The Boats of Cherbourg (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Abraham Rabinovich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997 | Series: Bluejacket Books

The story of the revolutionary missile boat used by Israel in the Yom Kippur War.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A thrilling tale of intrigue, diplomacy, and daring. The author, an Israeli journalist, provides a thoroughly satisfying account of the Israeli move to bolster its naval defense capability through the acquisition of high-speed motor torpedo boats mounted with sea-to-sea missiles. The boats were built by the French, but in the middle of the project the French government put an embargo on arms to the Middle East. Then, in an Israeli quasimilitary operation on Christmas Eve 1969, five boats were "rescued" from a French shipyard and brought to Israel. A follow-up describes the vessels' role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict. Recommended to both specialists in military affairs as well as casual readers. Sanford R. Silverberg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507147
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507143
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Abraham Rabinovich is a journalist born and raised in New York City. A graduate of Brooklyn College and a US Army veteran, he worked as a reporter for newspapers including Newsday and arrived in Israel on the eve of the Six Day War. After completing his first book, The Battle for Jerusalem, he joined the Jerusalem Post as a reporter and feature writer. His freelance articles have been published in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune and The New Republic, among other publications. He is the author of six books, including The Yom Kippur War, The Boats of Cherbourg and Jerusalem on Earth. He lives in Jerusalem and has two daughters and five grandchildren.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Techno thriller -- an admirable story, very well told July 1, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

If this book had had a press agent, it would have been a bestseller. It has the technical depth of a Clancy thriller -- but it is a true story, based on over a hundred interviews. The battle scenes are especially remarkable. Chess for keeps. The Israelis used a short range "smart" missile against a long range, not-so-smart missile. Each 14,000 hp missile boat had to charge its enemy at full speed to close the range gap, under fire, with many miles to put under the keel before it could realistically open fire itself. An Israeli boat was able to do this successfully by cloning itself electronically, so that the incoming Russian-made missiles "saw" multiple racing targets instead of one. The hair-raising aspect of this primitive countermeasure was that one of the alternative targets seen by the incoming missile was indeed the real, almost completely vulnerable oncoming Israeli missile boat. Put this one next to Hornblower. A classic.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Israel outwitted France and returned home embargoed boats June 6, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

PLEASE LOOK THROUGH, I'M NOT A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER

THE BOATS OF CHERBOURG is the interesting story about the revolutionary missile boats used so effectively by Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The book describes the developping of the missile boat concept. The boats were built in the French harbour of Cherbourg. After delivering seven of the total twelve boats, the French government embargoed the last five for political reasons, even if all the boats were already paied by Israel. On Christmas Eve 1969, the boats were seen for the last time in Cherbourg. In that stormy night, they disappeared in direction to the street of Gibraltar, and finally they arrived safely at New Year's eve 1970 in Haifa, Israel. The whole world smiled at France after that incident.

Russia supported Egypt's and Syria's navies with the Russian sea-to-sea missile Styx and other war equipment since 1962. In the early sixties, Israel started also the developping of the first (western) sea-to-sea missile, the Gabriel. In fall 1967, Israel's flag ship Eilat was sunk by a Styx of Egypt's navy. The Gabriel project was not finished before 1969.

Although the Russian Styx had a range of 50 km and the Israeli Gabriel just 25 km, Israel's boats and sea-to-sea missiles were a powerful combination in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. How they successfully tricked out the Styx, please read in the book!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best kept secret in Naval History June 12, 2000

By Kevin Lane

Format:Paperback

The Boats of Cherbourg is a well written, exciting book about a well known but under-appreciated episode in Naval History. Rabinovich does an excellent job of putting the events in the book in historical context: the rise of anti-ship missiles, Israel's struggle for survival, the changes in Naval Warfare. The heart of the story, the dramatic plan to "liberate" the patrol boats, is told in a manner that makes you feel the suspense and the tension the Israelis manning the boats must have felt. A must on any Naval History buff's bookshelf.