The Operation Acre Prison break

the prison wall after break.

on sunday, may 4, 1947, irgun fighters arrived @ acre in convoy consisting of military truck, 2 military vans painted in british camouflage colors, 2 civilian vans, , command jeep in lead. twenty fighters dressed in royal engineers uniforms, , 3 arabs. operation commander, dov cohen, riding in command jeep, dressed decorated royal engineers captain. truck pulled prison s gate, while 2 vans pulled nearby market. @ 14:00 military engineering unit of irgun, under command of dov salomon , yehuda afiryon, went action. ladders removed 1 of vehicles, , men made way nearby turkish bath, disguised royal engineers telephone technicians , carrying tnt, ropes , other necessary incursion equipment. set charges , climbed down onto street.

while irgun units moving position, prisoners putting plan effect inside. @ 15:00, doors of cells opened afternoon exercise. prisoners not scheduled escape went down courtyard create diversion, while designated escapees remained in cells. @ same time, irgun blocking squads mined nearby roads delay british pursuers, , diversion party disguised arabs moved position in vicinity of british army camp mortar.

at 16:22, charges detonated, blowing massive hole in 1 of prison s walls. upon hearing blast, diversion party fired mortar shells @ british army camp, withdrew. meanwhile, in prison, first group of escapees ran out of cells towards breach in wall, , had push through crowd of arab prisoners had run out of cells in panic. using smuggled explosive charges, blew 2 iron gates obstructed way kerosene room, hole in prison wall was. second group of escapees put barricade of flammable materials , set alight create fire blocked escape route, preventing guards reaching it. resulting smokescreen , fire added chaos explosions had caused. arab prisoners in prison yard began shouting , running wildly, running directly barbed-wire fences, , others rushing or breaking out of cells in fear of fire , explosions.

the arab guards, assuming prison break underway, began shooting crowd. amidst chaos, third group stepped prison yard , tossed grenades @ guards positioned on roof, causing them flee. explosions caused further panic , chaos among other prisoners. amidst chaos, 2 groups escaped through hole in wall. uncertain happening, guards did not enter yard. meanwhile, arab prisoners running through yard , corridors began discover hole in wall. on following hour, 214 of 394 arab prisoners in acre prison escaped through hole in wall , disappeared city.

the first group of escapees , of strike force boarded first truck, sped off , managed exit acre, south of city ambushed british soldiers had been bathing @ nearby beach , alerted sounds of commotion @ acre prison. opened fire on truck. driver, attempting dodge fire, drove truck cactus clump, causing collapse on left side. men tumbled out , fired on british tried escape. dov cohen , 2 other irgun fighters, nissim levy , zalman lifshitz, waiting jeep @ nearby command post. when british opened fire, cohen @ first attempted intervene , guide other prisoners safety. uniform prevented british shooting @ him, in end he, along levy , lifshitz, shot while providing covering fire escapees. total of 9 escapees , attackers died. had been taken alive wounded, , died in jail after being refused medical treatment. 1 of escapees first truck, nissim benado, managed evade capture; wounded , died later in haifa hideout. survivors swiftly recaptured , returned prison.

the remaining escapees , members of strike force boarded second , third trucks, , salomon began calling blocking squads away. although withdrew in order, forgot call away 1 squad commanded avshalom haviv. meanwhile, 1 of trucks experienced engine problems , not start. result, occupants had push while driver tried start engine, , truck surrounded arab mob, began pelting objects. when driver managed start engine again, pushers climbed aboard , sound grenade tossed arabs blocking path, causing crowd disperse. 2 trucks linked , drove away acre. passed haviv s blocking squad, men called him operation over, haviv, felt had wait formal order salomon, chose remain in place. trucks drove off burst of fire hit 1 of them, killing 1 of escapees inside. mines planted blocking squads successful in holding british back, , 5 british soldiers wounded 1 mine. when british arrived @ haviv s blocking position, squad captured.

after 2 trucks had escaped acre, british truck began following them shortly after turned away sea road. guard sitting in passenger seat began firing @ them pistol. sound grenade tossed in british truck s path. resulting noise , burst of smoke caused driver brake sharply, allowing convoy lose pursuing truck. trucks reached kibbutz dalia, fighters , escapees abandoned vehicles , weapons. head of escapees, eitan livni, met 2 haganah men in kibbut, , insisted not contact authorities until nine. walked town of binyamina, , hid there rest of day. following morning, dispersed throughout palestine pre-designated hiding places.

tombstone of fighters @ shavei tzion cemetery

overall, 28 irgun , lehi prisoners escaped, along 214 arab prisoners.

seven of fighters killed during operation buried in nearby cemetery of shavei tzion.