September 1973 Air Battle

I recall on September 13, 1973 Walter Cronkite announced "the heaviest dogfights since the 1967 Mideast war. Israel claimed its air force shot down thirteen Syrian jets. Israel admitted losing one plane." The air battle came about when two Phantoms on a photo reconnaisance mission lured Syrian MIG-21PFMs into a trap. Officially, Jerusalem claimed 12 kills and one "probable."

For many years the alleged 12 or 13 to 1 kill ratio ("the ratio of quality and superiority" as Elazar put it at the time) was accepted uncritically. Pollack included it; in fact he wrote Israel suffered no losses--a foolish claim when the IAF never denied it lost a jet in the battle. 

 In recent years, research has shown Israel exaggerated its victory. The SAF didn't lose a dozen MIGs but only 8.

According to the Israeli version, there were two engagements. Nine SAF warplanes went down in the first and four more in the second. In fact the first figure can't be right because the SAF didn't even  commit 9 MIGs in the first encounter. Syria scrambled 8 MIG-21PFMs, four from Hama and four from Abu ad-Duhor. Led by Captain el-Gar, the first quartet went for the Phantom bait. El-Gar fired two R-3S missiles, one of which, he claimed, exploded close enough to an F-4 to cause it to fall into the sea. But Mirages then struck from behind. IAF pilot Israel Baharav downed two MIGs, forcing el-Gar and the other survivor to flee.

The other flight was similarly ambushed. Mirage pilot Abraham Salmon got a MIG while a wingman, Amos Bar, got two. However, the surviving MIG, piloted by Captain Hallaq, hit the Nesher flown by Yossi Shimchoni. The latter's wingmen attempted to escort Shimchoni's crippled jet home but the damage was too severe and the airman bailed out. The first engagement ended with the loss of five Syrian jets--considerably fewer than the nine claimed.

A second clash occurred when Syrian MIGs, led by el-Gar, attempted to intecept an Israeli search and rescue helicopter. El-Gar claimed another Phantom but all three of his wingmen were downed. The final score: Eight SAF MIGs, one IAF Nesher. Even Israeli figures now corroborate this. 

In his work, Aloni listed five victories by Mirages, presumably in the first engagement. In the second scrap, Phantoms saw action as el-Gar fired on one after his flight lost three jets. 

 References 

 ARAB MIGs Vol 5 October 1973 part I by Cooper et al. 

ARABS AT WAR by Pollack 2003

Israeli Mirage and Nesher aces by Aloni.

Below, a pic of a Syrian MIG downed over Lebanon on September 13, 1973. It first appeared in Newsweek.