>In the afternoon of July 30, 1970, four Israeli [Mirage IIIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_III) crossed into Egyptian airspace, flying in tight formation so as to appear as a single aircraft. As expected, four Soviet-flown [MiG-21s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) were scrambled to intercept what they believed to be a routine Israeli reconnaissance flight. They were soon joined by an additional eight MiGs. As the Soviet fighters closed in on the Mirages, they were ambushed by four Israeli [F-4 Phantoms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom) and eight [Mirage IIIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_III) that had been lurking undetected at low altitude. An additional 12 [MiG-21](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) reinforcements soon arrived. By the end of the close-quarters dogfight, five Soviet [MiG-21s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) had been downed with no Israeli losses.
>Egyptian military leaders were pleased with the outcome of the battle because the Soviets had long been criticizing Egypt’s aerial losses to Israel and attributing them to a lack of skill among Egyptian fighter pilots. The Soviets kept quiet about the incident so as to avoid the embarrassment of their defeat. It was one of the final engagements of the War of Attrition and is widely believed to have contributed to its conclusion.
[deleted] on
[deleted]
JustGulabjamun on
I think this is that “Ambush in the open skies” story.
SatisfactionLife2801 on
“How do I know there are Russian pilots in Egypt? Very simply because we had shot down four Soviet planes that were flown by Soviet pilots” Meir the chad
Fun_Police02 on
This is literally the “About to go fight, might post the video later” meme but in real life.
Unfortunately I can’t post it because it’s not a gif.
Nuclear-Jester on
You know, I can see why Egypt later switched alliances
8 Comments
Context: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rimon_20](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rimon_20)
>
>**Rimon 20** ([Hebrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language): רימון 20, *Pomegranate 20*) was the code name of an aerial battle in 1970 which pitted the [Israeli Air Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Air_Force) directly against Soviet fighter pilots stationed in Egypt during the [War of Attrition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Attrition). Israel planned the dogfight in order to send a message that it would no longer tolerate direct Soviet military involvement in its conflict with Egypt.
>In the afternoon of July 30, 1970, four Israeli [Mirage IIIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_III) crossed into Egyptian airspace, flying in tight formation so as to appear as a single aircraft. As expected, four Soviet-flown [MiG-21s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) were scrambled to intercept what they believed to be a routine Israeli reconnaissance flight. They were soon joined by an additional eight MiGs. As the Soviet fighters closed in on the Mirages, they were ambushed by four Israeli [F-4 Phantoms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom) and eight [Mirage IIIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_III) that had been lurking undetected at low altitude. An additional 12 [MiG-21](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) reinforcements soon arrived. By the end of the close-quarters dogfight, five Soviet [MiG-21s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-21) had been downed with no Israeli losses.
>Egyptian military leaders were pleased with the outcome of the battle because the Soviets had long been criticizing Egypt’s aerial losses to Israel and attributing them to a lack of skill among Egyptian fighter pilots. The Soviets kept quiet about the incident so as to avoid the embarrassment of their defeat. It was one of the final engagements of the War of Attrition and is widely believed to have contributed to its conclusion.
[deleted]
I think this is that “Ambush in the open skies” story.
“How do I know there are Russian pilots in Egypt? Very simply because we had shot down four Soviet planes that were flown by Soviet pilots” Meir the chad
This is literally the “About to go fight, might post the video later” meme but in real life.
Unfortunately I can’t post it because it’s not a gif.
You know, I can see why Egypt later switched alliances
I thought this was about the suez canal again.
I initially thought this was going to be a meme about the [oriental crisis of 1840](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Crisis_of_1840)