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Shayetet 7

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Shayetet 7 is the only submarine flotilla of the Israeli Navy. It is based in Haifa naval base and operates Dolphin-class submarines. It was established in 1959 and is considered an elite unit due to the nature of its services.

7th Flotilla
שייטת הצוללות
Coat of arms of Shayetet 7
Active1959–present
Country Israel
Branch Israeli Navy
TypeSubmarine flotilla
Size6 submarines and 300 personnel
Part of Israeli Navy
Garrison/HQHaifa naval base
Nickname(s)700 Club
EngagementsSix Day War
1982 Lebanon War
Sudan strikes
Syrian Civil War
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Uri
Notable
commanders		#Commanders

Nature of service

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The service in the submarine fleet is difficult, challenging and often far from the country's borders, so the submarine crews have to be very cohesive. Another derivative of the great distance from the country's borders is that the submarine crew is operationally competent and ready for war at any time.[1]

Every operational mission of the submarine has a military doctor and a medic on board who have undergone special training to treat the wounded, including dealing with a multi-casualty incidents, deep under the surface of the water. In the absence of an emergency, the doctor who joins any operational mission also carries an intelligence role for everything, in which he is engaged throughout the mission as one of the combatants.[2]

The unit's objectives include

Fleet

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Class Photo Boats Commission year Origin Notes
Dolphin class   INS Dolphin, [do̞lˈfin] (Dolphin)

INS Livyathan, [livjaˈtan] (Whale)

INS Tekumah, [tkuˈma] (Revival)

1999

1999

2000

  Germany

Expected to be replaced with the Dakar-class submarines starting in the early 2030s

AIP Dolphin 2 class   INS Tanin, [taˈnin] (Crocodile)

INS Rahav, [ˈʁahav] (Rahab)

INS Drakon, [dʁaˈko̞n] (Dragon)

2012

2014

2023?

  Germany

History

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Previous logo of the flotilla till 2023

Establishment

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Two used S-class submarines were purchased from the Royal Navy . These submarines were built in World War II, and refurbished in England for the Israeli Navy. An Israeli team that went through a training period in France and the United Kingdom under British supervision was the crew for the first submarine. The flotilla was established on December 16, 1959, when INS Tanin (C-71) entered the port of Haifa.[4] The second submarine, INS Rahav (C-73), arrived at the shores of Israel in July 1960.[5]

Six Day War

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During the Six Day War, the flotilla participated in the Operation Alexandria in which Tanin led six fighters from Shayetet 13 into action in the port of Alexandria . While waiting to collect the divers, the submarine was attacked by an Egyptian vessel and damaged. The next day she returned to the meeting place to collect but the divers had already been captured by the Egyptians.[6][7] Multiple civilian ships were destroyed in this operation.

Arrival of T submarines

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In 1965, Israel purchased three T-class submarines from the Royal Navy: Leviathan,[8] Decker, and Dolphin.[9] The T-class submarines were larger and more sophisticated than the S-class submarines, but they were also outdated submarines from the World War II period that had undergone a process of upgrade and renovation. The submarines arrived after the Six Day War.

Sinking of INS Dakkar

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A submarine of the flotilla, INS Dakkar, sunk on January 25, 1968, on its way from Britain to Israel and all 69 members of its crew perished. The remains of the submarine and the place where it sank were only discovered in 1999.[10][11]

Yom Kippur War

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The flotilla did not take part in the Yom Kippur War due to maintenance issues.

Introduction of Gal-class submarines

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The Gal-class submarines entered the service in the flotilla in the late 1970s, these small but agile and sophisticated submarines were continuously upgraded with newer systems to maintain their technological edge. They were somewhat unusual in that all boats of the class were at equipped with six-tube retractable Blowpipe surface-to-air missile launchers controlled from inside the boat, though these were later removed.[12]

1982 Lebanon War

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The flotilla participated in the 1982 Lebanon War and carried out Operation Dreyfus which was a military operation to locate and identify enemy ships using submarines . In June 1982, during the operation, an Israeli Navy submarine hit a civilian ship carrying refugees, due to the suspicion that they were terrorists. 25 people were killed in the incident.[13]

Introduction of Dolphin-class submarines

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Starting from 1999, the Dolphin-class submarines have continued to serve the Israeli Navy as a part of the flotilla and are expected to continue their service till 2030.[citation needed]

