Editing USS Liberty incident (section)

===Air and sea attacks===
After being cleared to attack, the Mirages dove on the ship and attacked with 30-mm cannons and rockets.<ref>{{harvnb|Scott|2009|p=47}}</ref> The attack came a few minutes after the crew completed a chemical attack drill, with Captain McGonagle on the command bridge.<ref>{{harvnb|Scott|2009|pp=44–46}}</ref> The crew was in "stand-down mode", with their helmets and life jackets removed.<ref>[[Michael Oren|Oren, Michael B.]] – ''[[Six Days of War|Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East]]''</ref> Battle readiness "modified condition three" was set, which meant that the ship's four .50 caliber machine guns were manned and ammunition was ready for loading and firing.<ref>{{harvnb|Gerhard|Millington|1981|pp=25–26}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Scott|2009|p=39}}</ref> Eight crewmen either were killed immediately or received fatal injuries and died later, and 75 were wounded.<ref name="NSAhistory28">{{harvnb|Gerhard|Millington|1981|p=28}}</ref> Among the wounded was McGonagle, who was hit in the right thigh and arm.<ref>{{harvnb|Scott|2009|p=66}}</ref> During the attack, antennas were severed, gas drums caught fire, and the ship's flag was knocked down. McGonagle sent an urgent request for help to the Sixth Fleet, "Under attack by unidentified jet aircraft, require immediate assistance".

The Mirages left after expending their ammunition, and were replaced by a flight of two [[Dassault Super Mystère]]s codenamed Royal flight. The Mysteres were armed with [[napalm]] bombs, and were flown by Captain Yossi Zuk and his wingman, Yaakov Hamermish. The Mysteres released their payloads over the ship and strafed it with their cannons. Much of the ship's superstructure caught fire.<ref name="IDFHR13"/> The Mysteres were readying to attack again when the Israeli Navy, alerted by the absence of return fire, warned Kislev that the target could be Israeli. Kislev told the pilots not to attack if there was any doubt about identification, and the Israeli Navy quickly contacted all of its vessels in the area. The Israeli Navy found that none of its vessels were under fire, and the aircraft were cleared to attack. However, Kislev was still disturbed by a lack of return fire and requested one last attempt to identify the ship. Captain Zuk made an attempt at identification while strafing the ship. He reported seeing no flag, but saw the ship's GTR-5 marking. Kislev immediately ordered the attack stopped. Kislev guessed that the ship was American.

The fact that the ship had Latin alphabet markings led Chief of Staff Rabin to fear that the ship was Soviet. Though Egyptian warships were known to disguise their identities with Western markings, they usually displayed Arabic letters and numbers only. Rabin ordered the torpedo boats to remain at a safe distance from the ship, and sent in two [[Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon]] helicopters to search for survivors. These radio communications were recorded by Israel. The order was also recorded in the torpedo boat's log, although Commander Oren claimed not to have received it. The order to cease fire was given at 14:20, twenty-four minutes before the torpedo boats arrived at the ''Liberty''{{'}}s position.{{efn|While Egyptian naval ships were known to disguise their identities with Western markings, they usually displayed Arabic letters and numbers only. The fact that the ship had Western markings led Rabin to fear that it was Soviet, and he immediately called off the jets. Two IAF Super Frelon helicopters were sent to look for survivors – Spector had reported seeing men overboard – while the torpedo boat squadron was ordered to hold its fire pending further attempts at identification. Though that order was recorded in the torpedo boat's log, [the commander], Oren, claimed he never received it.{{sfn|Oren|2000}}}}

During the interval, crewmen aboard ''Liberty'' hoisted a large American flag. During the early part of the air attack and before the torpedo boats were sighted, ''Liberty'' sent a distress message that was received by Sixth Fleet aircraft carrier {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}}.<ref name="NSAhistory28"/> Aircraft carrier {{USS|America|CV-66|6}} dispatched eight aircraft. The carrier had been in the middle of strategic exercises. Vice-Admiral William I. Martin recalled the aircraft minutes later.

McGonagle testified at the naval court of inquiry that during {{Blockquote|the latter moments of the air attack, it was noted that three high speed boats were approaching the ship from the northeast on a relative bearing of approximately 135 [degrees] at a distance of about 15 [nautical] miles. The ship at the time was still on [westward] course 283 [degrees] true, speed unknown, but believed to be in excess of five knots.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|38}}}} McGonagle testified that he "believed that the time of initial sighting of the torpedo boats ... was about 14:20", and that the "boats appeared to be in a wedge type formation with the center boat the lead point of the wedge. Estimated speed of the boats was about {{convert|27|to|30|kn|km/h|disp=sqbr}}", and that it "appeared that they were approaching the ship in a torpedo launch attitude".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|38}}

