October 31 – November 6, 1956 · Egypt Theater
October 31 – November 6, 1956
British and French aircraft — flying from Cyprus and aircraft carriers including HMS Eagle — opened Operation Musketeer with a massive campaign to destroy the Egyptian Air Force. Targeting airfields around Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and the Canal Zone, Anglo-French bombers and fighter-bombers struck systematically over five days. The Egyptians, warned by Israeli radio intercepts that an attack was imminent, had dispersed some aircraft — but the campaign still eliminated Egypt's operational air capability. Nasser's response was to order 47 ships sunk in the Suez Canal, blocking it to all traffic.
Commanders