Ofira Air Battle

Overview

The Ofira Air Battle was one of the first air battles of the Yom Kippur War. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched a massive surprise attack on Israel that included over 200 Egyptian aircraft participating in an opening airstrike. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) Base Ofira at Sharm el-Sheikh came under attack by 20 Egyptian Air Force MiG-17s and their eight MiG-21 escorts. Not realizing the extent of the attack, Israel quickly scrambled two F-4E Phantom II fighter jets. The Israeli pilots proceeded to jettison their external fuel tanks and engage all 28 MiGs in aerial combat. In just under six minutes, seven Egyptian MiGs had been shot down and the remaining Egyptian planes disengaged and returned to Egypt. The Israeli Phantoms returned to their base. The Egyptians dispute the Israeli account of the battle, but they never did provide their own version of what happened. One of the Egyptian pilots killed was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's half-brother, Atef.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Ofira Air Battle was among the opening engagements of the Yom Kippur War, occurring on the same day Egypt launched its broader surprise offensive involving over 200 aircraft. The attack on IAF Base Ofira at Sharm el-Sheikh formed part of that coordinated opening strike. Despite the disparity in numbers — two Israeli F-4E Phantoms against 28 Egyptian aircraft — the engagement ended with seven Egyptian MiGs shot down before the remaining Egyptian planes disengaged. One of the Egyptian pilots killed was Atef, the half-brother of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, giving the battle a notable personal dimension at the highest level of Egyptian leadership. The Egyptian side disputed the Israeli account but offered no alternative version, leaving the Israeli narrative as the primary record of the engagement.

Tactics