alternatehistory.com

For those of you who don't know, the USS Liberty was a spy ship that, during the Six-Day War in 1967, was mistakenly identified as an Egyptian destroyer and attacked by Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats, killing 34 crews, wounding 171, and severely damaging the ship.

My question is, what if Israel had attacked a Soviet ship instead? Either a spy ship there to monitor Israeli communications and/or track the battles as they progress, or a warship, one of many Soviet warships in the area at the time.

Two things to keep in mind:

* The Soviets would not be stupid enough to respond with a nuclear attack.

* The Soviets did not have a base in Malta, nor did would they have access to speedy helicopter evacuation to an aircraft carrier and its advanced hospital facilities, so the death toll would be much higher, and Israel may have to actually evacuate and treat Soviet casualties in its own hospitals.
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