Davidka

Davidka
Davidka mortar, Givati Museum, Israel
Type	Mortar
Place of origin	Israel
Service history
In service	1948
Used by	Palmach
Wars	1948 Arab–Israeli War
Production history
Designer	David Leibowitch
Designed	1947–48
Produced	1948
No. built	Six
Specifications
Shell	Explosive grenade
Shell weight	40 kilograms (88.2 lb)
Caliber	3 inches (7.62 cm)
Filling	TNT
Filling weight	60 pounds (27.2 kg)

The Davidka (Yiddish: דוידקה‎, "Little David") was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during the early stages of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little value beyond terrifying opponents; they proved particularly useful in scaring away both Arab soldiers and civilians. It is nominally classified as a 3-inch (76.2 mm) mortar, although the bomb was considerably larger.

The Davidka ("Little David") was named for its inventor, David Leibowitch, although the name also metaphorically evoked the biblical battle of King David and Goliath (I Samuel chap. 17): In 1948, the defense forces of the state of Israel felt themselves fighting against the "giant" British-trained and British-led professional Arab Legion, amongst many others, and so they felt the metaphor appropriate.

The mortar was designed at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school in Holon in the winter of 1947–1948. It was first used in combat on March 13, 1948, in the attack on the Abu Kabir neighborhood of Jaffa. The greatest victory attributed to the Davidka was the liberation of the Citadel, a strongpoint in the center of Safed, on the night of May 9–10 1948.

Six Davidkas were manufactured in all, and two were given to each of the Palmach's three brigades (Harel, Yiftach, and HaNegev). One was used by the Yiftach Brigade in the battle for Safed, and now stands in a square in Safed. Another stands in Jerusalem's Davidka Square, memorializing the Harel Brigade's participation in the battle for Jerusalem. The Hebrew inscription on the monument ("וגנותי על-העיר הזאת, להושיעה") is from 2 Kings 19:34, meaning "For I will defend this city, to save it" (where God miraculously saves Jerusalem in honor of King David, the namesake of the weapon).