Ha'Chulya

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The Ha'Chulya ( Hebrew החוליה) was a special unit of the Palyam , which specialized in underwater operations and carried out several acts of sabotage against the British Navy . After the founding of the state of Israel , the Ha'Chulya was absorbed into the Israeli Navy and was an important nucleus of the Shayetet 13 .

history

Yohai Ben-Nun, first leader of the Ha'Chulya (1949)

The origins of the Ha'Chulya group go back to the "Night of the Railways" on November 2, 1945. During the large-scale operation, numerous acts of sabotage against the British mandate administration and infrastructure were carried out throughout the mandate area . As part of this operation, the Palyam, led by Yohai Ben-Nun and a group, entered the port of Haifa and placed explosive charges on the bottom of two coast guard vessels that were used against the ships of the Alija Bet . More Palyamniks sabotaged another coast guard ship in the port of Jaffo . The explosives were made in Kibbutz Sdot Jam and packed waterproof in motorcycle tubes. The explosive devices detonated in the early hours of the morning by time fuses and severely damaged the boats.

The British assumed that this was the work of professional saboteurs with state-of-the-art equipment. The equipment of the Palyamniks was primitive - they had no diving suits , fins or snorkels available, and no escape boats either. As a defense against further acts of sabotage, the coast guard ships were moored directly at the port police and secured with protective nets, floodlights and permanent patrols with small dinghies. As a result, a large number of British soldiers were tied up in the ports and they were therefore not available for other deployments directed against Jewish institutions or actions.

The success of this first underwater sabotage operation against British ships encouraged the Palmach leadership to permanently establish such a unit for underwater sabotage under the direction of Ben-Nun. The unit consisted of a permanent core cell of five to six people, and other Palyamniks were called in for specific actions. The unit only became known under the term “the group”, in Hebrew Ha'Chulya . In the early days, the equipment of the Ha'Chulya was as primitive as in the "Night of the Railways".

Until about the beginning of 1947, the focus of the Ha'Chulya actions was in Palestine. Then the British defensive measures became too strong and effective, so that from April 1947 the focus of the Ha'Chulya was moved to Cyprus . Due to the numerous and overcrowded deportation camps on Cyprus due to a British government decision , there were better conditions there as a base of operations and for recruiting new fighters.

With the dissolution of the Palyam, the time of the Ha'Chulya also ends. In 1948 two special units were installed in the Israeli Navy, which had their origin in the Ha'Chulya. One unit was the underwater sabotage under the direction of Yossale Dror, the other was the explosive devices under the direction of Yohai Ben-Nun. In this unit, speedboats were loaded with explosives and put on a collision course with enemy ships during combat operations. In good time before the collision, the skipper jumped off to save himself. The two units were united on January 1, 1950 and formed the basis of the new Schajetet 13.

Special members

The deserving members of the Ha'Chulya - regardless of whether they belonged to the core unit or were palyamniks called in for specific missions - include the following people:

  • Yohai Ben-Nun
  • Shlomo kimchi
  • Moshe Nachshon
  • Izzy Rahav
  • Gershon Agmon-Karlinsky
  • Gideonchik roses
  • Shaul Oren-Aharonov
  • Yossale Dror-Huber
  • Ossie Ravid-Schmukler
  • Moshe Chadad
  • Misso Abarbanel
  • Yehuda Ben-Tzur
  • Yoske Rom-Romanovsky
  • Eliyahu Glaser
  • Yigal Weiss
  • Aharon Ben-Yosef
  • Meirke Avraham
  • Chaim Vinkler
  • Uzi Sharon
  • Avraham Chen
  • Yona Fodor
  • Benny Kravitz
  • Gideon Vaadi
  • Gavriel Rapaport

Actions

The Ha'Chulya actions were directed against British ships directly or indirectly involved in Operation Igloo :

  • Sabotage of the British deportation ship Empire Haywood on August 18, 1946 in the port of Haifa
  • Sabotage of the British deportation ship Empire Rival on August 22, 1946 in the port of Haifa
  • Sabotage of two launch boats and a patrol boat in the port of Haifa
  • Sabotage of the British deportation ship Ocean Vigor on April 2, 1947 in the port of Famagusta
  • Another sabotage of the British deportation ship Empire Rival on April 4, 1947 on her crossing to Egypt
  • Sabotage of the British deportation ship Empire Life Guard on July 23, 1947 in the port of Haifa

In September 1946, a sabotage operation against a British destroyer while it was being refueled in the port of Haifa failed . If successful, this sabotage would have had the potential to have significant effects.

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