Operation Nickel Grass

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Operation Nickel Grass was an overt strategic airlift operation conducted by the United States to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The Military Airlift Command of the U.S. Air Force shipped 22,325 tons of tanks, artillery, ammunition, and supplies in C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft between October 14 and November 14, 1973.

This rapid re-supply mission was critical to the Israeli military's ability to thwart the armed Egyptian and Syrian action to regain their sovereign territory; it had been captured and occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War. The overall re-supply effort soon had additional far-reaching effects beyond the immediate combatants. Following a further massive US pledge of support on October 19, the oil-exporting Arab states within OPEC held to their previously declared warnings to use oil as a "weapon" and declared a complete oil embargo on the United States, and restrictions on other countries. This, and the contemporaneous failure of major pricing and production negotiations between the exporters and the major oil companies both led to the 1973 oil crisis.

Contents 1 Operation 2 Effects 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Operation

Israeli forces were largely caught by ((surprise at noon)) on October 6, 1973, when Egypt and Syria, respectively, attacked the Sinai and the Golan Heights (which Israel had occupied since 1967). Arab armies moved forward rapidly in the first few days, and while the Israel Defense Forces didn't manage to stabilize the situation, it was clear that Israel was under considerable stress and in need of supplies. On 8 October, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir authorized the assembly of 13 20-kiloton nuclear weapons on Jericho missiles and F-4s, which were prepared for action against Syrian and Egyptian targets;^[1] their preparation was made easily detectable, likely as a signal to the United States. ^[2] Kissinger learned of this threatening nuclear escalation on the morning of October 9. On that same day, Meir issued a personal appeal for military assistance, which European nations declined. U.S. President Richard Nixon, however, ordered the commencement of Operation Nickel Grass, to replace all of Israel's materiel losses.^[3] The decision was taken the same day the Soviets began their own resupply operation of Arab forces by sea.^[4] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Kissinger had told Sadat that the reason for the U.S. airlift was that the Israelis were close to "going nuclear."^[1]

Initially, commercial carriers were contacted, but none were willing to accept the job for fear of being refused entry to Arab nations after the war. Only the Israeli national airline, El Al, offered to help. Supplies began to arrive in Israel on October 10. Nonetheless, it was soon clear that El Al's limited supply of ill-configured passenger aircraft were not up to the task. On October 12, Nixon decided that no more delays could be allowed, and ordered the Air Force to "send everything that can fly." Within nine hours, C-141s and C-5s were en-route to Israel.^[5] The political maneuvering was not immediately solved by the Air Force's participation however: traditional European allies refused to allow re-supply aircraft to land for refueling or even overfly their territory. Portugal seemed willing to help though, so aircraft were dispatched to Lajes Field in the Azores Islands. After a few hours in the air, word came through that Portugal would permit them to land, and Lajes became a key staging point for the rest of the airlift. To comply with the demands of other European nations, even U.S. supplies already stationed in Europe were routed through Lajes, and soon over 30 aircraft per day were moving through Lajes. To accommodate this, the base instantly grew to house an extra 1,300 people who were billeted in improvised housing and hastily reactivated World War II barracks.

Between Portugal and Israel, the aircraft had to follow an extremely precise route. Flying exactly along the airspace border between hostile Arab nations to the south and European nations to the north, the transport craft flew down the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to Israel.^[5] Fighter escort was deemed necessary for this leg of the journey, so American fighters from the U.S. 6th Fleet escorted the transports to within 150 miles of Israel, where Israeli Air Force Phantoms and Mirages escorted them into Ben Gurion International Airport. Along the Mediterranean route, American ships were stationed every 300 miles, and an aircraft carrier every 600 miles. These precautions appeared justified when unidentified Arab fighters made threats over the radio, but no conflict ensued. Upon arrival, the transports were unloaded by U.S. and Israeli servicemen before they returned home and supplies were expedited to the front where they arrived within a few hours. The first C-5 transport airplane arrived at Lod airport on October 14, 6:30 PM local time.^[6]

Airlifted supplies were not all that was delivered under Nickel Grass. In the opening days of the war, Arab forces destroyed significant numbers^{[citation needed]} of Israeli Air Force aircraft, surprising the Israelis with aggressive use of the new Soviet SA-6 Gainful Surface-to-air missile. Consequently, 36 F-4 Phantom jet fighters were sent to Israel under Nickel Grass. They were flown to Lod, where American pilots were swapped for their Israeli counterparts. After the replacement of USAF insignia with IAF insignia if needed, the planes were refueled and ordered to the front, often taking to the air within hours of having arrived. Interestingly, some aircraft came directly from the USAFE fleet and operated in USAF camouflage,^[7] but with Israeli insignia. Nine days after the initial attack, Israel launched devastating counterattacks.

When the third cease-fire resolution was finally implemented on October 24, the airlift immediately slowed. Further flights were made to rebuild Israeli forces to their pre-war strength, and Operation Nickel Grass was ended on November 14. In the end, the military airlift shipped 22,325 tons of war materiel to Israel. Additionally, the United States conducted its own seaborne re-supply operation, delivering 33,210 tons to Israel by October 30.^[8] During the same general time, the Soviets airlifted 12,500–15,000 tons of supplies, more than half of which went to Syria; they also supplied another 63,000 tons mainly to Syria by means of a sealift.^[9][10]

[edit] Effects

Operation Nickel Grass had immediate and far-reaching effects. Arab members of OPEC had declared they would limit or stop oil shipments to the United States and other countries if they supported Israel in the conflict. Holding to their threats, the Arab states declared a complete oil embargo on the United States. Oil prices skyrocketed, fuel became scarce, and the United States was soon embroiled in the 1973 oil crisis.

Nickel Grass also revealed a severe deficiency in American airlift capabilities: the need for staging bases overseas. Without Portugal's assistance, the airlift might not even have been possible. As a result, the U.S. greatly expanded its aerial refueling capabilities and made long-distance flight operations the standard rather than the exception.

A GAO study of the operation discussed the shortcomings of the C-141A. As a result, the C-141B was conceived. The A models were sent back to Georgia where they were cut fore and aft of the wing, extended in length by three pallet positions, and refitted for in-flight refueling.

Nickel Grass vindicated the Air Force decision to purchase the C-5 Galaxy. Since its introduction in 1970, the C-5 had been plagued by problems. The Air Force claimed to have rectified the problems, but the C-5 was still viewed by the press as an expensive failure. During Nickel Grass, C-5s carried 48% of the total cargo in only 145 of the 567 total missions. The C-5 also carried "outsize" cargo such as M60 Patton tanks, M109 howitzers, ground radar systems, mobile tractor units, CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, and A-4 Skyhawk components; cargo that could not fit in smaller aircraft. This performance justified the C-5's existence, and allowed the Air Force to move forward with their proposed upgrade to the C-5B variant.

Another effect of the operation was the near-resignation of then United States chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) General George Brown. Brown was reportedly livid that American weapons and munitions were being sent to a foreign country at the same time that the American command in Vietnam was protesting a lack of supplies in its theater of operations.^[11]

[edit] See also

• Israel-United States military relations

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Krisinger, Chris J. Operation Nickel Grass - Airlift in Support of National Policy, Aerospace Power Journal, Spring 1989.

[edit] External links

• Sam McGowan's Airlift History