Page 471 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

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aCta
Asymmetric Warfare at sea. One Italian family against
three Navies

BENNY MICHELSOHN

creating a naVy – searching fOr weaPOns
Captain “Sea-wolf” (Volodia Izkovitz), may be the most capable seaman in Palestine, at
the time, was sent in March 1948, two months before Israel became independent, by David
Ben Gurion to purchase naval equipment in Italy. He had to acquire ships in order to establish
the backbone of the Israeli, just borne, Navy. Captain Sea-wolf began to search Italy from
south to north, looking for related items. After purchasing some Patrol Boats and Landing
crafts he reaches Livorno, where in the harbor, he observed, a small boat in bad conditions
and without engine, as a professional sailor with experience in the British navy during World
War 2 he recognized it immediately. During the war it was a threatening weapon who re-
ceives great respect by the English fleet. The Captain had intention to find those boats for
the Israeli navy. He acquired the boat with 50 $, measured it and took several pictures by his
camera. Afterwards he returns to Palestine. 1
Captain Sea-wolf reported twice to Ben-Gurion during April regarding his purchasing in
Italy but didn’t mention those special boats. Only after the purchasing of the Patrol Boats
2
and the Landing Crafts, began the Captain to deal with the small special boats. During May
1948, after returning to Italy he made continues effort to find those boats. After consulting
the MOSSAD chief in Zeneve, Saul Avigur, he approaches the uncle of his wife, Efraim Ilin,
a successful textile merchant who lived in Italy and was involved in the MOSSAD efforts to
purchase weapons for the newly born state of Israel. The Captain met him in Milan and asks
him to assist in finding the source of the boats and to finance the purchasing. Ilin become
enthusiastic regarding that special weapon who might gave an advantage to the young navy
who doesn’t had any capital ships but was full with brave and patriotic warriors. Ilin began to
ask ship agents that had business connection with him about the boats. When he approaches,
one of his friends, Commandant Fermuda, that person understood immediately the subject
and directed him to the right place - a factory near Milan by the name CABI-CATTANEO.
The Commandant told to Ilin that the Company produces during the war the assault-boats
(Medzi-Assalto) for the Italian Navy but as far as he knows, that company is now under
bankruptcy and nobody exist to speak with. He add also that he is not sure if any boat exist
because after the war, the conditions of the surrender agreement of Italy to the allies includes
a definite commitment to destroy all the stock of those boats, to deliver the manufacturing
plans and not developing or producing such boats or similar in the future. Nevertheless, Ilin
decide to try is fortune. At the beginning he tries to reach CABI by phone but no answer,
finally he took his car and drive to the factory. When arriving he understood in short time that
this is a business in bankruptcy. Three years after the war, all Italian MOD and Navy orders

1 Captain Sea-wolf, Ships Stories, Tel Aviv, 1968, p.34.
2 David Ben-Gurion, the War Diary, Tel Aviv, 1983, p. 299.