Operation Nickel Grass
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| Photo courtesy of USAF: An M60 is being unloaded during Operation Nickel Grass. |
US commences operation Nickel Grass.
Following a massive Soviet airlift to Egypt and Syria which began on October 10, President Nixon orders an immediate airlift to Israel which suffered a loss of military equipment due to the coordinated surprise attack at the beginning of the war.
On the morning of October 14, the first American C-5 Galaxy Aircraft touches down in Israel and marks the beginning of operation Nickel Grass.
In the course of the 31 days long operation, US aircrafts flew into Israel a total of 22,000 tons of equipment in 567 missions - an average of one aircraft landing every hour and a half around the clock.
