Eilat (or "Elath"): The Eilat (sometimes spelled "Elath" played a important part in the development of modern naval warfare. She was an Israeli Navy Destroyer of 1830 GRT which began life as the "Z"-Class destroyer HMS Zealous (Pennant No. R39) of the British Royal Navy. She was ordered on 12 February 1942 and her keel was laid down on 05 May 1943 at the Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.) Yard No. 1118. Launched on 28 Febrary 1944 and completed on 10 September of the same year. Specifications: Tons burthen: 1,710 tons Length: 262.7 ft (80.1 m) Beam: 35.7 ft (10.9 m) Propulsion: Geared turbines, two shafts, 40,000 hp Speed: 37 knots Complement: 186 Armament: 4 X 4.5 inch guns, 5 X 40 mm guns, 8 Torpedo tubes When in the service of the Royal Navy during WWII, the Zealous sailed in four convoys groups: JW64, JW66, RA64, and RA66. She was sold to Israel 15 July 1955 and renamed Eilat or "Elath". The HMS Zealous The Eilat's wartime history during her service with the Israeli Navy is fairly substantial: - On 31 October 1956 during the Suez Crisis, the Eilat took part in a counter-attack against the Egyptian destroyer Ibrahim AL-Awal, forcing the ship to retreat. The Ibrahim AL-Awal was then damaged by Israeli aircraft and forced to surrender. - On 11-12 July 1967, during the 6 Day War, the Eilat and two Israeli torpedo boats engaged and sank two Egyptian torpedo boats off of the Rumani Coast. Drawing of the Eilat The Sinking of the Eilat Accounts concerning the details of the sinking of the ship vary somewhat depending on whether the source is Egyptian or Israeli. I have tried to keep to the common facts which are shared among the various sources. On 21 October 1967, the Eilat was cruising approximately 14-miles off of the Egyptian coast near Port Said. Two Komar class Russian made fast attack missle boats were at Port Said and had been tracking the Eilat throughout the day with Russian advisors onboard. (No mention of Russian advisors is mentioned by any Egyptian sources that I have been able to locate.) Just before sunset, the Egyptian ship Assuit fired two Soviet-made Styx SS-N-2A anti-ship missiles (SSM's) at the Eilat. In his book "The Last Battle of the Eilat", the ship's captain, Brigidier-General Argov, indicates that there was such confusion among the ship's crew after the first missiles were fired, that the ship's destruction was made much easier. One account of Captain Argov states: "Something in the sky caught his eye and he looked up. Two balls of fire hung momentarily at their zenith high on the horizon before making what appeared to be a slow descent down into the Mediterranean." Captain Argov knew he was looking at incoming missiles and with "a sickening sense of dread, pressed the general alarm." There were 190-191 officers and men aboard the ship, and they began firing at will. It was useless. The two missiles struck the Eilat and nearly split the ship in two. The men struggled to keep the ship seaworthy for the next two hours, increasingly to no avail, when another missile hit the ship." Note: One source states that is was only when the Russian advisors were confident that the ship could be hit by missile fire, did they allow the Egyptian sailors onboard the Assuit to fire at the Eilat. (No mention of Russian advisors is mentioned by any Egyptian source that I have been able to locate.) A third missile had been fired and struck the Eilat sealing the ship's fate. Captain Argov gave the order to abandon ship, after which, a fourth missile struck the water near the ship injuring many of the men in the water. The fourth missile may have missed hitting its target because by this time the ship may have sunk enough as to not have enough surface area remaining above the water for the missile to home in on. Of the 190-191 officers and crew onboard, 41 were wounded, with 47 casualties. 152 sailors were rescued. Egyptian Admiral and Commander of the Naval Forces at the time remembers the incident, stating the following: "As the Israeli destroyer Eilat defiantly cruised our territorial waters off the shores of Port Said, two missile boats launched missiles at it and seconds later returned to headquarters. As the destroyer sent out SOS calls to its headquarters in Haifa, the two boats launched more missles. The Egyptian naval headquarters were on maximum alert, expecting that other Israeli naval units would come to rescue the Eilat. Evidently, though, the Israelis learned a lesson that day, and no Israeli naval unit came near Egyptian territorial waters for six years."                             Komar Class ship                            Komar Class ship firing a Styx SS-N-2A missile The sinking of the Eilat was not highly publicized at the time. However, its sinking had an immediate and direct impact on Ship-to-Ship Missile (SSM) development. The sinking of the Eilat was the first time a naval ship had been attacked and sunk by SSM's. Additionally, the sinking proved that Over The Horizon (OTH) technology, i.e. ship tracking via radar, firing solution calculation, and use of guided missile technology, could effectively be used in modern naval warfare. This spurred the development by many navies of better weapons (both defensive and offensive) and new strategies for conducting naval warfare. References: Miramar Single Ship Report for 6120799 http://www.russianconvoyclub.org.nz/MembersShips.htm http://www.defense-update.com/newscast/0407/analysis/analysis-030407.htm http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/archives/67-97/sup12.htm (5 - 11 June 1997 Issue No.328) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Zealous_(R39) https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Cherbourg.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IAV/is_2_93/ai_n6124003/pg_5 http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-JgJXgKJClOw/dogfights_sinking_the_israeli_destoryer_eilat/ (Video in Arabic on the sinking of the Eilat) http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Missile-boat A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (By Mark A. Tessler) http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Fast_attack_craft http://www.missilethreat.com/cruise/id.96/cruise_detail.asp http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/1999/Vol25_1/3.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komar_class_missile_boat