History
The origins of Israeli Navy lay at the end of 1920s with the founding of the Yarkon and Zvulun marine sports clubs. In 1938, encouraged by the Jewish Agency , Dr. Shlomo Bardin founded the Marine High School in Bosmat, the Technion's Junior Technical College. 1943 witnessed the founding of the Palyam , the naval branch of the Palmach , whose training was undertaken at the maritime school. The Jewish merchant marine was also raised, operating the SS Tel-Aviv and cargo ships such as the Atid.In 1942, eleven hundred Haganah volunteers joined the Royal Navy , mostly in technical roles (12 of them were officers by the nomination agreement of the Jewish Agency with the Royal Navy). A few reached sea service and combat service. Two of them served with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), one of which was Edmond Wilhelm Brillant . With the end of the Second World War, Palyam members took part in clandestine immigration activities, bringing Europe's Jews to Palestine, as well as commando actions against Royal Navy deportation ships. Royal Navy volunteers, meanwhile, rejoined the Hagana.
During the last months of British Mandate in Palestine, the former Royal Navy volunteers started working on the captured clandestine immigration ships (known as the Fleet of Shadows) in Haifa harbor, salvaged a few and pressed them into service. These were to become the Navy's first ships and saw service in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence .
With the founding of the IDF in early 1948, the Israeli Navy was therefore formed from a core of the following personnel:
- Royal Navy Volunteers with the technical skills and discipline acquired from the Royal Navy, though with no active sea service and experience on Royal Navy Ships.
- Palyam members who had led the clandestine and immigration effort, but had no sea background in navigation or leading a ship into a battle. The captains of clandestine and immigration ships were Greek and Italian, while Palyam personnel were commanding the ship under instructions from the Haganah. Ike Aharonowitch, captain of the Exodus and a Jew, was the exception rather than the rule.
- Merchant Marine captains and chief engineers, possessing navigation skills but lacking combat skills.
- Jewish volunteers from the US Navy and Royal Navy, such as Commander Paul Shulman of the USN, and Commanders Solomon and Allen Burk of the Royal Navy. These, however, were often discriminated against and their experience wasted by a navy command that was based on the Palmach and its various branches. This resulted in odd situations where unskilled officers from the Palyam were in command of far more experienced naval officers.
The Israeli Navy suffered from a lack of professional command during its early days . Gershon Zak, head of the IDF "Sea Service", was a teacher and bureaucrat without any relevant experience. Having never been recruited into the IDF, Zak was a civilian and had no official rank. The early days of the Israeli Navy were therefore characterized by political infighting, as many groups and individuals jockeyed for power. Palyam politics blocked the nomination of Paul Shulman (a USN Jewish Officer with a rank of Commander who volunteered to the Israeli Navy) as Navy-Commander in Chief and he resigned in 1949. The first Navy-Commander in Chief awarded the rank of Aluf was Shlomo Shamir.
The conclusion of the 1948 war afforded the navy the time to build up its strength. Beginning in the early 1950s the navy purchased Frigates, Torpedo Boats, Destroyers and eventually Submarines. The material build-up was accompanied by the training of Israeli Navy officers in Royal Navy academies in the UK and Malta, as well as in France.
Bases
- Haifa – Missile Boats Flotilla, the Submarine Flotilla, Patrol Boats Squadron 914.
- The emblem of the Haifa naval base is two arrows – one signifying the Missile Boats Flotilla and the other the Submarine Flotilla.
- Atlit – home to Shayetet 13 , the navy's elite commando unit.
- Ashdod – mainly a base for Patrol Boats Squadron 916.
- The emblem of the Ashdod naval base is two opposing arrows.
- Eilat – Patrol Boats Squadron 915.
- Eilat naval base was founded in 1951 and has been responsible for the Israeli Navy's Red Sea theater since 1981, when the Red Sea Naval Command Center was withdrawn from Sharm el-Sheikh in accordance with the Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty.
- The emblem of the Eilat naval base represents the red roofs of Eilat.
- The Naval Training base – located in Haifa , contains the submarine operations school, the missile boat operations school and the naval command school. The naval training base also functions as the Israeli Naval Academy .
- The emblem of the Haifa training base is an owl, symbolizing wisdom and hard learning.
- Mamtam – IT, processing and computing.
- Mamtam is a small unit responsible for all Israeli Navy signal and IT systems, both logistic and operational. The soldiers that serve there are mainly programmers and university graduates in engineering, computer science and other technological professions.
