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Yohai Ben-Nun

Yohai Ben-Nun (17 December 1924 - 6 June 1994) was the sixth commander of the Israeli Sea Corps.

Yohai Ben-Nun was born in Haifa and raised in Jerusalem. His parents were members of the First Aliyah. Ben-Nun joined the Palmach in 1941 and spent three years training and eventually rising to the rank of a squad leader. In 1944, he joined the Pal-Yam, the sea corps of the Palmach. In a covert operation in 1945, he sank two British Royal Navy ships.

At the outbreak of the Independence War he founded Shayetet 13, the Israeli naval commando unit. He commanded a force who sank the Egyptian Navy flag ship, an operation for which he was awarded the Hero of Israel decoration.

Yohai Ben-Nun volunteered for a suicide mission. He was to ride a torpedo and aim it at an Egyptian destroyer. Because the Egyptians would spot the torpedo and maneouver to avoid it, it had been decided that it would be guided by a volunteer sitting astride it. Even if the Egyptian searchlights spotted the guided torpedo and missile, it would too late for avoidance maneouvers and the rider would be killed in the explosion. Yohai and the torpedo were maneouvered as close as possible by rowboat and the torpedo was launched with Yohai astride. Yohai's mates began to row away after the explosion, but then they heard a voice. Yohai appeared. Once on board the rowboat, he explained that the Egyptian search lights had grown completely dark just as he was near enough to aim his torpedo and leap off.

Yohai Ben-Nun continued to serve in the Israeli Navy after the war and in the Sinai War he served as the commander of the INS Yafo taking part in the capturing of an Egyptian destroyer. After the war he returned to command Shayetet 13.

Ben-Nun was appointed the commander of the Israeli Navy in 1960, a position he used for creating a larger fleet with an attack capability.

Although he retired in 1966, during the Six-Day War Ben-Nun volunteered for service and fought in the Naval operations and on the Golan Heights.

As a civilian, Ben-Nun managed a company for exploring seas and lakes in 1968-1982. After the Yom Kippur War, he joined the protesters who called for the resignation of the government.

A marine research foundation, The Admiral Yohai Ben-Nun Foundation for Marine and Freshwater Research, has been established in his name.

• * "Caught Up in the Times" written by Yohai Ben-Nun, Jerusalem 2003, ISBN 965-05-1223-3, 190 pages

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Yohai Ben-Nun

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