Battle of Baltim
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Baltim (also Battle of Damietta, Battle of Baltim–Damietta, Battle of Damietta–Baltim or Battle of Damietta – El Burelos) was fought between the Israeli Navy and the Egyptian Navy on October 8–9, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War
. It took place off the Nile delta
, between Baltim
and Damietta
. The battle erupted when six Israeli Sa'ar class missile boats heading toward Port Said
were engaged by four Egyptian Osa class missile boat
s coming from Alexandria
. It lasted about forty minutes. The Osas fired Styx missiles, missed, and begun withdrawing back to Alexandria when the Israelis began to give chase. Two Osas were sunk by Gabriel missile
s within a span of 10 minutes, and a third was sunk twenty-five minutes later. The fourth made it back to base.
launched a counterattack in the Sinai in an attempt to push the Egyptian Army
back across the Suez Canal
. Israeli naval command expected ground pressure on Port Said to prompt a withdrawal of Egyptian naval assets from the local harbor to Alexandria
, 110 miles to the west. A flotilla of Israeli missile boats was therefore ordered to proceed to Port Said
. The boats, having just arrived back in Haifa
after the Battle of Latakia
, had not yet completed refueling. Nevertheless, within twenty-five minutes eight boats were heading south at thirty knots. These arrived off Port Said five hours later, meeting Commander Michael Barkai who was already on station with two boats. By that time, the counterattack in the Sinai had failed and the Egyptian boats did not leave the port.
Barkai and Admiral Binyamin Telem decided to lure the Egyptians out by shelling coastal targets along the Nile delta
. At 9:00 PM, just as they began doing this, they detected targets to the west. The Israeli boats charged at forty knots, but after about thirty minutes it turned out that they had been chasing electronic shadows. Halting to regroup, Barkai asked his ships to report the state of their fuel and munitions supply. The boat he was on, INS Miznak, and three others, were very low on fuel. He contemplated a return to Haifa, but eventually decided to send back the ones that were low on fuel and remain on site with the rest. As he was moving from the Miznak to INS Herev, four Osa class missile boat
s were detected coming out of Alexandria, heading east. When Barkai climbed aboard the Herev, he ordered his force to move toward Alexandria.
sunk six years earlier); and one missileless Sa'ar 1-class missile boat, INS Misgav. At 11:00 PM, Barkai formed his boats into three pairs, moving in parallel lines across a broad front. The northern pair included the Reshef and the Keshet, the central pair the Eilat and the Misgav, and the southern pair the Herev and the Soufa. At this point, the Osas did not appear on the radar or the long-range electronic sensors, and it was not clear if they were moving toward the Israeli force.
Close to midnight, Barkai took the southern pair to shell targets at Damietta
on the delta. As they prepared to fire, their ESM detected something off Baltim
, to the west. Barkai ordered the northern pair to disperse long-distance chaff
to his north, to see if that would draw fire. After a few moments, the chaff cloud was targeted by missiles from the west. The Sa'ar boats switched on their electronic defenses and opened full throttle, while Barkai decided not to call for help from the Israeli Air Force
.
s was twenty-five kilometers, forming a 20 km gap the Israelis hoped to bridge unharmed using their Electronic Warfare
equipment which offered the Styx missiles more targets than were available. At 12:15 AM, the sensors detected an Egyptian missile launch at a range of forty-eight kilometers. After two minutes, these missiles exploded harmlessly in the sea. The Egyptians continued their advance and fired three more salvos in the following ten minutes, their fire aimed mostly at the chaff cloud dispersed by the northern Israeli pair. After firing their last barrage at a range of thirty kilometers, the Osas made a figure-eight maneuver and began speeding back to Alexandria, with the Sa'ars giving chase. Barkai warned his commanders not to fire at any range longer than seventeen kilometers. His calculations suggested that they could catch the slower Osas before they reach the port.
