Interesting document exposing failures in the IDF's phantom aircraft system during the Yom Kippur war. The document was sent to Judge Agranat on 6/12/1973 in the framework of the investigative committee headed by Judge Shimon Agranat which dealt with investigating failures in the Yom Kippur war. Stencil print.
Document written by Dr. Salamon. Including a request by Dr. Salamon to recommend to the investigative committee that they call George Laven to testify before them. Laven served as the senior representative in Israel of the American MacDonell Douglas company who supplied many of the Israel Air Force airplanes and essential military equipment. Dr. Salamon tells of Laven's participation in Phantom flight operations in Vietnam in 1972 and expressed to him that due to the faulty maintenance in the Israeli Phantom jets he would not dare fly in them, due to Israel's severe limitation of manpower. The situation was such that in the Israeli Air Force, the number of airplane maintenance people was about one third of the manpower dealing with airplane maintenance in the United States. To Levan's dismay, as he expressed to him, he was unable to motivate the decision-makers to seriously consider his arguments before the outbreak of the war. Now Dr. Salamon is requesting that the investigative commission summon Mr. Levan to testify before it in order to shed light on the failures during the war, which as previously mentioned, were identified even before then.
An astonishing detail in the story is the commission's response to Dr. Salamon on 10/12/1973, 'At this stage the commission does not find your recommendation necessary.' This letter of response is attached.
[3] leaves and and envelope. Stencil print. Fine condition.
