Crash Forever The skies roared to life as the MiGs began their fierce assault, and bombs rained down on the air base like hail in a storm. Sensing the imminent danger, Nahumi gave a stern order to Shaki: discard the extra weight of his detachable fuel tanks, divide and conquer. Shaki would head west while Nahumi would head east, each facing the fate in front of him. Like a bird of prey, Nahumi unleashed the fiery wrath of a Sidewinder missile, destroying a MiG in an explosion that lit up the night sky. However, the threat was far from over.

Two MiGs launched into the base, leaving Nahumi in their deadly wake. The base's MIM-23 Hawk battery held fire, refusing to risk the lives of its allies in the air. The MiGs took advantage of this self-imposed silence and swooped in to annihilate the defenseless battery. Nahumi sprang into action and pursued the lead MiG through the swirl of dust and smoke. His plane hovered above the ground while firing its M61 Gatling gun, but the MiG evaded him and his bombing mission was aborted. A sudden jolt rocked Nahumi's plane: a compressor stalled in the left engine, probably due to a cannon explosion.

However, Nahumi was a fighter and a survivor.   Temporarily down to one engine, she struggled but regained control, cleverly using the distraction to attack the vulnerable tail of the second MiG. They played a high-speed game of chicken, Nahumi stopping to face her adversary, a split-second decision resulting in the fall of another enemy, a trail of fire marking her fall.  The surviving MiG fled in panic. Approaching the next skirmish, Nahumi spotted a pair of MiG-17s laying siege to a vital communications unit near the bay.  Surprised by Nahumi's unexpected presence, a panicked MiG fired its air-to-ground missiles;   A futile effort ended quickly when Nahumi took him down from 600 meters.

Meanwhile, Shaki, with three victories to her name, found herself in the crosshairs of the attacking MiG-21s. A desperate enemy dashed towards the sea at death-defying speed, bouncing on the surface of the water before escaping. With fuel reserves dwindling, Shaki made the difficult decision to land on the damaged runway. Just as Nahumi took a moment to breathe, he was momentarily blinded by a dazzling flash of light: another pair of MiGs, desperate to escape. Quick as a viper, Nahumi shot down one with the little fuel he had left in her reserves.   The other drifted away, seeking solace in the jagged embrace of the mountains below.

Nahumi, hunting her flirting dangerously with an empty tank, had no choice but to abandon the chase. Every thunderous beat of the aerial engagement had shaken the two pilots to their core. The engagement had dragged on into what seemed like an eternal trial, and their hearts beat with a ferocity they had never experienced. However, when the dust settled, they had decimated seven Egyptian MiGs in a span of less than six minutes. It was an extraordinary feat that caused the surviving enemy aircraft to retreat, opening a hasty path back to the relative safety of Egyptian airspace. Replica Nahumi and Shaki, after having navigated the storm of the air war, landed on a parallel runway.

Shorter and less affected by the wrath of conflict, it offered them a refuge in the midst of chaos. Once on land, they prepared their fighters for another anticipated Egyptian attack, a sequel that ultimately never took place.  Their actions, marked by courage and defiance against insurmountable obstacles, earned them the Distinguished Service Medal. The story told by the Israeli pilots and corroborated by the remains of the battle recorded a narrative widely accepted as the official chronicle of the Air Battle of Ofira. However, enduring the sting of humiliation, the Egyptian authorities repudiated the Israeli account, a position they maintain to this day.

From the Egyptian point of view, the Ras Nasrani air base, as the Israelis called Ofir, was indeed attacked during their airstrike on October 6. Approximately 220 aircraft were deployed in this operation. MiG-21 aircraft escorted MiG-17s in the airstrike against Ras Nasrani. These were part of No. 25 Squadron of the EAF's 102nd Air Wing. The MiG-21s, however, refrained from launching ground attacks and, according to their pilots, never encountered air resistance. In stark contrast to the heavy losses reported by the Israeli side, Egyptian military leaders put forward a much less harsh narrative. Egyptian Chief of Staff Saad El Shazly and Commander Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy, among others, reported the loss of just five aircraft in the initial stages of the conflict.

Another source acknowledged the loss of seven aircraft to Israeli fighters and several more to anti-aircraft artillery, further confusing the sequence of events, at least from the Egyptian perspective. However, the compelling notion of a pair of F-4 Phantom II aircraft engaging an imposing enemy force and not onlysurviving but dealing a devastating blow is an irresistible story. Assuming the validity of the Israeli version, supported by the available evidence, the Air Battle of Ofira rises from a mere historical event to a saga of extraordinary bravery unlike anything seen in the modern history of air combat...