HÀNH QUÂN NICKEL GLASS 

Vào ngày 12/12, Nixon quyết định ko thể trì hoản nửa, và ra lịnh không quân sẽ 'gửi những gì mà họ chở được'. Trong vòng 9 giờ, các máy bay C-141 và C-5 lên đường tới Israel.

Các nước Âu châu hầu như ko muốn máy bay Mỹ ghé qua, trừ Bồ đào nha - cho phép Mỹ dùng sân bay Lajes trên đảo Azores. Các máy bay C-135 của KQ chiến lược Mỹ rời căn cứ Pease, bang New Hampshire đêm 13/10; các máy bay này (chỡ các máy bay A-4 Skyhawk và F-4 Phantom mới xuất xưởng) đã bay ko nghỉ từ nhà máy ở St Louis, Missouri tới phi cảng Ben Gurion của Israel. Để tuân thủ các yêu cầu của các nước Âu châu khác, hàng tiếp liệu của Mỹ có sẵn ở Âu châu đc chuyển tới sân bay Lajes của BDN, và chẳng bao lâu mỗi ngày hơn 30 máy bay di chuyển qua Lajes.

. . .

Từ đảo Azores của BDN tới Israel, máy bay phải bay ở giữa Địa trung hải để tới Israel. Các chiến đấu cơ của hạm đội 6 hộ tống chúng tới cách Isreal 240 km, sau đó máy bay Israel hộ tống tới sân bay Ben Gurion. Chiếc C-5 A Galaxy đầu tiên tới sân bay Lod lúc 18.30 giờ địa phương ngày 14.10.73. Cùng ngày trận Sinai kết thúc với thắng lợi của Israel.. .

Trong những ngày đầu của cuộc chiến Yom Kippur, một số đáng kể máy bay Israel bị hủy diệt vì hỏa tiển đối không SA-6 của LX. Do đó ít nhứt 100 F-4 Phantom đc gửi tới Israel. Chúng bay tới sân bay Lod, nơi mà chúng đc giao lại cho phi công Israel. Sau khi gở huy hiệu của kq Mỹ và thay bằng của Israel, máy bay đc tiếp xăng và ra ngay mặt trận, thường chỉ vài giờ sau khi đến Israel. Một số chiếc còn màu ngụy trang của kq Mỹ, trừ huy hiệu của Israel. 9 ngày sau khi bị tấn công, Israel đã phản công.

còn tiếp

Operation

Initially, only the Israeli national airline, El Al, provided transport, and supplies began to arrive in Israel on 10 October, the same day the first Soviet resupply by air arrived in Damascus. Nonetheless, it was soon clear that El Al's limited supply of ill-configured passenger aircraft were insufficient//. Still wanting to avoid direct US involvement, starting 10 October, the use of commercial carriers was explored to provide 10–20 flights a day.[3]:112 None of these were willing to accept the job for fear of being refused entry to Arab nations after the war.[1][9] On 12 October, Nixon decided that no more delays could be allowed, and ordered the air force to "send everything that can fly."// Within nine hours, C-141s and C-5s were en route to Israel.[1] The political maneuvering was not immediately solved by the air force's participation however: traditional European allies refused to allow re-supply aircraft to land for refueling or even overfly their territory. Portugal seemed willing to help though, so aircraft were dispatched to Lajes Field in the Azores Islands/// After a few hours in the air, word came through that Portugal would permit them to land, and Lajes became a key staging point for the rest of the airlift. Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135As were the first to arrive at Lajes Air Base/// . The Stratotankers had left Pease AFB, New Hampshire, the night of Saturday, 13 October (one of the bases El Al was using to re-supply the war effort); the tankers were ferrying factory-fresh Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft flying non-stop from the factory in St. Louis, Missouri to Ben Gurion Airport. To comply with the demands of other European nations, even U.S. supplies already stationed in Europe were routed through Lajes, and soon over thirty aircraft per day were moving through Lajes. To accommodate this, the base grew to house an extra 1,300 people who were billeted in improvised housing and hastily reactivated World War II barracks, rooms that would normally accommodate one or two enlisted men were expanded to four (2 bunk-beds).[10]

Between Portugal and Israel, the aircraft had to follow an extremely precise route. Flying exactly along the airspace border between hostile Arab nations to the south and European nations to the north, the transport craft flew down the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to Israel.[1] Fighter escort was deemed necessary for this leg of the journey, so American fighters from the U.S. 6th Fleet escorted the transports to within 150 miles (240 km) of Israel, where Israeli Air Force Phantoms and Mirages escorted them into Ben Gurion Airport. Along the Mediterranean route, American ships were stationed every 300 miles (480 km), and an aircraft carrier every 600 miles (970 km). These precautions appeared justified when unidentified Arab fighters made threats over the radio, but no conflict ensued. Upon arrival, the transports were unloaded by U.S. and Israeli servicemen before they returned home and supplies were expedited to the front where they arrived within a few hours. The first C-5A Galaxy transport airplane arrived at Lod airport at 18:30 local time on 14 October.[3]:114 That same day the Battle of the Sinai had concluded in Israel's favor. A major Egyptian thrust had been stopped with the destruction of many attacking tanks, and Israel was now winning the war.[2]:87–88

An A-4E landing on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in October 1973.

Airlifted supplies were not all that was delivered under Nickel Grass. In the opening days of the war, Arab forces destroyed significant numbers of Israeli Air Force aircraft, surprising the Israelis with aggressive use of the new Soviet SA-6 Gainful surface-to-air missile.[11] Consequently, at least 100 F-4 Phantom II fighters were sent to Israel under Nickel Grass,[12] coming from the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, the 33d Tactical Fighter Wing and the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.[13] They were flown to Lod, where American pilots were swapped for their Israeli counterparts. After the replacement of USAF insignia with IAF insignia if needed, the planes were refueled and ordered to the front, often taking to the air within hours of having arrived. Some aircraft came directly from the USAFE fleet and operated in USAF camouflage,[7] but with Israeli insignia, thus earning the Israeli nickname "Frog". Nine days after the initial attack, Israel launched counterattacks. Thirty-six A-4 Skyhawks from U.S. stocks, staging from Lajes were refueled by SAC KC-135A tankers from Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire and U.S. Navy tankers from the USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) west of the Strait of Gibraltar. They then flew on to the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) southeast of Sicily where they stayed overnight, then continued on to Israel refueling once more from tankers launched from the USS Independence (CVA-62) south of Crete.[14] Twelve C-130E Hercules transports were also transferred to Israel, the first of the type to be delivered to the IDF/AF.[15]

When the third cease-fire resolution was finally implemented on October 24, the airlift immediately slowed. Further flights were made to rebuild Israeli forces to their pre-war strength, and Operation Nickel Grass was ended on 14 November. In the end, the military airlift shipped 22,325 tons of materiel to Israel. Additionally, the United States conducted its own seaborne re-supply operation, delivering 33,210 tons to Israel by 30 October.[16] During the same general time, the Soviets airlifted 12,500–15,000 tons of supplies, more than half of which went to Syria; they also supplied another 63,000 tons mainly to Syria by means of a sealift.[16][17]