Force Naftul, named after lieutenant colonel Naftali Sagie (Naftul) operated in the Bir Gifgafa (Refidim) sector as an airborne pursuit force and in securing military installations. Following the crossing of the Suez Canal the force was stationed in "Africa", west of the canal in RAF Fayid military air field.
It took part in clearing the airfield and its surrounding, manned strongpoints on the bank of the Bitter Lake. It took hundreds of Egyptian prisoners of war, and assisted in the operation of the field hospital in Fayid.
This is the story of battalion 908, the Nahal (Pioneering Fighting Youth-in the army) new recruits unit, in the Yom Kippur war. The story was told by the military historian and researcher of the Nahal history, Meir Amitai.
The battalion, actually a brigade in size, equipped and armed tanks and halftracks of the armored and mechanized brigades, etc. However, the crown of its activities was the establishment of operational units.
Battalion 908 "Force Naftul" operated in the Bir Gifgafa (Refidim) sector as an airborne pursuit force and in securing military installations. Following the crossing of the Suez Canal the force was stationed in "Africa", west of the canal in RAF Fayid military air field.
Battalion 9400, commanded by Colonel Yehuda Meiri, was stationed in Abu Zenima, replacing paratrooper battalion 890, which was transferred to the Chinese Farm. An anti-tank and infantry companies operated in the Jordan Valley. Force Naftul participated in evacuating casualties in the city of Suez, during which it lost the paramedic Yeheskel Ushinski, who volunteered to join a helicopter team that was shot down.
In the collection, presented for the first time by The IDF and Defense Establishment Archive, one may see many photographs of Force Naftul, taken in the Sinai Peninsula and across the Suez Canal, photographs of Battalion 902 stationed in the Jordan Valley, and of battalion 50, the Nahal Parachutists' unit, following its heroic battle in the southern sector of the Golan Heights. The collection also contains photographs of Division 143 prior to the canal crossing, of the division's headquarters and General Arik Sharon, and of Armored Brigade 14, commanded by colonel Amnon Reshef. Alex Gal a senior military photographer shares photographs he took in the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula of artillery and ordnance units.