Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admira ...

(Rear Admiral) Shmuel "Shmulik" Tankus ( he, שמואל טנקוס‎; 14 November 1914 – 4 March 2012) was the fifth commander of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily i ...

, serving from 30 June 1954 until 1960. Tankus was born in 1914 in the Neve Shalom district of Jaffa under Ottoman-controlled

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

. He was scion to a clan from the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

that had settled in Palestine following a vision by the clan's elder. He studied at

The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High Scho ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

He joined the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmac ...

, and served in

Palyam Palyam ( he, פלי"ם, an abbreviation of ''Plugat HaYam'' (), lit. ''Sea Company'') was the sea force of the Palmach. History Palyam was set up in April 1945 as the Palmach's tenth company (Pluga Yud) which originated from the Palmach's Naval ...

. He reported to Yohai Ben-Nun, who was Commander of the Port Brigade ( he, מפקדי פלוגת הנמל) and is considered the father of the Israeli Naval Academy. In 1942, he married Yafa Grobshtein. They had a daughter, Ruth, who volunteered for service in the Navy. He lived in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

from 1952 onwards. In 2001, he was accorded the honour of Friend or Beloved of the municipality.

References

External links

Official Website of the PalyamGrapevine: Honoring the past by celebrating in the present
The Jerusalem Post, {{DEFAULTSORT:Tankus, Shmuel Palmach members Israeli Navy generals Aliyah Bet activists 2012 deaths 1914 births People from Jaffa