John Hrankowski was a fireman on the USS Liberty. He explains why he's convinced the attack was not accidental and how he's trying to persuade the US Congress that he's right.
BBC Four: Why do you maintain that it was a deliberate attack rather than a case of mistaken identity? John Hrankowski: Accidents usually happen for a few minutes. This lasted for two and half-hours and it's been covered up for 35 years. I can tell you from catching the shrapnel and fighting the fires that this was no accident. It was a well co-ordinated attack.
BBC Four: Isn't it conceivable that the Israelis did think the Liberty was an Egyptian ship? JH: Not a chance. Mosad and their spying network knew exactly what that horse carrier was, knew its capabilities. They claimed it was the El Quesir. That's not true. It is critical that they maintain it was an accident. After 35 years people are starting to believe it wasn't an accident. They're starting to listen to us.
BBC Four: Admiral Shlomo Erell claims that if it was a deliberate attack then they would have made a much better job of it. JH: They were just unlucky. They should have sunk the ship. The pictures speak for themselves: they tore that ship open. The napalm just burnt all the way down. They fired torpedoes. Two of them missed and one hit the starboard side. They proved to be terrible shots and only one hit us. It hit us in a very critical point. They even shot the life rafts up.
BBC Four: As well as the life rafts, one of the other bones of contention is whether or not the Liberty's flag was visible. What's your view on that? JH: I'd seen the flag before the attack started. Every ship flies a flag. They shot down the first flag that was up there and within seconds the holiday ensign was up there, which was a 13-foot flag. As far as the life rafts go, people testified to this during the enquiry and it was never added to the testimony. I did not see it but there are people who have said that they saw them shoot up the life rafts. What reason have we got to lie? We're just telling it like it happened.
