Operation Nickel Grass

Common card · No. 278364

Operation Nickel Grass was the codename for a strategic airlift conducted by the United States to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel during the 1973 Arab–Israeli War. Between 14 October and 14 November of that year, the Military Airlift Command of the United States Air Force shipped approximately 22,325 tons of supplies, including tanks, artillery, and ammunition, in multiple flights of C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxys. This initiative was undertaken to help improve the position of the Israeli military in the face of a large-scale joint offensive by Egypt and Syria, both of which had been receiving extensive support from the Soviet Union. On 19 October, nearly two weeks after Egypt's Operation Badr, the United States pledged to support Israel's fight against the Arab countries. Earlier, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) had reached an understanding to use the "oil weapon" to give the Arab side an advantage in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Following the outbreak...

Read on Wikipedia · Image USAF (In: "Remember when ... Operation Nickel Grass" by John Lacomia, 60th Air Mobility Wing History Office, posted 31 October 2008), Public domain