End of mystery: 'Dakar' sank due to technical failure

Almost 50 years after the mysterious disappearance of the INS submarine "Dakar": The IDF uncovers for the first time in public the full details of the event and the process of the search for the submarine.

The documents review the activities conducted for 31 years with regard to the search for Dakar, the analysis of activities and committees of inquiry, the conclusions, the attempt to trace the scenario that led to the loss of the submarine and the search for the remains of the crew. The decision to disclose the documents was made following the request of one of the widows of the missing, Nurit Manor.

The Navy estimates that the sinking was caused by a technical failure caused by the loss of control of the submarine, but stressed: "we will never know what happened there."

"We do not hold any information about which the families were not updated," shared the Navy commander, Gen. Ram Rothberg. "Some of my personal duty as the commander of the naval force is to transfer permitted material to the public. We are talking about a mutual commitment, responsibility and cooperation".

Gen. Rothberg addressed the hard work done over the years. "This is a complex case and not a simple one, that raises many questions about the question of why the submarine sank, and what exactly happened there," he said. "The materials summarize 47 years, we have completed a full picture of the various options and processes of the Navy on the subject along the way."

Asked whether such an event could happen today, Gen. Rothberg said that "we are using today's most advanced submarines in the world with rescue capabilities in any situation. We learn lessons".

INS Dakar was a Navy submarine that sank on 24 Tevet 1969, on its way from Britain to Israel and all 69 crew members were killed. The submarine originally served in the British Navy. On June 1966 Israel acquired the submarine, and it received the Navy number of Z-77, renovated in the Portsmouth shipyard, was manned by an Israeli crew trained by the British fleet, and pulled away to Israel on 8 Tevet 1969.

The last position report received from the submarine was on 20 Tevet, at 6:00 am from the south to the eastern end of Crete, and the last message was received from it 18 hours later. Despite extensive searches which were conducted by ships, submarines and aircraft, the submarine was not found on the surface and it was declared lost.

About a year after the sinking, one of the submarine's emergency buoy was discovered on the coast of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. More than 31 years after its disappearance, on the thirteenth Sivan 5759 (1999) its remains were found on the seabed at a depth of three kilometers, on the planned voyage path to Haifa, just 485 miles from its target. After discussions it was decided to leave the submarine in place, the control bridge and uniforms of the divers were brought ashore.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!