بقية أصل الموضوع وما ينشره الإسرائيليين عن هه المعركة ، وصور الطائرات التي إشتركت فيه اوالخريطة المرافقة لموضوعهم
At around 03:30pm the Egyptian Air Defense Command – this being a separate military arm distinct from both the Army and the Air Force – sent a warning that around 60 enemy aircraft, probably Phantoms, were approaching from three different directions, towards Baltim, Damietta, and Port Said. Air Marshal Mubarak gave the order to intercept and at the same time, took the opportunity to explain to his eager pilots why such an order had not been given before. General Ahmed Nasr (who subsequently became commander of the EAF) issued specific interception courses while the air umbrella of around 16 MiG-21s already airborne was sent against the enemy. Their role was to attack all three Israeli formations in an attempt to make them scatter and thus become more vulnerable to the rest of the 104th Air Wing’s fighters. A further 16 MiG-21s also took off from el-Mansourah, along with eight form Tanta, to support those already in the air. At 3:38pm Egyptian radar stations informed the High Command that another wave of around 16 Israeli aircraft was coming in very low from the same direction. The final eight MiG-21s at el-Mansourah were promptly scrambled, while eight MiG-21s from the Abu Hamad air **** were called upon to assist. The ensuing air battle was extremely fierce, with approximately 160 Phantoms and Skyhawks eventually mixing it with 62 MiGs.
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The 119 "Bat" Squadron was ****d at Tel Nov in 1973: this unit suffered some losses early during the October War, especially during the catastrophic strike against Syrian SAMs, on 7 October, when also the 201st - or "Haachat" - Sqn lost five aircraft during on a single mission, but remained operational. The F-4E "114" is shown here carrying one of characteristic warloads of this war: an ALQ-119 ECM-pod in the front left Sparrow-bay, a Sidewinder and two Mk.82 bombs on the left inner underwing pylon, five M-117 bombs under the centreline, Sparrows in the rear bays, and either three Mk.82s or a Sidewinder and two Mk.82s on the right inboard underwing pylon.
At around 3:52pm Egyptian radar picked up yet another wave of enemy aircraft, estimated at 60 Phantoms and Skyhawks, again flying in at very low level from the same direction as before. Their mission is believed to have been to hit any targets missed in the second wave, so eight MiG-21s were now scrambled from Inshas air **** to intercept them. As this third wave of Israelis neared the Nile Delta village of Dekernis it ran into a swirling dogfight where the second Israeli wave had been fleeing eastward. Some 20 MiGs, having landed to refuel as the battle continued overhead, were themselves now climbing to intercept. The leader of the third wave of Israeli aircraft, apparently realizing that the previous attacks had already failed and that there were more Egyptian fighters in the air than had been anticipated, now retreated. The last Israeli aircraft re-crossed the coast at 4:08pm; the air battle of el-Mansourah was over.
At 10pm local time Cairo Radio broadcast “Communiqué Number 39”, announcing that there had been several air battles that day over a number of Egyptian airfields, that most intensive being over the northern Delta area. It also claimed that 15 enemy aircraft had been downed by Egyptian fighters for the loss of three Egyptian aircraft, while an even greater number of Israelis had been shot down by the Army and the Air Defense Forces over Sinai and the Suez Canal.
For its part, Israel Radio claimed, early the following morning, that the IAF had shot down 15 Egyptian aircraft, a figure subsequently reduced to seven.
Following a more detailed analysis after the war had ended, the EAF actually increased its original claims and now asserts that the results of the el-Mansourah air battle were as follows: 17 Israeli aircraft confirmed shot down for the loss of six MiGs. Of the EAF aircraft lost, three were shot down by the enemy, two crashed because they ran out of fuel before their pilots could return to **** and a third blew up after flying through the debris of an exploding Phantom which it had just shot down.
Two Egyptian pilots were killed, the others ejecting safely. Whether these figures are strictly accurate remains to be seen, but the air battle of el-Mansourah, like a similarly named battle against an invading Crusader army 723 years earlier and only a few kilometers away, was indeed an Egyptian victory. The little university town of el-Mansourah (which translates to “The Victorious”), had once again lived up to its name.
Voices from the cockpit:
Medhat Arafa, now a Marshal of the EAF
I wasn’t married then, and the **** was my home. So far my main missions had been attacking enemy ground targets by night. On the 7th October (during the first Israeli attempt to destroy el-Mansourah air ****) I was injured when an Israeli Phantom hit my Jeep, which overturned. I felt no pain at that time and flew an air strike into Sinai the following evening, but the pain began after I landed so my colleagues told me to go to hospital. There my shoulder was X-rayed and I was found to have some torn muscles. The doctor advised me to take leave and I promised to do so as soon as I had checked in the Air Force Hospital in Cairo. But, like the other lightly wounded pilots, I didn’t.
I managed to shoot down a Phantom on 12th October an made several other sorties, but eventually I couldn’t move my hand so I was grounded on the 18th. On the day of the el-Mansourah air battle I had my shoulder bandaged. I was part of the “Situation-One” group of four MiG-21s acting as a reserve and received the order to take off at about 3:30pm.
The battle had already started when we arrived two minutes later. It was a frightening sight because I had never seen so many aeroplanes in one area. We were not only dogfighting, but also warning other pilots that they had an enemy on their tail, we saved many pilot’s lives that way. I landed when my fuel ran low, but was able to take off again and join the chase with other MiGs when the Israelis retreated eastwards.
Ahmed Yousef el-Wekeel, now an Air Vice Marshal of the EAF
It had been arranged, within our Air Group at el-Mansourah air ****, that two squadrons would be used for interception and air defence while the third would be ****d at Tanta to defend both ****s. Our losses were nil by the 14th of October. On that day, while flying with three others, we intercepted six Phantoms, so we split into two sections of three planes each and attacked the enemy.
The Phantoms had to drop their bomb-loads to be able to dogfight with us. I hit one Phantom with my cannon because he was too close for me to use my missiles. There were two parachutes. At the time I didn’t realize how many aircraft were involved in the battle. I was very surprised when I heard the number and we all joked; “Shit – there are traffic jams on the ground in Egypt, and now in the air as well!”
Nasr Mousa, now an Air Vice Marshal of the EAF
I flew the MiG-21 in air defense during the October War, stationed at el-Mansourah air ****. We were informed t(on October 5) that the war would start tomorrow. On the 14th of October there was a violent attack on el-Mansourah air **** and we received orders to scramble. There were eight of us. While climbing we saw Israeli Phantoms approaching to make their bombing run. So we immediately increased speed, dropped our auxiliary fuel tanks, and jumped them. I got one in my sights but then remembered the golden rule – secure your tail before attacking the enemy.
When I looked in my mirror I saw a Phantom lining up on me. I made a sudden tight right hand turn which put me on his tail, then shot him down with cannon fire. There were no parachutes. The Phantom could be easily outmanoeuvred by a ’21. Later, when the EAF got some (Phantoms) around 1980 I learned how heavy it was. After I joined the battle I stayed in the air for 30 minutes; my fuel was at zero when I touched down.
Ahmed Naser; now an Air Marshal of the EAF
This air battle lasted minutes, which is the longest known between jet fighters. Our MiGs had to land, refuel, rearm and take-off again in seven minutes. The take-off itself used to take three minutes, but out pilots cut it down to one and a half minutes, which I think is unique and shows just how well trained they were. During the battle our MiGs were outnumbered two to one, yet they scored well. There was also chivalry during the fighting. One pilot named Lieutenant Mohamed Adoub shot down a Phantom, but his MiG was so close to the exploding enemy that it was damaged.
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د. يحي الشاعر