Suicide Attack by an Iraqi Jet Bomber on Tel Aviv
June 6, 1967
Written By
Major General Pilot Alwan Hassoun
Brigadier General Sobhi Nathem Tawfiq
Translated from Arabic by Wefa M. S.
The Arabic Version - المقالة باللغة العربية
At the outbreak of the June-5 war in 1967, and after the destruction of most of the air bases and planes of the confrontation countries of Egypt, Jordan and Syria by the Israeli army, Iraq took the initiative before noon on June 5, 1967, to participate effectively in the war, as follows:-
At 10:00 of the same day, while the Sixth Squadron of the Iraqi Air Force was stationed at Al-Waleed Air base west of Iraq, and equipped with Hawker Hunter fighters, the squadron command received an order from Commander Lieutenant-General Abdul Moneim Riyad (of the Eastern Front) directing an immediate air strike on the Israeli Sirkin air base east of Tel Aviv.
Immediately five aircrafts were loaded with 24 18-pound rockets each. Maps were prepared and the pilots who were selected to carry out the first mission were:
1. Captain Adel Suleiman, commander of the squadron.
2. First Lieutenant Pilot Faisal Abdul Mohsen.
3. Pilot Lieutenant Hazem Hassan Qassim.
4. Pilot Lieutenant Fadel Mustaf Hassoun.
5. Pilot Lieutenant Imad Ezzat
Israeli air base was successfully bombed, and the five aircrafts returned within one hour to Al-Waleed Air Base safely and without losses. It became clear two days later and after the capture of an Israeli pilot whose plane was shot down on June 7 near Al-Waleed Air Base by the pilots of the Iraqi Mig-21 fighters, that (according to his statement) the strike was accurate in terms of causing great losses in the Israeli force resulting in dozens of dead paratroopers who were on board Israeli Nord Noratlas and Commando military transport planes..
On the following day, June 6, two Tupolev-16 bombers belonging to the 10th Squadron of the Iraqi Air Force, stationed at the Habbaniyah Air Base in central Iraq, each loaded with 6 tons of high-explosive bombs, were assigned to conduct an operation inside Israel in order to strike the Ramat David air base near Tel Aviv, as follows:
1. The first bomber was led by Major Pilot Farouk Younis Al-Taie, assisted by Lieutenant Pilot Majid Tarki, Major Navigator Tariq Musa, Captain Navigator Adel Kamil, Chief Sergeant Shlash Saadoun and Vice Sergeant Hussein Munajid.
2- The second bomber, led by Major Pilot Hussain Muhammad Hussain - graduated from the Air Force College in 1958 - despite being on sick leave, he insisted on carrying out the mission personally with the assistance of Captain Faiq Alwan - who graduated from the Air Force College in 1961 - and Captain navigator Ghazi Rasheed - graduated from the Air Force College in 1962 - and first lieutenant navigator Sabeeh Abdul-Kareem, the chief sergeant Rashid Idama and deputy corporal Abdul Ghani Yahya.
This delay in take-off caused a time difference of 45 minutes between the two bombers, and according to combat tactics, the element of surprise for the second plane was not achieved. Although the two planes entered Jordanian airspace and the West Bank, then flew at low altitude to Tel Aviv, the enemy’s radars did not detect them, and accordingly, the first bomber achieved heavy strikes on the Ramat David air base, dropping twelve bombs totaling six tons of high-explosive bombs before returning from a different route toward the east and safely arriving at the Habbaniyah base.
While the Israelis were preoccupied with the destruction that occurred at that base caused by the first jet bomber, the second bombardment after 45 minutes inflicted a heavy strike and caused more destruction, but the enemy’s ground defenses were prepared to confront the American “Hawk” missiles that hit the base, so it collapsed on Palestinian land, where all the crew was killed.
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Major General Pilot Alwan Hassoun
He held the position of Commander of the Iraqi Air Force and is currently a retired officer. He studied at the Iraqi Air Force Academy in 1963 and was assigned to the MiG-15 fighter aircraft in 1965. Received a Bachelor of Aviation Science from the Egyptian Air Force Academy in October 1965. He then completed a Master's degree in Military Sciences from the Iraqi Staff College of Al-Bakr University.
Brigadier General Subhi Nadhim Tawfiq
He was a Brigadier General in the former Iraqi army. He graduated from the Military College in 1964 and was elected as an officer of the Republican Guard under President Abdul Salam Aref. He obtained a master's degree in military sciences from the Staff College in 1974, then he obtained a doctorate degree in Arab-Islamic history from the University of Baghdad in 1995. He authored six books.