In 1964 the Israeli navy bought an ex Royal Navy boat named Totem, on her delivery voyage to Haifa the sub
now named Dakar sank with all hands for unknown reasons. She had been built at the Royal Dockyard at Plymouth, England (Devonport) in 1943 and was a T class of the third group. She had been lengthened during
a refit after she was bought by Israel. She departed Portsmouth on Jan. 9, 1968 on her delivery voyage bound
for Haifa, Israel with 69 crewmen on board under the command of
Yacov Ra'anan. She was to arrive at Haifa
on Feb. 2 but
Ra'anan requested permission to arrive on the 29th since he was ahead of schedule. The early
arrival was allowed and the ceremony for the boat was set. She was under orders to signal every six hours
and send her exact position every 24 hours. The last signal sent was on Jan. 25, 1968 at 00:02 hrs. She was never heard from again.
What really happened to the Dakar is not known to the public and probably never will be. The political situation in that region of the world, as we all know, is no better today that it ever has been and nobody will admit to anything. Egyptian Admiral,
Mohammed Abed el-Majid Azeb, claims he was training a cadet crew when the Dakar was spotted running with the
schnorkel visible. He claims the sub crash dived and never returned to the surface. He also denies attacking the sub while another report claims the Dakar was depth charged. Others surmise the Dakar sank due to a problem with the
schnorkel.
The wreck was found in May of 1999 by a joint US-Israeli operation but, the cause of the sinking has either not been determined or just not released.
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