The Mistaken Identity Claim: USS Liberty v/s El Quseir
K. J. Halliwell (September 15, 2005 -- Revised August 22, 2007)
One claim made by Israel is that its motor torpedo boat (MTB) captains mistook USS Liberty for the much smaller Egyptian cargo ship El Quseir. We're told that the MTB captains looked at pictures of El Quseir in a ship identification document carried on board the MTBs, compared them to at least the forward part of USS Liberty (as seen through their binoculars or naked eye), and simultaneously and independently came to the conclusion that USS Liberty looked so much like El Quseir that they were all convinced she was El Quseir, inspite of the size difference.
Below is a composite digital image of actual pictures purportedly contained in the MTBs' ship identification document. (Note: the ship's data at the bottom -- including its draft for optimal setting torpedo running depth -- was originally printed in Hebrew language script.)
As you can see, the pictures of El Quseir were fairly large and relatively clear. The pictures show clearly that El Quseir had:
- two rows of portholes running along the sides of her hull,
- two tall and angled pole-masts (forward and aft),
- a small vertical pole-mast on top of middle superstructure,
- a small (two-level) superstructure,
- an angled stack behind the superstructure, and
- a vertical (90 degree) bow point. In all respects, El Quseir appeared like a classic "tramp steamer" -- a relatively common sight in the Mediterranean Sea region, before and during 1967.
Other than both ships having general hull lines of cargo-type ships, the two ships had little in common (as highlighted below). The USS Liberty had:
- no portholes in her hull,
- two tall and vertical pole-masts (forward and aft),
- a large tower-mast on top of forward superstructure,
- a large (four-level) superstructure,
- a vertical stack in the middle of the superstructure,
- an angled (78 degree) bow point,
- a very large radio antenna reflector dish aft the superstructure,
- a large radio antenna reflector dish at the forecastle level, and
- many other type radio antennas visible on her decks and masts.
Additionally, USS Liberty had her US Navy ID number "GTR5" painted in very large letters on both sides of her bow and stern. In all respects, USS Liberty appeared like a WW2-era Victory Ship converted to some type of communications ship, with US Navy markings. (Like "tramp steamers," civilian and military ships with Victory Ship type hulls were a relatively common sight in the Mediterranean Sea region before and during 1967.)
Below is a montage of El Quseir and USS Liberty that falsely shows both ships as being the same size. Can you determine which ship is El Quseir and which is USS Liberty? Try covering the top part of the rear-half of each ship, from about the middle of each ship's stack. Can you still see differences? If you're having trouble seeing the difference, then it's likely that you don't want to see the difference; and, perhaps, this was the case with the MTB captains.
Admiral Thomas Moore: "To suggest that they [the IDF] couldn't identify the ship is ... ridiculous."