John Wilmot
OPERATION MUSKETEER
The Suez Canal
The Suez Canal was built in the 1860's by French engineers of La Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez (Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal). It is a 101 mile canal connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean across the Egyptian desert. The northern end of the canal is at Port Said that is named for Sa`id Pasha the Viceroy of Egypt who gave permission for the canal to be built. Ownership of the canal was to be held by the French/Egyptian company for 100 years and then pass to the Egyptian government. In 1875 the British government purchased Egypt's shares in the company and in 1936 they signed an agreement that gave Britain the right to maintain defense forces in the Suez Canal Zone. A new agreement, signed in 1954, called for the removal of British troops by June of 1956. On 26 July, 1956, President Nasser ordered Egyptian forces to seize the canal after the British and the Americans withdrew their offer to finance the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
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Israel Captures the Sinai
Britain and France wouldn't stand for Egypt's control of the canal, so they conspired with Israel to create an excuse for military intervention. The Israeli 202 Parachute Brigade jumped onto the Mitla Pass just east of the canal on 29 October, 1956. By doing so, they cut the Egyptian line of communication with the Sinai Peninsula allowing the Israelis to capture it. The operation was very bold in its planning and execution. They wanted complete surprise, so they didn't even do a reconnaissance of the Drop Zone (DZ). At 17:30hrs the Israeli planes, after keeping low to avoid radar, climbed to a jump height of 700 feet. With only 395 men, the 202 were dropped three miles from their planned DZ. Within two hours they held the pass and after four hours their re-supply started to arrive. The Egyptians struck back, the 202 Parachute Brigade suffered heavy losses but held until morning when Israeli fighter jets could provide air cover.
Britain and France Issue an Ultimatum
The response from Britain and France was to call for a halt to all military operations in the Suez Canal Zone. The ultimatum called for Israel and Egypt to keep their troops ten miles back from the canal and on opposite sides. Israel agreed immediately because their forces still hadn't reached the canal. Egypt didn't even acknowledge the ultimatum because it represented a loss of territory and they probably knew what the British and French had in mind. At the UN, the a resolution calling for a withdrawal by Israel was vetoed by Britain and France (this was the first time they ever used their veto). The U.S. sponsored a resolution calling for a cease-fire that passed by a 64-5 vote. Egypt accepted it but, under pressure from Britain and France, Israel refused. The hostilities that had just about ceased on their own flared up again.
The Invasion of Port Said
By 30 October, the 3rd Battalion, of the Parachute Regiment, in Cyprus, was starting to prepare for an "airborne exercise." On 3 November they got their orders for Operation Musketeer, an invasion of Port Said set for 6 November. The jump was moved forward by 24 hours leaving the naval support, sailing from Malta, out of range for the first day of the invasion. The aircraft used were Valettas carrying twenty jumpers and Hastings carrying thirty. At 0300hr they boarded the planes for the jump that was to take place just after dawn. Many men slept on the planes. On 5 November, 1956, 3 Para jumped from six hundred feet onto the El Gamil Airfield. P-Hr (parachute hour) was 0515. The winds were almost zero. Their Intelligence told them they would be outnumbered five to one. The Egyptians had an armoured division in the desert to the south of the town and a battalion group surrounding the airfield. The orders called for "A" Coy to capture the control tower buildings and then secure a bridge at the west end of the field. Before take-off aerial photos showed the bridge had already been destroyed. "B" Coy was to capture the buildings at the east end of the airfield. Many members of "B" Coy landed right on the Egyptian position and were engaged in immediate hand to hand combat. "B" Coy lost five to ten percent of their men within seconds. The British method of packing their weapons in Sims containers caused great difficulty for those who found themselves under fire even before they landed. The north and south side of the airfield were bounded by water "C" Coy was to act as a reserve force and assist in capturing the buildings. The Paras captured the airfield in about forty five minutes and had it ready to use by noon. Unfortunately the runways were too short for the British transport planes so all their reinforcements and supplies had to be parachuted in.
To the south the French were jumping onto a narrow strip of sand beside the canal at Port Fuad. The 2 Regiment Parachutiste Coloniale and part of 11 Demi-Brigade Parachutiste de Choc flew in at 400 feet and dropped onto a DZ that was only 500 yards long and 200 yards wide. They immediately came under mortar and machine gun fire. From his flying command post, their commander saw the paratroopers were in trouble so he called in air strikes against the Egyptian positions. With the air support, Les Paras overcame the opposition and moved north to the bridges across the Junction Canal that controlled access to Port Said from the south. One of the two bridges was already destroyed and the other was under fire from tanks on the golf course to the north. French Paratroops have always been known for their daring. Under cover of the air attack, they raced forward and captured the objective. This assured the break-out from Port Said once the amphibious landing took place the next day.
Lessons Learned
This operation served as a rude awakening for the British Paratroopers. They had not done an operational jump since the Rhine Crossing in 1945. Most of the equipment they used was unchanged from the second World War. They even had to raid a museum to get a "dropping beam" to attach a load to the fuselage of one of their aircraft. This was the first time the British dropped the 106mm (a recoilless anti-tank rifle) and a special metal cylinder had to be made. It held two guns and used corrugated cardboard to cushion them.
Good Airborne Stories That Might Even Be True
President Nasser of Egypt had just bought some arms from Czechoslovakia so when the British Paras got on the ground they started to find lots of Soviet kit. Many Paras traded in their issued Sten Guns for AK-47s because the Stens that had served so well in WW II kept jamming in the sandy conditions.
This was the first time the British ever dropped the 106mm Recoilless Rifle. The 106mm was an anti-tank gun built by the Americans. It fired a 105mm round (the name 106 was so the ammunition wouldn't be confused with Artillery rounds) and had a .50 cal spotting rifle mounted on top. The two rifles were zeroed together so their rounds had the same trajectory. The weapon would be aimed at the target, a .50 cal spotting round would be fired and if it hit the main gun would fire. This gave it a very high accuracy rating. During the fighting, a group of Paras captured an Egyptian SU 100 (a Soviet self propelled anti-tank gun) and were driving it back to British lines when it was seen by members of the anti-tank platoon. They fired one spotting round that missed. The second one hit and they were a split second from destroying it when someone recognized the driver and called cease-fire.
Years after the battle, Paras on the anti-tank course were told this story. An Egyptian SU 100 was approaching a 106. The gunner fired his spotting round and hit it. The Egyptians recognized that a spotting round had just hit them and immediately jumped out and took cover. Nothing happened. The Egyptians assumed they had made a mistake so they climbed back into their vehicle. The British gunner, who was still dead on target, fired his main gun destroying the vehicle and its crew. The moral is - a spotting round is a spotting round, don't get back into the vehicle.
On several occasions the Paras found piles of boots on the Egyptian positions. Apparently the Egyptians found it was easier to run on the sand in bare feet than in boots.