The Boats of Cherbourg: The Navy That Stole Its Own Boats and Revolutionized Naval Warfare, Paperback/Abraham Rabinovich

Name: The Boats of Cherbourg: The Navy That Stole Its Own Boats and Revolutionized Naval Warfare, Paperback/Abraham Rabinovich
Brand: Independently Published
Price: 123.99 RON
Availability: InStock

123,99 lei

✔ În stoc la elefant.ro

Vezi oferta la elefant.ro

Preț actualizat: 2026-06-05 · link afiliat

Descriere & specificații

REVISED EDITION 2019 On Christmas eve 1969, five small boats slipped out of Cherbourg harbor after midnight into the teeth of a Force Nine gale that sent freighters scurrying for cover. The boats, ordered by Israel from a local shipyard, had been embargoed for more than a year for political reasons by France. In a brazen caper, the Israelis were now running off with them. The vessels would be refueled at sea by Israeli merchant ships spaced along the 3,000-mile escape route. As the boats raced for home and Paris fumed, the world media chortled at Israel's hutspa. But the story was far bigger than they knew.Eight years before, the commander of the Israeli navy had assembled senior officers for a brainstorming session. Israel's aging fleet faced downgrading to a coast guard unless it was capable of guarding Israel's sea lanes. Given the navy's minimal budget, what were the options? A desperate proposal emerged from the two-day meeting. Israel's fledgling military industries had developed a crude missile which had been rejected by both the army and air force. The navy would now try adapting it. Guided missiles with large warheads, it was hoped, could give small, inexpensive, boats the punch of heavy cruisers. No such vessel existed in the West. A dozen innocuous-looking "patrol boats" were ordered in Cherbourg to serve as platforms for the complex new weapon system taking shape in the minds of the navy command. Seven boats sailed for Israel before the embargo was clamped down. T