Operation Diamond
Text: Zdeněk Nožička Sr. & Jr.
Illustrations: Antonis Karidis
Cat. No. 84213
The history of secret services in the State of Israel dates back to the late 1940s. It was during this period that 'Ha-Mosad le-Teudat,' or the Mossad for short, was founded. Operation Diamond is one of the most successful operations in the history of the Mossad. However, two failed attempts preceded its success. Only the third attempt was successful.
The objective of Operation Diamond was to acquire a MiG-21F-13 aircraft for Israel, which, at the time, was one of the most advanced Soviet fighter jets. The aircraft was then to undergo flight performance testing by an Israeli pilot and technical personnel from the Israeli Air Force.
Coincidentally, the Mossad had already established contact with the Iraqi military pilot Munir Redfa in 1964 and attempted to recruit him. Redfa was a Christian living in Iraq and, because of his religious beliefs, was not given the same career opportunities as other pilots. Moreover, he faced restrictions in both his personal and professional life. Nevertheless, he was one of five pilots who had earned the government’s trust to the extent that he was permitted to fly the MiG-21F-13.
Captain Redfa's first opportunity to fly the MiG arose on 14 August 1966. That day, he took off from Al-Taqaddum Airfield, which was located 74 km west of Baghdad. However, he was forced to return to base shortly after take-off due to a technical malfunction in the aircraft.
Two days later, on 16 August 1966, the next opportunity to hijack the aircraft from Iraq arose. On this occasion, Redfa took off from his home airfield again and headed towards Israel. A flight of approximately 800 km lay ahead of him. At an average speed of 800 km/h, Redfa’s flight lasted an interminable hour. During the flight, he was detected by Jordanian radar over northern Jordan. This prompted communication between Jordan and Syria, during which Syria mistakenly informed Jordan that the MiG belonged to the Syrian Air Force and was carrying out a routine exercise. This allowed Redfa to continue hijacking the aircraft.
Once Captain Redfa had crossed the Israeli border, the Israeli Air Force scrambled two Mirage III aircraft. They were dispatched to intercept the MiG that had violated Israeli airspace.
When Redfa spotted the Mirage jets, he immediately extended the landing gear. This signalled his intention to land in Israeli territory. The Mirages then escorted him to Hatzor Airfield, which is located 28 km south of Tel Aviv. Hatzor subsequently became the hijacked aircraft’s new home base.
During this period, members of the Israeli Air Force began examining the aircraft’s design and individual systems in detail. At the same time, Israeli test pilot Danny Shapira began familiarising himself with the new aircraft and its piloting, with the help of Munir Redfa and the aircraft’s flight manual, which Redfa had taken with him just before departure. After several test flights during which Shapira mastered flying the aircraft, the Israeli Air Force launched a programme designed to train Israeli pilots to engage successfully in aerial combat against enemy MiGs.
Danny Shapira completed an impressive 120 flights during the training programme. During these flights, he mastered the handling of the aircraft and, alongside his 'opposing' colleagues, developed a methodology for conducting aerial combat in various scenarios and conditions.
It is likely that most of the pilots' air combat missions took place over the Mediterranean Sea. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, in the event of a malfunction or pilot error, the aircraft would end its flight in the sea rather than endangering the civilian population. Another reason was to keep the MiG secret from the general public.
The box art for this new release features a scene depicting a training exercise involving one of the MiG-21F-13's air combat scenarios against an Israeli Mirage IIICJ. The MiG has already been painted in the colour scheme that was photographed at the end of the test programme, and is performing a routine air combat drill. The aircraft are practising one-on-one aerial combat. The depicted Mirage No. 59 belonged to the 101st Fighter Squadron and was among the first Mirages to shoot down MiG-21F-13s in actual combat. By the end of its operational service, this aircraft had achieved 13 confirmed kills. The MiG depicted in this box art was also tested against the Vautour II and the Super Mystère. The test programme that followed Operation Diamond was crucial for developing air combat tactics against enemy MiG-21F-13 aircraft. During the subsequent Six-Day War (1967), Israel shot down six MiG-21F-13s using its Mirage IIICJ aircraft, thanks to this methodology. It did so without losing a single aircraft.
Other conflicts influenced by Operation Diamond included the War of Attrition (1967–1970) and the Yom Kippur War (1973). Captain Munir Redfa died in Israel in 1998 at the age of 64. His former enemy and later colleague, Danny Shapira, died in Israel in 2022 at the age of 97.