Sudan airstrikes

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In November–December 2011 two Israeli air raids against Gaza-bound weapon smugglers in Sudan were accompanied by Israeli submarine activity off the Sudanese coast.[14][15]

Syrian civil war

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On July 5, 2013, during the Syrian civil war, an Israeli missile strike against the Syrian port of Latakia was made in coordination with the United States, with long-range missiles launched from a Dolphin-class submarine. The attack targeted newly unloaded Russian-made Yakhont long-range high-performance anti-ship missiles and associated radars.[16][17][18]

Commanders

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Meeting of the former commanders of the flotilla in 2019
Photo[19] Name Period of office Comments
  Yosef Dror April 1959 to April 1963 First Commander
  Hadar Kimchi April 1963 - May 1968
  Abraham Dror 1968 - August 1972 Recipient of the Medal of Courage for his role in Operation Alexandria
  Gideon Raz June 1972 - August 1973
  Leshem Berg 1973 - 1976
  Gideon Raz January - October 1977 Second term of office
  Doron Amir October 1977 - April 1980
  Shaul Horev May 1980 - June 1983
  Michael Kisari June 1983 - July 1987
  Haim Kfir-Kopert July 1987 - July 1990
  Nir Maor 1990 - 1992
  David Luria July 1992 - March 1996
  Uri Distnik 1996 - 1998
  Yoval Tzur 1998 - 2001
  Eyal Ben-Zion 2001 - 2004
  Yonathan Vert 2004 - 2006
  Amit Farber 2006 - 2008
  Oded Gur Lavi 2008 - 2011
  Gil Aginsky-Peretz 2011 - 2015
Col. Doron 2015 - 2016
Col. Assaf 2016 - 2019
Col. Guy July 2019 - July 2021
Col. Uri July 25, 2021 - Current commander of the flotilla

References

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  1. ^ "שייטת 7 |אתר". navy.idf.il. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  2. ^ "כשלוחם נפגע בצוללת: לחלץ או להמשיך במשימה?". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Israel seeks sixth Dolphin in light of Iranian 'threat'". Jane’s. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  4. ^ "חרות⁩, 17 דצמבר 1959⁩ — החללה תניד 1_הל31לה בחיפה _דחקח [⁨כתבה⁩]" (in Hebrew). 17 December 1959. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  5. ^ "דבר⁩, 16 יוני 1960⁩ — "רהב‭'‬ הגיעה לחיפה [⁨כתבה⁩]" (in Hebrew). 16 July 1960. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ^ "אל"מ פסח מלובני – היבט מצרי על פעולת אלכסנדריה במלחמת ששת הימים". moreshetyamit (in Hebrew). Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  7. ^ Slomo Arel. Before the sea. p. 269.
  8. ^ https://yehida.co.il/?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=14%2F
  9. ^ "מתגייסים ליחידה" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Report of the Tal committee on the sinking of the Dakar Report of an investigative committee headed by Major General Israel Tal and its members Col. Moshe Gedron and Lt. Col. Alexander Shor. The report was delivered to the Chief of the General Staff, Major General Yitzhak Rabin ," (PDF). March 1968. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  11. ^ "The report on the loss of Achi Dekar issued by the commander of the navy, Colonel Shlomo Aral, to the Chief of the General Staff" (PDF). March 1, 1968. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  12. ^ "WaffenHQ: Blowpipe". www.whq-forum.de. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  13. ^ "הדבר הנכון בנוגע ל"מבצע דרייפוס" הוא להודות באחריות ולשלם פיצויים". Maariv. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  14. ^ Issacharoff, Avi; Harel, Amos (25 December 2011). "Reports in Sudan: Israel struck two weapons convoys in past month". Haaretz. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  15. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna; Katz, Yaakov (25 December 2011). "Sudanese media report on Israeli air strikes". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  16. ^ "US to media: Israel struck Latakia arsenal last week. Will Putin and Assad make good on threats of reprisal?". Archived from the original on 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  17. ^ Benari, Elad (14 July 2013). "Report: Israel Struck in Syria from the Sea". Israelnationalnews.com. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Report: Israeli submarine strike hit Syrian arms depot". The Jerusalem Post. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  19. ^ ^
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