- Yes
- No
TL;DR
Coastal vessel, essentially Jaguar with another gun and less powerful torpedoes.
Overview:
Based on West Germany’s Jaguar-class fast attack craft, the Sa’ars were ordered by Israel in 1964 as part of West Germany’s reparations agreement. However, soon after laying down news of the ships was leaked to the press, and outrage from Arab countries led to the production being transferred to Cherbourg in France. The ships were delivered in 1967, and were fitted with French and Italian weapons and electronics. It was originally meant to be also be armed with anti ship missiles, though as no missiles were available at the time they were temporarily armed as gunboats, and designated Sa’ar 1. In 1973-1974, the ships were refitted with the new Gabriel anti ship missiles, and were redesignated as Sa’ar 2.
INS Mivtach was the first Sa’ar delivered, joining the newly created 3rd Flotilla of fast attack craft. It participated in commando operations, including leading Operation Aviv Neurim targeting militants in Lebanon. 4 ASW torpedo tubes were added in 1973, and it fought in the Yom Kippur War, participating in the Battle of Latakia where the Israeli force sunk five Syrian vessels with no losses. In 1974, it was refitted to the Sa’ar 2 standard, with Gabriel missiles and the removal of the torpedo tubes. Then in 1979, it was refitted with Harpoon missiles replacing the rear guns and a modern sonar. It would serve in the Israeli Navy until 1996, when it was transferred to the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum in Haifa, where it is still displayed today.
Specifications: (1973)
Armament:
3x1 40 mm Breda-Bofors L/70
2x1 12.7 mm Browning M2
4x1 324 mm Mk.32 torpedo tubes
2x4 Countermeasure launchers?Displacement:
220 t standard
250 t fullLength: 44.9 m
Beam: 7.0 m
Draft: 2.5 m
Propulsion: 4 MTU MD872 diesel engines, 13500 hp, driving 4 shafts
Speed: 42 knots (77.8 km/h)
Range: 2500 nmi (at 15 knots)
Crew: 35-40
Systems:
Thomson-CSF Neptune search radar?
ELAC sonar
Images:
Sources:
https://www.amutayam.org.il/?CategoryID=600&ArticleID=1101
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/סער_1
https://www.navypedia.org/ships/israel/isr_cf_mivtakh.htm
https://archive.hnsa.org/ships/mivtach.htm