Shayetet 13
S'13 Insignia
Active	1948–Present
Country	Israel
Branch	Israeli Navy
Type	Naval Commando
Garrison/HQ	Château Pèlerin
Nickname(s)	השייטת (HaShayetet, The Flotilla)

Shayetet 13 ( Hebrew: שייטת 13, lit. Flotilla 13) is an elite Israel Defense Forces naval Special forces unit. The unit (S'13) is considered one of the three main Israeli Special Forces units (along with Sayeret Matkal - the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit - and Shaldag Unit - the Air Force commando unit). S'13 is the unit that specializes in sea-to-land incursions, assassinations, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering and maritime hostage rescue. Only a handful of Shayetet 13 missions have been publicized or otherwise missions publicly attributed to the unit. The unit is respected as among the best of the world’s special forces. ^[1]

Founding

S'13 is one of the most veteran Israeli SF units. It was formed in 1949 by Yohai Ben-Nun and was based upon the Naval Brigade of the Haganah — the Jewish resistance movement during the British Mandate in Palestine. In the unit's early years, there was a debate in the IDF regarding the need for such a unit so S'13 was small and with low budget. In 1960, S'13 existence was first made public and its operators received their renowned bat-winged insignia rather than a general Israeli Navy insignia worn until then ^[2].

Combat history

The Six Day War

The outbreak of the 1967 Six Day War found the unit undertrained. Several of the unit's missions during the war failed, the most noticeable one on June 5, 1967, when six operators were captured and taken as POW during a covert mission. The S'13 POWs were released six months later in January 1968. ^[3]

The War of Attrition

In 1969 the unit successfully carried out the Green Island raid, although three operators were killed and ten more were severely wounded during the Operation. In the 1970s the unit underwent a rebuild with more emphasis placed on sea-to-land incursions and on effective training. More issues rose with other IDF SF units, which at the time suggested that that S'13 should only provide the transportation to the target and assistance in crossing water obstacles, while leaving the surface warfare to the other IDF SF units ^[3].

Operation Spring of Youth

S'13 took part in Operation Spring of Youth of 1973, in which Israeli special forces raided Beirut and killed several members of Black September, the group which had carried out the Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes in the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics. ^[4]

Lebanon war

From the early 1980s the unit became increasingly involved in the Lebanon conflict, demonstrating an excellent track record of dozens of successful operations each year, inflicting massive losses on Hezbollah, both in life and equipment, without Israeli casualties. Typical missions at the time were interdiction of terrorists' vessels, blowing up enemy headquarters and key facilities, conducting ambushes and planting explosives in terrorist routes ^[3]. On September 8, 1997, the unit suffered a major blow during a raid in Lebanon: A team of 16 S'13 fighters stumbled upon a Hezbollah IED ambush. At least 3 explosive devices were used against the team, killing 11. To this day, it is unknown whether or not the team fell into a random ambush or one that was set after the UAV which accompnied the raid broadcasted real time information about the fighters troop arrival and location through unsecured satellite channel due to human faliure and hence provided Hezbollah with real time intelligence. ^[5]Some suggested that the explosions that killed the 11 fighters were actually the team's own explosives, activated by accident. This is mostly considered an unlikely theory. ^{[6] [5]}

The al-Aqsa Intifada

During the al-Aqsa Intifada, S'13 soldiers took part in ground counter terror operations deep within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. S'13 has performed hundreds of operations, including the arrest and/or killing of many militants of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. S'13 still performs naval operations. It earned high acclaim due to the capture of three Palestinian ships which smuggled illegal weapons: Karin A, Santorini and Abu-Yusuf. The takeover of Karin A in particular was considered a highly difficult operation and it was conducted flawlessly. In 2002 and in 2003, S'13 won the Chief-of-Staff citation for successful counter terrorism operations.

The Second Lebanon War

During the 2006 Lebanon War, S'13 successfully raided Tyre, killing 27 Hezbollah operatives while sustaining no fatalities. ^[7]

Subsequent operations

The successful interception early 4 November 2009 of the MV Francop, an Antiguan-flagged vessel purportedly carrying arms from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, was credited to Shayetet 13 naval commandos. ^{[8] [9]}

Gaza Flotilla Operation

On May 31, 2010, Shayetet 13 took part in operation Sea Breeze against a flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza. The operation resulted in the death of 9 Turkish activists ^[10]. Several dozen activists were injured as well as at least seven Shayetet 13 commandos, two of them seriously with wooden rods. Also some photos of operation revealed how some commandos cried in shock who are captured by some activists. ^{[11] [12]} International condemnation of the action followed. ^[13]

Controversy

In recent years, it was discovered that S'13 veterans had high occurrence of cancer, probably due to training in the polluted Kishon River. A commission for investigating the matter did not find statistical evidence that the diving in the Kishon caused the cancer. However, Minister of Defence, Shaul Mofaz, decided to compensate the divers' families in spite of the commissions' findings ^[6].

See also

• Commandos marine
• Kampfschwimmer
• Special Boat Service
• US Navy SEALs
• Special Service Group Navy

References

External links

• IDF navy draft promotion video in YouTube.
• Shayetet 13 detailed unit profile from isayeret.com.