The Israeli Aircraft Carrier

January 29th, 2009

This account appears in the Q&A column of the latest issue of WARSHIP
INTERNATIONAL. While not directly on topic for WWII in terms of the
events described, it deals with the fate of a USN WWII escort carrier
(CVE) and also the going price of F4F Wildcats in 1948…..

The Israeli Aircraft Carrier

Yehuda Arazi, the leading underground arms dealer for the Haganah,
conceived the idea of purchasing a carrier on 5 Dec 47, the day the US
State Dep.t announced an emargo of arms to the Mideast.

The carrier would have its hanger deck filled with armored vehicles and
the like. Fighters would be loaded on the flight deck. It could fly
them off, then come into port, elevate the vehicles to the FD to be
craned off – as much to protect the vessel during unloading as to
deliver them to the IAF.

The ATTU, CVE102, had been bought by Leonard Weisman for $125K from
whoever had earlier bought her from the US Gov. Weisman had established
the Pratt Steamship line already, listed in 1948 Lloyd’s Register as
owners of the ATTU, which was renamed SS FLYING W in tribute to Weisman.

Well, she had her catapults’ and arresting gear already removed for
demilitarization law conformance…but there is indication that they
were gonna acquire a cat’ out of scrap, to be installed overseas.

Pratt was to bid on a contract to ship locomotives to Turkey in ’48 as
part of the Truman doctrine. This was the rationale/cover for purchase
of the ship. In fact, after delivery of the train engines, the vessel
was to pick up its military cargo in France or Italy. An (unknown) DC
naval architect firm had done plans for the conversion – but there was
not enough domestic US steel available affordably for the conversion,
so there were delays. Then accidental exposure of Haganah munitions
smuggling involving explosives Weisman had legitiemately bought from
the US Army led to fear of an investigation of his role with the ATTU/
FLYING W, so he suspended all work and stopped paying bills.

Weisman never informed the Sonneborn Institute, the Haganah’s front for
the acquisition fo the vessel, and Arazi’s employer, and they assumed
all was well. On 19 Mar ’48 ten of the contractors performing work
filed liens totalling $48,595.02 against Weisman and the Pratt Steamship
Line.

After a complicated series of events, with the liens settled at $0.88
per dollar claimed, with the ship being removed from the pier at Norfolk
Army Base to an anchorage off Sewell’s Point to save $150/day fee,
Weisman’s attorney W.E. Kyle filed a lien aganst the vessel for his
attorney fee! The Sonneborn Inst. dispatched their trouble shooter Al
Robinson to Norfolk to pay Kyle’s bill. He reported there was no hope
of getting the ship out of the US. But as a member of the Sonn. Inst.,
who owned a scrap metal business in Baltimore, he took over the ship
and held it for over 90 days in the hope that some use could be found.
Nothing came up; she was scrapped by an unknown breaker in Boston in
’48-’49. The Sonneborn Inst. got about $50k for scrap sale, but this
did not cover legal fees, etc. How much of the original $125K if any
was bourn from the Institute and how much from Weisman’s personal $$ is
not stated in the ref. (Slater, THE PLEDGE is the only info given).

Also of interest – Weisman suggested buying Grumman Wildcats from the
War Assets Admin – at $300 each, their going price. Yes, $ three
hundred, period. No books on the ’48 Arab-Israeli War indicate any
attempt of the Haganah or agents or Israeli citizens to buy any
carrier-type aircraft from anybody anywhere.

The material in the magazien is a composite of info supplied by
Alvin H Grobmeier, CDR USN (Ret)
Guy C Hofschneider, and
George R Schneider.

– Brooks A Rowlett

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