Editing Suez Canal (section)

===Mine clearing operations (1974–75)===
[[File:Sadat_and_A_Ismail.jpg|thumb|President [[Anwar Sadat]] and Minister of Defense [[Ahmad Ismail Ali|Ahmed Ismail]] in the re-opening of Suez Canal, 5 June 1975|200x200px]]
After the Yom Kippur War, the United States initiated [[Operation Nimbus Moon]]. The [[amphibious assault ship]] [[USS Inchon (LPH-12)|USS ''Inchon (LPH-12)'']] was sent to the Canal, carrying 12 [[CH-53 Sea Stallion|RH-53D]] minesweeping helicopters of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 12. These partly cleared the canal between May and December 1974. It was relieved by the LST [[USS Barnstable County|USS ''Barnstable County'']] (LST1197). The British [[Royal Navy]] initiated Operation Rheostat and Task Group 65.2 provided for Operation Rheostat One<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020618|title=Operationl Rheostat One – Royal Navy Minesweepers Arrive at Port Said to Help Clear the Suez Canal |website=Imperial War Museums|access-date=22 October 2015|archive-date=13 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213050529/http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020618|url-status=live}}</ref> (six months in 1974), the minehunters HMS ''Maxton'', HMS ''Bossington'', and [[HMS Wilton (M1116)|HMS ''Wilton'']], the Fleet Clearance Diving Team (FCDT)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020621|title=Operation Rheostat One – Fleet Clearance Diving Team at Work on the Wreck of the Mecca |website=Imperial War Museums|access-date=22 October 2015|archive-date=13 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213002642/http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020621|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[HMS Abdiel (N21)|HMS ''Abdiel'']], a practice minelayer/MCMV support ship; and for Operation Rheostat Two<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020626|title= Operation Rheostat Two – The Suez Canal is Opened|website= Imperial War Museums |access-date= 22 October 2015|archive-date= 13 February 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160213005716/http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060020626|url-status= live}}</ref> (six months in 1975) the minehunters HMS ''Hubberston'' and HMS ''Sheraton'', and HMS ''Abdiel''. When the Canal Clearance Operations were completed, the canal and its lakes were considered 99% clear of mines. The canal was then reopened by Egyptian President [[Anwar Sadat]] aboard an Egyptian destroyer, which led the first convoy northbound to Port Said in 1975,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1970s/1974/sep74.pdf |title=Naval Aviation News |date=Sep 1974 |access-date=30 October 2009 |archive-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208081410/http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1970s/1974/sep74.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> at his side stood the Iranian Crown Prince [[Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran|Reza Pahlavi]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.usslittlerock.org/Historic%20Events/Little_Rock_Suez_Canal.html |title=The Stars and Stripes |date=7 June 1975 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622141419/http://www.usslittlerock.org/Historic%20Events/Little_Rock_Suez_Canal.html |archive-date=22 June 2015 }}</ref>