It was the first confrontation between American and Russian planes... the longest Mansoura battle after World War II

CAIRO - The

seventy-

woman Souad recounts from the stories of the October war between Egypt and Israel in 1973, that she witnessed the battle of warplanes in the sky of the village of "Miniyat al-Nasr" near the city of Mansoura in the Delta of Egypt, where the sky was ignited by missiles and strikes between Egyptian aircraft. And the Israeli days after the success of the Egyptian forces in crossing the Suez Canal.

She adds that she heard what the farmers circulated about the fall of an Israeli plane in the corn fields, and that the farmers rushed to capture the surviving Israeli pilot, and that they took him and handed him to the police station in the city.

This battle, which the Egyptian lady remembers, is the most important Egyptian air battle, which later became a holiday for the Egyptian Air Force. On October 14, 1973, Israel tried to penetrate the Egyptian depth, aspiring to strike the Egyptian airports in the depth as it did in the June 1967 war.

On that day, an air raid was launched from 120 Israeli F-4 Phantom and A-4 Skyhawk fighter jets, with the aim of destroying the Egyptian aircraft bases in the Nile Delta in Mansoura, Tanta and Salhiya, to be confronted by the Egyptian Air Force, consisting of 62 Egyptian fighter planes. Only, a fierce air battle took place between the two sides that lasted for about 53 minutes.

According to the official Al-Ahram newspaper, Radio Cairo broadcast statement No. 39 at ten in the evening, and it included that “today there were several air battles between our air forces and enemy aircraft that tried to attack our forces and our airports, and the most violent of which was the battle that took place this afternoon over the northern Delta, during which the enemy was destroyed.” 18 planes and 3 planes hit us."

Did Mubarak suggest this day as a holiday?

Former President Hosni Mubarak - the commander of the Air Force during the October War - tells that Mansoura Airport was very important, and was a leading center for Egyptian aircraft, and that coordination took place with the Air Defense to confront the Israeli air attack that was monitored, and the formations of the Air Force were ready and confronted the Israeli aircraft, which did not He succeeds in crossing the Mansoura sky after that.

Mubarak adds - in a television interview - that he was the one who suggested considering October 14 as a holiday for the Air Force, as the largest air battle that took place.

Major General Pilot Nasr Moussa - who participated in the air battle - considers that the continuation of the 53-minute fighting is a miracle, explaining that it is natural that the battles in the air do not last more than a few minutes.

During a video clip on a social networking account specializing in Egyptian military history, Moussa pointed out that the efficiency of the Egyptian pilots made the Israelis aware of the abundance of Egyptian planes, despite their small number compared to the Israeli planes.

Mubarak is not the leader

 The battle was led by Lieutenant-General Mahmoud Shaker Abdel Moneim, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, who "deliberately obliterated his history by Mubarak", according to Al-Ahram newspaper, as it was promoted during the years of Mubarak's rule that the air strike was the most important reason for the October victory, and the Mansoura battle was also attributed to Mubarak.

Al-Ahram recounts the heroism of one of the Egyptian pilots, Muhammad Reda Abdel Hamid Saqr, known as “Rida Saqr,” who was able to shoot down two “Phantom” planes for the Israeli forces. On his arrival, he was surprised by 8 Israeli "Phantom" planes attacking the airport in two formations.

Saqr tells - in press statements - that he dealt with the last plane of the last squadron, as he was taking the attack position on the corridor, and added, "I hit it with a missile and hit it directly, then the second plane was destroyed, and what happened was a miracle because the Phantom plane has very great capabilities compared to the MiG." which I was driving.

global interest

Samir Farag, the former military and director of moral affairs in the armed forces, tells that during his military studies in England, a joint training project was organized with the British Air War Staff College for a week, to learn about the methods of fighting the Air Force, only to be surprised that they were studying the Mansoura air battle.

Farag says in his article in Al-Ahram newspaper that he felt more proud while listening to the West's view of this battle, which is presented by the largest college specialized in military aviation in the world.

The former Egyptian military explains that the scientific circles around the world are interested in this battle, because it is the first time that direct air combat has taken place between Russian and Western planes, and modern electronic weapons have been used, such as jamming aircraft radars.

It also highlighted the efficiency of the ground guidance elements, and the efficiency of the ground crews, especially on the Egyptian side, which succeeded in completing their mission to the fullest, such as refueling and re-arming Egyptian aircraft, and ensuring the technical safety of the aircraft throughout the duration of the fighting.