BATTLE // October 9, 1973
Battle of Baltim
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Source · Wikipedia
Significance
The Battle of Baltim was a naval engagement fought off the Nile Delta between Baltim and Damietta during the Yom Kippur War. Six Israeli Sa'ar-class missile boats, operating toward Port Said, engaged four Egyptian Osa-class missile boats sortying from Alexandria. The engagement demonstrated the operational effectiveness of the Israeli Gabriel missile system against Soviet-supplied Osa boats armed with Styx missiles. The Egyptian force fired Styx missiles without effect before withdrawing; Israeli pursuit resulted in three of the four Osas being sunk within roughly thirty-five minutes. The loss of three-quarters of the Egyptian force in a single forty-minute engagement effectively curtailed Egyptian missile boat operations in this sector during the war.
Tactics
The engagement began when the two opposing missile boat forces closed on one another off the Nile Delta. The Egyptian Osa boats fired Styx missiles at the Israeli Sa'ar boats but failed to score hits. The Egyptians then turned to withdraw toward Alexandria. The Israelis gave chase, using Gabriel missiles to sink two Osas within ten minutes of the pursuit beginning and a third twenty-five minutes after that. The fourth Osa reached base. The outcome turned on the failure of the Egyptian Styx salvo and the Israeli decision to pursue rather than disengage.
Commanders (1)
Israel
Michael Barkaialuf
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4 sibling battles · 4 factions