- Naval Shipyards
- Navy Headquarters – HaKirya , Tel Aviv.
Forces
3rd Flotilla
The Missile Boats Flotilla, based at Haifa.- 34th Anti-Submarine Squadron פלגה נגד צוללות (ShaNeTz = shayetet neged tzolalot)
Unit's objectives
- Protecting Israeli commerce at sea from foreign fleets.
- Preventing a possible naval blockade of Israeli ports during wartime.
- Blockading enemy ports at wartime.
7th Flotilla
The Submarine Flotilla, an elite volunteer unit founded in 1959.13th Flotilla
Shayetet 13 , or Flotilla 13, is an elite naval commando unit which specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism , sabotage operations, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding . It is among the most highly trained and secretive units in the Israeli military.YALTAM 707
Salvage and underwater works unit. Formed as the damage control branch of the Navy Shipyards, the unit later incorporated experienced Flotilla-13 divers.Intelligence
The Corps' relies on its Naval Intelligence Division for naval intelligence .Present Fleet
Corvettes
Sa'ar 5-class
- INS Eilat (Eilat, 1994) – Active
- INS Lahav (Blade, 1994) – Active
- INS Hanit (Spear, 1995) – Active
Missile boats
Sa'ar 4.5-class
- INS Romach, pronounced [ʁomaχ] (Lance, 1981) – Active
- INS Keshet (Bow, 1982) – Active
- INS Hetz, pronounced [ˈχet͡s] (Arrow, 1991) – Active
- INS Kidon (Javelin, 1995) (Sa'ar 4-class built in 1974 and converted to Saar 4.5 class in 1994) – Active
- INS Tarshish (1995) – (Sa'ar 4-class built in 1975 and converted to Saar 4.5 class in 1998) – Active
- INS Yaffo (Jaffa, 1998) (Sa'ar 4-class built in 1975 and converted to Saar 4.5 class in 1998) – Active
- INS Herev, pronounced [χeʁev] (Sword, 2002) – Active
- INS Sufa (Storm, 2003) – Active
Sa'ar 4-class
- INS Nitzachon (Victory, 1978) – Active
- INS Atzmaut (Independence, 1979) – Active
Submarines
Dolphin class
- INS Dolphin (1999)
- INS Livyathan (Whale, 1999)
- INS Tekumah (Revival, 2000)
Dolphin class AIP-capable
In 2005 Israel ordered two submarines, which are to be delivered in 2011 and 2012. These two new boats are similar to the highly advanced German U212 submarine and feature an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system. Israel is currently discussing a possible third submarine with Germany. In 2011, Israel placed an order for a sixth Dolphin submarine to be built in coming years, for which it will pay $1 billion.Future
In a radical revamp of its surface fleet modernization program, the Israel Navy has shelved long-held plans to purchase Lockheed Martin-produced Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) due to their ever-rising cost estimate, as well as exercising a fallback option involving corvettes built by Northrop Grumman. Instead, sources say, the Navy is pushing to establish a combat shipbuilding industry through customized, locally built versions of a German corvette design. Currently in an exploration phase, the concept calls for a stretched, approximately 2,200-ton version of the MEKO A-100 built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), the Hamburg-based consortium building two Dolphin-class submarines for the Israel Navy. Countries that are building or now operating the 1,650-ton German-designed corvette include Malaysia and Poland. If carried out, the ships would likely be built locally by Israel Shipyards (which built the Sa'ar 4.5 class and earlier INS ships), with IAI acting as prime systems integrator.The Israeli Navy also plans to buy four more Super Dvora and two Shaldag patrol boats, and has ordered two additional submarines, and is discussing with Germany the possibility of a third. The Navy is also building up an amphibious assault capability to deliver battalion-sized infantry forces and is in discussion with the Ground Forces Command to decide which battalions will be trained in landing operations.
The Navy is considering buying two large ships which would be specifically designed for the navy's needs, and which would be outfitted with electronic warfare devices, radar, and weapons systems. Israel planned to order each ship for $300 million from the German shipbuilding company Blohm + Voss. After the United Arab Emirates-owned Mar group announced that it would buy the majority of shares in the company, the Israeli defense establishment began to look into the potential outcomes of buying ships from an Arab-owned company. It is being reported that Israel is now leaning towards producing 2 modified versions of the Sa'ar 5-class corvette domestically.
