Attack Photos Prove NCOI Testimony Incorrect
By Ken Halliwell (March 21, 2005)
USS Liberty's track/heading throughout the attack has never been known with certainty. In Mr. Ennes book, Assault on the Liberty, he states that Captain McGonagle, ordered "right full rudder" at the beginning of the air attack; and he presents a map, in the appendix of the book, showing the ship wobbling its way northward thereafter. In Mr. Cristol book, The Liberty Incident, he puts forth the possibility that the ship headed north during the MTB attack, and shows her tracking accordingly. Meanwhile, the NCOI record indicates, by Captain McGonagle's testimony and reconstructed course plot charts (see below), that the ship stayed substantially on its pre-attack heading of 283 degrees (i.e., West by Northwest) until after the torpedo attack.
Fortunately, we have photographs taken during the combined air and sea attack that can help us determine the ship's true heading, at various points during both the air and sea attack, and allow us to approximate the ship's overall track. Of course, a few photos will not remove all doubt about the ship's heading throughout the attack; but, at least they provide empirical evidence instead of hearsay and memory to build a plausible theory upon. Also, these photographs provide us with a wealth of tangential information including: approximate time of day, post torpedo blast list angle, and general visibility conditions.
The first photograph -- cutout from a larger photograph -- and its analysis is below:
Likely, the above photograph was taken during the early part of the air attack. It appears that the microwave antenna reflector was damaged by rockets, in a previous strafing run. (The full photograph of the microwave reflector shows several rocket-sized holes on its starboard side.)
As you can see, the ship was heading northward in the photograph. So, clearly, the ship did not stay on its 283 course during the attack -- not even close.
Notice the crystal clear sky and the appearance of unlimited visibility.
The second photograph and its analysis is below:
To help understand the above photograph's analysis, refer to the diagram below:
Several eyewitness accounts tell us that the first aircraft to attack were Mirage III (i.e., delta winged) fighters. This opening attack resulted in gasoline drums on the ship's port side rupturing and igniting. Which, in turn, engulfed the port side, rear superstructure decks 01, 02 and the 03 level gun tub in flames and smoke. After the Miage III's initial attack ended, the ship was attacked by Mystere fighters -- like the one shown in the photo above. Thus, likely, the above photo was taken after the Mirage III's initially attacked; perhaps five or ten minutes after the air attack began.
As the above analysis shows, the ship headed Northeast at some point during the Mystere attack phase. This appears to validates claims that the ship made a right turn -- and a bit beyond -- after the air attack began.
Also, notice the crystal clear sky in the analysis photo. This shows there was no significant smoke, at higher levels, from the port side fire or elsewhere, obscuring the attacking pilot's vision of Liberty's radar mast, flag and other unique distinguishing features -- both large and small.
The next two photographs were taken during the Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) attack. The first of these two is shown below:
Likely, the above photograph was taken minutes after the torpedo blast. The ship is listing severely -- perhaps enhanced by an apparent turn to port -- and the sun's angle above the horizon suggests the time was about 14:35 (local time) -- near the reported time of the torpedo blast.
In the above photograph, the sun's illumination on the port side indicates the ship was heading northward.
Also, notice the smoke and its relatively low density. Even in this out-of-focus photograph, it's relatively easy to see details of objects on the aft part of the ship and the distant horizon, slightly above the horizontal reference line. Imagine the level of detail you could see if the photograph was well-focused and optimally exposed; it would have been similar to the level of detail the MTB's crews would have seen.
The final photograph, shown below, was taken as the MTB's were alleged to have terrorized the ship's crew by racing around the ship and strafing her with machine gun, 20 mm and 40 mm cannon fire, immediately after the torpedo attack:
As you can see, this photograph is out-of-focus too. Yet it's easy to see that the sky is clear and visibility between the MTBs and Liberty was completely unobstructed. The MTBs had a clear view of USS Liberty and could have easily read her very large letters "GTR" and the even larger number "5" on both sides of her bow.
Like all the photographs above, this one shows the ship heading northward during the MTB attack. In fact, every photograph known to this author (nine in total), taken with part of the ship included, during the air and sea attack, shows the ship heading in a North or Northeastern direction. Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that Liberty turned northward when attacked, and likely continued heading northward during the entire attack.
In conclusion, the analysis above shows that Captain McGonagle's testimony and the NCOI's course plotting charts of the ship track, during the attack, were wrong. Obviously, the ship did not remain on or near her 283 degrees heading during the attack, as Mr. McGonagle repeatedly claimed -- without any hint or reservation of doubt -- in his testimony. Since being aware of a ship's course and commands affecting its course are of paramount concern to any ship's captain, any finding that indicates the Captain was wrong about the ship's course is significant. It places a cloud of doubt over the reliability of other similarly significant testimony, by Captain McGonagle, within the NCOI record and elsewhere, about other aspects of the attack that he claimed, but other survivors refute to this day.