USS Liberty incident

The NSA spy ship USS Liberty was attacked on the boundary line of Sinai Peninsula's international waters north of El-Arish, by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats during the 1967 Six-Day War. In all, 34 American servicemen were killed and 172 wounded in the attacks.

Three Israeli reports, as well as ten separate reports by the United States, all reached the same conclusion: The attacks were a tragic instance of friendly fire, a mistake. The Israelis, assured by the United States that no US ships were in the area, wrongly identified the USS Liberty as a much smaller Egyptian vessel

Many crew members of the Liberty and some Western observers claim the attack was made deliberately. They also claim that the investigations were incomplete and designed to exonerate Israel. There are various theories as to why they claim that Israel carried out this action; one theory was that Israel was trying to get the U.S. involved in the conflict on Israel's side, by convincing the U.S. that Egypt was the aggressor. There are many other theories as well, most of which contradict each other. As no evidence has ever been found to back any of these theories up, they are considered by many to be purely conspiracy theories.

This story is reviewed in the following.

Background

USS Liberty (AGTR-5), a 7725-ton Belmont-class technical research ship, was built in 1945 as the civilian cargo ship Simmons Victory. She operated in commercial trade until 1958, when she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Simmons Victory was acquired by the United States Navy in February 1963 for conversion. Renamed Liberty and classified AG-168 in June 1963, she was reclassified AGTR-5 in April 1964 and commissioned in December 1964. In February 1965, she steamed from the west coast to Norfolk, Virginia, where she was further outfitted to suit her for a mission of collecting and processing foreign communications and other electronic emissions of possible National defense interest.

In June 1965, Liberty began her first deployment, to waters off the west coast of Africa. She carried out several more operations during the next two years, and went to the Mediterranean in 1967. During the Six-Day War between Israel and several Arab nations, she was sent to collect electronic intelligence in the eastern Mediterranean. On the afternoon of June 8, 1967, while in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula, Liberty was attacked by Israeli aircraft. After suffering damage and many personnel casualties from gunfire, rockets and bombs, she was further attacked by three Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats. One torpedo hit her on the starboard side, forward of the superstructure, opening a large hole in her hull. In all, 34 men were killed in the attacks and 172 wounded. Israel subsequently apologized for the incident, explaining that its air and naval forces had mistaken Liberty for a much smaller Egyptian Navy ship.

Though severely damaged, Liberty's crew kept her afloat, and she was able to leave the area under her own power. She was escorted to Malta by units of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and was there given interim repairs. After these were completed in July 1967, Liberty returned to the United States. She was decommissioned in June 1968 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register two years later. USS Liberty was sold for scrapping in December 1970.

The course of the attack

The events surrounding the attack (including very solid facts, such as its duration) are a subject of fierce controversy; the article below will try to present the few known pieces of information and some of the disputed ones.

Orders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that the USS Liberty must stay 100 miles from the coasts of Israel, Egypt and Syria. This message was not received by USS Liberty, and it operated rather than that basing on an earlier set of orders that set the minimal approach range to Israel to 15 miles, respectively.

During the 24 hours preceeding the attack, the ship was flown by several aircraft as it moved westward from the coast of Israel proper to the coast of Sinai peninsula. Their exact number and type is disputed; some of them are said to be Nord Atlas "boxcars", a photograph presents a C-47 Dacota and yet other reports speak about Mirage III jet fighters. Israel does not deny that the ship was identified as American; however it claims that at 11 a.m., the ship moved out of the status board. An hour later, when explosions were heard in El-Arish, Israel claims to have re-acquired the ship without being aware that it was the same one that was flown over the day before.

At the time of the attack, the ship was steaming at about 5 knots on the boundary of international and coastal waters approximately 13 miles off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula near El-Arish. At about 2 p.m. the ship was attacked by several aircraft - most probably, a pair of Mirage IIIs carrying cannon and rockets and Dassault Mysteres carrying napalm, although there can be no certainty even as to that.

American survivors of the attack have made the claim that the aircraft were unmarked; Israel never responded to that claim specifically although it is not certain to what extent the people on board the ship would be able to notice markings on the aircraft, if they were present. Additional point that Israel did not comment upon is the use of radio jamming; in the absence of reliable records it is only left to speculate whether jamming (of Navy tactical and international maritime distress frequencies) did take place, or did the deficiency in communications originate in the attack itself (i.e. loss of power and damage of antennas).

Three additional points of controversy relate to the minutes preceeding the attack: according to Israeli accounts, they've made (admitedly erroneous) measurements that indicated that the ship was steaming at 30 knots (a speed typical of war vessels); probably the most vehemently debated point is the visibility of the ensign that the ship was flying; Americans claimed that it was visible in the wind while the Israeli pilots claimed that they were either unable to notice it altogether or considered it an Egyptian diversion aimed to mislead the pursuers. Israel claims to have called the ship on radio several times without receiving an answer while the Americans deny ever receiving a call for identification.

About 20 minutes after the attack of the aircraft, the ship was approached by a pair of torpedo boats bearing Israeli flags and identification signs. The captain of the ship later claimed that he saw that they tried to signal his ship in Morse Code, but due to the smoke of the fire started by the earlier aircraft attack, he was unable to see what was being sent. Joe Meadors, then the signalman on bridge, states that

Immediately prior to the torpedo attack I was on the Signal Bridge repeatedly sending "USS Liberty US Navy Ship" by flashing light to the torpedo boats.

However the Israeli boats claim to have read only the signal "AA", which was exactly the signal dispatched by the Egyptian destroyer Ibrahim Al-Awal when it was engaged by the Israeli navy 11 years earlier.

