Achieving the Impossible

November 7, 2024

by: Janet Aslin, Staff Writer

 

David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, once said “If an expert says it can’t be done, get another expert.” These 11 words perfectly express the mindset held by the founders of the modern State of Israel. They faced many challenges, not the least of which were the well-equipped armies of their Arab neighbors who had vowed to destroy the young country. The Jewish state-to-be, on the other hand, was woefully lacking in weapons and facing an arms embargo which essentially cut off all possibility of obtaining them.

The situation was so dire that non-Jewish experts thought Israel’s survival was impossible. Yet Ben-Gurion called on his untried experts—students of chemistry and physics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Technion in Haifa—to produce the weapons needed to win the War of Independence. They rose to the challenge. You are about to experience a small taste of their story.

It Is Your Duty

HEMED, the Hebrew acronym for Science Corps, was born a few short months before Israel’s Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. Uriel Bachrach was one of the 20 young scientists gathered in secret on Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus for their introduction to the mission. He recalls, “Dr. Aharon Katchalsky addressed us: ‘On May 15, British forces will leave this country. We do not have arms or military industries and the Western nations have imposed an embargo upon us. It is your duty to save our nation.’”

For the next three weeks, Bachrach and his fellow students immersed themselves in military chemistry. None had studied the subject before. A.M. Prentis’ book entitled Chemicals in War became their textbook. Mornings were spent on theoretical aspects of subjects like “explosives, incendiaries, smoke and gases,” with each student taking a session and teaching what he had learned from their improvised textbook. Afternoons were spent in the laboratory, exploring the practical side of the morning’s lecture.

Bachrach observed, “The fact that we were students was very helpful in this respect, since we did not hesitate to discuss and study subjects that were new to us.”

Once they finished the classroom portion of their training, they tackled tasks such as replicating existing weaponry and developing new weapons using the limited resources available to them. As demolitions expert Prof. Zvi Pelach later remarked, “The young scientists of HEMED were innovative in their outlooks and produced weapons that were supposed to be impossible to produce. It is very likely that because they were so young and had limited knowledge, they dared to do things that established scientists considered impossible.”

Desperate Times

In late 1947, an inventory of the Haganah’s (Jewish underground defense force) weapons was done. The results: 10,000 rifles; 3,800 pistols; no anti-tank weapons; and no artillery. One of the most desperate needs was for an anti-tank weapon. The decision was made to replicate one that the British had developed in Word War II—the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank). A PIAT launcher was stolen from the British Army and functioned as a model. It was taken apart and drawings prepared of each part, which then had to be fabricated at a number of different workshops. Some of the parts, such as a spring that was originally constructed of steel wire of a dimension not available had to be modified using multiple strands of a smaller dimension steel wire that was smuggled into the country.

Production of the PIAT shells was no simple matter either. One shell was smuggled out of South Africa and dissected to determine its exact construction. The hollow shells contained the explosive TNT, which was only available in limited amounts. A source of contaminated TNT, which was removed from old ammunition, was located in Italy, but it needed to be purified. A HEMED scientist undertook the dangerous process of purification and managed to manufacture the shells successfully.

Above and Beyond

The activities of HEMED were not limited to replicating existing weapons but new designs were produced as well. Mosh Epstein, a HEMED engineer, explained, “We were trying to develop a recoilless gun, but could not find any information. We did not have raw materials and had to start from zero. We used water pipe as a barrel and fastened it with a wire. Later, we found some pipes that the British had left in Helez, where they conducted surveys for the detection of oil. In 1949, we first demonstrated the use of the newly developed weapon and hit a target at a distance of 800 meters [875 yd.].”

A comprehensive list of the results of HEMED’s research and design is not possible to cover in this article. However, the following list includes weapons they studied, with some of them going into production: “fuses for detonation, anti-personnel mines, anti-vehicle mines, PIAT, flame throwers, anti-tank rifles, six-inch mortars and air bombs.” Bachrach’s book, The Power of Knowledge—HEMED: The Israeli Science Corps, is a fascinating read and a window into the accomplishments of those young men who dared to attempt the impossible.

Laying the Foundation

Not only did the young scientists of HEMED help to save their nation, they contributed to the foundation of the scientific community in modern Israel. Some returned to the academic world, while others continued in the development of defensive weaponry. For example, the Iron Dome, a lifesaving weapon well-known since 2011, was developed at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, originally known as HEMED.

In conclusion, Avi Peleg, a member of the HEMED incendiary group recalls, “We were young and educated in different disciplines. We shared one important common denominator: a spirit of devotion, volunteering and sincere cooperation.”

Ben-Gurion’s faith in his untried experts was not misplaced.

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