Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav

Naval battle near Majdal
Part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
INS Haganah
Date October 19, 1948 Location Waters of Israel/Palestine Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Israel	Egypt
Commanders and leaders
David Maimon (Haganah) Aryeh Kaplan (Wedgwood) Elyakim Epstein (Noga)
Strength
Three warships	Corvette, three Spitfires
Casualties and losses
1 killed 5 wounded	1 aircraft shot down

The Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav refers to the operations of the Israeli naval service (later Israel Navy) during Operation Yoav (October 15–22, 1948) in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The main objective of the naval service was to disrupt the supply lines from Egypt to Palestine, completing the Egyptian expeditionary force's encirclement, and force Egypt to allocate large forces to fight against targets at sea instead of on the ground, where Operation Yoav was conducted.

Israel's four warships at the time, INS Wedgwood (K-18), INS Haganah (K-20), INS Ma'oz (K-24) and INS Noga (K-26), participated in the operation. The two main naval engagements were the October 19 battle in the waters of Majdal (today Ashkelon), and the sinking of the Egyptian flagship the Emir Farouk on October 22, which also damaged an Egyptian minesweeper. The latter operation helped shape the Israeli navy's doctrine of the use of small weapon systems as opposed to conventional fleets.

The Israeli naval service was founded in March 1948 out of the Palyam, a small naval contingent of the Palmach, reinforced by Jewish veterans of the Royal Navy and the Jewish Agency's maritime and fishing departments. At the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on May 15, its small makeshift fleet was no match for the Egyptian Navy, which had complete sea superiority.

During the second truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, between July 18 and October 15, 1948, the naval service's strength increased significantly, totaling 16 vessels of a combined 7,000 tons. This included four warships (of which only INS Wedgwood and INS Haganah were fit for naval combat) called The Big Flotilla, three landing craft, three service ships and six patrol boats. New equipment was also installed on the ships in the Big Flotilla, including tactical radios. The Egyptian fleet had three large and eight small minesweepers, four armed service ships, three corvettes, at least four patrol boats and at least 20 landing craft. This fleet's composition had not changed since the beginning of the war.

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