Yohai Ben-Nun
| Yohai Ben-Nun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
17 December 1924 Haifa, Mandatory Palestine |
| Died | 6 June 1994 (aged 69) |
| Allegiance |
 Israel
|
| Service/branch |
 Israeli Navy
|
| Rank | Aluf |
| Battles/wars |
 Israeli War of Independence Sinai War Six Day War
|
| Awards |
 Hero of Israel
|
| Other work | Founder and Director General of Israel's Oceanographic and Limnological Research Ltd |
Yohai Ben-Nun (Hebrew: יוחאי בן-נון; December 17, 1924 – June 6, 1994) was the sixth commander of the Israeli Navy.
Yohai Ben-Nun was born in Haifa and raised in Jerusalem. His parents were members of the First Aliyah. Ben-Nun joined the Palmach in 1941 and spent three years training and eventually rising to the rank of a squad leader. In 1944, he joined the Pal-Yam, the sea corps of the Palmach. In a covert operation in 1945, he sank two British Royal Navy ships.
At the outbreak of the Independence War, he founded Shayetet 13, the Israeli naval commando unit. He commanded a force which sank the Egyptian Navy flagship, the Emir Farouk, in the Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav, for which he was awarded the Hero of Israel decoration. When it was replaced by the Medal of Valor, he was automatically awarded the newer medal.
Ben-Nun volunteered for an extremely risky mission. He was to ride an explosive boat (similar to an Italian MTM one) and aim it at the Egyptian sloop. Because the Egyptians would spot the boat and maneuver to avoid it, it had been decided that it would be guided by a volunteer sitting astride it. The volunteer would jump off at the very last moment- just 50–100 meters from the target. Even if Egyptian searchlights spotted the e-boat, it would be too late. Yohai and the boat were maneuvered as close as possible by rowboat before the e-boat was launched with Ben-Nun astride. His comrades began to row away after the explosion, but then they heard a voice and Ben-Nun appeared. Once on board the rowboat, he explained that the Egyptian searchlights had turned dark just as he got near enough to aim his boat and leap off.
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