After a twenty-five minute chase, INS Keshet entered the seventeen kilometer range and fired a missile which hit an Osa. At this point, Keshet's engine room began taking water from a burst pipe. Firing off another missile, Keshet stopped two kilometers from the damaged Osa while INS Misgav closed in and hit it with gunfire. Meanwhile, INS Reshef fired and hit the second Osa, while INS Eilat also fired one. The Reshef charged at the damaged Osa and sank it with gunfire. The southern pair of Osas split, one of which was then hit and came to a standstill, although it did not sink. The Herev and the Soufa fired dozens of shells into the Osa before discovering that it had in fact run aground. The other Osa headed west toward Alexandria, and got out of range. The Reshef was closest to it and began chasing the Osa, but the weapons officer reported an electrical malfunction preventing a missile launch. INS Reshef kept pursuing, hoping to reach gun range, but Barkai noticed that it was breaking away from the rest of the force and was getting dangerously close to the coast. Fearing it would be vulnerable to air attacks, he ordered it to withdraw. The commander of the Reshef asked for a few more minutes, but eventually rejoined the force.
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
. It took place off the Nile delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
, between Baltim
Baltim
Baltim or Balteem is a resort in Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate, in the north of Egypt....
and Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
. The battle erupted when six Israeli Sa'ar class missile boats heading toward Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
were engaged by four Egyptian Osa class missile boat
Osa class missile boat
The Project 205 Tsunami, more commonly known by their NATO reporting name Osa, are a class of missile boats developed for the Soviet Navy in the early 1960s. The Osas are probably the most numerous class of missile boats ever built, with over 400 vessels constructed for both the Soviet Navy and for...
s coming from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. It lasted about forty minutes. The Osas fired Styx missiles, missed, and begun withdrawing back to Alexandria when the Israelis began to give chase. Two Osas were sunk by Gabriel missile
Gabriel missile
Gabriel missiles, created by Israel Aircraft Industries, are a range of anti-ship missiles that use the technique of sea-skimming.- Origin :...
s within a span of 10 minutes, and a third was sunk twenty-five minutes later. The fourth made it back to base.
Background
On October 8, the third day of the war, the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
launched a counterattack in the Sinai in an attempt to push the Egyptian Army
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...
back across the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. Israeli naval command expected ground pressure on Port Said to prompt a withdrawal of Egyptian naval assets from the local harbor to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, 110 miles to the west. A flotilla of Israeli missile boats was therefore ordered to proceed to Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
. The boats, having just arrived back in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
after the Battle of Latakia
Battle of Latakia
The Battle of Latakia was a small but revolutionary naval battle of the Yom Kippur War, fought on 7 October 1973, between Israel and Syria. It was the first naval battle in history to see combat between surface-to-surface missile-equipped missile boats and the use of electronic deception.At the...
, had not yet completed refueling. Nevertheless, within twenty-five minutes eight boats were heading south at thirty knots. These arrived off Port Said five hours later, meeting Commander Michael Barkai who was already on station with two boats. By that time, the counterattack in the Sinai had failed and the Egyptian boats did not leave the port.
Barkai and Admiral Binyamin Telem decided to lure the Egyptians out by shelling coastal targets along the Nile delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
. At 9:00 PM, just as they began doing this, they detected targets to the west. The Israeli boats charged at forty knots, but after about thirty minutes it turned out that they had been chasing electronic shadows. Halting to regroup, Barkai asked his ships to report the state of their fuel and munitions supply. The boat he was on, INS Miznak, and three others, were very low on fuel. He contemplated a return to Haifa, but eventually decided to send back the ones that were low on fuel and remain on site with the rest. As he was moving from the Miznak to INS Herev, four Osa class missile boat
Osa class missile boat
The Project 205 Tsunami, more commonly known by their NATO reporting name Osa, are a class of missile boats developed for the Soviet Navy in the early 1960s. The Osas are probably the most numerous class of missile boats ever built, with over 400 vessels constructed for both the Soviet Navy and for...
s were detected coming out of Alexandria, heading east. When Barkai climbed aboard the Herev, he ordered his force to move toward Alexandria.
