INS Sufa
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INS
Sufa was one of five missile boats of the Sa'ar3 class
Israel had to "steal" from France in 1969, despite these
boats already had been paid for. In the 1960s Israel
modernized her small navy, and ordered twelve missile
boats from Germany. Three of these were delivered,
and the rest was to be built in Cherbourg. In 1967
President De Gaulle introduced an embargo after tensions
between Lebanon and Israel, and the boats were held back.
Israel solved this by making a false Norwegian shipping
company, registered in Panama, who wished to buy the
boats. This deal was no problem for France and at night
24.December 1969 the boats steamed out of Cherbourg
harbor, all manned by Israeli crew. Sufa was in service
from 1969 to 1988 in the Israeli Navy. In 1994 she was
scuttled as an artificial reef. The wreck rest today on a
depth of 23 meter approx 60 meter outside the marina at
Village Beach in Eilat.
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Picture : Sa'ar3 class boats on maneuver Originally from skovheim.org  Last updated: May 2018 |
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