It seems that for a while two of the ship's machine gun mounts were firing at the boats without receiving orders to do so, then two torpedos were launched by the torpedo boats, one of which hit the ship. What happened next is subject to debate: the American crew claims that the boats circled the ship shooting at descended (unmanned) life rafts and sailors on board the ship; Israelis claim that they've suddenly recognized the ship as American almost immediately after it was hit and ceased fire. The former point of view was expressed by many of the crew members, while the latter one is reinforced by the statement the ship's captain had given to the Navy Court several days after the attack.

Reports differ also regarding what happened next; the crew claims that the torpedo boats simply withdrew, while the captain and the Israeli crew report that help was offered; the captain stated had asked the Israeli boats to stay away by the means of signal flags. After a while, the boats withdrew from the area. About 3 hours after the attack, an American representative was notified about it. He then approached the ship on an Israeli helicopter, but he was neither able to land nor to establish communications with the crew and flew back.

It seems that at least two rescue attempts were launched from US aircraft carriers nearby; the reason why they did not reach their objective as well as details of communications between US forces in the area and the While House are generally unknown and only further complicate this enigmatic affair.

Subsequent inquiry

Subsequent ten American commissions of inquiry and three Israeli ones have all concluded that the attack was conducted because of USS Liberty being confused with an Egyptian vessel, and failures of communications between Israel and the US. Those commissions are:

Those reports are:

US Navy Court of Inquiry (1967)
CIA Report (1967)
JCS Fact Finding Team (Russ Report) (1967)
Clifford Report (1967)
Senate Armed Services Committee (1968)
House Appropriations Committee (1968)
House Armed Services Committee Investigation (1971)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1979/1981)
NSA/CSS (1981)
House Armed Services Committee (1991/1992)
Ram Ron Investigation
Israeli Examining Judges Investigation
IDF History Department Investigation

On December 17, 1987, the issue was officially closed by the exchange of diplomatical notes between the US and Israel. Israel has also paid nearly US $13 million in compensations to the families of the victims.

Controversy

Survivors of the attack often make the claim that none of these reports was made as a result of a complete and comprehensive investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty so any opinions about the incident included in these reports is without foundation. They claim that some of these reports simply mention the Liberty incident in passing, and that the attack on the USS Liberty holds a unique position in United States maritime history, as it is the only attack of its kind not to be the subject of a complete and comprehensive public Congressional investigation; these claims seem not to take account of the fact that there were indeed ten separate US investigations.

Israeli forces do admit that three crucial errors have been made, the first being the refreshing of the status board (nullifying the ship's classification as American), the second being the erroneous identification of the ship as an Egyptian vessel, and the third being the Israeli HQ not receiving advice from the returning aircraft regarding markings on the front of the hull (which would not be found on an Egyptian ship). As the general root of these problems, Israel sees the combined senses of alarm and tiredness experienced by the Israeli troops at that point of the war.

Israel denies any accusations that the attack was deliberate due to the following arguments:

The attacking aircraft used napalm and machine guns - a rather inconvenient armament for attacking a ship.
USS Liberty opened fire at the gunboats before they had.
Due to the aircraft attack, USS Liberty was covered with smoke and was unable to conduct visual communications in any way.
No adequate cause has been pointed out that would make Israel want to attack an American ship in spite of all the forthcoming complications that must have followed.

Several books were written on the subject that try to prove that USS Liberty was attacked on purpose. Critics claim that many of them include incorrect assumptions and a fuzzy system of conslusion making. As examples, they bring the claim that the ship was attacked to prevent the U.S. from knowing about the forthcoming attack in the Golan Heights (information already dispatched to the Americans), and applying a quote describing the execution of 5 Palestinian guerillas wearing Egyptian uniforms (an act allowed under [rules of war]?) to "prove" the mass murder of 150 Egyptians.

The survivors of the USS Liberty have often claimed that the attack was premeditated, and they actively try to assert their claim. They are joined in this position by many representatives of the US intelligence community. The survivors have kindly provided a letter of position providing their view of the attack. This letter is brought to you below:

Position of USS Liberty Veterans Association on the events of June 8th

Without changing anything the author wrote in his account we feel a clarification is in order.
At a little after 2pm in the afternoon of June 8, 1967 the USS Liberty was attacked by at least three unmarked Israeli Mirage aircraft. Those aircraft used rockets, cannon and machine gun fire to target the ship's communications and defensive capabilities. Each of the ship's 4 gun tubs and each of the ship's antenna mounts sustained a direct hit by either rocket or cannon fire.
After the Mirages had finished their attack we were hit by slower Mystere aircraft armed with napalm.
The aircraft were followed closely by three torpedo boats who fired five torpedoes at the ship. One struck the ship on our starboard side killing 25 men. The torpedo boats then slowly circled the ship while firing from close range at Liberty crewmen who ventured topside to help their wounded shipmates.
Some have argued that napalm is ineffective when used against a ship. Combine napalm with the slow circling of the Liberty by Israeli torpedo boats as they fire upon Liberty crewmen and the Israeli refusal to offer immediate aid upon cessation of hostilities and some have concluded that the intent of the attackers was to leave no survivors. Indeed, that is what would have happened had their scenario been carried out to its completion.
And, let's not forget their use of helo-borne assault troops.
Joe Meadors
Vice President
USS Liberty Veterans Association
Email: [email protected]

Background

The course of the attack

Subsequent inquiry

Controversy

Position of USS Liberty Veterans Association on the events of June 8th

See also