Prelude
Barkai had two Sa'ar 4-class missile boats, INS Reshef and INS Keshet; two Sa'ar 3-class missile boats, INS Soufa and INS Herev; one Sa'ar 2-class missile boats, INS Eilat (named after the INS EilatINS Eilat
INS Eilat may refer to:* USCGC Northland , a cruising class gunboat, commissioned into the Israel Navy in 1948 as INS Eilat and scrapped in 1962...
sunk six years earlier); and one missileless Sa'ar 1-class missile boat, INS Misgav. At 11:00 PM, Barkai formed his boats into three pairs, moving in parallel lines across a broad front. The northern pair included the Reshef and the Keshet, the central pair the Eilat and the Misgav, and the southern pair the Herev and the Soufa. At this point, the Osas did not appear on the radar or the long-range electronic sensors, and it was not clear if they were moving toward the Israeli force.
Close to midnight, Barkai took the southern pair to shell targets at Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
on the delta. As they prepared to fire, their ESM detected something off Baltim
Baltim
Baltim or Balteem is a resort in Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate, in the north of Egypt....
, to the west. Barkai ordered the northern pair to disperse long-distance chaff
Chaff (radar countermeasure)
Chaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the Second World War era German Luftwaffe , is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallized glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...
to his north, to see if that would draw fire. After a few moments, the chaff cloud was targeted by missiles from the west. The Sa'ar boats switched on their electronic defenses and opened full throttle, while Barkai decided not to call for help from the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
.
Battle
The Israeli battle line was banana-shaped, with the northern pair positioned further forward from the rest. Two pairs of Osas were moving towards the Israeli force but were still outside the forty-five kilometer range of their Styx missiles. The range of the Israelis' Gabriel missileGabriel missile
Gabriel missiles, created by Israel Aircraft Industries, are a range of anti-ship missiles that use the technique of sea-skimming.- Origin :...
s was twenty-five kilometers, forming a 20 km gap the Israelis hoped to bridge unharmed using their Electronic Warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
equipment which offered the Styx missiles more targets than were available. At 12:15 AM, the sensors detected an Egyptian missile launch at a range of forty-eight kilometers. After two minutes, these missiles exploded harmlessly in the sea. The Egyptians continued their advance and fired three more salvos in the following ten minutes, their fire aimed mostly at the chaff cloud dispersed by the northern Israeli pair. After firing their last barrage at a range of thirty kilometers, the Osas made a figure-eight maneuver and began speeding back to Alexandria, with the Sa'ars giving chase. Barkai warned his commanders not to fire at any range longer than seventeen kilometers. His calculations suggested that they could catch the slower Osas before they reach the port.
After a twenty-five minute chase, INS Keshet entered the seventeen kilometer range and fired a missile which hit an Osa. At this point, Keshet's engine room began taking water from a burst pipe. Firing off another missile, Keshet stopped two kilometers from the damaged Osa while INS Misgav closed in and hit it with gunfire. Meanwhile, INS Reshef fired and hit the second Osa, while INS Eilat also fired one. The Reshef charged at the damaged Osa and sank it with gunfire. The southern pair of Osas split, one of which was then hit and came to a standstill, although it did not sink. The Herev and the Soufa fired dozens of shells into the Osa before discovering that it had in fact run aground. The other Osa headed west toward Alexandria, and got out of range. The Reshef was closest to it and began chasing the Osa, but the weapons officer reported an electrical malfunction preventing a missile launch. INS Reshef kept pursuing, hoping to reach gun range, but Barkai noticed that it was breaking away from the rest of the force and was getting dangerously close to the coast. Fearing it would be vulnerable to air attacks, he ordered it to withdraw. The commander of the Reshef asked for a few more minutes, but eventually rejoined the force.