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===The Yom Kippur War===

===The Yom Kippur War===

When the Egyptian and [[Syria]]n air forces attacked on October 6, 1973, Israeli Phantoms bore the brunt of the initial strikes.  Kurness units were hard-pressed, but scored 23 air-to-air victories that day, over a quarter of their total for the entire conflict.  In what was probably the first aerial battle of the war, two Kurnass crews from 119 Squadron defended their base from 28 Egyptian fighters, destroying six MiG-17s and a MiG-21 between them.  However, the other attackers managed to get through and bomb the base, cratering the runway and damaging facilities.  Other Phantoms were scrambled to blunt the Arab ground advance, but ten of them were lost to SAMs and anti-aircraft fire in the first few hours.  The F-4 made its biggest contribution for the day after dusk.  With light fading, the Egyptians sent several Mi-8 helicopters loaded with commandos into the Sinai in an attempt to cause havoc in the Israeli rear areas.  Two of these raids were smashed by Phantoms that shot down fourteen helicopters in all.  One Kurnass crew accounted for five Mi-8s by themselves.  IAF Mirages arrived later and destroyed more of the raiders.  

When the Egyptian and [[Syria]]n air forces attacked on October 6, 1973, Israeli Phantoms bore the brunt of the initial strikes.  Kurness units were hard-pressed, but scored 23 air-to-air victories that day, over a quarter of their total for the entire conflict.  In what was probably the first aerial battle of the war, two Kurnass crews from 119 Squadron defended their base from 28 Egyptian fighters, destroying six [[MiG-17]]s and a MiG-21 between them.  However, the other attackers managed to get through and bomb the base, cratering the runway and damaging facilities.  Other Phantoms were scrambled to blunt the Arab ground advance, but ten of them were lost to SAMs and anti-aircraft fire in the first few hours.  The F-4 made its biggest contribution for the day after dusk.  With light fading, the Egyptians sent several Mi-8 helicopters loaded with commandos into the Sinai in an attempt to cause havoc in the Israeli rear areas.  Two of these raids were smashed by Phantoms that shot down fourteen helicopters in all.  One Kurnass crew accounted for five Mi-8s by themselves.  IAF Mirages arrived later and destroyed more of the raiders.  

Israeli commanders were confused at first by the sudden attack, so counterstrikes by the IAF over the next couple of days met with mixed success.  Kurnasses shot down four Egyptian MiG-21s for no loss on the morning of October 7, but an attack on Syrian air defenses that afternoon was ineffective and cost the Israelis six more precious Phantoms.  Another four were lost the next day (including one in air-to-air combat).  In less than 72 hours, Israel had lost approximately one fifth of its Kurnass force and over a tenth of its Kurnass aircrews.

Israeli commanders were confused at first by the sudden attack, so counterstrikes by the IAF over the next couple of days met with mixed success.  Kurnasses shot down four Egyptian MiG-21s for no loss on the morning of October 7, but an attack on Syrian air defenses that afternoon was ineffective and cost the Israelis six more precious Phantoms.  Another four were lost the next day (including one in air-to-air combat).  In less than 72 hours, Israel had lost approximately one fifth of its Kurnass force and over a tenth of its Kurnass aircrews.