When the [[Shayetet 15#Torpedo fleet|torpedo boats]] arrived, Commander Oren could see that the ship could not be the destroyer that had supposedly shelled Arish or any ship capable of {{convert|30|kn|km/h}} speed. According to Michael Limor, an Israeli naval reservist serving on one of the torpedo boats, they attempted to contact the ship by heliograph and radio, but received no response.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israeli Seaman Describes Attack |work=Owosso [[Argus-Press]] |location=Owosso, Michigan |date=6 July 1967 |page=12 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1978&dat=19670706&id=wnUiAAAAIBAJ&pg=595,422193&hl=en}}</ref> At {{convert|6,000|meters|sp=us}}, T-204 paused and signalled "AA", which means "identify yourself".{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} Due to damaged equipment, McGonagle could only reply using a handheld [[Signal lamp|Aldis lamp]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} Oren recalled receiving a similar response from the ''[[Ibrahim el Awal]]'', an Egyptian destroyer captured by Israel during the [[Suez Crisis]], and was convinced that he was facing an enemy ship.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} He consulted an Israeli identification guide to Arab fleets and concluded the ship was the Egyptian supply ship ''El Quseir'', based on observing its deckline, midship bridge and smokestack. The captain of boat T-203 reached the same conclusion independently. The boats moved into battle formation, but did not attack.{{sfn|Oren|2000}}<ref>{{harvnb|IDF History Report|1982|p=16}}</ref>

[[File:USS Liberty (AGTR-5) turns while under attack by Israeli motor torpedo boats, 8 June 1967 (USN 1123754).jpg|thumb|''Liberty'' turns to evade Israeli torpedo boats]]
As the torpedo boats rapidly approached, McGonagle ordered a sailor to proceed to machine gun Mount 51 and open fire.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|38}} However, he then noticed that the boats appeared to be flying an Israeli flag, and "realized that there was a possibility of the aircraft having been Israeli and the attack had been conducted in error".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}} McGonagle ordered the man at gun mount 51 to hold fire, but a short burst was fired at the torpedo boats before the man understood the order.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}}

McGonagle observed that machine gun Mount 53 began firing at the center torpedo boat at about the same time gun mount 51 fired, and that its fire was "extremely effective and blanketed the area and the center torpedo boat".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}} Machine gun mount 53 was located on the starboard amidships side, behind the pilot house.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|16}} McGonagle could not see or "get to mount 53 from the starboard wing of the bridge".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}} So, he "sent Mr. Lucas around the port side of the bridge, around to the skylights, to see if he could tell [Seaman] Quintero, whom [he] believed to be the gunner on Machine gun 53, to hold fire".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}} Lucas "reported back in a few minutes in effect that he saw no one at mount 53".<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|39}} Lucas, who had left the command bridge during the air attack and returned to assist McGonagle,<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|14}} believed that the sound of gunfire was likely from ammunition [[cooking off]], due to a nearby fire.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|16}} Previously, Lucas had granted a request from Quintero to fire at the torpedo boats, before heat from a nearby fire chased him from gun mount 53.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|26,27}} McGonagle later testified, at the Court of Inquiry, that this was likely the "extremely effective" firing event he had observed.<ref name=USNCOIreport/>{{rp|49}}

After coming under fire, the torpedo boats returned fire with their cannons, killing ''Liberty''{{'s}} helmsman.<ref name="Gerhard 1981 29"/> The torpedo boats then launched five torpedoes at the ''Liberty''.<ref>{{harvnb|IDF History Report|1982|p=17}}</ref> At 12:35Z (14:35 local time)<ref name="Gerhard 1981 29"/> one torpedo hit ''Liberty'' on the [[starboard]] side forward of the superstructure, creating a {{convert|39|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide hole in what had been a cargo hold converted to the ship's research spaces and killing 25 servicemen, almost all of them from the intelligence section, and wounding dozens.<ref name="Gerhard 1981 29">{{harvnb|Gerhard|Millington|1981|p=29}}</ref> It has been said the torpedo hit a major hull frame that absorbed much of the energy; crew members reported that if the torpedo had missed the frame the ''Liberty'' would have split in two. The other four torpedoes missed the ship.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The torpedo boats then closed in and [[strafe]]d the ship's hull with their cannons and machine guns.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} According to some crewmen, the torpedo boats fired at damage control parties and sailors preparing life rafts for launch. (See [[#Details in dispute|disputed details below]].) A life raft which floated from the ship was picked up by T-203 and found to bear U.S. Navy markings. T-204 then circled ''Liberty'', and Oren spotted the designation GTR-5, but saw no flag.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} It took until 15:30 to establish the ship's identity. Shortly before the ''Liberty''{{'}}s identity was confirmed, the ''Saratoga'' launched eight aircraft armed with conventional weapons towards ''Liberty''. After the ship's identity was confirmed, the General Staff was notified and an apology was sent to naval attaché Castle. The aircraft approaching ''Liberty'' were recalled to the ''Saratoga''.