USS LIBERTY COURT OF INQUIRY
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Available evidence combines to indicate the attack on
LIBERTY on 8 June was in fact a case of mistaken
identity.
2. The calm conditions and slow ship speed may well have
made the American Flag difficult to identify.
3. The ship's westerly heading at the time of attack - in
the general direction of Egyptian ports may have
reinforced elements of doubt in the minds of the several
Israeli pilots who looked the ship over in the forenoon.
4. The colors were shot down early in the action and were
replaced prior to the PT attack.
5. The immediate confusion milling around astern followed
by peaceful
[161]
overtures by the attacking surface forces after launching
only two torpedoes of the six presumed available (two on
each PT boat), indicate these craft may well have identified
the colors for the first time when they got in close enough
to see clearly through the smoke and flames billowing, at
times above the mast head.
6. There are no available indications that the attack was
intended against a U. S. Ship.
7. LIBERTY'S position at the time of the attack has been
previously ordered changed farther to seaward by JCS;
however, the messages relating to these changes were not
known to the ship before the attack took place. The reasons
these messages were not known to the ship can be determined
in all instances except for one. Since LIBERTY records and
knowledgeable personnel were lost in the action, it is
impossible to determine the disposition of the message.
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