The audio tapes of the pilots never record that they saw the flag, nor that they were so close that they could simply wave at the ship. They were under the impression that it was a likely hostile ship from the very beginning.

The "Royal" attack group that made the 2nd attack said they were circling at 15,000 feet before making her attack run. They even misidentified that there was no flag on the ship, because it had been shot off in the first attack.

The first moment that the Israelis started to figure out that it wasn't an Egyptian ship is when when the pilots read back the incorrect identification markings for the ship, which used Roman numerals and letters. All Egyptian military ships at the time used Arabic script:

• Homeland - Callsign of Air Controllers
• Samuel Kislev - Chief Air Controller at Kirya, this is the controller who actually orders the initial attack on the Liberty.
• Menachem: Chief Air Controller at Air Control South (near the Sinai border)
• Robert: Chief Air Controller at Air Control Central (25 miles south of Tel Aviv)
• Kursa: Callsign for the two Israeli fighters who made the initial attack
• Royal: Callsign of two Israeli fighters who made the 2nd attack
• GTR-5 - Identification marking of USS Liberty, will be mistaken for CTR-5 and CSR-5

Several minutes earlier, the Israeli Navy had misidentified the Liberty as an Egyptian Destroyer that was firing shells on Israeli positions near the coast. The Israeli Navy had already deployed torpedo boats before they notified Israeli Air Controllers of the ship's existence. This came up to the air controllers, and the first flight "Kursa" offered to assist the navy. The navy identified it as some kind of military ship, and Kislev ordered Kursa to engage it if it was a military ship of any kind. Everyone just kinda relied on the navy to have identified it correctly.

Kislev would also dispatch Flight "Royal" a few minutes later. Royal had been cleared to use Napalm against the ship.

The Navy is actually attempting to capture the ship, while the Air Force is attempting to destroy it entirely. The fact that the ship has not returned fire on Royal has actually caused both Royal and Kislev to get better identification on the ship.

Royal: Homeland from Royal, do you read me? Pay attention: this ship's markings are Charlie Tango Romeo 5. Pay attention, Homeland, Charlie Tango Romeo 5. There is no flag on her! She looks like a minesweeper with that marking. Roger, I'm leaving her. I'm staying around one more minute. [These are the fighter pilots themselves who have just finished the 2nd attack on the Liberty. The reason they are emphasizing Charlie, Tango, Romeo, 5, is because Egyptian ships use Arabic script.]

Robert: Menachem, has Royal come out?

Menachem: Not yet.

Robert: What height? What height is Royal reaching?

Menachem: Charlie Senator Romeo [That's not a height, but Menachem might have just figured it out. Also, he screwed up the phonetic identification of T with S]

Kislev: Leave her! [It was at this moment, Kislev knew, he fucked up.]

Robert: Leave her? What ship is this?

Kislev: Leave her! Menachem, report the approximate damage. Nixon Flight to her [original] mission." [Nixon flight was possibly a 3rd flight that Kislev himself was about to order a 3rd attack on the Liberty]

Royal: Homeland, 5 by 5, there's external fire on her, a lot of hits on her upper parts. People are jumping into the water. [This was actually not true, probably another misidentificaiton] She's not shooting at all. She has hardly any armaments on her. She's going full steam toward the north.

Kislev: Shimon, Robert, we're sending two helicopters to them. [These are the attempted rescue helicopters]

Robert: Okay, clear. I'm sending helicopters.

Menachem:* Kislev, what country?

Kislev: Possibly American.

Just to be clear, the man who ordered the attack, and the people who had fired on her, were the first people to figure out that it wasn't Egyptian. And they still got the identification wrong.

The audio tapes of the pilots never record that they saw the flag, nor that they were so close that they could simply wave at the ship. They were under the impression that it was a likely hostile ship from the very beginning.

The "Royal" attack group that made the 2nd attack said they were circling at 15,000 feet before making her attack run. They even misidentified that there was no flag on the ship, because it had been shot off in the first attack.

The first moment that the Israelis started to figure out that it wasn't an Egyptian ship is when when the pilots read back the incorrect identification markings for the ship, which used Roman numerals and letters. All Egyptian military ships at the time used Arabic script:

• Homeland - Callsign of Air Controllers
• Samuel Kislev - Chief Air Controller at Kirya, this is the controller who actually orders the initial attack on the Liberty.
• Menachem: Chief Air Controller at Air Control South (near the Sinai border)
• Robert: Chief Air Controller at Air Control Central (25 miles south of Tel Aviv)
• Kursa: Callsign for the two Israeli fighters who made the initial attack
• Royal: Callsign of two Israeli fighters who made the 2nd attack
• GTR-5 - Identification marking of USS Liberty, will be mistaken for CTR-5 and CSR-

Several minutes earlier, the Israeli Navy had misidentified the Liberty as an Egyptian Destroyer that was firing shells on Israeli positions near the coast. The Israeli Navy had already deployed torpedo boats before they notified Israeli Air Controllers of the ship's existence. This came up to the air controllers, and the first flight "Kursa" offered to assist the navy. The navy identified it as some kind of military ship, and Kislev ordered Kursa to engage it if it was a military ship of any kind. Everyone just kinda relied on the navy to have identified it correctly.

Kislev would also dispatch Flight "Royal" a few minutes later. Royal had been cleared to use Napalm against the ship.

The Navy is actually attempting to capture the ship, while the Air Force is attempting to destroy it entirely. The fact that the ship has not returned fire on Royal has actually caused both Royal and Kislev to get better identification on the ship.

Royal: Homeland from Royal, do you read me? Pay attention: this ship's markings are Charlie Tango Romeo 5. Pay attention, Homeland, Charlie Tango Romeo 5. There is no flag on her! She looks like a minesweeper with that marking. Roger, I'm leaving her. I'm staying around one more minute. [These are the fighter pilots themselves who have just finished the 2nd attack on the Liberty. The reason they are emphasizing Charlie, Tango, Romeo, 5, is because Egyptian ships use Arabic script.]

Robert: Menachem, has Royal come out?

Menachem: Not yet.

Robert: What height? What height is Royal reaching?

Menachem: Charlie Senator Romeo [That's not a height, but Menachem might have just figured it out. Also, he screwed up the phonetic identification of T with S]

Kislev: Leave her! [It was at this moment, Kislev knew, he fucked up.]

Robert: Leave her? What ship is this?

Kislev: Leave her! Menachem, report the approximate damage. Nixon Flight to her [original] mission." [Nixon flight was possibly a 3rd flight that Kislev himself was about to order a 3rd attack on the Liberty]

Royal: Homeland, 5 by 5, there's external fire on her, a lot of hits on her upper parts. People are jumping into the water. [This was actually not true, probably another misidentificaiton] She's not shooting at all. She has hardly any armaments on her. She's going full steam toward the north.

Kislev: Shimon, Robert, we're sending two helicopters to them. [These are the attempted rescue helicopters]

Robert: Okay, clear. I'm sending helicopters.

Menachem:* Kislev, what country?

Kislev: Possibly American.

Just to be clear, the man who ordered the attack, and the people who had fired on her, were the first people to figure out that it wasn't Egyptian. And they still got the identification wrong.