the West German designs and the Israelis on hand, they were able to
begin construction. At the same time, the Gabriel missiles to be in-
stalled in the boats were being built in Israel.
Reserve admiral Mordecai Limon oversaw the Cherbourg project.
At that time he chaired the Purchasing Mission of the Israeli Defense
Ministry. In April 1967 the first missile boat of the nine outstanding
was delivered to the Israeli Navy, and in May the second (the fifth in
the entire project) was delivered.
During the crisis on the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War, French
President Charles de Gaulle declared on 2 June that France would no
longer supply offensive weapons to the Middle East. This clearly
meant that Israel was to suffer a disadvantage, as the Arab world was
obtaining its arms from the Soviet Union. However, since the build-
ing of the missile boats in the Cherbourg shipyards was a contract in
progress, two more boats were delivered to the Israeli Navy in the fall
of 1967.
Following a Palestinian terrorist attack on an Israeli aircraft at the
Athens airport on 26 December 1967 and the Israeli retaliation
against the Beirut airport two days later, blowing up 13 Lebanese air-
planes on the ground, de Gaulle declared that the French arms em-
bargo would now be total, including the Cherbourg boats, despite the
fact that they had already been paid for.
On 4 January 1968, a week after de Gaulle’s announcement, small
Israeli crews made their way aboard three more missile boats that
were almost finished. They spent three hours getting them ready, af-
ter which they hoisted the Israeli ensign and set sail. The craft moved
into the English Channel and never returned.
In Cherbourg, work continued on the four remaining missile boats
even though the French government had no intention of allowing Is-
rael to have them. But Israeli officials had not given up on what they
considered to be their property, and in November 1969 Admiral
Limon initiated the clandestine Noah’s Ark Operation to acquire the
rest of the 12-boat fleet.
The Israeli Maritime Fruit Company, at the request of Limon, reg-
istered the fictitious Starboat Line. Its principal shareholder was Mila
Brener, director of the Maritime Fruit Company. Brener contacted
renowned Norwegian shipping expert Ole Martin Siem and invited
him to join Starboat’s board of directors for the specific purpose ofNOAH’S ARK OPERATION• 21306-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:25 AM Page 213