Yohai Ben-Nun born on December 17, 1924,in
Haifa. His mother was born in
Petah Tikva to a family of
First Aliyah pioneers while his father was born in the
Russian Empire and moved to Palestine at age 7. He spent his childhood in
Jerusalem. At the age of 16 he enlisted in the
Haganah. Ben-Nun joined the
Palmach in 1941 and spent three years training and eventually rising to the rank of a squad leader. In 1944, he joined the
Pal-Yam, the sea corps of the
Palmach. He participated in a covert operation in 1945, in which two British boats were sunk. At the outbreak of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, he founded
Shayetet 13, the Israeli naval commando unit. He commanded a force that sank the
Egyptian Navy flagship, the
Emir Farouk, in the
Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav, for which he was awarded the
Hero of Israel decoration. When it was replaced by the
Medal of Valor, he was awarded the newer medal automatically. Ben-Nun volunteered for an extremely risky mission. He was to ride an explosive boat (similar to an Italian MTM one) and aim it at the Egyptian sloop. Because the Egyptians would spot the boat and maneuver to avoid it, it had been decided that it would be guided by a volunteer sitting astride it. The volunteer would jump off at the very last moment—just 50–100 meters from the target. Even if Egyptian searchlights spotted the e-boat, it would be too late. Yohai and the boat were maneuvered as close as possible by rowboat before the e-boat was launched with Ben-Nun astride. His comrades began to row away after the explosion, but then they heard a voice and Ben-Nun appeared. Once on board the rowboat, he explained that the Egyptian searchlights had turned dark just as he got near enough to aim his boat and leap off. Ben-Nun continued to serve in the Israeli Navy after the war. In the
Sinai War, he served as the commander of the
INS Yafo, taking part in the capture of an Egyptian destroyer. After the war, he returned to command Shayetet 13. Ben-Nun was appointed the commander of the Israeli Navy in 1960, a position he used to create a larger fleet with a better attack capability. Although he retired in 1966, during the
Six-Day War Ben-Nun volunteered for service and fought in the naval operations and on the
Golan Heights. As a civilian, Ben-Nun founded a semi-governmental company, חקר ימים ואגמים בע״מ (Israel's Oceanographic and Limnological Research Ltd), for scientific research related to oceanographic and freshwater subjects. He was Director General from 1968 to 1982. After the
Yom Kippur War, he joined the protesters who called for the resignation of the government. Ben-Nun died on June 6, 1994, in
New York City, and was buried in kibbutz
Ma'agan Michael. A marine research foundation, The Admiral Yohai Ben-Nun Foundation for Marine and Freshwater Research, was established in his name. ==References==