11 Okt 1973 Jahr - Second Battle of Latakia

Beschreibung:

The Second Battle of Latakia, a small but significant naval engagement during the Yom Kippur War, took place on 11 October 1973. This battle was marked by a clash between Israeli and Syrian naval forces, involving advanced missile boats and anti-ship missiles from both sides.

Prelude to the Battle
After suffering losses in the First Battle of Latakia on 7 October 1973, the Syrian Navy adopted a more cautious strategy, avoiding open sea confrontations. Instead, they made brief sorties from their harbor defenses to launch missiles, relying on coastal artillery for protection. In response, the Israeli Navy sought to draw the Syrian missile boats into open combat. Michael Barkai, the commander of the Israeli missile-boat flotilla, led a night raid on Syrian ports with seven missile boats. The main objective was to provoke the Syrian boats into battle, while oil tanks at the ports served as secondary targets.

Barkai's strategy involved dividing his force. Two Sa'ar 4-class missile boats were sent to attack the Port of Banias, two more to target the Syrian naval base at Mina Al-Baida, and the remaining three boats (the Sa'ar 3-class INS Hetz and INS Herev, and the Sa'ar 2-class INS Haifa) to engage Latakia once again.

The Battle
As the Israeli boats approached their targets, they activated their electronic countermeasures (ECM) and advanced at high speed (40 knots). The ECM confused Syrian radar operators, who misinterpreted the signals, thinking they were tracking five groups of targets, with a combined total of 17 ships, off the coast. Consequently, the Syrian Navy dispatched two missile boats from Banias and two from Latakia to engage these perceived threats.

Upon reaching Latakia, the Israeli boats discovered that the Syrian missile boats were using anchored foreign merchant ships for cover, darting in and out to launch their missiles. Despite the risk to unarmed merchant vessels, the Israeli boats were ordered to fire. This led to the sinking of two merchant ships—one Japanese and one Greek—by Israeli Gabriel missiles.

During the battle, INS Hetz narrowly avoided a Styx missile and managed to shoot down another. The engagement, lasting nearly two hours, saw intense maneuvering as the Israeli boats zigzagged to evade Syrian fire from both missile boats and coastal artillery, while also attempting to strike Syrian vessels and shore targets.

Ultimately, the Israeli forces were unable to ignite the oil tanks in Latakia, and their confirmed successes were limited to probable hits on one Osa-class and one Komar-class missile boat. However, the raid on Banias succeeded in igniting the oil tanks there.

Aftermath
The battle demonstrated the evolving nature of naval warfare, highlighting the use of electronic countermeasures and advanced missile technology. Despite the mixed results, the Israeli Navy's aggressive tactics continued to pressure Syrian naval forces throughout the Yom Kippur War.

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