Egyptian Account
According to the Egyptians, Ras Nasrani Air Base, the former Egyptian name of Ofir, was indeed among several Israeli bases in the Sinai targeted by the Egyptian air strike on October 6, in which around 220 aircraft took part. The MiG-21 aircraft escorting the MiG-17s in the airstrike against Ras Nasrani were part of the No. 25 Sqn of the EAF's 102nd Air Wing. The MiG-21s did not participate in the ground attack, and according to the pilots, no aerial opposition was ever encountered.
Egyptian commanders claim that five aircraft were lost in the opening airstrike of the war altogether; Saad El Shazly, the Egyptian Chief of Staff, stated that total losses from October 6 up to the morning of October 7 were five aircraft. Another Egyptian commander, Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy, reported just five aircraft losses for the entire air strike as well, as do other sources. Another source mentions the loss of seven aircraft to Israeli fighters and several others to anti-aircraft fire. Simon Dunstan mentions the claim that the air strike resulted in a total of five Egyptian aircraft losses (although without specifying which air bases were attacked), yet nevertheless places Egyptian losses for the opening strike at "nearly 40 aircraft".
Read more about this topic: Ofira Air Battle
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