Haim Liebel (; 21 December 1922 – 21 January 2022) was an Israeli

naval engineer A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Life and career

Shahal was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, the son of Shlomo Liebel. In his education, he was trained as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. In 1946, Shahal served in the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...

elite fighting force, in which he commanded and planned on the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

venture

Night of the Bridges The Night of the Bridges (formally Operation Markolet) was a Haganah venture on the night of 16 to 17 June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–47). Its aim was to destroy eleven brid ...

. He served in the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

, discharged in 1970 in the rank of lieutenant colonel. Shahal was initially drafted to work with the naval squadrons in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. He later served as an

engineering officer An engineering officer can be a Merchant Navy engineer, or a commissioned officer in the British Armed Forces with responsibility for military engineering. In the Royal Navy (RN), Engineering Officers are responsible for the material condition ...

in the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

. In his final capacity, from 1968, Shahal headed the development unit of the Israeli Navy. In 1970, Shahal became

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

for the

Israel Shipyards Israel Shipyards is a large shipbuilding and repair facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The company also operates a privately owned port in Israel. The company's facilities are located at the Kishon Port (part of the Port of Haifa complex) ...

. He was awarded the

Israel Defense Prize The Israel Defense Prize (Hebrew: פרס בטחון ישראל), also known as the Israel Defense Award is an award presented annually by the President of Israel to people and organizations who made significant contributions to the defense of the ...

, by the

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...

in 1973. Shahal was also honored for an award, alongside

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Viggo Dan Nielsen. With his contributions, he created missile ships. Shahal died on 21 January 2022, at the age of 99.

References

1922 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Israeli engineers People from Tel Aviv Israeli engineers Israel Defense Prize recipients Israeli military officers Israeli Navy personnel {{Israel-engineer-stub